Saving Seafood

Alaska seafood industry hopes to triple exports to China after trade mission

June 7, 2018 — Seafood is Alaska’s largest commodity, and China is the state’s largest trading partner. In 2017, the Alaska Office of International Trade reports Alaska exported about a billion dollars worth of seafood to China, a figure Governor Bill Walker would like to triple.

“Nothing happens quick,” said Walker. “But I think as a goal, as we grow our seafood market opportunity, that’s something we sit down with the seafood processor and say ‘How do we grow this opportunity for increased exports out of Alaska?’ ”

Although increasing seafood exports to $3 billion might seem ambitious, Jeff Welbourn, Sr. Dir of China Business for Trident Seafood Corp., says an evolving Chinese economy could make it possible.

“China has been a manufacturing, reprocessing sector,” said Welbourn. “We’re kind of excited because we see opportunity for higher value products coming into this market.”

Those higher value products include black cod, halibut and sockeye salmon. In the past, byproduct and headed and gutted fish sold to China included items like wild Alaskan pollock and pink salmon.

“All these products here for reprocessing to a consumer market has been the real prize,” said Welbourn. “And it could triple in size pretty easily.”

In recent years, Welbourn says the Chinese consumer has moved away from lesser products. Today, they’re demanding more transparency and higher quality– a value added, premium market, which the Alaska seafood industry is poised to serve.

Read the full story at KTUU

‘Extracting Value from the Right Amount of Fish’: Saving Seafood Looks at Aquaculture Efficiency

June 6, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Through new techniques and technologies, farming fish is becoming increasingly efficient, leading aquaculture experts tell Saving Seafood in a new video.

“With a whole range of factors – improved nutritional knowledge, better management techniques of feeding on the farm, and all of that – [the fish in–fish out] ratio has gone down,” says Andrew Jackson, Chairman of IFFO RS.

“For every 0.7 kilos of fish in, you get a kilo of fish out,” says Dan Lee, Standards Coordinator for the Global Aquaculture Alliance’s Best Aquaculture Practices Program. “So that’s becoming very favorable towards aquaculture productivity.”

In the case of salmon farming, nutritionists are using alternative ingredients, including plant proteins like soy, and mixing canola and other vegetable oils in with pure fish oil. This has helped lowered the percentage of marine ingredients in fish feed to about 25 percent of farmed salmon diets, and projections are that this will drop below 10 percent by 2025.

“They’ve figured out that the key to being successful and profitable and sustainable is not necessarily to catch more fish, it’s to extract as much value as possible out of the right amount of fish,” says Tim Fitzgerald, Director of the Environmental Defense Fund’s Impact Division.

These improvements have made farming fish one of the most sustainable forms of protein production, experts tell Saving Seafood.

“When you’re growing chickens or pigs or cattle, the transformation between the feed and the [farmed product] is much more inefficient than with fish,” says Manuel Barange, Director of Fisheries and Aquaculture at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. “So if we have to feed any animal for us to eat, it makes sense to do that with fish. It’s more efficient.”

The video is the second in a series, Aquaculture Today, in which Saving Seafood interviews leading aquaculture experts on the latest advances in farmed fish, and its role in the world. Saving Seafood released a video yesterday on aquaculture’s role in feeding the world’s growing population.

In addition to Mr. Jackson, Mr. Lee, Mr. Fitzgerald, and Mr. Barange, the video also features Julien Stevens, Researcher at Kampachi Farms, and Neil Auchterlonie, Technical Director at IFFO.

Interviews for Aquaculture Today were conducted by Saving Seafood at the 2017 SeaWeb Seafood Summit in Seattle, Washington.

 

ALASKA: Organizations in Unalaska seek $250,000 for salmon surveys

June 4, 2018 — Local organizations are seeking $250,000 to count salmon runs and harvests in Unalaska Bay, including drone surveys for the sport and subsistence fisheries.

“If we get that, we’re going to be in the chips,” said Mayor Frank Kelty at Sunday’s meeting of the Unalaska Native Fisherman’s Association. In addition to two years of aerial counts in 2019 and 2020 at Unalaska Lake, Iliuliuk River drainage and McLees Lake, the survey has been expanded to include Summer Bay Lake and Morris Cove, he said.

The proposed project goes beyond counting fish in the water. A household survey in the next two years would estimate salmon harvests and use in Unalaska.

