Saving Seafood

Sen. Cantwell Criticizes “Slow and Inefficient” Implementation of Fishery Disaster Relief Funding, Calls for Streamlining Process

July 30, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

Today at a Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the top Democrat on the committee, highlighted the devastating impacts COVID-19 has had on the seafood sector and called for a streamlining of the fishery disaster process, criticizing the “slow and inefficient and cumbersome implementation” of fishery disaster relief by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Marine Fisheries Service.

The fisheries sector makes up 60 percent of Washington state’s 30 billion dollar maritime economy, which supports over 146,000 jobs. In her opening statement, Cantwell discussed how the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has decimated the seafood industry, resulting in a decrease of $21 million in revenue for West coast fisheries—a 40 percent decline compared to the previous five-year average. In January alone, Washington Dungeness crab fishery saw a 37 percent decline in revenue from the previous year. Overall, U.S. seafood sales have dropped an estimated 95 percent this year.

“Despite this staggering economic data, many fishermen have not been able to access the COVID relief funding from the Paycheck Protection Program, the Main Street Lending Program, or even qualify for unemployment based on the nature of their businesses and tax structures,” Senator Cantwell said. “USDA food purchase programs have not been able to provide the support for most seafood products, and some USDA programs, including the Farmers to Families Box Program, specifically block wild caught seafood from eligibility to the program, another blow to the industry.”

“That is why I fought so hard to secure $300 million dollars for the seafood sector in the form of grants and other assistance in the CARES Act to address the loophole. Unfortunately, the industry has yet to see a single dollar of relief due to a slow and inefficient and cumbersome implementation through NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service.”

At the hearing, Cantwell also highlighted legislation she introduced with Commerce Committee Chairman Roger Wicker (R-MS) that would streamline the fishery disaster process. “While this bill was written before COVID, it is clear even now…that this is an important aspect of what we need to be doing,” Senator Cantwell said.

Senator Cantwell has been a long-time leading advocate for fishing communities and sustainable fisheries management. In March, Cantwell secured $300 million in economic relief for fishermen suffering from the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, including $50 million for Washington fishermen, from the Coronavirus, Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In May, Cantwell successfully ensured the release of more than $8.4 million in fishery disaster funds to Washington state communities and Tribes. Cantwell has advocated for reforms to the fisheries disaster process to ensure that small business charter fisherman are included in the Disaster Relief Recovery Act, and throughout her time in the Senate Cantwell has worked with her colleagues to help securefunding for fishing communities impacted by federally-declared disasters.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s opening statement can be found HERE and audio HERE.

Video of Senator Cantwell’s Q&A with witnesses can be found HERE and audio HERE.

Sen. Cantwell Slams Trump Administration for Rushing to Approve Pebble Mine Despite Grave Risk

July 29, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

In today’s Senate Commerce Committee hearing, Ranking Member Maria Cantwell (D-WA) slammed the Trump administration for ignoring more than a decade of scientific analysis on the devastating impacts the proposed Pebble Mine will have on Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon fishery. Cantwell has been vocal about the disaster that the Pebble Mine would bring to the Pacific Northwest, and she has repeatedly criticized various members of the administration for downplaying the threat of the mine.

“Instead of focusing on getting recovery dollars out the door to protect the seafood sector, the administration is paving the way towards permitting the Pebble Mine,” Ranking Member Cantwell said in today’s hearing. “It is beyond unconscionable that the administration continues to threaten the largest salmon fishery in the world instead of focusing on the catastrophic failure that we are seeing because of the pandemic. This is like a one, two gut punch to the industry…So as I have said many times, we must let science lead, and the administration is not listening to science and NOAA is not sticking up for the science.”

The Pebble Mine threatens to permanently damage the Bristol Bay watershed, the 40-60 million salmon that return to it every year, and the fishermen and industries that rely on Bristol Bay salmon. A three-year study by the Environmental Protection Agency released in 2014 found that the mine as proposed would result in irreparable harm to Bristol Bay salmon and the fisheries that depend on them. This year, EPA Region 10 found that the mine even in the course of normal, safe mine operations, would destroy 3,560 acres of wetlands, 55 acres of lakes and ponds, 81 miles of streams and 11 acres of marine waters.

