Saving Seafood

Salmon Conservation Key to Saving Killer Whales

March 4, 2021 — The endangered Southern Resident killer whales in the waters near Washington and British Columbia have stalled in their population recovery, and, according to new research, a major factor limiting their growth is their preference for preying on Chinook salmon.

In a study published Wednesday in the journal PLOS One, researchers present new data on environmental stressors facing the orcas and propose investment in the conservation of Chinook salmon to aid in the recovery of the population.

Killer whales are some of the most recognizable mammals in our seas with their distinct black and white markings. While they can be found in every ocean, they have broken off into small populations, creating different sub-species known as transient, offshore, and resident. The three groups are unique to one another, with different physical attributes as well as social structures and behavioral habits.

There are multiple populations of resident killer whales, but the authors of this study looked specifically at Southern Resident killer whales. These orcas mostly inhabit the waters around Oregon, Washington and British Columbia, and make up the smallest of the resident populations.

Read the full story at the Courthouse News Service

OSU researcher leads NOAA-funded project to study West Coast response to ocean acidification

March 4, 2021 — The following was released by Oregon State University:

An Oregon State University researcher is part of a new federally supported project investigating how communities along the West Coast are adapting to ocean acidification, with the goal of determining what they need to be more resilient.

Ana K. Spalding, an assistant professor of marine and coastal policy in OSU’s College of Liberal Arts, is leading a team looking into how shellfish industry participants in several towns along the Oregon and California coasts are responding to ocean acidification and where gaps in policy or resources have left them vulnerable.

The $1 million, three-year interdisciplinary project is funded by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) through its Ocean Acidification Program. At OSU, Spalding is working with Erika Wolters, assistant professor of public policy, and Master of Public Policy students Victoria Moreno, Emily Griffith and Ryan Hasert.

“The goal of this project is to better align policy responses with the immediate and very local needs of shellfish-reliant communities,” Spalding said. “This is both understanding that vulnerability and proactively thinking, ‘What can we do to respond to better support members of the shellfish industry and their needs?’”

Ocean acidification and its impact on shellfish first became a major concern for West Coast farmers after a 2007 mass oyster larvae die-off at the Whiskey Creek Shellfish Hatchery in Netarts Bay, Oregon. OSU scientists definitively linked that die-off to increased carbon dioxide in the water in a 2012 study.

Read the full release here

PFMC: Notice of availability: Salmon Preseason Report I

March 1, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

This is the second report in an annual series of four reports prepared by the Salmon Technical Team of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) to document and help guide ocean fishery salmon management off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California. The report focuses on Chinook, coho, and pink salmon stocks that have been important in determining Council fisheries in recent years, and on stocks listed under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) with established National Marine Fisheries Service ESA consultation standards. This report will be formally reviewed at the Council’s March 2021 meeting.

Please visit the Council’s website to download Preseason Report I:  Stock Abundance Analysis and Environmental Assessment Part 1 for 2021 Ocean Salmon Fishery Regulations (Published March 2021).

For further information:

  • Please contact Pacific Fishery Management Council staff officer Robin Ehlke at 503-820-2410; toll-free 1-866-806-7204.

University of Washington and SFP release comprehensive new FIP database

February 25, 2021 — The Hilborn Lab at the University of Washington and the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership (SFP) have released an updated version of their Fishery Improvement Projects Database (FIP-DB). UW and SFP, which released the update on Wednesday, 24 February, are calling the database the “world’s most comprehensive resource for current and historical information on fishery improvement projects (FIPs),” with data from all the globe’s 249 FIPs.

Nicole Baker, a research scientist for the Hilborn Lab, said the database will function as a guide to help analyze and implement new FIP measures.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

WASHINGTON: NOAA’s Mukilteo waterfront fish lab won’t be rebuilt

February 25, 2021 — That waterfront is losing more than an important eyesore.

Plans were scrapped when bids came in too high for a new Mukilteo Research Station to replace the weathered two-story hovel where scientists studied climate change effects, ocean acidification and impacts on fish health.

“We sought contractor bids to rebuild the facility on-site. Unfortunately, the bids greatly exceeded the funds available for the project,” Michael Milstein, a spokesperson for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, said Wednesday. He would not give any bid figures.

