Saving Seafood

Warm waters off West Coast has lingering effects for salmon

September 18, 2017 — SEATTLE — The mass of warm water known as “the blob” that heated up the North Pacific Ocean has dissipated, but scientists are still seeing the lingering effects of those unusually warm sea surface temperatures on Pacific Northwest salmon and steelhead.

Federal research surveys this summer caught among the lowest numbers of juvenile coho and Chinook salmon in 20 years, suggesting that many fish did not survive their first months at sea. Scientists warn that salmon fisheries may face hard times in the next few years.

Fisheries managers also worry about below average runs of steelhead returning to the Columbia River now. Returns of adult steelhead that went to sea as juveniles a year ago so far rank among the lowest in 50 years.

Scientists believe poor ocean conditions are likely to blame: Cold-water salmon and steelhead are confronting an ocean ecosystem that has been shaken up in recent years.

“The blob’s fairly well dissipated and gone. But all these indirect effects that it facilitated are still there,” Brian Burke, a research fisheries biologist with the Northwest Fisheries Science Center.

Read the full story from the Associated Press at the Seattle P-I

After Atlantic salmon spill, fish farms’ future under attack on both sides of border

September 13, 2017 — Cooke Aquaculture Pacific knew it had problems at its Cypress Island fish farm before the catastrophic failure that spilled tens of thousands of Atlantic salmon into Puget Sound.

“The farm site No. 2 was identified as the first priority for upgrades. We knew it was at the end of its life cycle and it needed upgrades right away, and we were in the process of doing that,” company spokesman Chuck Brown said this week.

But the company never got the chance.

Instead, the farm capsized the weekend of Aug. 19, with 305,000 Atlantic salmon inside. The company collected 142,176 in all from its nets. The rest escaped.

Though evidence of damage to native fish runs is sparse, the accident has sparked an outcry to shut down the Atlantic salmon fish-farming industry in Washington. The state already has said it won’t allow new or expanded farms until further review, and 20 Western Washington tribes with treaty-protected fisheries say they want Puget Sound farms shut down entirely.

It also comes as the industry is under intense scrutiny across the border in British Columbia. First Nations people on Aug. 25 began an occupation of a net pen farm at Swanson Island near Alert Bay, demanding permits be revoked for the farms in their local waters because of concern about disease, fish waste and parasites harming wild stocks.

Read the full story at the Bellingham Herald

NOAA Fisheries: Ocean surveys show poor conditions for Columbia salmon

September 13, 2017 — Ocean conditions for salmon headed to sea this year are very poor, according to recent NOAA Fisheries research surveys, and have a high likelihood of depressing salmon returns to the Columbia River in the next few years.

The outlook is described in a recent research memorandum from NOAA Fisheries’ Northwest Fisheries Science Center, which has been studying the ecology of young salmon entering the ocean for more than 20 years. The research has helped reveal how conditions in the ocean affect salmon survival and, ultimately, how many salmon complete their life cycle to return to their home streams and spawn a new generation of fish.

NOAA Fisheries researchers regularly survey ocean conditions off the Pacific Northwest Coast, focusing especially on factors known as “ocean indicators” that can serve as barometers of salmon survival.

They also assess the number and condition of juvenile salmon along the Oregon and Washington coastlines, since the survival of the fish during their first months at sea helps predict how many are likely to survive over the longer term.

Read the full story at the Chinook Observer

Sens. Cantwell, Murray, WA Democratic Reps. Urge Immediate Action from Feds to Protect Native Salmon from Fish Farm Fiasco

Members: Agencies must also immediately halt permitting of new and expanding net pens

August 31, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the office of Senator Maria Cantwell:

Today, U.S. Senators Maria Cantwell (D-WA) and Patty Murray (D-WA), joined by Reps. Adam Smith (WA-09), Pramila Jayapal (WA-07), Rick Larsen (WA-02), Derek Kilmer (WA-06), Denny Heck (WA-10), and Suzan DelBene (WA-01), wrote an urgent letter to the heads of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to press the two agencies to take quick and decisive action to address the impacts of hundreds of thousands of escaped farmed Atlantic salmon in Washington state waters.

