Saving Seafood

As Bering Sea ice melts, Alaskans, scientists and Seattle’s fishing fleet witness changes ‘on a massive scale’

September 16, 2019 — Derek Akeya hopes for calm waters and a lucrative catch when fishing from a skiff in the Bering Sea that surrounds his island village.

But on this windy late summer day, waves toss about the boat as Akeya stands in the bow, straining to pull up a line of herring-baited hooks from the rocky bottom.

Instead of bringing aboard halibut – worth more than $5 a pound back on shore – this string of gear yields four large but far less valuable Pacific cod, voracious bottom feeders whose numbers in recent years have exploded in these northern reaches.

“There’s a lot more of them now, and it’s more than a little bit irritating,” Akeya says.

The cod have surged here from the south amid climatic changes unfolding with stunning speed.

For two years, the Bering Sea has been largely without winter ice, a development scientists modeling the warming impacts of greenhouse-gas pollution from fossil fuels once forecast would not occur until 2050.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

DOJ green lights Clipper, Blue North merger

September 12, 2019 — The US Department of Justice (DOJ) has greenlit a proposed merger between the two largest Pacific cod longline companies, sources told Undercurrent News.

The DOJ review of the merger of Clipper Seafoods and Blue North, which is expected to include the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC) taking a majority stake in the combined company, was undertaken to ensure that the combined company wouldn’t create a monopoly. Sources told Undercurrent that the DOJ’s seal of approval means that the deal is likely to close this week.

Despite the combined company’s heft in the market, Clipper and Blue North argued that there are several factors that go into cod prices, like other species, “so there shouldn’t be any antitrust problems”, sources previously told Undercurrent.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Comments Wanted: NMFS To Open Pacific Cod in BSAI After January Closure

September 4, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — After closing the fishery January 12, 2019, NMFS proposes a short opening to clean up the remaining 2,650 metric tons of Pacific cod remaining in the 2019 apportionment for less than 60 feet vessles using hook-and-line or pot gear.

The agency is asking for comments online or by mail. NMFS is terminating the previous closure and is opening directed fishing based on the current catch of Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI and the harvest capacity and stated intent on future harvesting patterns of vessels in participating in this fishery.

The change would be effective noon Alaska local time, September 1, 2019, through midnight December 31, 2019. Comments must be received at the following address no later than 4:30 p.m., A.l.t., September 18, 2019.

* Federal e-Rulemaking Portal. Go to www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=NOAA-NMFS-2018-0089, click the “Comment Now!” icon, complete the required fields, and enter or attach your comments.

* Mail: Submit written comments to Glenn Merrill, Assistant Regional Administrator, Sustainable Fisheries Division, Alaska Region NMFS, Attn: Records Office. Mail comments to P.O. Box 21668, Juneau, AK 99802-1668.

In today’s Federal Register notice, the agency said “The Assistant Administrator for Fisheries, NOAA (AA), finds good cause to waive the requirement to provide prior notice and opportunity for public comment pursuant to the authority set forth at 5 U.S.C. 553(b)(B) as such requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest. This requirement is impracticable and contrary to the public interest as it would prevent NMFS from responding to the most recent fisheries data in a timely fashion and would delay the opening of directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI. Immediate notification is necessary to allow for the orderly conduct and efficient operation of this fishery, to allow the industry to plan for the fishing season, and to avoid potential disruption to the fishing fleet and processors. NMFS was unable to publish a notice providing time for public comment because the most recent, relevant data only became available as of August 27, 2019.

The AA also finds good cause to waive the 30-day delay in the effective date of this action under 5 U.S.C. 553(d)(3). This finding is based upon the reasons provided above for waiver of prior notice and opportunity for public comment.

Without this inseason adjustment, NMFS could not allow the fishery for Pacific cod by catcher vessels less than 60 feet LOA using hook-and-line or pot gear in the BSAI to be harvested in an expedient manner and in accordance with the regulatory schedule. Under SEC 679.25(c)(2), interested persons are invited to submit written comments on this action to the above address until September 18, 2019.

