Saving Seafood

Scientists studying effects of hatchery-raised salmon on wild salmon

July 9, 2019 — Tens of millions of salmon spawned and raised in hatcheries are released into waterways like the Columbia River every year.

The goal is to increase the numbers of the endangered fish. It is no doubt an important effort. But some wonder if this tinkering with Mother Nature could be harming wild salmon.

Scientists with NOAA Fisheries spent the first part of the summer along the Columbia River in Kalama and are hoping to answer that question.

They collected samples of juvenile chinook salmon. Some were wild, spawned in natural waterways. Others were spawned in hatcheries like Fallert Creek, just a few miles up the Kalama River.

In May, the hatchery released close to two million juvenile salmon into the area.

So, why are these scientists now scooping some of them up?

“With the input of all the hatchery fish coming in, we’re not quite sure where that leaves the wild stocks,” said Regan McNatte, a NOAA Research Fisheries biologist.

Simply put, they want to find out once and for all if the hatchery-raised fish are hurting the wild salmon in this area by competing too much with them for things like food and habitat.

Read the full story at KUTV

Alaska salmon catches continue to grow

July 5, 2019 — Alaska salmon numbers keep rising as the US enters its Independence Day holiday, July 4.

Forecasters with Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game are looking for indications of a plateau or beginning of a decrease in catches in the test fishery, 150 miles seaward of Bristol Bay, or in the catch or escapement (C + E = total run) in the bay itself, and are seeing none.

What they are seeing is increasing numbers of fish being caught furthest offshore in the Port Moller Test Fishery (PMTF), those linked to the run in the Nushagak district and other westside districts.

Since the last PMTF Interpretation on test fishery catches since June 29, two more days of catches much higher in stations 14-22 than previously seen and outweighing those caught in nearer-shore stations 2-12. The highest daily catch index on July 1 was station 16 with 166. However, that index only edged out the June 29 index at station 8 of 161 which may indicate that the run to the Egegik district continues to build.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Scottish salmon expansion set to strain wild catch fisheries, study suggests

July 2, 2019 — The UK’s plans to expand Scotland’s salmon farming industry is set to place immense strain on wild-catch fisheries, reports The Scotsman.

According to a report from the environmental NGO Feedback, the decision by the Scottish government to double the output of salmon from its farms by 2030 will require a corresponding increase in fishmeal volumes by two thirds.

In short, Scotland will require an additional 310,000 metric tons of wild-caught fish for fishmeal purposes, on top of the 460,000t already used to feed farmed Scottish salmon each year.

Feedback said the planned expansion would have severe impacts on wild fish stocks, ecosystems, and other communities that rely on wild-caught fish for food.

However, the Scottish Salmon Producers Organisation (SSPO) responded that it was working to reduce the amount of fish oil and fishmeal required in a farmed salmon’s diet, as the industry turns increasingly to alternative sources of protein, “particularly plant extracts”.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

ALASKA: Bristol Bay’s Salmon Flood is Rising — the Greatest Migration on Earth?

July 2, 2019 — SEAFOOD NEWS — As sockeye salmon surge past the Port Moller Test Fishery nets and catch tallies in the Bay rise as escapment numbers in the river systems accelerate even faster (after all, that is what the biologists manage for), the vast size of Bristol Bay’s salmon run is hard to grasp.

The six-week fishery, which reaches a fever pitch for about ten days, is arguably the greatest migration on earth. Because it is invisible until the last few days, it is rarely recognized. Great migrations might bring to mind vast herds of wildebeast crossing the Serengeti in Africa; those number a mere 1.5 million.

Then there’s what many now call the largest mammal migration — fruit bats from the Congo to neighboring Zambia over 90 days each fall. The size? Only 10 million.

This year’s forecasted total run of 40.18 million sockeyes is expected to net a harvest of 26.1 million salmon.

It’s difficult to find, by any measure, a likeness in the natural world of the journey Bristol Bay salmon make from one of the Bay’s five river systems to the ocean, across the Bering Sea and North Pacific Ocean in a vast loop that brings them back to the Bay to reproduce and die.

It is the reproduction part that fisheries managers focus on. Indeed, state law requires them to manage for escapement to maintain sustainability for each species and timing in each salmon river, every year.