UNFA and the Unalaska City Council are seeking the money from the state’s Sustainable Salmon Fund for the proposed project, “Estimation of sockeye salmon escapement and subsistence salmon harvest surveys for Unalaska.”

According to the city council’s letter of support, “Data gaps of of escapement values for various road-system accessed streams inhibit best practice management for salmon stock assessment. Furthermore, understanding the subsistence harvest by residents will improve subsistence management of those fisheries.”

Read the full story at The Bristol Bay Times

ALASKA: Salmon runs lackluster so far across Gulf of Alaska

June 4, 2018 — It’s not a great summer to be a salmon fisherman in Southcentral Alaska so far.

Several major river systems are seeing paltry salmon returns. The poor numbers have led to closures and cutbacks to sport and commercial fisheries.

After a few weeks of nearly nonexistent king salmon returns to the Anchor River, Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers closed the river to sportfishing for kings for the rest of the season. Under normal conditions, it would have been open for several more weekends in June and on Wednesdays. As of Friday, only 122 kings had passed the sonar and weir on the two forks of the Anchor River, compared to 1,049 on the same date last year.

“We’re evaluating it on a daily basis,” said Carol Kerkvliet, the area management biologist for the Division of Sportfish in Homer. “We’ve looked at our run timing, which was a week late in 2009. In 2009, it was about five days later than the runs from 2009 to 2014. Using that as a benchmark, we still would not meet our escapement goal.”

It’s more than just the Anchor, though. All king fishing on the Ninilchik River and Deep Creek, two neighboring streams to the north, is also closed until July 15. That’s in part to prevent all the angling effort from the Anchor River shifting there.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

THE COLUMBIAN: Time to Act on Sea Lions

June 4, 2018 — The tally doesn’t look good for steelhead and salmon on the Columbia River. Last year, sea lions devoured an estimated 9 percent of steelhead and 5 percent of spring chinook trying to make their way upstream past Bonneville Dam. Even more disconcerting, an estimated 24 percent of chinook disappeared between the mouth of the Columbia and the dam.

In other words, there is a battle going on in the Columbia, and the sea lions are winning. That points out the need for Congress to pass a bill sponsored by Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Battle Ground.

The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Protection Act (H.R. 2083) would clear the way for tribal and government fish mangers to kill sea lions along the Columbia to help protect runs of native fish. “We’re not talking about wiping a species off the map,” Herrera Beutler said during a recent meeting with anglers and fishing guides in Kalama. “We’re talking about trying to protect a species. It’s a wacko imbalance.” The legislation would allow for the shooting of up to 100 sea lions per permit and would streamline the permitting process.

Protection of steelhead and salmon is not a partisan issue. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been spent trying to bolster species that have helped define the economy and the culture of the Northwest for millennia, and Herrera Beutler’s bill is co-sponsored by Oregon Democratic Rep. Kurt Schrader. Notably, according to The (Longview) Daily News, the legislation has support from Carolyn Long and Dorothy Gasque, Democrats who are challenging Herrera Beutler in this year’s election.

Ideally, other members of Congress also will recognize the need for quick measures to ease the toll of sea lions upon Northwest fisheries. An identical bill has been introduced in the Senate (S. 1702) and referred to the Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, which includes Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash.

The need is urgent. Sea lions have made their way up the Columbia and Willamette rivers in recent years for an unencumbered feast, and attempts at hazing the animals have been ineffective. Oregon officials warn that if the banquet continues, there is a 90 percent chance at least one of the Willamette’s wild steelhead runs will go extinct. Only 512 steelhead crossed Willamette Falls last year, down from about 20,000 in 2000.

Read the full op-ed at The Columbian

Sen. Cantwell presses Army Corps to add Pebble hearings in Washington state

June 1, 2018 — WASHINGTON — Sen. Maria Cantwell wants the Army Corps of Engineers to expand its public meetings discussing the potential scope of Pebble mine to include events in her state, Washington.

Cantwell wrote a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James on Thursday asking for additional meetings in Washington so that her constituents can weigh in on the proposed gold and copper mine planned for the headwaters area of Bristol Bay.

