Saving Seafood

Washington state finds virus in Cooke Atlantic salmon, plans expanded testing

May 21, 2018 — After identifying an exotic virus in fish raised by Cooke Aquaculture, Washington state is planning to test at other sites where the pathogen from Atlantic salmon may have been spread.

The state this week blocked restocking of one of Cooke’s net pens after fish at the company’s rearing facility in Thurston County tested positive for the virus.

Ken Warheit, fish-health manager for the Washington Department of Fish & Wildlife (WDFW), will, as soon as possible, test Cooke’s settling ponds at its incubator in Rochester, Thurston County, as well as Scatter Creek and its confluence with the Chehalis River for the presence of the virus found in the Atlantic salmon smolts raised by Cooke.

The pathogen could have contaminated surrounding water, raising a concern for its potential to affect native Pacific salmon, Warheit said.

Cooke’s request for a permit to transfer the smolts to open-water net pens for growing to harvest size was denied for the same reason, Warheit said.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

 

Washington: Some Puget Sound Tribal Dungeness Crab Fisheries Will Remain Closed This Year

May 14, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife announced Thursday that two marine areas in south Puget Sound will not open for crab fishing this summer to allow Dungeness crab populations to rebuild.

Tribal commercial crab fisheries will remain closed in marine areas 11 (Tacoma/Vashon Island) and 13 (south Puget Sound) this summer. Recreational crab fisheries also will not open in those areas this year.

State and tribal co-managers are developing crabbing seasons for the rest of Puget Sound and plan to announce those later this month.

“We are still working on setting crab seasons but wanted to give people early notice about these closures, which is a change from previous years,” WDFW Puget Sound shellfish manager Bob Sizemore said in a press release. Sizemore said the department will continue working to structure fisheries in each Puget Sound region, but he does not anticipate closures similar to those in marine areas 11 and 13.

The populations of harvestable Dungeness crab are low in both areas 11 and 13, based on pre-season test fisheries, Sizemore said. Additionally, Dungeness crab harvests have fallen 88 percent in Marine Area 11 and 90 percent in Marine Area 13 since the 2014-15 season. Input from recreational crabbers also indicates support for the closures.

“We are taking this step to protect crab in these areas and allow the populations to rebuild,” Sizemore said.

Water currents can carry young crab long distances, making it possible for crab larvae from robust populations to settle and grow in areas 11 and 13, Sizemore said. But it can take several years for a newly settled Dungeness crab to grow and reach the minimum harvestable size of 6-¼ inches.

A variety of factors could be contributing to the declining population of crab in areas 11 and 13, Sizemore said. These include reduced survival of crab larvae, a higher-than-normal mortality rate for juvenile crab, or changing ocean conditions such as elevated surface water temperatures.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished here with permission.

 

Washington state places voluntary ‘no-go’ zone along western San Juan Island to protect orcas

May 9, 2018 — OLYMPIA, Wash. — State fish and wildlife managers are asking boaters to avoid an area along the west side of San Juan Island in an effort to protect a dwindling population of Southern Resident killer whales.

Despite state and federal government protection, the population of Southern Resident killer whales has declined from 98 whales in 1995 to just 76 in December 2017.

The state said major threats to the whales include a lack of chinook salmon,  disturbance from vessel traffic and increased noise, and toxic contaminants.

“The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) will be working with partner agencies and stakeholder groups to help educate people about the voluntary ‘no-go’ zone, which applies to all recreational boats – fishing or otherwise – as well as commercial vessels, the department said.

Read the full story at KCPQ

 

Washington: Invasive bat-eating fish threatens salmon future

May 3, 2018 — There is a rapidly growing threat to salmon in the Columbia River that biologists say could wipe out tens of millions of dollars in restoration efforts.

On the surface of Lake Roosevelt, it may look like a picture-perfect day. Underwater, the scenery is anything but perfect.

The Spokane Tribe built a boat to deal with the invasive predator lurking beneath the surface.