Escapement in the Wood and Nushagak rivers of Bristol Bay is tracking well with forecasts made by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game pre-season. As of yesterday, June 30, Wood River escapement was 603,000 sockeye out of a forecasted escapement of 980,000, putting it at the 61 percent mark. In the Nushagak a cumulative escapment of 243,000 sockeye have been counted, 32 percent of the 770,000 expected.

That is good news, but even better news is when compared to last year’s escapement on that date, escapement on the Nushagak this year is higher. And remember that last year the Nushagak District salmon run broke all historic records. On July 1, 2018, ADF&G broke the news that harvest in the Nushagak reached 1.77 million sockeye, a new record. Their escapment at that time was 183,440 sockeye out of a predicted 770,000 salmon (same as this year.)

The Wood River escapement last year at this time was 1.2 million out of a prediction of 1.53 million or 78 percent acheived. The Wood River is part of the Nushagak District, and last year was a huge contributor to the record-breaking district totals.

Historically, Bristol Bay’s peak is coming at the end of this week. The latest analysis from the Port Moller Test Fishery notes “The substantial uptick in the daily index today [June 29, 2019] indicates the run will continue to build at least through July 4, and possibly beyond.

“We will need to know what the remainder of the test fishing indices look like to see how big the run may be beyond July 4 (we only predict the catch plus escapment that is between Port Moller and the inshore districts). The daily C+E will likely bounce around our current projection but should total around 8 million fish for the period June 29-July 4.”

The Port Moller team also notes that there is no indication that the run is early.

“If the run is on time, the index should begin to fall tomorrow [Sunday, June 30] and continue to do so. Sustained catch indices over the next several days would indicate a later run that is larger than the pre-season forecast.”

Egegik and Nushagak Districts have dominated the test fishery at Port Moller so far, underscoring that the run has not reach its peak at Port Moller, about 5-6 days of swim time for a salmon to the Bay.

Harvest totals in the Nushagak District, as of yesterday, were 4.1 million sockeye out of a pre-season catch forecast of 7.97 million.

On the east side of the Bay, the Egegik to date harvest of 2.1 million compares to the pre-season forecast of 7.04 million.

Bristol Bay’s total catch is 6.8 million sockeye, already more than any other area in the state. Total sockeye catches are 9.6 million fish, with 1.4 million coming from the PWS/Copper River, 1.2 million from the South Peninsula.

Total salmon landings of all species in Alaska are at 22.84 million, with chums making up 3.6 million and pinks, to date, at 9.6 million.

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

ALASKA: Unsound mine: Pebble commentary closes today

July 2, 2019 — Over the last 13 years that I’ve been watching and covering the ebbs and flows of Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska, I’ve followed the data trail, news stories about tailings ponds failures at similar mines, and the Pebble Corp.’s struggle to put together a plan and maintain financial backing.

My first take was that Alaskans understand the value of the full range of resource extraction — from finite fossil fuels and minerals to sustainable fisheries and wildlife hunting. They are pretty good at striking a balance since learning some hard lessons after the Exxon Valdez disaster and decades of lawsuits that followed, leaving fishermen and entire communities on the hard and Exxon comparatively unscathed.

Most Alaskans appreciate that their state is truly — and potentially perpetually — rich with a renewable bounty that should not be sacrificed for a short-term gain that is served with a side of toxic ponding. When it comes to fisheries, Alaska’s reach is expansive. People come from all over the Lower 48 and the world to fish Bristol Bay every summer — and millions of salmon lovers around the globe reap the benefits of that harvest.

After today, the fate of this fishery will be in the hands of the federal government. If you haven’t submitted public comment on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers’ draft environmental impact statement, now is your last chance. If you’re not sure what to write, consider using Quality Comment to help.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Get Ready to Take LEAPS for Atlantic Salmon and Journey to the Rivers and Coasts of New England – with Agents of Discovery!

June 28, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

To celebrate the International Year of the Salmon, NOAA Fisheries has collaborated with the educational tech app, Agents of Discovery, to launch Sea-Run, GO!, a game that teaches youth and the young at heart about wild Atlantic salmon and other migratory fish that inhabit the rivers and coasts of New England.

Become a Special Agent

Similar to the popular Pokémon GO app, Agents of Discovery provides educational “missions” with unique geo-triggered “challenges,” where players learn on the go. On our Sea-Run, GO! “mission” players become special agents who investigate the world of wild Atlantic salmon and migratory fish.

