Saving Seafood

ALASKA: Assembly to take up legislation opposing closure of federal inlet waters to commercial fishing

December 2, 2020 — The Kenai Peninsula Borough will consider at their Dec. 1 meeting legislation opposing the closure of federal waters in Cook Inlet to commercial fishing.

The resolution is a response to one of four proposed alternative amendments to the Fishery Management Plan for Salmon Fisheries in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska known as “Alternative Four.”

Alternative Four would close federal waters in Cook Inlet to commercial fishing. Federal waters make up the southern half of the inlet, south of Kalgin Island, according to a memo from assembly member Brent Johnson. The water located south of Kalgin Island has traditionally been used by the drift gillnet fleet.

Other peninsula municipalities have recently taken action to oppose Alternative Four, including the Kenai City Council, which voted unanimously to oppose it.

Alternative Four was introduced near the end of the last meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) last month by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Deputy Commissioner.

Read the full story at the Peninsula Clarion

NEW YORK TIMES: Good News for Salmon, Bad News for Prospectors

December 2, 2020 — The Trump administration’s indifference to the environment and President Trump’s hostility to the laws providing clean water and air, protecting endangered species and keeping public lands and forests free from commercial intrusion have been so unsparing that one had to blink twice at what, finally, after nearly four years, was a piece of undiluted good news.

Yet there it was: a decision by the Army Corps of Engineers to deny a permit for a massive gold and copper mine in Alaska proposed for the headwaters of Bristol Bay, the heart of a multimillion-dollar regional fishing industry. This is a devastating blow for the project and a triumph for conservationists, Native tribes and commercial fishing interests that believed, quite rightly, that the mine and its discharges would not only destroy a delicate marine ecosystem but also gravely threaten one of the richest salmon fisheries in the world.

The project was proposed roughly two decades ago by a Canadian-British mining consortium (only one of the original partners remains) that promised to add 1,000 permanent jobs to Alaska’s struggling economy while unearthing $300 billion in copper, gold and molybdenum. In 2008, the people of Alaska came very close to blocking the proposal in a referendum supported by three former governors, including two Republicans, and the then-powerful dean of the state’s congressional delegation, Senator Ted Stevens. A huge advertising campaign by the mining industry and a last-minute pro-mining push by then-Gov. Sarah Palin turned the tide in the mine’s favor.

Over time, however, the scientific evidence turned decisively against the project, and in 2014 the Environmental Protection Agency determined that even a carefully designed operation, in the words of Gina McCarthy, the E.P.A. administrator, would most likely cause “irreversible negative impacts on the Bristol Bay watershed and its abundant salmon fisheries.”

Read the full opinion piece at the New York Times

‘Salmon’ author pans Patagonia’s anti-fish farm activism

December 1, 2020 — Mark Kurlansky, the New York Times bestselling author of “Salmon”, is urging anti-fish farm activists to work with salmon farmers and boost the production of affordable and sustainable seafood from the oceans.

In an interview with SeaWestNews, Kurlansky said replacing sea farms with land-based operations, as the activists are demanding in British Columbia, is not a good idea because it will exacerbate climate change and substantially increase Greenhouse Gas (GhG) emissions.

“Land based farming greatly increases energy use and the carbon footprint…I do not think that is a good idea,” said Kurlansky, who spent five years researching his book, which was published by Patagonia, the outdoor clothing conglomerate, which ironically supports activism to stop ocean-based fish farming.

“Farming salmon in the oceans has almost no carbon footprint…almost all of the energy used, apart from packaging the food, is provided by the natural force of the ocean…so you will be taking a low energy industry and turning it into a high energy industry,” he said.

“I would certainly not want to see all fish farms move on land, and I also would not want to see all ocean fish farming stopped, because I think it has a good contribution and it is a supply of affordable protein. That is not something to turn your back on.”

Read the full story at SeaWest News

PFMC Adopts Salmon Measures to Help Southern Resident Killer Whales

November 25, 2020 — The Pacific Fishery Management Council unanimously adopted new ocean salmon fishing regulations last week to help save critically endangered Southern Resident killer whales from extinction. While the birth of two calves this year was welcome news, Southern Residents face an uncertain future with only 74 individuals left and a diet almost entirely comprised of declining salmon populations, especially Chinook salmon, Oceana said in a press release.

Pacific salmon, primarily Chinook salmon, are 99 percent of the diet of Southern Resident killer whales. A single adult Southern Resident typically needs to eat 12 to 20 Chinook salmon every day, and as many as 30 depending on the size and nutrition levels of the fish. Wild salmon populations have been in decline due to a combination of issues, including dams, habitat loss and fishing pressure, Oceana said.

Read the full story at Seafood News

New research signifies “an important step forward in aquaculture genomics”

November 20, 2020 — New research highlights the possibilities that genetic variation in Atlantic salmon offers for advancing aquaculture production.