Advocates for blocking the controversial mine plan worry that it could irrevocably damage Bristol Bay salmon spawning waters and the industry that thrives on them. The Pebble Partnership, which is now applying for a permit for the mine, argues that the company can find a way to build the massive mine without damaging the surrounding environment.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

U.S. Senator Cantwell Calls for Public Meetings in Washington State, Increased Transparency for Bristol Bay Mine Permitting

June 1, 2018 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the Office of Senator Maria Cantwell: 

As the Army Corps of Engineers considers the environmental impact of the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) today called on the Army Corps to hold public meetings in Washington state and to expand the public comment period to give Washington state fishermen, shipbuilders, sportsmen, small businesses, and other stakeholders the opportunity to weigh in on the impact of the proposed mine.

“Due to the importance of Bristol Bay fisheries to our economy, Washington fishermen, suppliers and businesses have an enormous interest in ensuring that Bristol Bay salmon continue to thrive for generations,” Cantwell wrote. “Washington state fishermen, sportsmen, and small business owners deserve to have a seat at the table as the Army Corps considers the proposed Pebble Mine…. The stakes are too high to leave out these important voices.”

The Pebble Mine, a proposed open-pit copper and gold mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed, would threaten millions of wild salmon that return to the area every year. More than 51 million sockeye salmon are expected to migrate back to Bristol Bay this year, making it the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. In a letter to Assistant Secretary of the Army for Civil Works R.D. James, Cantwell emphasized the economic and environmental importance of Bristol Bay to the livelihoods of thousands of Washingtonians.

“Pacific Northwest fishermen, shipbuilders, suppliers, sportsmen and restaurants have built an economy around this one-of-a-kind sustainable fishery,” Senator Cantwell continued. “The commercial sockeye fishery is valued at $1.5 billion in annual economic output, including $500 million in direct income. Bristol Bay supports 12,000 commercial fishing jobs and another 10,000 salmon-related industry jobs across the United States, including thousands of jobs in Washington state. In addition to commercial fisheries, private anglers take an estimated 37,000 fishing trips every year to Bristol Bay, generating $60 million in economic activity and supporting another 850 full and part time jobs.”

The Pebble Mine threatens to irreparably harm the Bristol Bay watershed, the 40-60 million salmon that return to it every year, and the fishermen and industries that rely on these salmon. A three-year study by the Environmental Protection Agency released in 2014 found that the mine as proposed would, even in the course of normal, safe mine operations, destroy 24 to 94 miles of pristine waterways and salmon habitat and contaminate an additional 48-62 miles of streams with toxic mine waste.

Senator Cantwell has long fought to protect the Bristol Bay watershed and its important environmental and economic place in the Pacific Northwest. In 2011, Cantwell announced that she would oppose the Pebble Mine if it threatened wild salmon and the fishing industry. In January of 2014, she called on the Obama Administration to protect Bristol Bay from mining after a report showed the proposed mine would threaten salmon runs and damage the commercial fishing industry. In July of 2014, Cantwell praised proposed science-based protections for the Bristol Bay watershed. And in October of 2017, Cantwell and other members of the Washington state congressional delegation urged President Trump to listen to Washington fishermen and businesses before removing protections from Bristol Bay.

A copy of the letter is available HERE and below.

May 31, 2018

Dear Assistant Secretary James,

I write to call on the Army Corps of Engineers to expand opportunities for public comment and testimony during the public scoping period and subsequent public comment periods in the Corps Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) process for the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska. It is critical that the Army Corps is as rigorous, transparent and thorough as possible to ensure that Bristol Bay salmon and the jobs that rely on them are protected from the potentially devastating impacts of the proposed Pebble Mine. Your agency’s process must include stakeholders impacted by this decision, which includes Washington state fishermen and small businesses who rely on Bristol Bay and Bristol Bay salmon for their livelihood.

This year, more than 51 million sockeye salmon are expected to return to Bristol Bay, the world’s largest sockeye fishery and one of the world’s largest Chinook fisheries. Pacific Northwest fishermen, shipbuilders, suppliers, sportsmen and restaurants have built an economy around this one-of-a-kind sustainable fishery. The commercial sockeye fishery is valued at $1.5 billion in annual economic output, including $500 million in direct income. Bristol Bay supports 12,000 commercial fishing jobs and another 10,000 salmon-related industry jobs across the United States, including thousands of jobs in Washington state. In addition to commercial fisheries, private anglers take an estimated 37,000 fishing trips every year to Bristol Bay, generating $60 million in economic activity and supporting another 850 full and part time jobs.

