February 12, 2021 — Last year went down as one of the most lackluster seasons in history for salmon fishermen on the U.S. West Coast.
Regional fishermen landed 6.33 million pounds of kings, silvers, and chums in 2020, down by almost half of the 11.05 million pounds the three West Coast states landed in 2019, according to data from PacFIN, and a fraction of the 56.16 million pounds in the record-setting year of 2013.
February 10, 2021 — Seafood sales “are on fire” in America’s supermarkets and one king salmon from Southeast Alaska is worth the same as two barrels of oil.
That’s $116.16 for a troll-caught chinook salmon averaging 11 pounds at the docks vs. $115.48 for 2 barrels of oil at $57.74 per barrel on Feb. 3.
As more COVID-conscious customers opted in 2020 for seafood’s proven health benefits, salmon powered sales at fresh seafood counters. Frozen and “on the shelf” seafoods also set sales records, and online ordering tripled to top $1 billion.
Those are some takeaways from a National Fisheries Institute Global Marketing Conference hosted online by SeafoodSource News.
Here is a sampler of what experts called “eye-popping” 2020 retail sales reflecting America’s trend to eat more fish:
IRI, a world leader in market data, said overall sales at in-store fresh seafood counters jumped 28% to $871 million, led by salmon with a 19% increase to $2.2 billion.
February 9, 2021 — Norway’s seafood exports fell by a double-digit percentage in January 2021 compared to 2020, largely the result of ongoing downturns related to COVID-19.
Norway exported NOK 8.1 billion (USD 941.5 million, EUR 786.1 million) worth of seafood products last month, some 16 percent or NOK 1.6 billion (USD 185.8 million, EUR 155.3 million) less than it sold to overseas markets in January 2020, with reduced demand for salmon accounting for much of the downturn. Reduced exports of trout and fresh cod compared to the record month of January 2020 also contributed to the lower earnings.
February 5, 2021 — Foodservice supplier Aramark this week confirmed its boycott of AquaBounty’s genetically engineered AquAdvantage salmon.
Citing the company’s Sustainable Sourcing Policy, Aramark joins ranks with other foodservice leaders Compass Group and Sodexo, as well as a growing list of domestic retailers, seafood companies and restaurants.
“Reiterating our previously stated opposition to genetically engineered (GE) salmon, we will not purchase it should it come to market. Avoiding potential impacts to wild salmon populations and indigenous communities, whose livelihoods are deeply connected to and often dependent upon this vital resource, is core to our company’s commitment to making a positive impact on people and the planet,” Aramark’s policy states.
AquaBounty, a Massachusetts-based biotech firm, prepares to bring its gene-spliced salmon to market from its only U.S. farm in Albany, Ind., in a shifting domestic market that increasingly values origin, health and sustainability, and wild over farmed seafood.
February 5, 2021 — Retail prices for sockeye salmon have been at historical highs for the past three months, largely driven by a 25 percent drop in global supply in 2020.
For Q1 up through 27 January, wild sockeye salmon fillets averaged USD 12.07 (EU 10.05), the highest quarterly average since 2012, according to figures cited by the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA).
February 4, 2021 — Opposition is mounting to a large-scale salmon farm in Frenchman Bay before the project’s backers have formally submitted an application to locate roughly 30 net pens at two sites north of Bald Rock and the Hop islands.
In a related move, a citizens group is calling for the Maine Department of Marine Resources to toughen its rules regarding aquaculture leases that range widely from mussel to oyster cultivation in coastal Maine. Applications for these enterprises have jumped threefold in just five years.
Early this week, American Aquafarms’ President and CEO Mikael Roenes still had not filed a DMR application for his company’s proposed ocean farm to raise Atlantic salmon and possibly cod in the northern-northwestern section of Frenchman Bay.
From Norway’s southern coastal town of Grimstad, Roenes early last fall outlined his plan to raise the fish in floating net pens, fitted with polymer-membrane cloth sacks in which fish waste (feces and feed) collects at the bottom. The waste is pumped to and passes through an attached filtration unit before being discharged at sufficient depth into the sea.
February 3, 2021 — Sockeye salmon forecasts for both the Copper River and the Upper Cook Inlet came in well below historical averages for the upcoming season, a blow to fisheries already reeling from poor runs and pandemic-related losses last season.
For the Copper River, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) predicted a total run of nearly 1.3 million sockeye salmon. That number would be 37.4 percent short of the most recent 10-year average of around 2.1 million sockeye, and comes on the heels of a 2020 sockeye season where Copper River fishermen scarcely put their nets in the water.
January 28, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:
The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC or Council) and its advisory bodies will meet March 2-5 and 8-11, 2021 by webinar only, to address issues related to groundfish, Pacific halibut, salmon, highly migratory species, ecosystem, and administrative matters.