Spearheaded by Alicia Bertolotti, the new research involved sequencing the genomes of 492 Atlantic salmon in a project led by professor Dan Macqueen at the Roslin Institute (University of Edinburgh) in partnership with Xelect, the University of Aberdeen, and many international collaborators – including the Norwegian University of Life Sciences.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

In wake of bad salmon season, Russia calls for new forecasting approach

November 19, 2020 — Russia’s salmon fisheries experienced the their worst season in 10 years in 2020, and fisheries scientists are placing the blame on weather anomalies and are calling for new approaches to future season forecasts, potentially including new international cooperation.

Through 2 November, Russia had harvested 299,200 metric tons (MT) of salmon, Russia’s Federal Agency for Fisheries reported. That is the lowest total since 2009, and 44 percent less than the record year in 2018. Fishing in most areas has finished for the year, with just a few thousand MT still to arrive over the next few days.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Pandemic cut the Alaska salmon catch and fishermen’s paychecks – and will mean lower tax revenues for fishing towns

November 18, 2020 — Tamped-down prices due to toppled markets caused by the coronavirus combined with low salmon returns to many Alaska regions added up to reduced paychecks for fishermen and will mean lower tax revenues for fishing communities.

A summary of the preliminary harvests and values by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game shows that Alaska’s total 2020 salmon catch came in at just under 117 million fish, a 44% decrease from last season’s haul of 208.3 million fish, and the 13th lowest on record.

The statewide salmon value of $295.2 million is a whopping 56% decrease from 2019′s $673.4 million, and when adjusted for inflation, it is the lowest value since 2006.

Sockeyes accounted for nearly 59% of Alaska’s total salmon value at $174.9 million and comprised 40% of the harvest at 46.1 million fish.

Pinks accounted for 51% of the statewide salmon harvest at 51.4 million and 21% of the value at $61.8 million.

Regional tallies compared to the 2019 catches and values reveal a clearer picture of the economic hits, which are down by half or more across the board.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Can B.C. salmon farmers play a bigger role in post-pandemic economic recovery?

November 18, 2020 — B.C. salmon farmers are hoping for greater inclusion in the province’s post-pandemic economic recovery plan, following the release of a new report that shows clearer government policy would trigger innovation, technology and infrastructure investments by the sector worth $1.4 billion by 2050.

The report, published by independent economics consulting firm RIAS Inc., and commissioned by the BC Salmon Farmers Association (BCSFA), noted the investments would generate $44 billion in economic output and create 10,000 new jobs. But first the provincial and federal governments need to establish a predictable policy approach.

“As an essential service, salmon farmers in B.C. played their part by not only keeping existing staff employed but by hiring additional staff to help them manage the COVID situation,” Doug Blair, president of RIAS Inc. said in a statement. “By continuing their operations, BC salmon farmers helped to cushion the negative impacts of the pandemic for more than 1,700 local vendors across B.C. that serve the sector, like fish processors, transporters, technology suppliers, boat operators, as well as local restaurants, hotels and businesses. And as we weather the second wave of this pandemic, the salmon farming industry remains uniquely positioned to play a critical role in B.C.’s recovery strategy – particularly in remote, coastal and Indigenous communities that are most in need at this time.”

Read the full story at Yahoo! News

ALASKA: Converging Forces Make For Worst Upper Cook Inlet Season in Decades

November 17, 2020 — Low prices, an oddly timed sockeye run and another year of very poor Kenai king returns combined to result in one of the worst Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishing seasons on record.

The 2020 Upper Cook Inlet harvest of roughly 1.2 million salmon was less than half the recent 10-year average harvest of 3.2 million fish and the estimated cumulative ex-vessel value of approximately $5.2 million was the worst on record, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game‘s Upper Cook Inlet Commercial Salmon Fishery Season Summary.

Read the full story at Seafood News

These futuristic salmon farming concepts could radically reshape the aquaculture sector. Here’s where the projects stand

November 16, 2020 — Nearly two dozen Norwegian companies have received salmon farming licenses to pursue pilots of their innovative aquaculture concepts, but when these futuristic concepts will hit the water at a large scale remains murky in some cases.

A total of 20 companies received 102 development permits between 2016–2020, and while many have not even begun construction of the projects, the Norwegian government says the green light to pursue the farming systems won’t be turned off.

The development permits (see sidebar) were granted in some cases for a period of up to 15 years, giving companies plenty of runway to raise financing and refine the technology — a critical element to the successful implementation of the projects, according to Anne Osland, section manager for the Norwegian Directorate of Fisheries.

“Many of these projects are very complex, and that it may take some time to get into operation,” Osland told IntraFish.

Read the full story at IntraFish