Saving Seafood

Halibut Commission to Address a Request for Minimum Area Allocation Next Week

January 24, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The agenda for the week-long annual meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission is brimming with new ways to look at catch limits, new tools to assess risk, and new ideas for research, but the issue grabbing the most attention is allocation of this year’s fishery.

Which regional area gets how much of the coastwide catch is a perennial topic, but it’s sharper this year by a stock that remains low compared to a decade ago, little sign of recruitment, and the yet unresolved issue that created an impasse between Canada and the U.S. at last year’s meeting.

Indeed, progress at the 2018 meeting to reach an agreement on catch limits ran aground on the issue of Canada’s catch limit allocation. British Columbia longliners fish waters off the Canadian west coast that make up 12-13% of the total coastwide area fished by both countries. Yet their catch limit has persistently been higher than that based on the argument that much of B.C.’s halibut are resident and the Canadian authorities long ago implemented a robust accounting program for all mortalities, compared to what is being used in Alaska.

The two sides have met throughout the year since and are now considering a handful of options to use this year. Those options, and perhaps more, will be discussed at the meeting that begins Monday, January 28.  The meeting is complicated by the US government shutdown.  Two US commissoner terms expired at midnight on Thursday, and they will not be available to vote on final motions Friday.  As a result, the Commission may skew its agenda so that all votes take place before the US Commissioners go poof.

This year’s meeting has only two stakeholder proposals, both from the Pacific Norwest, or Area 2A. The first, a request for a minimum fixed amount of 1.5 million pounds for commercial and sports fleets. That fishery amount would mean a total mortality of 1.67 mlbs, including subsistence, bycatch, and other incidental mortalities.

The proposal was initially made by the Makah Tribe but now has the support of most stakeholders in Washington, Oregon, and California.

Because it is the first official regional request for a catch limit floor — a minimum that fleets and processors can expect for years to come — it has garnered attention and prompted comments that if they are allowed a guaranteed miminum, what about other areas?

Supporters of Proposal 2A say conditions in that region support establishing a floor and add that 1.67 mlbs. is only a small percentage of any coastwide total. They say — and the IPHC agrees — that the proposal presents no conservation problems because of that.

“The Tribe’s proposal is based on, but less than, the average total removals from Area 2A during the seven-year period before the current coastwide stock assessment and distribution methodology was implemented in Area 2A in 2009. During that period, total removals from Area 2A averaged 1.79Mlb,” Patrick Depoe said in his proposal.

That is precisely the issue for Canada as well. When the IPHC moved from a regional to a coastwide assessment in 2009, there were winners and there were losers. Canada lost 5-7% of their average share of their apportionment. They have compensated for it ever since by setting higher than recommended catch limits for their area, 2B, than IPHC staff suggests.

The second stakeholder proposal was submitted by Michael Pettis, a Newport, OR longliner, and is in response to the IPHC’s request for a change from the current 10 hour derby fishery to a more extended fishery for safety and business planning reasons. The change would not affect that group’s allocation.

The Pacific Council’s Groundfish Advisory Panel discussed the issue and supported an analysis of longer periods. Fishermen on the GAP also proposed assigning the entire commercial halibut quota to incidental catch in the sablefish fishery.

In November 2018, the GAP supported the option again, “if the IPHC does not move forward with a 5-, 10- or 20-day season as discussed in or inferred from its report.”

The five Newport fishermen who submitted the proposal to the IPHC have not supplied public comment to the PFMC or the GAP.

However, since Area 2A is entirely within the U.S. EEZ, management of any system would fall primarily to the federal government. Some industry members have suggested the NMFS cost of establishing a quota system for Area 2A would be far more than the fishery is worth.

On Friday February 1, catch limits for the 2019 season, as well as opening and closing dates, and any proposals that make it through the meeting, will be announced.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

Shutdown Stunting Oregon Bid to Keep Salmon Alive

January 15, 2019 — Oregon’s effort to prevent California sea lions from feasting on the dwindling winter steelhead at Willamette Falls will not proceed as planned because of the federal government shutdown.