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

Alaskan native group still set to buy US Pacific cod catchers if DOJ approves merger

August 1, 2019 — The merger of the two largest US Pacific cod longline catching companies is under review by the US Department of Justice (DOJ), sources familiar with the deal told Undercurrent News.

If the DOJ approves the merger, the combined company will be renamed Blue North Clipper (BNC) and then, around 30 days later, acquired by the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC), the sources said. BBNC is set to take 75% of BNC, with the existing shareholders of both companies owning the rest.

It’s thought BNC will be relocated to the offices of Clipper, which is seen as being the driver of the deal, they said. It’s also thought Dave Little, the main shareholder in Clipper, will ultimately head up the combined company. Patrick and Michael Burns, the brothers who founded Blue North, will also remain involved, sources said.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Recreational Cod Fishing Could Restart, Barely, In Gulf Of Maine

May 16, 2019 — In a story May 16 about recreational cod fishing, The Associated Press erroneously reported the proposed catch limit. It would be one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two seasons in September and April that last 15 days each, not one per year during those limited seasons.

A corrected version of the story is below:

The recreational fishery for a species of fish that has experienced population collapse in recent history could reopen.

Recreational fishing for Atlantic cod has not been allowed in the Gulf of Maine recently due to concerns about the decline in the fish’s population. But the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration says the fish could withstand a very limited fishery at the moment.

Federal regulators are considering a proposal to allow recreational fishermen to catch one Gulf of Maine cod per day during two limited seasons that last 15 days each in September and April. The Gulf of Maine is a body of water off Massachusetts, Maine and New Hampshire that once teemed with cod, which is the namesake of Cape Cod.

Read the full story from the Associated Press

Cod Fishermen Upend Carveout for Alaskan Villages

March 22, 2019 — A federal judge cut the line Thursday on the government’s effort to promote sustainable cod-processing operations in a pair of Alaskan fishing villages.

Unveiled in 2016, the new scheme carved out a portion of the Pacific cod fishery off the coast of the Aleutian Islands to be used exclusively each year by vessels that planned to process their catch onshore rather than at sea.

Pacific cod, in contrast to the much-suffering Atlantic cod, is one of the most abundant and lucrative species of groundfish harvested in the region.

Without government intervention, however, the National Marine Fishery Service argued that the Aleutian fishing communities of Adak and Atka would catch less and less cod, and struggle to compete as centers for fish processing.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

Predicting marine heatwaves can have economic implications

March 6, 2019 –The Gulf of Alaska is once again experiencing a marine heatwave. This follows the infamous warm-water event known as the “blob,” that formed back in 2014, which scientists have tied to seabird die-offs and declining Pacific cod stocks.

Scientists around the world are trying to predict these events, but there are economic implications to forecasting the future.

Scientists around the world are working to understand the impacts of marine heatwaves as they become more common. They also want to predict when and where the world’s oceans will heat up.

“If I gave you this information about the future, what would you possibly even do with it?” Alistair Hobday said. “And people’s first reaction is, ‘nothing, I don’t know what I would do.’”

Hobday is a research scientist with Australia’s Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation. Hobday said the predictive models for marine heatwaves are about 60 percent accurate currently, slightly better than a flip of a coin.

He wants to boost that number to 80 percent, and he said marine heatwave forecasts have practical applications.

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

 

NPFMC Considers Rationalizing Bering Sea Pacific Cod Fishery

March 5, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The North Pacific Fisheries Management Council is considering rationalizing the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands trawl pacific cod fishery after voting to take action on the fishery at its February meeting. A number of alternatives for management changes to the fishery have been released for public review; the council will be considering final actions during upcoming meetings.

The fishery is facing a number of issues, including decreasing stocks, an increase in participation and an increasingly shortened season. Among the actions that the council is considering to address these issues is the introduction of a catch-share system, in which quota would be allocated.

The council is also weighing up its options to address the increasing prevalence of catcher/processor vessels — also known as motherships — which is resulting in a loss of deliveries to shore-based processing facilities. The council is looking at various ways to limit the participation of certain vessels acting as motherships.

At its June 2018 meeting, the council adopted a purpose and need statement, which acknowledged recent increases of motherships and a decrease Pacific cod deliveries to shoreside processors.