Citing the importance of wild salmon fisheries to Tribes, fishermen, and ecosystems in the state, the members of Congress are calling on NOAA and the Army Corps to direct federal resources to mitigate the risks of this incident, including the capture of the escaped farmed salmon. The letter also calls on the Army Corps to work to stop all permitting for new net pens or expansions to existing pens, as well as prioritize requests to update or maintain existing pens.

“Pacific salmon are central to our economy, our culture, and our environment in the Pacific Northwest, and are a critical part of marine and estuarine ecosystems in Washington state,” the members wrote. “The released Atlantic salmon pose a threat to wild Pacific salmon, including multiple endangered and threatened stocks in the region. Tribes, fishermen, and state agencies are working to respond to the escapement but the scale of the release calls for immediate and direct federal response…”

The farmed salmon escaped from a damaged facility owned by Cooke Aquaculture on August 19th and 20th. Since the breach, farmed Atlantic salmon have been found as far afield as Canadian waters on the West side of Vancouver Island, as well as the Skagit and Nooksack Rivers. The released Atlantic salmon pose a threat to wild Pacific salmon, including multiple endangered and threatened stocks in the region. Farmed salmon tend to be larger and could outcompete wild salmon for critical resources such as prey and preferred habitat, which is important for spawning.

Tribes and federal and state agencies have worked tirelessly towards restoration of wild salmon populations in Puget Sound. At a time when stocks of many types of wild Pacific salmon are at historic lows, the escape of thousands of farmed salmon could be a devastating setback.

The members also asked the agency heads to conduct a review of the integrity and operation of all currently operating net pen structures to address concerns of further accidents at existing facilities.

Text of the letter can be found below.

Dear Acting Administrator Friedman and Mr. Lamont,

We write to request the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Army Corps) immediately act to minimize the impact of the Atlantic salmon net pen failure near Cypress Island in Skagit County, Washington. The released Atlantic salmon pose a threat to wild Pacific salmon, including multiple endangered and threatened stocks in the region. Tribes, along with federal and state agencies have worked tirelessly to restore wild salmon in Puget Sound and the escapement of thousands of farmed salmon could be a devastating setback.

Pacific salmon are central to our economy, our culture, and our environment in the Pacific Northwest, and are a critical part of marine and estuarine ecosystems in Washington state. Pacific salmon support treaty rights for Tribes throughout the region, commercial and recreational fishers, as well as predators like the endangered Southern resident orcas. On August 19th, potentially hundreds of thousands of farmed Atlantic salmon were released into the Puget Sound ecosystem due to the structural failure of a net pen. While the fish farm facility was permitted under Washington state law, the escapement may negatively impact resources under the jurisdiction of NOAA, the Army Corps, and other federal agencies. Most concerning is the threat farmed Atlantic salmon pose to the wild Pacific salmon populations stocks in Puget Sound. Farmed salmon tend to be larger and could outcompete wild salmon for critical resources such as prey and preferred habitat, which is important for spawning.

Tribes, fishermen, and state agencies are working to respond to the escapement but the scale of the release calls for immediate and direct federal response including mitigation, scientific support, and funding to improve response and capture of the released Atlantic salmon. Further, as other net pens remain in our waters, we request the Army Corps halt all permitting for new net pens or expansions to existing net pens, while prioritizing permit requests to upgrade and maintain existing net pens. In addition, we ask NOAA and the Army Corps to review the integrity and operation of all existing net pen structures to determine any additional threats to wild salmon in the area and prevent any further escapement of farmed salmon into our waters.

We appreciate your ongoing work to restore Pacific salmon in Puget Sound and throughout the Pacific Northwest.

Sincerely,

Cooke faces government action, lawsuit after salmon escape

August 30, 2017 — Cooke Aquaculture faces potential fines and a lawsuit in the aftermath of a large-scale farmed salmon escape it experienced in Washington State last week.

The Washington Department of Ecology said that Cooke could face penalties for the incident, Larry Altose, a spokesman for the agency told The Seattle Times.