Officials have so far trapped and euthanized four California sea lions that collectively eat about one quarter of the shrinking returns of winter steelhead at Willamette Falls. The water below the falls have become a reliable bonanza for hungry sea lions, along the journey from the ocean back to the headwaters where steelhead were born, and where they will spawn.

Last year, only 512 wild winter steelhead returned from the sea, stymied by poor ocean conditions and a network of dams that crowd the way home. But a relatively new problem threatens to eclipse the first two: the hungry mouths of dozens of sea lions waiting at the falls.

The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife launched a program to capture and kill the massive marine mammals after attempts to haul them back to the ocean failed. Despite being trucked hundreds of miles to the southern coast of Oregon, the animals promptly swam back – one sea lion made the return trip in three days.

This year could be the third in a row with the worst returns on record, and state biologists aren’t optimistic.

“There’s potential that we’re already past the point where they can recover and we just won’t know it for another decade,” said Shaun Clements, senior policy analyst with Oregon Department of Fish & Wildlife.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

Oregon begins killing sea lions after relocation fails

January 11, 2019 — Oregon wildlife officials have started killing California sea lions that threaten a fragile and unique type of trout in the Willamette River, a body of water that’s miles inland from the coastal areas where the massive carnivorous aquatic mammals usually congregate to feed.

The state Department of Fish and Wildlife obtained a federal permit in November to kill up to 93 California sea lions annually below Willamette Falls south of Portland, Oregon, to protect the winter run of the fish that begin life as rainbow trout but become steelhead when they travel to the ocean.

As of last week, wildlife managers have killed three of the animals using traps they used last year to relocate the sea lions, said Bryan Wright, project manager for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife’s marine resources program.

The adult male sea lions, which weigh nearly 1,000 pounds (454 kilograms) each, have learned that they can loiter under the falls and snack on the vulnerable steelhead as the fish power their way upriver to the streams where they hatched.

Read the full story at the Associated Press

3 dead after fishing boat capsizes crossing Oregon bay

January 10, 2019 — The U.S. Coast Guard confirmed Wednesday morning that three fishermen who were on boat when it capsized Tuesday night were killed.

The Dungeness crab fishing boat, the Mary B II, capsized while crossing the Yaquina Bay bar Tuesday night in 12- to 14-foot seas, according to the U.S. Coast Guard.

The Coast Guard was able to recover one body, 48-year-old James Lacey, from South Toms River, New Jersey, with a helicopter. He was taken to Pacific Communities Hospital where he was pronounced deceased. A second body, Joshua Porter, 50, from Toledo, Oregon, washed ashore near Nye Beach.

The Mary B II eventually ran aground on the beach near the north side of the Yaquina Bay North Jetty. The boat skipper, Stephen Biernacki, 50, from Barnegat Township, New Jersey, was found deceased with the boat.

“We did everything we could. Unfortunately, it was just a tragic outcome and our hearts and thoughts are with the family and friends of the crew,” said Petty Officer Levi Reed with the U.S. Coast Guard.

Read the full story from KATU at WSET

Pots dropped: Oregon Dungeness season is in full swing

January 9, 2019 — The Tri-State Dungeness Crab Committee, which oversees the northern California, Oregon and Washington Dungeness crab fisheries, opened the season between Cape Arago, Ore., and Klipsan Beach, Wash., after a month-long delay. At 8 a.m. on January 1, 73 hours before the opening, Dungeness crab pots finally splashed into the water off the coast of Oregon and southern Washington.

“They can start to pull pots at 9 a.m. on Jan. 4,” says Troy Buell, the fisheries management program leader at the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. “But I don’t know about the weather.”