“The council is concerned about the impacts of the recent increases and potential for future growth in offshore deliveries of Pacific cod to … vessels operating as motherships, and the potential impacts those increases could have on shoreside processors, communities and participating catcher vessels,” the statement reads.

The statement also notes that the race-for-fish management system has resulted in a “decreased ability to maximize the value of the fishery … negatively impacting fishery participants,” as well as discouraging fishing practices that can minimize bycatch.

“Additional entrants could exacerbate these issues and threaten the viability of the fishery,” the statement reads. “The council is considering options to improve the prosecution of the fishery, with the intent of promoting safety and increasing the value of the fishery.”

TAC for the fishery has been reduced in recent years. While the cod fishery in the gulf of Alaska has fared worse, with its TAC being cut by 80 percent, the TAC for the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands fishery was cut by nearly 50 percent last year.

At the council’s February meeting, Darral Brannan, a consultant for the NPFMC, noted that the 2019 Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands trawl Pacific cod A season was the fishery’s shortest ever.

“In 2018, the A season for the trawl CV sector closed on February eleventh. This year, the fishery closed February first. It was 12 full days of fishing. It covered 13 calendar days, but it was noon to noon,” he told the council. “It was the shortest ever A season that we’ve had.”

According to Brannan, in 2018, 18 percent of the Pacific cod from the fishery was delivered to motherships, rather than shoreside processors. Comparatively, in 2019, mothership deliveries rose to 30 percent.

The council is considering a number of different options to limit activity in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Pacific cod trawl fishery, which are outlined in six alternatives.

At its February meeting, the council voted on a motion to bifurcate alternatives two, three and six in order to address concerns around motherships separately from issues surrounding higher levels of participation in the fishery. (Alternative one is for the council to take no action). Alternatives two, three and six specifically address the issues with increased mothership participation in the fishery, and these have now been released for public review.

Respectively, these alternatives would involve: limiting the number of motherships that can take Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Pacific cod deliveries; limiting the total amount of Pacific cod that can be delivered to motherships; or prohibiting certain vessels from participating in the fishery as motherships.

The council received several letters urging it to take action on this issue — including one from the Pacific Seafood Processor Association, a nonprofit trade association comprised of nine processing companies, located in 18 communities throughout Alaska. Pacific Seafood Processor Association has members that operate processing facilities in Dutch Harbor, King Cove, Sand Point, Akutan and others. The letter urged the council to expediently address the issue.

“This issue continues to have meaningful impacts for BSAI coastal communities, who rely heavily on volume fisheries like pollock and cod,” the letter states. “All of these local governments levy local raw fish taxes on the value of fish landed at local processing facilities and inshore floating processors.”

The council also received public comment requesting that it take a more mediated approach to limiting motherships.

In a letter to the council Matthew Doherty, president and CEO of United States Seafoods, which operates the catcher processor Seabreeze Alaska, argued that the Seabreeze Alaska has an “extensive history in the fishery” and that United States Seafoods depends on the ability of its catcher vessels to deliver cod offshore.

Doherty argued that the United States Seafoods has been “a good citizen” in the fishery by coordinating with other stakeholders — even suspending its operations in the Aleutian Islands cod fishery in 2018 in an attempt to aid the Adak plant’s success.

“The SEAFREEZE ALASKA’s participation in the fishery is NOT part of the ‘recent increases . . . in offshore deliveries’ noted as problematic in the Council’s purpose and need statement for this action,” the letter states. “If the Council restricts offshore cod processing, we recommend the action be narrowly focused on recent problematic changes in the fishery.”

While this item was originally scheduled for final action at the council’s June meeting, according to the most recent draft of the council’s upcoming meeting schedule, the item has been moved up to the council’s next meeting, which is in April.

The issues surrounding increasing participation in the fishery are being addressed as a separate agenda item. The council also voted on a motion to develop a scoping paper, which may be used to develop a comprehensive Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands cod trawl catcher vessel management program.

The scoping paper will analyse the possibility of introducing Pacific cod endorsements for trawlers with LLP licenses, which would rationalize the fishery.