The seafood sector is the cornerstone of the 30 billion dollar maritime economy in Washington state. Fisheries and fishery related businesses, such as commercial fishing, seafood processing, shipbuilding, and gear manufacturing, make up 60 percent of Washington’s maritime economy, which as a whole supports over 146,000 jobs.

In her Q&A with the witnesses at the hearing, Cantwell asked Mr. Phil Anderson, Chair of the Pacific Fishery Management Council, what the Pacific Northwest and the U.S. maritime economy at large stands to lose from the impacts of the Pebble Mine. He responded, “The project, from some of the information I’ve read from the Army Corps of Engineers…from a fishery management perspective, and a harvesting perspective, and businesses that are dependent on renewable resources, this is a huge concern to those of us here in the Pacific Northwest.”

In her questioning with Dr. Paul Doremus, Deputy Assistant Administrator of Operations at NOAA, Cantwell criticized Neil Jacobs and NOAA for their lack of review of Pebble Mine’s impact saying, “Well I want you to hear that NOAA hasn’t fulfilled its role, Mr. Jacobs hasn’t fulfilled his role, and there’s a lot at stake.”

Ranking Member Cantwell has led the fight to protect Alaska’s Bristol Bay, one of the largest salmon fisheries in the world. In October of 2017, Cantwell and other members of the Washington state congressional delegation urged President Trump to listen to Washington fishermen and businesses before removing protections from Bristol Bay. In May 2018, Cantwell called on the Trump administration to hold public meetings in Washington state on the proposal and increase transparency for the permitting process. In July 2019, Cantwell slammed the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw protections for Bristol Bay. And just this month, Cantwell criticized an environmental analysis released by the Trump administration that could pave the way for approval of the proposed Pebble Mine.

A video of Ranking Member Cantwell’s opening statement can be found HERE and audio HERE.

A video of Cantwell’s Q&A with witnesses can be found HERE and audio HERE.

Senator Cantwell Slams Trump Administration Analysis of Pebble Mine That Could Put Bristol Bay at Risk of Irreparable Harm

July 27, 2020 — The following was released by The Office of Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA):

Today, U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA), the Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, slammed an environmental analysis released by the Trump administration that could pave the way for approval of the proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay, Alaska:

“Mining and fish spawning habitat don’t mix. Mining pollution not only kills fish, but it can permanently destroy their habitat. Building a mine on top of an estuary kills salmon and the jobs that depend on them. That’s why this decision is shameful. We have seen analysis after analysis—including from the Trump administration’s own EPA—showing the Pebble Mine will irreparably harm Bristol Bay and over 50 million salmon that return to the watershed every year. But the administration has chosen to push forward and help special interests at the expense of Pacific Northwest fishermen, Alaska Native communities, shipbuilders, suppliers, sportsmen, restaurants, and so many others. Whatever the administration may say, this fight is not over.”

Senator Cantwell has long fought to protect the Bristol Bay watershed and its important environmental and economic place in the Pacific Northwest. In January of 2014, she called on the Obama administration to protect Bristol Bay from mining after a report showed the proposed mine would threaten salmon runs and damage the commercial fishing industry. In July of 2014, Cantwell praised proposed science-based protections for the Bristol Bay watershed. In October of 2017, Cantwell and other members of the Washington state congressional delegation urged President Trump to listen to Washington fishermen and businesses before removing protections from Bristol Bay. In May 2018, Cantwell called on the Trump administration to hold public meetings in Washington state on the proposal and increase transparency for the permitting process. And in July 2019, Cantwell slammed the Trump administration’s decision to withdraw protections for Bristol Bay.

Pacific Seafood reaches settlement with EPA over Clean Water Act violations

June 22, 2020 — Pacific Seafood has reached a settlement with the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) over Clean Water Act violations at their crab and shrimp processing plants in Westport, Washington, according to an EPA press release.

More than 2,000 violations had been recorded by the EPA during an unannounced inspection in 2017. Among them were discharge limit violations as well as incorrect sampling and incomplete or inadequate reporting.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Sound Strategy: Hunting with the Southern Residents, Part 1

June 15, 2020 — The following was released by NOAA Fisheries:

This is the time of year when boats multiply on the inland waters of Washington as more people get outdoors for the summer. It is also the time when many long for a precious chance to see the endangered Southern Resident killer whales.