“[Farmed salmon] are supposed to be released to the store,” Altose told the newspaper. “Not [Puget] Sound.”

Washington Governor Jay Inslee declared a state of emergency in Washington and said the salmon release was a “situation that has state agencies working together to protect the health of our salmon.”

Inslee directed the Department of Ecology to put any new permits for net pens on hold until a thorough investigation of the Cooke incident is completed.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Seattle Times: Keep a sharper eye on farmed-fish industry

Open season on Atlantic salmon is fun, but the accidental release of thousands of farmed fish near Anacortes raises serious questions for regulators and farm operators.

August 24, 2017 — THE open season on Atlantic salmon fishing right here in Puget Sound, prompted by a broken fish pen near Anacortes, is a fun way to end a remarkable summer.

But the accidental release of thousands of farmed salmon raises serious questions about the oversight of this growing offshore industry.

Myriad state and federal agencies are involved in the permitting of fish farms, yet Cooke Aquaculture still experienced a substantial net-pen failure on Aug. 19 at its farm on Cypress Island, between Guemes and Blakely islands.

That prompted the state Department of Fish and Wildlife to declare open season on the thousands of Atlantic salmon that were released, inviting anglers to catch as many escapees as possible.

An initial flurry of misleading information, suggesting the accident was related to tides during the Aug. 21 eclipse, puts the onus on Cooke Aquaculture to better explain what happened. All operators must do a better job informing the public when incidents occur in publicly owned waters they lease from the state.

Read the full editorial at the Seattle Times

‘Environmental Nightmare’ After Thousands Of Atlantic Salmon Escape Fish Farm

August 24, 2017 — Commercial fishing boats are scrambling to catch as many Atlantic salmon as they can after a net pen broke near Washington’s Cypress Island. Fishers reported thousands of the non-native fish jumping in the water or washing ashore.

A fish farm’s net pen failed Saturday afternoon when an anchor pulled loose and metal walkways twisted about. Onlookers said it looked like hurricane debris.

The pen, in the state’s northwestern San Juan Islands, contained about 305,000 Atlantic salmon. Now, owner Cooke Aquaculture and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife are trying to determine how many escaped.

Kurt Beardslee, the director of the Wild Fish Conservancy Northwest, called the escape an “environmental nightmare.”

Department officials blamed the structure failure on high tides caused by the eclipse — but that explanation is being questioned because tidal waters had been higher in July.

“Our understanding is with the solar eclipse came some pretty severe tidal exchanges, and within the San Juan Islands themselves, those currents are pretty strong at times,” Ron Warren, the department’s assistant director, told KUOW’s The Record.

A statement on Cooke Aquaculture’s website said that “exceptionally high tides and currents coinciding with this week’s solar eclipse” caused the damage.

Read the full story at New England Public Radio

Fishermen See ‘Science in Action’ Aboard NOAA Survey Ship

August 18, 2017 — Each spring and early summer, scientists set out along the West Coast aboard NOAA vessel Reuben Lasker to survey coastal pelagic species, or CPS, which includes small schooling fish such as northern anchovy, Pacific sardine, and jack and Pacific mackerels.

This year, with the help of West Coast fishermen, the scientists tested a new approach to extend their reach into nearshore waters to improve the accuracy of the survey results. The collaboration involved the fishing vessel Lisa Marie, of Gig Harbor, Washington, and brought two commercial fishermen aboard Lasker for an inside look at NOAA Fisheries surveys that inform stock assessments and guide decisions on how many fish can be caught by West Coast fishermen.

The idea emerged years before when the then-Director of NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, California,  Cisco Werner, along with Deputy Director Kristen Koch and Fisheries Resources Division Director Gerard DiNardo, discussed the potential collaboration with Mike Okoniewski of Pacific Seafood and Diane Pleschner-Steele of the California Wetfish Producers Association.

Werner has since been named Chief Scientist of NOAA Fisheries.

The Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act requires NOAA Fisheries to use the best available science to help managers set catch limits and prevent overfishing. Annual surveys, using echosounders to detect and measure the abundances of CPS populations off the coasts of California, Oregon, Washington, and Canada’s Vancouver Island help fulfill this mandate. NOAA Fisheries also uses trawl catches, and fish-egg samples to help gauge fish reproduction and population trends.