A NPFMC Advisory Panel, which is made up of various fishery stakeholders, offered the council both arguments for and against this action. Meetings from the AP’s February meeting noted that some of the panel argued that a catch share program would the best solution for protecting stock levels and giving harvesters, processors and their communities the chance to maximize the value of the fishery.

Other fisheries have been rationalized in the past, including rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands crab.

“The problems currently being faced by the BSAI trawl CV cod fishery are similar in nature to problems previously faced by other fisheries that now operate under a catch share program,” the AP minutes state. “The multiple successes achieved under these varying programs established in the North Pacific now lead the participants in the BSAI cod trawl fishery to believe that the development of a cooperative-based program for BSAI Pacific cod is the best solution.”

However, not all of the panel was onboard. The minutes state that a catch share program for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands trawl cod may make it harder to enter the fishery.

“Catch share programs that allocate quota to LLPs can make access to the fishery more expensive for new entrants and have potentially negative impacts on communities,” the minutes state.

Some public comments reflected a concern that, should the council establish a catch share program in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands fishery, it could negatively impact other fisheries. Among them was a letter from Patrick O’Donnell, the owner and operator of the F/V Caravelle, a trawler homeported in Kodiak. O’Donnell expressed concern that an action on the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands fishery could have an impact on the Gulf of Alaska cod fishery and requested that the council postpone further action until it can ensure that Gulf of Alaska fishermen wouldn’t be affected.

“GOA trawlers have asked for a catchshare management plan, with tools to better manage bycatch in the Gulf, and I would like to see that program move forward at the same time as any changes to the (BS cod fishery),” the letter states. “Any action that moves the cod TLAS fishery closer to a rationalized program has the potential to create spill-over effects in the GOA.

“It will create advantages for boats that have a guaranteed share in the BS, and give them an incentive to race for fish in the GOA first, then go harvest their share in the Bering Sea.”

The scoping paper is scheduled for council discussion at its October meeting.

All the alternatives that the council is considering, along with staff analysis and public comments can be found on the NPFMC’s website. Those looking to provide public comment prior to the council’s April meeting can do so via the NPFMC’s online comment portal, or at the meeting itself.

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

ALASKA: North Pacific council to study catch-share proposal for cod trawlers

February 22, 2019 — As pressure continues to build on Pacific cod landings in the Bering Sea, the US’ North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) is taking a hard look at the number of trawl vessels and offshore processors there, Alaska Public Radio reports.

A year after federal regulators dramatically cut the quota in the Gulf of Alaska, trawlers say the congestion is causing a race for the fish.

“You got kind of a perfect storm going on here: You have more and more vessels entering a fishery, you’ve got less fish available to be caught, and now this year in 2019, we ended up with a 13-day season,” Brent Paine, executive director of United Catcher Boats, is quoted as saying. “Four years ago, it never even closed.”

The NPFMC has taken up a request from Paine and others to study a catch share plan for trawl catcher vessels, splitting up the sector’s landings between individual boats before the season begins. A scoping paper is due from its staff later this year.

Such a management structure, which is already used by halibut and pollock fisheries, would limit the number of vessels that can participate in the fishery and reduce competition, the article notes. A specific date range would determine historical participation and therefore who gets shares and how many.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ALASKA: Part of Bering Sea Pacific cod fishery could move toward quota system

February 20, 2019 — About a year after federal regulators dramatically cut the Pacific Cod quota in the Gulf of Alaska, some fishermen in the Bering Sea say there are too many boats fishing for the declining species.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is looking into the problem, but potential solutions are likely to be controversial.

Since Pacific cod stocks crashed in the Gulf of Alaska in recent years, members of the fishing industry say fishermen are focusing their efforts farther west.

Tom Enlow is the president of UniSea, which operates a large shore-side processor in Unalaska. He said more vessels — especially trawlers — are crowding the fishing grounds. He also said there are more offshore processors competing for their cod.

“You’re seeing people who have historically not participated in these fisheries – as a processor standpoint – now coming into the fishery,” Enlow explained. “So there’s a lot of excess capacity now and pressure on this resource.”

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media