Saving Seafood

2024 saw some good news for Pacific Northwest salmon

December 2, 2024 — Zombie kokanee tumbled downstream as new waves of crimson fish dashed through the riffles making the journey to their spawning grounds.

The creek was alive with hundreds of these landlocked sockeye amid the biggest return of the salmon in the Lake Sammamish watershed in a decade.

Just a few years ago the fish almost blinked out. But efforts by King County, the Snoqualmie Tribe and others to restore and conserve habitat and a conservation hatchery program appear to have helped pull them from the brink. 

In addition to these little red freshwater fish, some oceangoing salmon have returned in big numbers.

It started with a record run of sockeye on the Columbia River, then a record number of threatened Hood Canal Summer chum returned to the Union River, and now fall chum to Pipers Creek in Seattle.

Orca researchers observed salmon leaping from Puget Sound, possibly fueling a feeding frenzy for the endangered southern resident orcas.

It looks like it’s shaping up to be the biggest Puget Sound fall chum return in 15 or 20 years, said Kyle Adicks, intergovernmental salmon manager with the state Department of Fish and Wildlife. The state has also seen strong catches and hatchery returns for coho in Puget Sound, which saw near all-time lows about a decade ago.

“It’s great to see that the salmon are still here and if things line up they can do well,” Adicks said.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

Alaska’s total commercial salmon harvest this year was ultra-low in both quantity and value

December 2, 2024 — The number of Alaska salmon harvested by commercial fishers was the third smallest since all-species records began in 1985, and the value to harvesters, when adjusted for inflation, was the lowest reported since 1975, state officials said.

Additionally, the 450 million pounds of salmon that the total harvest contained was the lowest on record, officials said.

The totals come from a preliminary recap of this year’s salmon season issued on Nov. 18 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Only 101.2 million salmon were harvested this year, less than half the 232.2 million harvested last year, the department reported. The money paid to fishers for their catches, known as ex-vessel value, totaled $304 million, down from $398 million last year, the department said,

The poor results from this year’s salmon harvests are part of a multitude of troubles in Alaska’s seafood industry, a key economic sector in the state.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Biden-Harris Administration announces more than $105 million for West Coast and Alaska salmon

August 2, 2024 — The following was released by NOAA:

Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA announced more than $105 million in recommended funding for 14 new and continuing salmon recovery projects and programs. Located along the West Coast and in Alaska, these state and tribal efforts will be funded through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF). The funds include Fiscal Year 2024 annual appropriations as well as $34.4 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $7.5 million under the Inflation Reduction Act, and will aid programs and projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington that include habitat restoration, stock enhancement, sustainable fisheries and research and monitoring.

“This $105 million investment, made possible thanks to the Biden-Harris Administration’s Investing in America agenda, will build on decades of salmon recovery work, while helping Pacific coast Tribes and Alaska Natives sustain their communities and cultural traditions in the face of climate change,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This is a result of the most ambitious climate agenda in history, and I am proud that nearly half of all funds in this announcement are being awarded to Tribal applicants.”

These investments will supplement state and tribal programs that provide demonstrable and measurable benefits to Pacific salmon and their habitat. They will aid in the recovery of 28 Endangered Species Act (ESA)-listed salmon and steelhead species, as well as non-listed ESA salmon and steelhead that are necessary for native subsistence or tribal treaty fishing rights, and for those in the Columbia River Basin, these efforts will help meet the President’s goal of restoring healthy and abundant salmon, steelhead and other native fish in the Basin.

“The PCSRF program has benefited fish populations and their habitats in so many ways,” said Janet Coit, assistant administrator for NOAA Fisheries. “The value of these investments goes far beyond recovering Pacific salmon and steelhead and their habitats, to also provide community and economic benefits, such as jobs and climate resilience.”

Read the full release at NOAA

Yukon cyanide spill raises concern for Alaskan salmon

July 31, 2024 — Concern spread across Canada after a cyanide spill at a gold mine in the Yukon Territory. The incident happened at Victoria Gold’s Eagle Mine, where a heap leach failure and landslide occurred. Energy, Mines, and Resource Minister John Streicker said four water samples were taken from different areas near the mine and had come back positive for cyanide, but levels were primarily low.