Get Moving

Using a specially adapted curriculum, teachers and informal educators can use this educational app to bring Sea-Run, Go! to their classroom setting. Similar to other mobile games, Sea-Run, Go! gets students moving and learning. They discover facts about endangered fish, fish life cycles, local ecosystems, and learn how they can become active participants in endangered species conservation as they move around the classroom completing each challenge. To find out more about how to incorporate Sea-Run, Go! into your educational setting, check out the lesson plan.

Read the full release here

MAINE: Atlantic salmon returns to Penobscot River now highest since 2011

June 27, 2019 — After a record-setting 107-fish day earlier this month, solid Atlantic salmon returns have continued at Milford Dam, according to marine resources scientist Jason Valliere of the Maine Department of Marine Resources.

In a regular email report that he filed on Tuesday, Valliere said the total number of salmon counted at Milford had reached 597.

“Looks like we are having the best salmon year since 2011,” Valliere reported, referring to a year when salmon were still being counted at the Veazie Dam farther downstream. That dam has been removed, and since 2014 the first upstream barrier to sea-run fish has been in Milford.

This year’s total is actually a bit higher than it sounds, as another 18 salmon have been captured at the Orono fish lift, bringing the total count this year to 615.

That total is dwarfed by the 2011 count for the same date — 2,362. But it is the highest recorded since, and may bode well for this year’s run. The total salmon returns by June 25 over the past several years: 2018: 432, 2017: 520, 2016: 351, 2015: 470, 2014: 74, 2013: 311, 2012: 549.

Read the full story at the Bangor Daily News

Sen. Wyden introduces bill to expand disaster relief to fisheries harmed by tariffs

June 27, 2019 — U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden, (D-Ore.), and U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton, (D-Mass.), recently introduced legislation to expand disaster relief to fisheries harmed by tariffs.

Currently, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) guidelines used to identify the causes of fishery disasters does not explicitly include tariffs. Wyden’s bill would amend the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Act to require NOAA to evaluate the impacts of duties imposed on American seafood, ensuring the Department of Commerce receives a complete overview of factors affecting a fishery in all fishery disaster declaration designations.

“American businesses are being hit hard by retaliatory tariffs from Trump’s ill-conceived trade agenda,” Wyden said. “Fisheries unfortunately are no exception. West Coast seafood is sought after internationally, and Oregonians earning a living in fisheries should be able to command top dollar on the global market, rather than be ensnared in the cross-fire of Trump’s escalating trade war.”

In March of this year, Wyden and Sen. Jeff Merkley, (D-Ore.), secured $2.1 million in federal disaster recovery aid for coastal fisheries in Oregon. Multiple years of drought in California, parasites within the Klamath River Basin and poor ocean conditions led to low returns of the Oregon Klamath River Fall Chinook Salmon Fishery in 2016 and 2017.

Read the full story at The News Guard

California king salmon landings up sharply, bringing down prices

June 25, 2019 — King salmon harvesters in nothern California are enjoying the most plentiful catches they’ve seen in a decade, which is driving prices lower, the San Francisco Chronicle reported.

According to the newspaper, no official landings data is available yet but it appears from anecdotal evidence that the National Marine Fisheries Service underestimated the number of kings returning to the San Francisco Bay area and the US state’s central coast. Some 380,000 kings were expected this year, compared to 224,000 last year but those numbers appear to be low.

Read the full story at Undercurrent News

Farmed salmon spot prices drop further, but tight supply predicted

June 25, 2019 — Spot prices for Norwegian farmed salmon continue to come down, according to the latest update from SpareBank 1 Markets’ Tore Tonseth, though he is more bullish on the longer-term outlook.

For this week coming — week 26 of 2019 — should see average prices come down to NOK 54-57 per kilogram, from NOK 59-62/kg, he wrote.

“Spot prices going into a new week seem to have fallen further, and we are currently talking about prices in the NOK mid-50s. The large volatility in price seen over the past few weeks has probably created some uncertainty in the market, and combined with higher volumes, the spot price has been pushed further down.”

Predicting salmon prices from one week to the next is difficult at the moment, he said, but biomass numbers in Norway show very little harvest growth potential in the coming few months.

“Our base case continues to be spot prices in the low-mid NOK 60s in the next two or three months, which means that we expect prices to recover relatively soon.”

Read the full story at Undercurrent News