On Jan. 3, Newport, Ore., crab fisherman Mike Retherford headed out. “We’re leaving now because the bar is going to be pretty bad by morning,” he says. “The swell is building.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Massachusetts Joins Several States to Support Offshore Drilling Bans

January 9, 2019 — Legislators from several states, including Massachusetts, announced a collaborative effort to protect their regions from offshore drilling.

More than 225 lawmakers from coastal states have voiced their opposition to the Trump Administration’s proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

Barnstable, Dukes and Nantucket State Representative Dylan Fernandes joined legislators from Georgia, Hawaii, Maine, New York, Oregon, New Hampshire and Rhode Island to announce legislative initiatives in each state to block offshore drilling in state waters now and in the future.

Connecticut legislators could not participate on the conference call but will also introduce a ban bill.

Read the full story at CapeCod.com

New Pacific Salmon Treaty cuts chinook catch

January 9, 2019 — The new Pacific Salmon Treaty went into effect on the first of the year after the treaty’s last 10-year iteration expired on its own terms on 31 December.

The Pacific Salmon Treaty is renegotiated every decade between the United States and Canada to govern salmon catch, research, and enhancement in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, and British Columbia.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game made public last week the sections of the treaty that will directly affect Alaskan salmon fisheries, which deal with Transboundary Rivers, Northern British Columbia and Southeastern Alaska, and Chinook salmon.

In an attempt to battle a dramatic multi-year drop in Chinook stocks off of the Pacific coast, the countries agreed to cut their catch of Chinook salmon, with a reduction of up to 12.5 percent in Canada and up to 7.5 percent in the United States.

Some in the industry are not pleased with the new treaty.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Lawmaker introducing offshore drilling ban bill

January 9, 2019 — A state representative from Falmouth plans to join his colleagues from Hawaii, Georgia and other states Tuesday to collectively oppose the Trump administration’s offshore drilling plans and to introduce drilling ban legislation in the states.

Officials from Maine, New York, Oregon, and Rhode Island also plan to join a Tuesday afternoon conference call with Rep. Dylan Fernandes to discuss the situation, which stems from the release of the Trump administration’s proposed OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program.

Read the full story at the Gloucester Daily Times

NPFMC February 2019 Meeting Agenda

January 8, 2019 — The following was released by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet the week of February 4th at the Benson Hotel, 309 SW Broadway, Portland, OR. The government shutdown may create additional changes to the schedule. Please check back for updates. The Agenda and Schedule are available.

NEW THIS MEETING
For attendees presenting during public comment, or for other presenters, the Council will be uploading presentations in advance to a single, shared, computer. Please contact a staff person and have your presentation ready to be uploaded before the agenda item is scheduled.

Public comments on all agenda items will be accepted until 12 noon (Alaska time) on Friday, February 1, 2019. Click here for more information on providing public comments.

Commercial season opening, China tariffs could bring price relief for Washington delicacy

January 4, 2019 — The commercial crab season opened off the Washington and Oregon coasts this week, with fishers allowed to pull their pots beginning Friday.

The start of the Dungeness season — combined with a possible dip in demand from China — will likely mean prices will come down locally.

That’s welcomed news for customers who saw near record-high prices over the holidays, said Jon Speltz, owner of Wild Salmon Seafood Market in Seattle.

“It might have been at a historic high,” Speltz said of the prices, which sit at about $14.99-per-pound right now.

Fresh Dungeness crab over the holidays was in such high demand, Speltz said they “were just happy to get live crab.”

The fishery off the coast was delayed this year after tests showed crab had not filled out enough. It can start as early as Dec. 1, but has been pushed back to January over the past few seasons to allow crabs to become meatier, a spokesperson with the Washington State Department of Fish and Wildlife said.

Despite a late start, the season has remained strong over the last few years. More than 23 million pounds (10 million kilograms) of crab were landed in the 2017-18 season. That brought in a record $74.2 million in ex-vessel value.

Read the full story at KCPQ