“Hit ’em hard. Hit ’em now. Hit ’em with all we got,” said tribal Fisheries Manager Brent Nichols.

Nichols believes northern pike were brought here illegally, considered a fun sport fish to catch.

The tribe has been setting nets for years, trying to wipe out northern pike. But they just keep catching more.

“What happens is you see this explosion of the population size. So, we could go from 200 to 300 fish one year and three years later be looking at tens of thousands of fish in the same system,” Nichols explained.

Read the full story at KING5

 

3 reasons we’re farming Atlantic salmon in Puget Sound

May 1, 2018 — Every time I report on the Great Atlantic Salmon Escape of 2017, someone asks me the same question: Why don’t we just farm Pacific salmon species in Puget Sound?

Listener Michael Hrankowski wrote in recently with that exact question. Well, here’s why not.

First, there’s the business reason.

The difference between farming Atlantic salmon and farming Pacific species is like the difference between raising cattle and raising bison. Atlantic salmon are docile, they don’t get into fights in the pens, and they get fat fast.

In other words, they’ve been domesticated. They’re the cows of the sea.

Second, there’s the historical reason.

In 1971, scientists from the Northwest Fisheries Science Center started to raise Atlantic salmon in the Pacific Northwest with the end goal of shipping the fish back east to restore Atlantic salmon runs in New England. Halfway through the project, fisheries officials back in New England decided they didn’t want the fish because of the possibility that viruses and parasites from the Pacific Ocean might be introduced into the Atlantic.

Read the full story at KUOW

 

Senators Feinstein, Harris introduce bill to ban drift nets in California

April 30, 2018 — A bipartisan bill to ban controversial drift net fishing off California’s coast was introduced Thursday by Democratic California Sens. Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris, along with West Virginia Republican Sen. Shelley Moore Capito.

The nets, which can be more than a mile long, are intended to catch swordfish but end up trapping dolphins, sea lions and a host of other marine life, many of which die.

“The use of drift nets to target swordfish harms too many endangered or protected marine animals and should be phased out,” Feinstein said in an emailed statement. “It’s unacceptable that a single California fishery that uses this type of drift net is killing more dolphins and porpoises than the rest of the West Coast combined.”

Large mesh drift nets are already banned in the Atlantic Ocean and Gulf of Mexico, as well as off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, Alaska and Hawaii, according to Feinstein. Additionally, the United States is a signatory to international agreements that ban large drift nets in international waters.

Read the full story at the Orange County Register

 

Washington: 8 months after farmed-fish escape, lively Atlantic salmon caught 40 miles upriver

April 20, 2018 — Upper Skagit tribal fishermen caught a lively Atlantic salmon more than 40 miles up the Skagit River Tuesday, eight months after Cooke Aquaculture’s Atlantic salmon net pen collapsed at Cypress Island and sent more than 300,000 Atlantics into the home waters of Washington’s Pacific salmon.

The Atlantic caught Tuesday had bones in its stomach, indicating it had eaten some kind of fish.

“We are definitely concerned,” said Scott Schuyler, natural resources director for the Upper Skagit Indian Tribe. Schuyler caught the fish while out drift-netting for hatchery chinook intended for a ceremonial feast at the tribe’s upcoming blessing of the fleet.

He caught the Atlantic on the first set.

Read the full story at the Seattle Times

 

West Coast Salmon Seasons Set After Week of Tensions, Struggles

April 13, 2018 — SEAFOOD NEWS — This week the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and achieve conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.

“It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisers, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy said in a press release. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the West Coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”

Fisheries in Washington and northern Oregon, referred to as “North of Falcon” due to Cape Falcon being located near Nehalem in northern Oregon, depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Overall, Columbia River fall Chinook forecasts are considered low to moderate compared to the recent 10-year average. Hatchery coho stocks originating from the Columbia River together with natural stocks originating from the Queets River and Grays Harbor are expected to return at low levels resulting in very low harvest quotas, as was the case in 2017.

