Saving Seafood

Rally on Rewind: Pebble Mine fight carries on

January 26, 2022 — Eight years ago this week, representatives of Bristol Bay Tribes, commercial fishermen, seafood processors, Pacific Northwest and Alaska fisheries, local chefs, and other stakeholders convened in Seattle for a rally to urge the U.S. EPA to veto Pebble Mine.

Most of us are well aware of the fact that the fight to stop the construction of this mine at the headwaters of Bristol Bay’s world-famous and unparalleled salmon streams has been ongoing for more than two decades.

This anniversary of the rally, organizers say, is the perfect time to remember that permanent protections are the only solution that will end this fight.

“I am tired of being held hostage by the cloud that this type of development has settled over our region. I am tired of watching my friends and family wonder: If this happens, how will we feed our children? How will our culture survive?” said Alannah Hurley, executive director of the United Tribes of Bristol Bay, at the rally on Jan. 23, 2014. “The people of Bristol Bay are sick and tired of the uncertain fate of our watershed that has fed the hearts and souls of our people for thousands of years.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Huffman brings back Salmon FISH Act

January 26, 2022 — On Tuesday, Jan. 25, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.), reintroduced the Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats Act. The bill, introduced first in October 2019, seeks to identify, restore, and protect the most outstanding salmon rivers and watersheds in America, and to ensure funding needed to sustain thriving salmon populations.

Habitat degradation, pollution, dams, overharvesting, climate change, and other factors have caused salmon populations to decline across the country, severely impacting Tribes, fishermen, and the communities that depend on them, according to a release from Huffman.

“The ecological, cultural, and economic importance of salmon is hard to overstate; they support tens of thousands of jobs, sustain fishing communities, generate billions of dollars in economic activity, and provide a food source for millions of people. They also hold immense cultural significance for Tribes, like many in my district, who have fished for salmon since time immemorial,” said Huffman, chair of the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans and Wildlife and Co-Chair of the Congressional Wild Salmon Caucus.

Stakeholders in Bristol Bay and Southeast Alaska have been fighting for salmon habitat protections from Pebble Mine and logging in the Tongass National Forest.

Read the full story from National Fisherman

 

Alaska seafood showing ‘partial recovery,’ says state seafood marketing arm

January 24, 2022 — Things were looking up for Alaska’s seafood industry in many ways in 2021. More people around the world took to buying and cooking seafood at home and seafood prices went up statewide.

But the industry is still struggling with problems brought on and exacerbated by COVID-19, like supply chain issues and mitigation costs. That’s according to a new report from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the state’s seafood marketing arm.

“Our industry is still facing a lot of the challenges it faced both at the start of the pandemic in 2020 and even before that,” said Ashley Heimbigner, communications director for the institute.

She said this year’s report scrutinized numbers from 2019, since 2020 was such an anomaly.

Read the full story at KTOO

 

Dunleavy administration enters court fight alongside feds to keep Cook Inlet fishing grounds closed

January 13, 2022 — Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration will be fighting in court to keep much of Cook Inlet closed to commercial salmon fishing after a federal judge approved the state’s request to intervene in a lawsuit over the fishery.

U.S. District Court of Alaska Judge Josh Kindred granted the state’s motion Jan. 6 to join the National Marine Fisheries Service as a defendant in suits filed last fall by the United Cook Inlet Drift Association and individual fishermen in an attempt to force the agency to reopen the federal waters of central Cook Inlet to salmon fishing this coming season.

Often referred to as the EEZ — an abbreviation for its formal name, the exclusive, economic zone — the area currently closed by federal regulations this year covers all of the waters beyond 3 miles offshore in central Cook Inlet. Fishing would still be allowed in state waters up to the 3-mile line.

Intervening in the consolidated lawsuits also puts the state in the odd legal circumstance of arguing alongside the federal government in court to prevent what Dunleavy administration officials insist would be a gross example of federal overreach.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

 

ALASKA: Gov. Dunleavy announces members of new fisheries bycatch task force

January 10, 2022 — Gov. Mike Dunleavy has named 11 people to a new task force set to study fish bycatch happening in Alaska waters.

In November, Dunleavy issued an administrative order to establish the Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force, with the aim of “exploring the issue of bycatch and providing recommendations to policymakers with the goal of improving the health and sustainability of Alaska’s fisheries.”

Bycatch is the incidental harvest of fish like salmon and halibut by commercial operators that cannot be processed or sold. The practice remains a target of criticism by subsistence and personal-use fishermen, particularly at a time when stocks of a number of species are collapsing around Alaska.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

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.