Saving Seafood

MAINE: Nearly 1,200 Atlantic salmon returned to Penobscot this year

November 21, 2019 — When fish lifts in Milford and Orono closed for the season Nov. 13, the Maine Department of Marine Resources reported that a tentative total of 1,196 Atlantic salmon had been counted at those facilities this year — the largest number counted in eight years.

Jason Valliere, a marine resource scientist for the DMR’s Division of Sea Run Fisheries and Habitat, said that 1,152 salmon were captured at Milford and 44 were captured in Orono. The trap counts do not reflect the exact total of fish that returned to the river, he said, because some simply did not move into the fish lifts and avoided capture.

“Please note this is the estimated trap return to the Penobscot and not the final estimated return to the river,” Valliere said. “[Salmon] redd count data will be added this winter and the final estimate will be reported in the 2020 U.S. Salmon Assessment Committee Report.”

That report will be released early in 2020.

Salmon redds are depressions in the river bottom made by female salmon during the egg-laying process and serve as further evidence of actual spawning salmon.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

More Norwegian salmon producers receive subpoenas in US DOJ antitrust investigation

November 15, 2019 — Lerøy Seafood, Grieg Seafood, and SalMar each received subpoenas from the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) on Friday, 15 November, according to press releases from the three Norwegian salmon farming firms.

The subpoenas are part of a criminal investigation by the DOJ’s Antitrust Division into allegations of price-fixing in Norway’s farmed-raised salmon industry, according to the releases.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Russian Sakhalin and Kuril Islands May Face Salmon Shortage in Years Ahead

November 14, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — Russia may face a shortage of salmon during the next several years, due to climate change and overproduction seen in recent years, according to recent statements from leading local analysts in the field of fishing and state officials.

The biggest decline of salmon catch is expected in the Sakhalin Islands, which is a main harvest area for salmon in Russia.

The news was confirmed by recent predictions of the Sakhalin branch of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography. They say the overall stock of pink salmon in the Sakhalin water zone will be insignificant during the 2020 fishing season.

In this regard, the total salmon catch at Sakhalin until the end of the current year will not exceed 7,000 tonnes. This is significantly lower than the annual catch levels for the 2000s, which varied between 140,000 and 160,000 tonnes.

Scientists believe global warming, which leads to the increase of the number of typhoons in the world’s oceans could be considered a major reason for the decline in the number of pink salmon in Russian territorial waters. Another reason is warming waters, which leads to the decline of the stock of northern plankton.

In addition to Sakhalin, the decline of the salmon stock is currently being observed in the Kuril Islands.

The Russian government is aware of the problem and considering approaches for a solution. One of them is to introduce catch restrictions on salmon in both Sakhalin and Kuril Islands. This, according to state plans, should create conditions for the recovery of its stock in these areas.

This story was originally published on SeafoodNews.com, a subscription site. It is reprinted with permission.

US launches investigation into Mowi price-fixing allegations

November 14, 2019 — Salmon farming giant Mowi has announced it is being investigated by the U.S. Department of Justice regarding allegations of price-fixing in Norway’s farmed Atlantic salmon market.

The move by the U.S. DOJ stems from an ongoing investigation by the European Commission into “concerns that the inspected companies may have violated E.U. antitrust rules that prohibit cartels and restrictive business practices.” That investigation became public in February, when the E.C. carried out unannounced inspections at the premises of several Norwegian firms involved in the farmed Atlantic salmon sector in Europe.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Food security starts at sea

November 13, 2019 — By 2050, global food production must increase by 70 percent to keep up with population growth. The pressure to grow, harvest and create more protein from America’s resources will be immense. Yet, America owns vast wealth in and near our coastal communities that permeates across state lines. This wealth must be protected for businesses, community survival and our nation’s food security.

Every summer, the wealth of our fisheries is seen coast to coast. Wild salmon return to pristine Alaskan waters, striped bass reappear near New England’s shores, and red snapper congregate in the Gulf of Mexico. As leaders of the Seafood Harvesters of America and lifelong fishermen, we shared stories like these — the story of the American fisherman — during the summer’s Capitol Hill Ocean Week.

Like any robust American resource, fisheries connect businesses, communities and families across the nation around hard work and resiliency. Renewable and sustainably managed, it has the capacity to help feed us in perpetuity.
But does it?

In 2017, U.S. commercial fishermen landed an astounding 9.9 billion pounds of seafood. Americans love the idea of eating American seafood. We celebrate it on menus and grocery store banners, devour dramatic fishing documentaries, and honor its heritage in our coastal towns. As a nation we’ve prioritized sustainability through laws like the Magnuson Stevens Act, which is why 91 percent of America’s fishery stocks are not overfished today — and that number is only improving.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Sen. Cantwell Language to Expand Tribal Eligibility, Include Charter Fishermen in Fisheries Disaster Process Passes Committee

November 13, 2019 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

Provisions introduced by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, to reform the federal fisheries disaster process passed the committee today. Cantwell’s provisions would expand and protect Tribal eligibility for fisheries disaster assistance and require charter fishermen to be included in economic relief.