The future of the 1.1-acre federal property on Front Street is uncertain. It could possibly end up in private hands and become condos or a parking lot.

Read the full story at The Daily Herald

Warming seas could wipe out Snake River chinook by 2060, scientists predict

February 19, 2021 — Snake River spring-summer chinook could be nearly extinct by 2060 and interventions are “desperately needed” to boost survival in every stage of their lives, scientists warn.

The findings, published Thursday in the journal Communications Biology, modeled survival of eight populations of wild Snake River Basin spring-summer chinook during the ocean phase of their life, under various climate-warming scenarios.

Salmon hatch in rivers, but mature for years at sea before they return to the waters of their birth. It is a perilous life cycle that could become all but impossible for some already fragile salmon populations that make one of the most arduous of all journeys, all the way to Idaho. They travel more than 1,800 miles round trip, climb more than a mile in elevation, and tackle eight dams, each way: four on the main stem Columbia, then four more on the Lower Snake River.

Add just a little ocean warming, and it’s curtains. Populations declined in all eight basin chinook populations for which the scientists ran predictions. Just a little more than 1 degree Celsius temperature increase in sea-surface temperature produced dire effects — with mortality as high as 90% in warmer seas.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

WASHINGTON: Trident Seafoods declares ship ‘total loss’ after fire at Port of Tacoma

February 19, 2021 — Trident Seafoods lost one of its fleet overnight after a massive fire broke out while the ship was docked at the Port of Tacoma on Wednesday night.

Tacoma firefighters battled the fire into Thursday.

The vessel, the 233-foot Alaskan fish processor Aleutian Falcon, was moored at Trident Seafoods on Pier 12 near the mouth of the Hylebos Waterway.

On Thursday, Trident Seafoods told The News Tribune in an emailed statement: “The Aleutian Falcon, the company’s smallest seasonal processing vessel, was a total loss to the fire.”

The company said no one was injured.

“We are grateful to the Tacoma Fire Department for their swift response and watch on scene, and that no one was injured,” said Trident CEO Joe Bundrant in Thursday’s statement. “We will conduct a full investigation of cause.”

The Aleutian Falcon is moored at Trident’s Tacoma facility between its time in Alaska supporting summer salmon fisheries. When operating, the vessel with a crew of 120 supplemented Trident’s shore-based and larger processing vessel operations throughout Alaska, according to the company.

Read the full story at The News Tribune

Washington state salmon report offers warning to Alaska

February 17, 2021 — A report on Washington state’s dwindling wild salmon populations offers a warning to Alaska, where several stocks have registered concerning declines over the past years.

Washington’s 2020 State of the Salmon in Watersheds report chronicled a bleak panorama, with 14 of the state’s species listed as endangered. While conversation efforts have succeeded in revitalizing some salmon runs in Washington, the report said fish stocks in the Pacific Northwest face an uphill battle.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

PFMC: Notice of availability: Review of 2020 Ocean Salmon Fisheries

February 17, 2021 — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

The Salmon Technical Team and staff of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) have prepared this stock assessment and fishery evaluation document as a postseason review of the 2020 ocean salmon fisheries off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California to help assess Council salmon fishery management performance, the status of Council area salmon stocks, and the socioeconomic impacts of salmon fisheries. The Council will formally review this report at its March 2021 meeting prior to the development of management alternatives for the approaching fishing season.

Please visit the Council’s website to get the Review of 2020 Ocean Salmon Fisheries (Published February 2021).

For further information:

ALASKA: ‘Brutal’ start to 2021 crabbing

February 17, 2021 — It was a hectic and hazardous opening weekend for commercial crab fishermen and the Coast Guard monitoring the fleet.

Commercial crabbing kicked off in Washington with a majority of fishermen dropping their first load of pots late last week for a 73-hour day soak period.

Fishermen reported encountering challenging conditions during their initial trips offshore with rogue waves, freezing rain and dense fog combined with usual turbulence of crossing the Columbia River Bar in boats loaded with crab pots.

Fishermen described the opening weekend conditions as “gnarly,” “brutal,” and in some instances “the worst they’ve ever seen.” One said he was simply grateful there weren’t any deaths despite some close calls.

Read the full story at The Chinook Observer