Please see the March 2-5 and 8-11, 2021 Council meeting notice on the Council’s website for further updates and details regarding webinar participation; schedule of advisory body meetings, our E-Portal for submitting public comments, and public comment deadlines. There will be no meetings scheduled during the weekend of March 6-7, however, the meeting will continue daily on Monday, March 8 at 8 a.m. through Thursday, March 11, 2021. Meetings of advisory bodies will also be conducted by online meetings based on the schedules in the agenda.
Instructions for how to connect to the online meetings will be posted on the Council’s March 2021 meeting webpage prior to the first day of the meeting.
For further information:
January 26, 2021 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):
Today, the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a hearing with Rhode Island Governor Gina Raimondo, President Biden’s nominee to be U.S. Secretary of Commerce. At the hearing, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the incoming Chair of the committee, spoke about the importance of the Department of Commerce to the economy and way of life in the Pacific Northwest and asked Raimondo about her plans for salmon and fisheries management, protecting scientific integrity, and COVID-19 recovery.
In her opening statement, Cantwell talked about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Washington’s maritime economy and highlighted the critical need to get recovery funds to those impacted: “One of the key responsibilities will be in response to the larger COVID pandemic in the country and what we should do about it. I hope that the Secretary of Commerce will play an important role in strengthening our economy, in trying to defeat the pandemic and recover from its economic impacts,” Cantwell said.
“All of our sectors have been impacted. Congress appropriated $600 million in fisheries assistance for state and Tribal needs, but so far, the fishermen and our state have yet to receive $1 from this program, so I hope we can get her assistance in implementing and moving forward on this.”
Later in the hearing, Cantwell secured commitments from Raimondo to work on increasing investments in salmon habitat and prioritizing fisheries management. Cantwell asked: “As we’re talking about a seafood and fishing economy, salmon is particularly important to the Pacific Northwest. Keeping salmon habitat and restoration in a very robust state is very critical to keeping salmon. So will you work with us on a more targeted, larger-scale investment in stormwater restoration and in building critical habitat for everything from oyster reefs to eel and seagrass and critical habitat?”
“Yes, I would very much look forward to working with you and other members of the committee,”Raimondo responded.
“We believe in good fisheries management policy, and the key to that is stock assessment. And so I hope you’ll work with us on increasing the amount of dollars that go into the science behind stock assessment so we can make good management plans,” Cantwell continued.
“Yes, again absolutely. I plan to lead with science and lead with data,” Raimondo said.
As part of her focus on reprioritizing science and data, Cantwell also spoke about increasing the department’s investment in weather forecasting and emphasized the importance of safeguarding scientific integrity and listening to science throughout the department: “In my opinion, there’s no reason why the United States should not be a leader in weather forecasting. This is an important issue for us, whether you’re talking about fires or you’re talking about ocean issues. Making a better, crucial investment in the science for maritime, aviation, space, and agriculture industries will be very important for us moving forward,”Cantwell said.
“I appreciate that [Raimondo] will lead the agency in making decisions based on science and data that will help our economy grow in the future, everything from oceans issues and fisheries to spectrum and space issues. We in the Pacific Northwest know that we can’t always agree on issues, but we know we can agree on science, and that’s why science needs to continue to prevail.”
Cantwell also emphasized the importance of trade to Washington’s economy: “I hope that we will continue to look at this issue of competitiveness. In my state, [roughly] one in four jobs are related to trade, and I hope the Secretary and the administration will make a goal for export advancement. Increasing exports is a great way to grow our economy.”
Video of Senator Cantwell’s opening statement can be found HERE and audio is HERE.
January 26, 2021 — No issue is off the table this week as more than 100 B.C. fishermen, fleet leaders, First Nations leaders and other salmon stakeholders gather for a two-day virtual round-table in a desperate bid to bring the ailing commercial fishery back from the brink.
The United Fishermen And Allied Workers’ Union (UFAWU-Unifor) and active fishermen’s associations convened the conference, Future of BC Commercial Salmon Fishing, at the request of the federal standing committee on fisheries asking for recommendations on how to revitalize commercial fishing on the west coast.
“The commercial salmon fleet is pretty well broke,” Joy Thorkelson, president of UFAWU-Unifor said. “And DFO’s outlook is as depressing this year as it has been for the past two years. Yes, we need more salmon, but that’s not the only issue.”
The issues are complex and sometimes controversial. Allocation of stocks with recreational and First Nations fisheries, and access to healthy runs are priority issues, but interwoven are challenges with policy and governance that are not meeting the economic-development needs of fishing communities, a licensing regime established in the 1990s that’s consolidated power into the hands of corporations and so-called “armchair fishermen”, and an explosion in pinniped predation rates on juvenile salmon, to name a few.