“This legislation will help improve the federal fisheries disaster management program that impacted fishermen in coastal communities so that they will get financial relief faster,” Cantwell said. “As we all know, fisheries issues impact lots of different aspects of our community. But certainly the commercial and recreational fishermen deserve to be compensated as well, and with communities on our Pacific Coast that are very dependent on charter activities, I want to make sure, in the case of a disaster, that they too can apply and receive funding.”

In a September hearing, Cantwell highlighted the failures of the current disaster process by discussing the 2016 Coho salmon fishery disaster, which impacted fisheries throughout Washington state.

“The Coho disaster impacted Tribes, commercial fisherman, charter and recreational fisherman… but not all groups received adequate funding from NOAA,” Cantwell said at the September hearing. “In a shift from previous policy, the administration determined that the charter fishermen should not be included in the economic determination. Thus, I believe Washington did not receive adequate funding for this disaster.”

Throughout her time in the Senate, Cantwell has prioritized working on issues that impact the fishing industry. In 2015, she introduced bipartisan legislation to create a national ocean acidification monitoring strategy to prioritize investments in ocean acidification sensors to areas that need it most. In 2018, she worked with colleagues in the House and Senate to secure $200 million in federal funding to help communities with declared fisheries disasters. She has also fought to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed from harmful mining and opposed drilling off the coasts of Washington and Oregon.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s remarks at today’s hearing is available HERE and audio is HERE.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s opening statement at a September Commerce Committee hearing is available HERE, audio is HERE, and a transcript is HERE.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s Q&A with witnesses at the September hearing is available HERE, audio is HERE, and a transcript is HERE.

Alaska’s 2019 salmon season by the numbers

November 13, 2019 — Alaska’s 2019 salmon season was worth $657.6 million to fishermen, a 10% increase from the 2018 fishery.

Sockeye salmon accounted for nearly 64% of the total value, topping $421 million, and 27% of the harvest at 55.2 million fish.

Those are the lead takeaways in a summary from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game that reveals preliminary estimates of salmon harvests and values by region. The final values will be determined in 2020 after processors, buyers, and direct marketers submit their totals paid to fishermen.

Pink salmon were the second most valuable species, representing 20% of the total dockside value at $128.6 million and 62% of the harvest at just over 129 million fish.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

The climate chain reaction that threatens the heart of the Pacific

November 13, 2019 — Lined up along the side of their boat, the fishermen hauled a huge, heavy net up from swelling waves. At first, a few small jellyfish emerged, then a piece of plastic. Then net, and more net. Finally, all the way at the bottom: a small thrashing mass of silvery salmon.

It was just after dawn at the height of the autumn fishing season, but something was wrong.

“When are the fish coming?” boat captain Teruhiko Miura asked himself.

The salmon catch is collapsing off Japan’s northern coast, plummeting by about 70 percent in the past 15 years. The disappearance of the fish coincides with another striking development: the loss of a unique blanket of sea ice that dips far below the Arctic to reach this shore.

The twin impacts — less ice, fewer salmon — are the products of rapid warming in the Sea of Okhotsk, wedged between Siberia and Japan. The area has warmed in some places by as much as 3 degrees Celsius since preindustrial times, making it one of the fastest-warming spots in the world, according to a Washington Post analysis of data from the nonprofit organization Berkeley Earth.

Read the full story at The Washington Post

Southeast Alaska winter king salmon landings up from last year but still below average

November 13, 2019 — Southeast Alaska’s winter troll season for king salmon has gotten off to a little better start in 2019.

Commercial landings and number of fish caught are up from last year. However, both still lag behind five and 10-year averages for this point in the season.

Perhaps the most encouraging sign was the opening price of $12 per pound. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Grant Hagerman says that’s the highest starting point on record.

“At this time last year the price had increased over the first month and it was just under 12,” Hagerman said. “So it’s pretty similar to last year. But starting out at $12 is the highest that we’ve had on record.”

Read the full story at Alaska Public Media

Lerøy testing project to detect salmon health with implanted sensors

November 7, 2019 — Farmed salmon company Lerøy Seafood Group has launched a pilot project in Norway that would attach sensors directly to the bodies of salmon in cages, then use an underwater wireless network to capture data in real time from the sensors about fish behavior and transmit it to farm managers on the water’s surface.

The technology would be a major advance from current monitoring systems, which can’t directly measure fish health in the water, and would give salmon farmers the kind of detailed information about the fish in their cages that so far has eluded them.

Read the full story at Seafood Source