“Acoustic-trawl surveys are our principal tool for monitoring the various species and determining how their abundances, distributions, and sizes are changing,” said David Demer, the Chief Scientist of the survey and leader of the Advanced Survey Technologies Group at Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla. “The surveys are very rigorous because they’re very important to our mission.”

Read the full story from NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center

Sen. Cantwell Secures Major Win for Washington Crab Fishermen

Legislation makes cooperative management of Dungeness fisheries permanent

August 4, 2017 — WASHINGTON — The following was released by the office of Senator Maria Cantwell:

A bill led by U.S. Senator Maria Cantwell (D-WA) strengthening Washington’s crab fishery has passed the United States Senate and will now head to the president’s desk for signature into law. The bill permanently extends a decades-long fishery management agreement that has been vital to Washington state’s Dungeness crab fishery.

Without Cantwell’s legislation, crab fisheries in the Pacific Northwest faced an uncertain future without an approved fishery management plan.

“The Dungeness crab fishery is an economic pillar of our coastal communities, supporting thousands of fishing and processing jobs,” Cantwell said. “By preserving the Tri-State Agreement, we can sustainably manage our crab fisheries for many years.”

The states of Washington, Oregon, and California cooperatively manage the West Coast crab fishery in federal waters under a tri-state agreement that Congress first authorized in 1998. The act would make that authority permanent. The agreement expired without a replacement in 2016. The Cantwell bill will help reintroduce much-needed stability to the industry, and preserve a sustainable, science-based fishery management program that keeps fishermen fishing and crab stocks thriving.

“The future of West Coast Commercial Fishing is anchored by Dungeness crab, which has added stability and vitality to coastal fish-dependent communities in the face of other struggling fisheries.  The crab fleet was happy to work with Senator Maria Cantwell and Congresswoman Jaime Herrera Beutler on this legislation making the Tri-State Agreement permanent,” said Dale Beasley, president of the Columbia River Crab Fisherman’s Association.

Crab populations vary greatly by year, depending on food availability and ocean conditions. The Dungeness crab catch tends to peak every 10 years and can fluctuate by tens of millions of pounds between years. In order to manage the fishery appropriately, managers must coordinate between states to ensure management and conservation goals are achieved. 

Washington state’s Dungeness crab industry brings $61 million into the state’s economy annually. Crab fishermen in the state harvest an average of 9.5 million pounds of crab per year, supporting more than 60,000 maritime jobs. 

“Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission applauds the success of Senator Cantwell and Rep. Hererra-Beutler in preserving this valuable conservation and management program.  Our West Coast states have a long history of successfully managing the West Coast’s most valuable fishery,”said Randy Fisher, Executive Director of the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission.
Senators Patty Murray (D-WA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ron Wyden (D-OR), Jeff Merkley (D-OR), and Diane Feinstein (D-CA) are cosponsors of the bill. Representatives Jamie Herrera-Beutler (R-WA-3) and Derek Kilmer (D-WA-6) co-sponsored companion legislation in the House.

WASHINGTON: Seattle fishing boat lost since February found on ocean floor

July 20, 2017 — A vessel on a scientific mission has made an important deep sea discovery, officials announced Thursday.

The fishing boat Destination, a Seattle-based vessel that sank in February with six crew members aboard, was found on the ocean floor in Alaska.

The ship that found the 98-foot fishing boat was a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) vessel.

People at Seattle’s Fisherman’s Terminal say the lives there were lost will be forever remembered.

“We want to know what happened,” Judy Hamick, mother of Destination crewman Kai Hamick, said. “This is a good boat. Why did this have to happen? Knowing that they found the boat is relief, but we know we still don’t have any bodies to recover.”

The Coast Guard hopes to provide those answers to the Hamicks and other families since NOAA has helped located the vessel off St. George, Ala. The boat was found not far from where it went missing on February 11 while fishing for snow crab.

Read the full story at KOMONews