According to Alaska Beacon, Alaska salmon advocates say the spill isn’t just an issue for Yukoner. The spill happened upstream of a tributary of the Yukon River, and concerns spread because the Yukon is the state’s biggest transboundary waterway.

The spill happened in late June, and officials from Canada and the U.S. said it was too early to know its full impact and advised residents that there weren’t likely any associated health risks. Still, salmon advocates fear that the pollution that hasn’t been fully contained could worsen matters for the Yukon River’s struggling species. Residents along the area’s shores have depended on salmon for generations. Brooke Woods, a tribal member and salmon advocate in Rampart, told Alaska Beacon, “Now, we have a new threat to our salmon.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

World’s Biggest Dam Removal Project to Open 420 Miles of Salmon Habitat in Klamath River This Fall

July 25, 2024 — For the first time since 1918, an astonishing 420 miles of salmon habitat in the Klamath River watershed in California and Oregon will be fully connected by September. This results from the world’s largest dam removal effort, the Klamath River Renewal Project. The amount of habitat opened up on the Klamath is equivalent to the distance between Portland, Maine, and Philadelphia-a journey through seven states.

PacifiCorp, the previous owner, agreed to remove the aging dams after they determined removal would be less expensive than upgrading to current environmental standards. The dams had been used for power generation, not water storage. The Copco No. 2 Dam on the Klamath was removed last year. The deconstruction of the Iron Gate, Copco No. 1, and JC Boyle dams is underway and running ahead of schedule.

“I think in September, we may have some Chinook salmon and steelhead moseying upstream and checking things out for the first time in over 60 years,” says Bob Pagliuco, NOAA marine habitat resource specialist. “Based on what I’ve seen and what I know these fish can do, I think they will start occupying these habitats immediately. There won’t be any great numbers at first, but within several generations-10 to 15 years-new populations will be established.”

There’s more good news for Klamath salmon and steelhead. NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation recommends an $18 million award to the Yurok Tribe to restore and reconnect cold-water tributaries that will open to migratory fish after dam removal. Another roughly $1.9 million award is recommended to the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife to begin evaluating options for improving fish passage at Keno Dam. The Keno Dam sits upstream of the dams currently being removed. Nearly 350 miles of additional salmon habitat lie upstream. Both awards are funded through the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act.

“The Yurok people are extremely happy to be witnessing the beginning of the Klamath River’s rebirth,” says Yurok Tribe Fisheries Department Director Barry McCovey. “The dams caused a tremendous amount of damage to the Klamath over the last century. Through the decommissioning project and holistic restoration, we are confident that we will see the Klamath’s salmon, steelhead, and Pacific lamprey runs recover.”

Read the full article at Seafoodnews.com

WHAT YOU CAN LEARN ABOUT SALMON FROM ITS PACKAGING

July 24, 2024 — If you’ve ever shopped for salmon, you’ve probably found yourself wavering between a jumble of options. But a scan of the packages — typically emblazoned with various claims about sustainability and nutrition — might not be much help.

This problem isn’t unique to salmon, the second most popular seafood eaten in the United States after shrimp. Many shoppers want to make better choices for themselves and for the environment, but product labels are often confusing or sparse.

“A lot of packaging doesn’t include the information needed,” said Ben Halpern, a professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara.

We examined more than a dozen packages of salmon sold at major grocery stores and spoke with experts about how to better understand common labels. Here’s what we learned.

Wild-caught or farmed?

Most salmon packaging will clearly state whether the fish was wild-caught or farmed. If a package doesn’t specify wild-caught or farm-raised, you can probably assume it’s farmed.

In the United States, wild salmon stocks are generally well managed and highly regulated, which means they are less likely to be overfished. An added bonus: Wild salmon is a nutrient-rich and lean source of protein.

But wild-caught fish can be more expensive than farmed options and is not always as easy to find.

Farm-raised fish is generally cheaper, though it is less environmentally friendly, according to several experts. Salmon farms have historically relied on the widespread use of antibiotics and pesticides. Captive fish can also escape their pens and change the genetic makeup of wild stocks.

However, some major salmon-producing countries have improved their farming practices over the years and many farms now use fewer chemicals.

Some farmed-raised salmon might not be as pink as their wild counterparts, which naturally get their color by eating wild shrimp. But farmed fish can also be dyed during processing, so keep an eye out for labels that say “COLOR ADDED.” In other cases, farms could use feed containing a type of carotenoid, or naturally occurring pigment, that gives their flesh a pinker color.

The filets of farmed fish tend to be fattier, but that can keep them more moist when cooked.

“Farmed salmon is really overall a strong option,” said Halpern.

Read the full article at the Washington Post

Salmon’s Getting More Expensive. Blame Bloodsucking Sea Lice.

July 23, 2024 — Health-conscious consumers who covet its brain-enriching Omega-3 have helped make salmon one of the fastest-growing food sources on the planet. Victoria Beckham told The Wall Street Journal last year she considers it a dietary staple. She’s not alone. In America, salmon is the second-most popular seafood after shrimp.

The fish frenzy has driven prices higher and spawned new billionaires, such as Gustav Magnar Witzøe, a 31-year-old Norwegian heir to a salmon fortune and a fashion model who made a splash at this year’s Met Gala in a salmon-colored Versace cape.

Norway’s fjords and coasts are the farmed fish’s top habitat, with around 500 million salmon swimming in the chilly waters—a ratio of roughly 90 Norwegian salmon to every Norwegian human.

Atlantic salmon farming, introduced as overfishing and river pollution shrank the wild salmon population, increased 74 times from 1985 to 2022. Salmon are bred in tanks on land, then moved into the ocean, where they swim in giant ring-shaped nets until they’re ready for human consumption.

But these days, the industry is swimming upstream.

Read the full article at Wall Street Journal

Fish are shrinking around the world. Here’s why scientists are worried.

May 6, 2024 — There’s something fishy going on in the water. Across Earth’s oceans, fish are shrinking — and no one can agree why.

It’s happening with salmon near the Arctic Circle and skate in the Atlantic. Nearly three-fourths of marine fish populations sampled worldwide have seen their average body size dwindle between 1960 and 2020, according to a recent analysis.

Overfishing and human-caused climate change are decreasing the size of adult fish, threatening the food supply of more than 3 billion people who rely on seafood as a significant source of protein.

As fish get smaller, there is less meat to cook per catch. So scientists are working to piece together why exactly fish respond to rising ocean temperatures by getting smaller.

“This is a pretty fundamental question,” said Lisa Komoroske, a conservation biologist at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. “But we still don’t understand why.”

Read the full story at the Washington Post

$7 million to be distributed for Oregon salmon disaster relief

May 6, 2024 — The Oregon Spend Plan will designate over $7 million in disaster funding for commercial fishermen, processors, and others in the fishing community after the salmon fishery’s value declined by millions between 2017 and 2020. The relief is now ready for public review. The disaster funds are in response to the 2021 disaster declaration for the fishery for 2018, 2019, and 2020.

In Oct. 2021, Oregon’s then-Governor Brown submitted a meticulous request to the U.S. Secretary of Commerce for a catastrophic regional fishery disaster declaration under section 315 of the Magnuson-Stevens Management Act. The request was based on a comprehensive analysis of the poor performance of Oregon’s Ocean commercial salmon fisheries south of Cape Falcon, which resulted from reduced allowable catches of Klamath and Sacramento fall Chinook, anomalous ocean conditions, and spatial shifts in ocean distribution of these migratory species.

Finally, on Oct. 10, 2023, the Secretary of Commerce decided on eligibility for the 2018-2020 Oregon ocean chinook salmon fishery. The funds were appropriated through the 2023 Disaster Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act. The funds are intended to be used for activities that restore the fishery or prevent a similar failure in the future and assist fishing communities affected by such failure.

Read the full story at National Fisherman