Boats generate noise, though, which—combined with the boat traffic itself—is considered one of the main threats to the Southern Residents. It can interfere with the whales’ use of echolocation, a form of sonar they use to find the Chinook salmon they favor as prey. Regardless of how many salmon might be available, noise can make it harder for the whales to find them.

That can be particularly costly for the Southern Residents because salmon do not gather in schools as some fish do. The whales must find each one individually—painstakingly hunting one fish at a time.

Read the full release here

COVID-19 Outbreak In Pacific Northwest Seafood Industry As Season Ramps Up

June 8, 2020 — As America’s meat producers confronted thousands of COVID-19 cases, Pacific Northwest seafood companies drafted rigorous plans to ward off similar spread of the disease in an industry where processors also work in close quarters.

But just a few weeks into the summer season, the industry has been shaken by its first major outbreak aboard a huge vessel with an onboard fish processing factory. This week, Seattle-based American Seafoods confirmed that 92 crew from its American Dynasty ship had tested positive for COVID-19, nearly three-fourths of the 126 people onboard.

“It was like, ‘Wow, I can’t believe this.’ We had done so much. Each company had worked so hard to try to avoid this happening,” says Brent Paine, executive director of United Catcher Boats.

The trade group’s members fish for pollock and cod off Alaska, and another whitefish called hake off Washington and Oregon. “None of us have ever worked so hard in our lives than we have in the last two months, without a doubt.”

Read the full story at Spokane Public Radio

Seattle-based American Seafoods to screen 2 more crews after most on third vessel test positive for COVID-19

June 4, 2020 — Seattle-based American Seafoods, after most of the 126-person crew aboard its American Dynasty tested positive for COVID-19, has decided to screen the crews of two additional vessels.

The new round of testing involves the crews of the American Triumph and the Northern Jaeger as they dock in Bellingham, according to a company statement.

“We’re conducting these tests out of an abundance of caution,” said Mikel Durham, the company’s chief executive.

All three of American Seafoods’ vessels had been participating in the Pacific whiting harvest off the Northwest coast with large crews onboard to operate the vessels and equipment that processes and freezes the catch. Their work often entails long hours of close-quarters labor in a season that started last month.

Read the full story at The Seattle Times

Washington state sues Starkist over price-fixing

June 3, 2020 — Bob Ferguson, the attorney general for the U.S. state of Washington, filed a civil lawsuit on 2 June against canned tuna producer Starkist, its parent company Dongwon Industries, and Chris Lischewski, the former CEO of Bumble Bee Foods, alleging a price-fixing conspiracy they were involved cost the state’s citizens at least USD 6  million (EUR 5.3 million).

Washington is the first state to bring a civil suit in the price-fixing scandal, which resulted from an investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Antitrust Division, resulting in guilty pleas from StarKist and Bumble Bee in separate criminal trials, and Lischewski’s conviction in a trial at the end of last year.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Eighty-six workers aboard American Seafoods’ trawler test positive for COVID-19

June 1, 2020 — Eighty-six workers for American Seafoods have tested positive for COVID-19 after an outbreak onboard the company’s American Dynasty trawler.

The company announced over the weekend that one crew member had tested positive for the virus, prompting testing of all 124 employees onboard the vessel. American Seafoods spokesperson Suzanne Lagoni told SeafoodSource that nine tests were still pending as of Monday morning.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

THE SEATTLE TIMES: New UW consortium will lead to a broader, deeper study of ocean health

May 28, 2020 — The University of Washington’s selection to host a new research consortium is a testament to the school’s well-earned reputation. It will help advance understanding of climate, ocean dynamics and marine ecosystems, building on the school’s track record of excellence in the field.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced last week that the UW will lead a new Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean, and Ecosystem Studies, which includes Oregon State University and University of Alaska Fairbanks. The designation comes with up to $300 million in funding for research into areas such as climate and ocean variability, the impacts of climate change on marine ecosystems, aquaculture and polar studies, in conjunction with the NOAA labs.

The selection is a testament to the UW’s research prowess: The commitment is nearly triple the last NOAA Cooperative Institute award to UW and formalizes longstanding collaborations among researchers along the West Coast.

Read the full opinion piece at The Seattle Times