March 11, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
Public hearings to review the Council’s proposed ocean salmon fishery management alternatives will be conducted via webinar only. The links below will take you to the specific hearing information:
For further information on the salmon hearings, please contact Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204, extension 410.
March 10, 2021 — Forecasts for this year’s salmon runs show a doubling of spring chinook in the Nooksack River, giving room for hope even though the species remains threatened across the Puget Sound region, according to fisheries managers and environmental officials.
Projected runs for 2021 show 7,540 spring chinook returning to the north fork of the Nooksack River, almost double the 3,949 fish that returned in 2020, according to Fish and Wildlife data published in late February.
March 8, 2021 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:
NOAA is announcing the availability of up to $1 million in funding in 2021 for projects to restore habitat for Atlantic salmon in the Gulf of Maine region. The Gulf of Maine distinct population segment (DPS) of Atlantic salmon is listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act. It is also a Species in the Spotlight, one of nine species most at risk of extinction in the near future.
Atlantic salmon are an iconic species of the Northeast. They once returned by the hundreds of thousands to most major rivers along the northeastern United States. Now, they only return in small numbers to rivers in central and eastern Maine. These populations comprise the Gulf of Maine DPS.
Degraded habitat is one of the largest obstacles facing the recovery of threatened and endangered species like Atlantic salmon. Habitat restoration helps repair areas that have been destroyed by development, blocked by dams, or otherwise subjected to habitat destruction. Through funding and technical assistance, NOAA supports projects that restore the habitats that threatened and endangered species need to survive.
In addition to species recovery and rebuilding fish populations, habitat restoration projects yield community and economic benefits such as increased coastal resilience and recreational opportunities. Restoration projects also create an average of 15 jobs for every million dollars invested.
Proposals for this funding opportunity are due April 12, 2021. NOAA will accept proposals with a federal funding request between $300,000 and $1.5 million over a three-year award period. For more information, view the Fiscal Year 2021 Atlantic Salmon Habitat Restoration Partnership Grants funding opportunity.
March 4, 2021 — For more than a decade, Brad Hanson and other researchers have tailed the Pacific Northwest’s endangered killer whales in a hard-sided inflatable boat, leaning over the edge with a standard pool skimmer to collect clues to their diet: bits of orca poop floating on the water, or fish scales sparkling just below the surface.
Their work established years ago that the whales depend heavily on depleted runs of Chinook, the largest and fattiest of Pacific salmon species, when they forage in the summer in the inland waters between Washington state and British Columbia.
But a new paper from Hanson and others at the NOAA Fisheries Northwest Fisheries Science Center provides the first real look at what the whales eat the rest of the year, when they cruise the outer Pacific Coast — data that reaffirms the central importance of Chinook to the whales and the importance of recovering Chinook populations to save the beloved mammals.
By analyzing the DNA of orca feces as well as salmon scales and other remains after the whales have devoured the fish, the researchers demonstrated that the while the whales sometimes eat other species, including halibut, lingcod and steelhead, they depend most on Chinook. And they consumed the big salmon from a wide range of sources — from those that spawn in California’s Sacramento River all the way to the Taku River in northern British Columbia.
March 4, 2021 — The endangered Southern Resident killer whales in the waters near Washington and British Columbia have stalled in their population recovery, and, according to new research, a major factor limiting their growth is their preference for preying on Chinook salmon.
In a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, researchers present new data on environmental stressors facing the orcas and propose investment in the conservation of Chinook salmon to aid in the recovery of the population.
Killer whales are some of the most recognizable mammals in our seas with their distinct black and white markings. While they can be found in every ocean, they have broken off into small populations, creating different sub-species known as transient, offshore, and resident. The three groups are unique to one another, with different physical attributes as well as social structures and behavioral habits.
There are multiple populations of resident killer whales, but the authors of this study looked specifically at Southern Resident killer whales. These orcas mostly inhabit the waters around Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, and make up the smallest of the resident populations.
March 3, 2021 — Two requests to appeal the decision to deny a key permit for a proposed copper and gold mine in Southwest Alaska met different fates.
The Army Corps of Engineers didn’t accept the state’s attempt to appeal a November 2020 decision to deny a permit for the proposed Pebble Mine, a long-controversial effort to place an open-pit mine near the headwarters of the largest sockeye salmon fishery in the world.
Meanwhile, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd., the Vancouver-based parent company of Pebble Limited Partnership, reports that a Feb. 24 letter indicated the corps accepted Pebble’s request for an administrative appeal.
Mike Heatwole, a spokesperson for Pebble Limited Partnership, said Saturday in an email Pebble looks forward to having the appeal fully vetted.
In an email, Luciano Vera, deputy chief of public affairs for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ Pacific Ocean Division, said the division engineer determined that the state does not meet the definition of an “affected party.”
March 2, 2021 — Despite record retail prices and a consistently strong demand, Bristol Bay salmon fishermen saw a nearly 50 percent drop in their base ex-vessel price in 2020 — from $1.35 a pound in 2019 to $0.70 in 2020. That’s a 65-cent drop in a single year.
The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association published a new report that lays out likely reasons for the low base price. It also offers the region’s fishermen a range of solutions to consider for the future, and is seeking feedback from stakeholders to help set goals for the association.
“Demand for Bristol Bay sockeye is very high. Retail prices are at record levels. Anecdotally, wholesale prices are flat to up compared to last year — significantly so for once-frozen fillets,” says the BBRSDA’s white paper, released Monday, March 1. “When consumer prices are high or increasing for a product, the underlying raw material price usually goes up, not way down. In short, 2020 should have been a terrific season for Bristol Bay fishermen and ex-vessel prices, but it wasn’t (or at least it hasn’t been thus far).”
March 2, 2021 — Salmon farmers in the Discovery Islands – located in British Columbia, Canada – are asking for more time in a planned phase-out of all net-pen farming in the area in order to alleviate some of the economic impacts.
Fisheries and Oceans Canada announced on 17 December, 2020, it plans to completely phase out all net-pen salmon farming in the Discovery Islands over the next 18 months. Salmon farmers and the B.C. communities – which say they were blindsided by the decision – are asking for an extension to give them more time to prepare for the shift and to avoid the euthanization of salmon.
March 2, 2021 — Despite record retail prices and a consistently strong demand, Bristol Bay salmon fishermen saw a nearly 50 percent drop in their base ex-vessel price in 2020 – from USD 1.35 (EUR 1.12) per pound in 2019 to USD 0.70 (EUR 0.58) in 2020, a USD 0.65 (EUR 0.54) drop in a single year.
The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association has published a new report that lays out likely reasons for the low base price. It also offers the region’s fishermen a range of solutions to consider for the future, and is seeking feedback from stakeholders to help set goals for the association.
March 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
This is the second report in an annual series of four reports prepared by the Salmon Technical Team of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to document and help guide ocean fishery salmon management off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. The report focuses on Chinook, coho, and pink salmon stocks that have been important in determining Council fisheries in recent years, and on stocks listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with established National Marine Fisheries Service ESA consultation standards. This report will be formally reviewed at the Council’s March 2021 meeting.
Please visit the Council’s website to download Preseason Report I: Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2021 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (Published March 2021).
For further information: