Saving Seafood

NMFS Seeks to Streamline Aquaculture Permitting While a Washington Federal Court Interjects Caution

October 21, 2019 — In October 2019, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) published its Draft Outline for a Work Plan for a Federal Aquaculture Regulatory Task Force (Draft Outline) in the Federal Register Notice. The Draft Outline identifies three goals that NMFS intends to use to improve regulatory efficiency for freshwater and marine aquaculture, as well as streamline regulations and management decisions.

  1. “Improve the efficiency and predictability of aquaculture permitting in state and federal waters.” Some of the objectives identified to achieve this goal include expanding the categories of use for the Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) Nationwide Permit 48 (NWP 48), and NPDES general permits or developing new general permits, creating regional interagency groups and regional permit processes, and establishing federal processes for testing and certifying the human health requirements of aquaculture in federal waters.
  2. “Implement a national approach to aquatic animal health management of aquaculture.” Identified objectives for attaining this goal include collaboration among partners and stakeholders to establish standards or guidelines for aquatic animal and aquaculture health, as well as further clarifying and defining federal agency roles in the import and export of aquatic animals

Read the full story at The National Law Review

Murkowski questions data gaps on Alaska’s Pebble Mine

September 30, 2019 — On Thursday, Sept. 26, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski released a report calling for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to take its time to address the concerns of key state and federal agencies, as well as the region’s stakeholders, before submitting its decision on permitting for Pebble Mine near Alaska’s Bristol Bay.

The Army Corps of Engineers announced this week that it would perform a “thorough and transparent review” before issuing its final decision.

The announcement came after Murkowski again raised questions about the EPA’s criticism of the Army Corps’ Draft Environmental Impact Statement, including data gaps and inaccurate statements.

“If the data, if the science out there that has been raised by these agencies can’t demonstrate that you can have a successful mining project in an area that is as sensitive as the Bristol Bay watershed, then a permit should not issue,” Murkowski said.

Read the full story at National Fisherman

ALASKA: Murkowski says Pebble mine shouldn’t be permitted unless data ‘gaps’ get explained

September 25, 2019 — Sen. Lisa Murkowski last week expressed strong concerns about the permitting process for the Pebble copper and gold mine, saying at an event organized by a mine opponent that Pebble should not be permitted unless key questions are answered.

The Environmental Protection Agency and other agencies have raised “justifiable” issues with the Army Corps of Engineers’ 1,400-page draft review of the project’s potential impacts, she said.

“We have read what the EPA has said, and their very strong criticism of inadequacy of statements that just didn’t hold up, of data that wasn’t sufficient,” she said Sept. 18.

“So I look at that and say if the data, if the science out there that has been raised by these agencies can’t demonstrate that you can have a successful mining project in an area that is as sensitive as the Bristol Bay watershed then a permit should not issue,” she said.

Read the full story at the Anchorage Daily News

Alaskan Gold Mine Gets Boost as Trump’s EPA Intervenes on Permit

July 3, 2019 — The Environmental Protection Agency on Monday moved to ensure it has a role negotiating the terms of any permit for the massive Pebble Mine planned near Alaska’s Bristol Bay, a move that may bolster the permit’s chances of approval.

The EPA’s action comes as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers evaluates how the proposed gold, copper and molybdenum mine would affect the region’s water, land and thriving salmon fishery. In comments filed with the Army Corps, the EPA invoked a provision in a federal clean-water law that would allow top officials from both agencies to work out disagreements over a potential mine permit.

The EPA last week decided to resume consideration of proposed water pollution restrictions that threatened the project since the Obama administration outlined the restrictions in 2014.

The EPA’s continued involvement could be welcomed by supporters of the mine, developer Pebble LP and its parent company, Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd.

However, the EPA stressed that its action should not be viewed as a decision on the project or what to do about those five-year-old proposed restrictions. Regional EPA officials are coordinating with the Army Corps “to ensure that the EPA can continue to work with the Corps to address concerns raised during the permitting process,” the agency said in letters and formal comments made public Tuesday.

Read the full story at Bloomberg

ALASKA: Bristol Bay opens as public comments close

June 26, 2019 — Fishermen in Alaska’s Bristol Bay kicked off the region’s commercial salmon season this week. Most of the fleet and other stakeholders, however, have been focused on their long-term prospects in the bay since the February release of the Army Corps’ draft environmental impact statement on the proposed Pebble Mine.

“Our industry in Bristol Bay is in the fight of our lives against relentless attempts by the Pebble Limited Partnership fueled by a ‘dig baby dig’ attitude from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, to develop the world’s largest and most dangerous open pit mine at the headwaters of our fishery,” said Alaskan Alexus Kwachka of the F/V No Point on opening day in Naknek. “At this point, Bristol Bay fishermen and Alaskans, who still overwhelmingly oppose Pebble, are looking to Sen. Lisa Murkowski to deliver on her longtime promise of ensuring a permitting process that protects the interests of Alaskans and does not trade one resource for another.”

Murkowkski has continued to deflect direct action against the proposed mine.

“As I have said in the past,” the Alaska senator wrote in response to fishermen’s requests for her intervention, “we must have confidence that Bristol Bay’s world-class fisheries are protected, and I expect the Corps’ process to remain fair, rigorous and transparent as Alaskans provide their views.”

Read the full story at National Fisherman

Essential Fish Habitat Consultation Protects Crab and Salmon from Mining Operations in Alaska

May 23, 2019 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) recently released for public comment a General Permit for Floating Mining Operations in Alaska State Navigable Waters, including marine waters. The permit includes new measures to protect red king crab and salmon which migrate through Norton Sound and into rivers to spawn. NOAA Fisheries reviews public notices and offers expertise to the USACE for the conservation of living marine resources.

Floating mining operations use a dredge in nearshore waters to ‘vacuum’ up gravel and sand substrates which are then sifted to retain gold. The new protections restrict mining operations during certain spring and summer months when juvenile red king crab settle to the seafloor. Mining operations will also be restricted in waters deeper than 30 feet and within one nautical mile of stream mouths to avoid areas where salmon concentrate.

An Essential Fish Habitat (EFH) consultation with NOAA Fisheries is required whenever a federal agency authorizes, funds, or undertakes activities in an area that will affect EFH. Together, the agency and NOAA determine how best to conduct the coastal activity while supporting fish habitat and minimizing or avoiding environmental damage. The science conducted through this consultation helped USACE make management decisions; balancing mining and fishery interests in the Norton Sound.

In recent years, researchers and scientists from the University of Alaska, Fairbanks and the Alaska Fisheries Science Center used regular baseline sampling, analysis, monitoring, and new side-scan sonars technologies to inform studies on the benthic environment and red king crab in Norton Sound. Results showed that habitats deeper than 30 feet of water take more time to recover, while shallower habitats are routinely disturbed by natural events and recover quickly. Surveys also showed that crab larvae settle in nearshore substrates. These findings were used to better inform managers with the most recent science for the EFH consultation process.

NOAA Fisheries has provided USACE with EFH conservation recommendations relating to suction dredging operations in Norton Sound since 1999.

Read the full release here

ALASKA: At Iliamna Lake hearings, residents speak out on Pebble Mine

April 8, 2019 — Situated in Southwest Alaska, Lake Iliamna is renowned for its pure water, freshwater seals and fish. Now it is the center of one of the most contentious debates in the state.

The Pebble Mine would sit 17 miles north of the lake. It would tap into large deposits of copper, gold and molybdenum. And it would operate at the headwaters of the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. For some, this spells disaster for that habitat and residents’ traditional way of life. But others say it is a chance at renewed economic vitality.

In Kokhanok, around 50 people attended the meeting on Pebble Mine, though far fewer testified. Marlene Nielsen was one of those who spoke in support of the mine proposal.