Washington state and tribal co-managers struggled during the week’s Council meeting to find solutions. Finally, on Tuesday, they agreed to fishing seasons that meets conservation goals for wild fish while providing fishing opportunities on healthy salmon runs.

A variety of unfavorable environmental conditions, including severe flooding in rivers and warm ocean water, have reduced the number of salmon returning to Washington’s rivers in recent years, Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife fish program leader Ron Warren said. In addition, the loss of quality rearing and spawning habitat continues to take a toll on salmon populations throughout the region, where some stocks are listed for protection under the federal Endangered Species Act, he said.

The overall non-Indian total allowable catch for the area is 55,000 Chinook coastwide, compared to 90,000 last year, and 47,600 marked hatchery coho, the same as last year. Fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on healthy Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River, while avoiding coho stocks of concern.

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer season (July through mid-September). Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries in this area will have access to a total of 27,500 Chinook, compared to 45,000 Chinook last year, and a marked coho quota of 5,600, the same as last year.

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar in structure to past years, with quotas that include 40,000 Chinook and 12,500 coho, the same as last year.

“It’s critical that we ensure fisheries are consistent with ongoing efforts to protect and rebuild wild salmon stocks,” Warren said in a press release. “Unfortunately, the loss of salmon habitat continues to outpace these recovery efforts.”

In California and Oregon south of Cape Falcon, will be limited, as expected, due to Klamath River and Sacramento fall Chinook and also to Oregon Coast natural coho — but some opportunities in Oregon are better this year than last.

“While this won’t be a banner year for ocean salmon fishing, overall it’s an improvement from 2017. This is particularly true for communities on the Southern Oregon coast, which were hit hard by 2017’s salmon closures,” Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife Deputy Fish Division Administrator Chris Kern said in a press release.

Commercial fisheries from Cape Falcon to Humbug Mt. in Oregon will open on May 4 and will and continue through Aug. 29 with intermittent closures. This area will also be open continuously in September and October, with weekly limits and a depth restriction in October.

Fisheries from Humbug Mt., Oregon, to Humboldt South Jetty, California, will be open intermittently from May through August. Monthly quotas will be in place for the Oregon portion of the Klamath Management Zone from June through August. In 2017, all Oregon commercial salmon trolling was closed south of Florence.

“I want to thank the many advisors, tribal members, agency staff, and members of the general public, who all worked hard to ensure that conservation goals for salmon stocks are met while providing fishing opportunities for communities up and down the West Coast,” Kern said.

In the California portion of the KMZ, monthly Chinook quotas will be in place from May through August. The quotas all feature landing and possession limits, and the Californian portion of this area will be open five days a week.

Between Horse Mountain and Pigeon Point, the Fort Bragg and San Francisco areas, the area will be open for a week in late July, most of August and all of September. From Pigeon Point to the Mexico border, the Chinook season will be open during the first week in May and the last two weeks of June. There will also be a season from Point Reyes to Point San Pedro (a subset of the San Francisco area), consisting of two five-day periods in October.

After the last week of tensions, Council members, state advisers and tribes did leave the meeting with a bit of positive news: a renewed commitment by Indian and non-Indian fishermen to work together for the future of salmon and salmon fishing, Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission chair Lorraine Loomis said.

“No fisherman wants to catch the last salmon. We know that the ongoing loss of habitat, a population explosion of hungry seals and sea lions and the needs of endangered southern resident killer whales are the real challenges facing us today. We must work together if we are going to restore salmon to sustainable levels,” she said.

Council chairman Phil Anderson noted fishermen bear the burden of conserving these fish populations while their demise is largely out of the seafood industry’s control.

“This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast,” Anderson said. “Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions.”

These recommendations will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018.

This story originally appeared on Seafood News, it is republished with permission.   