The Corps estimates the final Pebble Mine EIS will be completed as early as 2019, with a decision on the project expected in early 2020. I am extremely concerned about this expedited timeline, especially considering the magnitude of the proposed Pebble Mine. Comparatively, the proposed Donlin Gold Project in Western Alaska is in the midst of a six year permitting process. Public Scoping for Donlin Gold began in March of 2013 and the Preliminary Draft EIS was completed in June of 2015—a full two years later. The Draft EIS was then published in November of 2015 and was followed by a full six month comment period until May of 2016, allowing for thorough and repeated opportunities for public participation and technical comments on the project. This thorough environmental review is critical to ensuring best available science is used in public policy decision making, and to make certain all voices are heard.

In addition to the ongoing 90-day public comment period for the scoping process, the Corps had announced only nine public scoping meetings, all in the state of Alaska. There are no public meetings scheduled in Washington state. This expedited process is grossly insufficient, and does not allow my constituents the opportunity to participate in the permitting process in person. As Washington state residents are directly impacted by the permitting decision for the proposed Pebble Mine, I urge to the Corps hold public meetings in Washington state.

Due to the importance of Bristol Bay fisheries to our economy, Washington fishermen, suppliers and businesses have an enormous interest in ensuring that Bristol Bay salmon continue to thrive for generations. Washington state fishermen, sportsmen, and small business owners deserve to have a seat at the table as the Army Corps considers the proposed Pebble Mine. If permitted, the Pebble Mine would be one of the largest mines in our nation’s history—located in the headwaters of one of the greatest salmon runs on earth. The stakes are too high to leave out these important voices.

 

Washington rep. hosts discussion on salmon, sea lion population management

May 31, 2018 — KALAMA, Wash. — As the sea lion population in the Columbia River goes up, so does the impact to the region’s fishing industry.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Jaime Herrera Beutler, R-Wash., met with area fishing guides to talk about how to handle it.

Earlier this year, Herrera Beutler co-sponsored the bipartisan Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act with Oregon U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore.

She said she’s still trying to get support for the legislation. The bill streamlines the process for state wildlife officials to manage the sea lion population.

Read the full story at KLEW

 

Conservation groups’ pact will help save Atlantic salmon

May 30, 2018 — PORTLAND, Maine — Two conservation groups said Tuesday a deal has been struck with commercial fishermen in Greenland and the Faroe Islands that will help thousands of vulnerable Atlantic salmon return to rivers in the United States, Canada and Europe.

Commercial fishing for Atlantic salmon is prohibited in the United States, where the fish’s Gulf of Maine population is listed under the Endangered Species Act. But the Atlantic Salmon Federation and North Atlantic Salmon Fund said their new deal with Greenland and Faroe Island fishers is a major step toward recovery because it will dramatically reduce fishing.

Coastal Greenland and the waters off the Faroe Islands are important feeding grounds for salmon. Fishermen who work those waters take fish that originate in both jeopardized populations in Maine and New Brunswick, Canada, and healthy populations elsewhere.

The agreement places new limits on fishing, including ending the Faroe Islands fishery.

Here’s a look at the agreement and the status of Atlantic salmon in the United States and Canada:

Read the full story from the Associated Press at ABC News

 

Alaska salmon exports should fetch high prices this year

May 30, 2018 — Forces are aligned for a nice pay day for Alaska’s salmon fishermen.

There is no backlog from last season in cold storages, a lower harvest forecast is boosting demand, prices for competing farmed salmon have remained high all year and a devalued U.S. dollar makes Alaska salmon more appealing to foreign customers.

“Over the past year the dollar has weakened 11 percent against the euro, 9 percent against the British pound, 5 percent against the Japanese yen, and 7 percent against the Chinese yuan. That makes Alaska salmon and other seafood more affordable to those top overseas customers,” said Garrett Evridge, a fisheries analyst at the McDowell Group.

Last year, Alaska seafood exports set records in terms of volume and value — 1.1 billion metric tons valued at $3.45 billion. Alaska salmon accounted for 22 percent of the volume and 36 percent of the value.

On the home front, the weaker dollar will make imports from Chile, the largest farmed salmon importer to the U.S. followed by Norway, more expensive. That also will apply to imports of competing wild salmon from Canada where — if it materializes — a big sockeye run is predicted at nearby British Columbia.

Read the full story at National Fisherman