“What do we have here?” Nielsen asked. “The village council that only has five, six jobs. The school that only has maybe two or three aides. And the store, maybe two. That’s not very much economy here. We need something going here for our kids. But we also need to make sure it’s safe.”

Across the lake in Iliamna, Chasity Anelon shares those concerns. She has worked as an operations coordinator for the Pebble Project for the past 10 years.

“So I’ve lived in Iliamna all my life. I have a daughter and, you know, I choose to live here. This is my home, this is where I want to be. And I am able to live here because I have a job,” Anelon said.

Read the full story at KTOO

Groups Lobby Judge for Immediate Fixes to Salmon-Killing Dams

April 5, 2019 — Environmental groups urged a judge to order immediate changes to the government’s operation of a series of dams in the upper Willamette River basin, saying steelhead and Chinook salmon are too imperiled to risk waiting for litigation over dam operations to play out.

The Army Corps of Engineers operates a series of 13 dams in the upper Willamette River and its tributaries. The dams provide flood control, produce electricity and store water for irrigation and for the city of Salem, Oregon. The dams are also the main cause of the precipitous decline of upper Willamette steelhead and Chinook salmon.

But the government hasn’t acted to protect fish, environmental groups say.

In 2008, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a biological opinion finding that the dams were decimating the protected fish by killing the majority of young salmon and steelhead as they make their way past the dams toward the ocean. The dams also torpedo water quality by raising water temperature to deadly levels and force young fish to cross reservoirs filled with predators and parasites.

In its biological opinion, National Marine Fisheries Service said the Corps could continue to operate the dams while reducing impacts to fish if it immediately implemented a slew of measures to improve fish passage and water quality.

But the Corps didn’t do that, and fish populations continued to decline.

Read the full story at Courthouse News Service

Fight renewed over Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska

April 5, 2019 — Opposition is growing to a renewed effort to launch a massive mining project near Bristol Bay, Alaska, home to the world’s largest sockeye salmon run.

Mining conglomerate Pebble Limited Partnership applied for a permit in December 2017 for an open pit copper, gold, and molybdenum mine that would sit near critical headwaters that feed the Bristol Bay fishery. Opponents say the Pebble Mine would undermine the area’s pristine habitat – a calling card of the Bristol Bay brand – and that a tailings dam failure could prove catastrophic to the fishery. The most recent public opinion poll by the BBNC shows 58 percent of Alaskans oppose the mine, with 33 percent supporting it.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) on 20 February, 2019, but the wide-ranging opposition in Alaska and beyond has lambasted the document.

“People around here understand on a very visceral level the importance of fisheries in general and Bristol Bay in particular. Commercial fishermen, sport fishermen, tribal entities that are interested in subsistence, biologists; we’re not always aligned, but we’re certainly aligned on this particular issue,” said Daniel Cheyenne, the vice president of lands and natural resources for the Bristol Bay Native Corporation (BBNC).

Norm Van Vactor, the CEO of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, said the EIS is incomplete.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

ALASKA: Scientists: Pebble Mine study doesn’t account for all risks

April 2, 2019 — Representatives have been grappling with the a proposal to develop a mine near Bristol Bay.

As a part of the wider discussion, the House Resources committee heard Monday from a group of scientists and advocates who disagree with the Pebble Mine project which proposes developing the Pebble copper-­gold­-molybdenum porphyry deposit (Pebble Deposit) in southwest Alaska as an open-pit mine, with associated infrastructure.

A group of scientists and Bristol Bay residents held a press conference, detailing concerns with the draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) released by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in February. Some critics have said the 90-day comment period for this DEIS is not long enough, considering the length of the document.

The chief concerns were that the DEIS used too short of a time frame to associate the risks of the mine, it used an inappropriate fish habitat assessment, cumulative risks were essentially ignored, there was very little mention of long-term risks associated with climate change and that it used selective use of scientific literature when backing up claims.

Read the full story at the Juneau Empire