 

PFMC: West Coast Salmon Season Dates Set

April 11, 2018 — PORTLAND, Ore. — The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council:

This week the Pacific Fishery Management Council adopted ocean salmon season recommendations that provide recreational and commercial opportunities for most of the Pacific coast, and achieve conservation goals for the numerous individual salmon stocks on the West Coast.

The recommendation will be forwarded to the National Marine Fisheries Service for approval by May 1, 2018.

“It has been another challenging year for the Council, its advisors, fishery stakeholders and the public as we strive to balance fishing opportunities with the conservation needs we are facing on Chinook and coho salmon stocks, both north and south of Cape Falcon,” said Council Executive Director Chuck Tracy. “The Council has recommended ocean salmon seasons on the west coast this year that provide important protections for stocks of concern, including Lower Columbia River natural fall Chinook, Puget Sound Chinook, Washington coastal coho, and Sacramento River fall Chinook.”

“This year’s package includes some very restrictive seasons in both commercial and recreational fisheries along the entire coast. Low abundances of Chinook and coho are in part due to the poor ocean conditions the adult fish faced as juveniles when they entered the ocean, and poor in-river habitat and water conditions. Tribal, commercial, and recreational fishers continue to bear a large part of the burden of conservation,” said Council Chair Phil Anderson.

Washington and Northern Oregon (North of Cape Falcon)

Fisheries north of Cape Falcon (near Nehalem in northern Oregon) depend largely on Columbia River Chinook and coho stocks. Overall, Columbia River fall Chinook forecasts are considered low to moderate compared to the recent 10-year average.  Hatchery coho stocks originating from the Columbia River together with natural stocks originating from the Queets River and Grays Harbor are expected to return at low levels resulting in very low harvest quotas as was the case in 2017.

North of Cape Falcon, the overall non-Indian total allowable catch is 55,000 Chinook coastwide (compared to 90,000 last year) and 47,600 marked hatchery coho (the same as last year). Fisheries are designed to provide harvest opportunity on healthy Chinook returns primarily destined for the Columbia River, while avoiding coho stocks of concern.

Commercial Fisheries

Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries north of Cape Falcon include traditional, but reduced, Chinook seasons in the spring (May-June) and summer season (July through mid-September). Non-Indian ocean commercial fisheries in this area will have access to a total of 27,500 Chinook (compared to 45,000 Chinook last year), and a marked coho quota of 5,600 (the same as last year).

Tribal ocean fisheries north of Cape Falcon are similar in structure to past years, with quotas that include 40,000 Chinook and 12,500 coho (the same as last year).

View the release in its entirety here.

 

Washington Governor Jay Inslee signs bill banning Atlantic salmon farming

March 23, 2018 — Washington Governor Jay Inslee on Thursday, 22 March, signed a bill into law that will phase out Atlantic salmon and other non-native fish farming by 2025.

Canada’s Cooke Aquaculture, the only company that farms Atlantic salmon fish farms in Washington state, was the target of the ban after more than a quarter-million non-native salmon escaped in August 2017 from a Cooke net-pen near Cypress Island, Washington.

“This bill will phase out non-native marine net pens in Puget Sound. These present a risk to our wild salmon runs that we cannot tolerate,” the governor said.

Inslee also vetoed a section of the bill that requesting that the issue of fish farming be revisited if new science for the industry is developed.

“The economic, cultural, and recreational resources of these incredible waters will no longer be jeopardized by the negligent actions of this industry,” Sen. Kevin Ranker, who sponsored the bill in the Washington State Senate, said. “We’ve invested so much in trying to recover our wild Pacific salmon populations, there is no sensible purpose for allowing non-native species into the Salish Sea. The day-to-day impact of invasive aquaculture – feces, disease, loose food pellets or lice –  could have serious impacts. The state ban is a strong stance to ensure the protection of our marine environment and native salmon populations in the Salish Sea.”

In response to the bill being signed into law, Cooke Aquaculture spokesman Joel Richardson said the company was considering its next steps.

Read the full story at Seafood Source