Saving Seafood

Good ocean conditions could be good news for salmon, NOAA says

January 10, 2022 — Fish swimming out to sea over the past year have lucked into some of the best water temperatures and food abundance along the West Coast in the last 24 years, according to an analysis from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration began monitoring ocean conditions.

That could be good news for salmon and steelhead over the next few years, biologists said.

The welcoming waters in 2021 appear to be the second most favorable for fish since scientists with NOAA began monitoring ocean conditions, said Brian Burke, research fisheries biologist at NOAA Fisheries.

“It’s sort of been this growing picture of, ‘Wow, things are really looking good right now across the board,’” Burke said.

“The upwelling created a really productive coastal system,” Burke said.

That productivity has built slowly over several years, Burke said, after a string of hard years for ocean-dwelling fish.

Read the full story at Oregon Public Broadcasting

 

NOAA sees good ocean conditions for salmon

January 4, 2021 — Ocean conditions look better than they have in years, which could be good news for salmon.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recently posted its ocean ecosystem indicators list. The list paints a picture of how the ocean is doing and what kind of world young, ocean-bound salmon are about to enter.

The list looks at a variety of factors, including the abundance of certain minuscule but key prey groups and large climate and atmospheric processes like seasonal upwelling, which brings nutrient-rich water to the surface.

Researchers assign different colors to each indicator: green is good, yellow is fair and red is bad news.

Read the full story at the Chinook Observer

 

WA: Governor Inslee announces sweeping salmon strategy

December 15, 2021 — Gov. Jay Inslee announced a new strategy regarding salmon Tuesday afternoon on tribal land above the Swinomish Channel.

“On behalf of our tribal communities, we will act,” Inslee said. “On behalf of our recreational fishers, we will act. On behalf of our commercial fisheries, we will act. And on behalf of our grandchildren, we will act this session of the Legislature.”

The governor was joined by dignitaries, tribal members from the Swinomish, Tulalip and Nisqually communities, legislators and representatives from state agencies that work on salmon, water and habitat issues.

Read the full story at the Skagit Valley Herald

 

Bristol Bay, Alaska sockeye riding high on strong market, big runs, and bigger forecast

December 13, 2021 — Values continue to rise for the sockeye salmon fishery in Bristol Bay, Alaska as a record string of runs coincides with a strong sockeye salmon market.

According to final figures released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) this fall, last season’s run – the largest ever in Bristol Bay – topped 71 million fish, with a catch of over 42 million sockeye.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

 

Public notices regarding the 2022 Ocean Salmon Fishery Management process

December 10, 2021 — The following was released by Pacific Fishery Management Council:

Salmon Technical Team work sessions

The Salmon Technical Team (STT) will hold two work sessions to draft documents relating to the 2022 ocean salmon fishery management process.

•STT January 2022 work session

•STT February 2022 work session

2022 public hearings on salmon management

The 2022 public hearings on salmon management are scheduled to occur in person, however, the status of the COVID-19 pandemic may require the hearings to be held online due to public health and safety concerns.  Actual hearing venues or instructions for joining online hearings will be posted in advance of the hearing dates.

•March 22, 2022:  Washington

•March 22, 2022:  California

•March 23, 2022:  Oregon

2022 process and schedule details

See the Council’s preseason management schedule to read the detailed process for developing 2022 ocean salmon fishery management measures. This schedule was adopted by the Council at their November 2021 meeting.  Health and safety concerns due to the COVID-19 pandemic may require changes to the 2022 schedule.

For further information:

•Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410.

 

Major land-based aquaculture projects near beginning of construction in Maine

December 3, 2021 — Three major land-based aquaculture projects – Atlantic salmon farms planned by Nordic Aquafarms and Whole Oceans, and The Kingfish Company’s yellowtail farm – are all set to initiate construction in coming months in the U.S. state of Maine.

Fredrikstad, Norway-based Nordic Aquafarms won a key legal victory in November 2021 and, in August 2021, it obtained the last permit it needed to begin construction on its land-based salmon farm in Belfast, Maine, U.S.A., where it hopes to grow up to 33,000 metric tons (MT) of salmon annually.

Read the full story at SeafoodSource

Gov. Dunleavy’s office announces formation of Alaska Bycatch Task Force

November 30, 2021 — Fishing vessels cast wide nets, and they often catch more than the species they’re targeting. That’s bycatch: one of the longest-running controversies in the fleet and a vexing problem for fisheries managers. Now, the Dunleavy administration is wading into the debate by naming a task force to study the issue and find ways to make it better for everyone working on the water.

Governor Mike Dunleavy’s office recently announced it’s setting up a task force to tackle the thorny issue of bycatch.

Federal data show trawl fisheries this year in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska have caught tens of thousands of Chinook salmon, millions of pounds of halibut, and in the case of the Bering Sea trawl fisheries, hundreds of thousands of crabs.

Stocks of staple species like Chinook salmon, red king crab, and halibut have been on the decline, forcing subsistence, sport and commercial fishermen to pack up nets or reduce harvest.

Read the full story at KNBA

EPA looks to place permanent protections on Bristol Bay by 2022

November 24, 2021 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has placed dates on the timeline to reinstate Clean Water Act protections on Alaska’s Bristol Bay, with a Federal Register notice posted on Wednesday, 17 November, naming a date of 31 May, 2022, for the finalization of the safeguards.

Permanent protections of the bay are critical to protect its robust salmon fishery, which is projected to produce 71 to 75 million salmon returns in 2022, Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association Board President Michael Jackson said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Surface Trawl Survey Reveals Shifting Fish Populations

November 23, 2021 — Researchers are predicting low fish runs in the Norton Sound and Northern Bering Sea region again next year, according to research biologist Jim Murphy.

Murphy, who works with the Salmon Ocean Ecology and Bycatch Analysis Group at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Juneau, presented the findings of the recent 2021 surface trawl survey during a Strait Science event. The survey, which tracks marine life across the surface and midlevel of the northern Bering Strait, was conducted in September this year. Researchers studied salmon, seabirds, shrimp, zooplankton and several other marine species.

The surface trawl survey has been conducted every year for almost two decades, and Murphy says when the survey is conducted is crucial. “The timing of the survey was established at the beginning to match the timing of marine entry and dispersal of juvenile salmon from estuarine habitats, and we’ve attempted to keep the timing of the survey as consistent as possible.”

Though the primary purpose of the surface trawl is to track pelagic fish, or species found in the middle and upper water columns, and invertebrate populations, researchers also collect zooplankton and sediments, as well as bottom-dwelling fish, crab and invertebrates.

Read the full story at Seafood News

Alaska lawmakers in both parties demand action on excessive fisheries bycatch

November 23, 2021 — A grilling on fish that is taken as bycatch didn’t satisfy the appetites of a bipartisan group of Alaska legislators at a special hearing on Nov. 15 by the House Fisheries Committee.

“We probably could not be more diametrically opposed on many things but we are frustrated with the waste of the resource and we are in lockstep. It’s all about the best economics and the best stewardship of our resources,” said Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, who devoted his entire November Capital Report to the topic.

“The fish don’t care if you’re red or blue,” said Sarah Vance, R-Homer, the catalyst behind the bycatch hearing. “We lay aside everything else and focus on good stewardship and making sure that every fisherman is able to get fish in the freezer and food on the table.”

The bycatch issue came to a head this summer when all Yukon River salmon fisheries were canceled due to so few returning chinook and chums. Along with ocean and climate impacts, villagers questioned the takes by huge trawlers that catch and process fish at sea.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News