Features – Page 15 – Fishermens News

Marine Propulsion What’s New in the Industry in 2021

Of all the equipment housed on a commercial fishing vessel, propulsion is obviously among the most important. After all, if you can’t be propelled out into middle of the ocean, then your chances of successful deepwater fishing are very limited, at best. Plus, when dealing with rough seas, strong winds and/or high waves, fishing vessels have to be able to cope with the extreme weather conditions at sea at all times. Whether they’re trawlers, live fish carriers or longliners, adapting the equipment optimally to the fishing vessel’s operational profile is vital for efficient operations. Fortunately for the commercial fishing industry, a number of companies around the globe make it their business to advance the state of marine propulsion technology, and create new and different produ...

Refrigeration Equipment: Trends & Technology

When it comes to bringing the freshest catch to market, refrigeration serves a vital role in that process, and the West Coast companies that do it well know it takes experience and an eye toward innovation to get the job done. Fishermen’s News reached out to some of the West Coast leaders in the refrigeration industry to talk about what’s trending in the industry, the latest in cold storage technology and where they see refrigeration heading in the coming years. Trends in Seafood The need to chill products faster than ever is on the rise as the demand for seafood grows, experts say. “The trend that we see is to start preserving the catch at an earlier stage,” said Lars Matthiesen, president of Highland Refrigeration. “That means immediately after catch, the fish will be submerged in ...

Bristol Bay Braces for the Gold, a Forecast of over 51 Million Sockeyes

Optimism rising as the pandemic ebbs, with an eye to another robust harvest Harvesters headed for the famed Bristol Bay wild sockeye salmon fishery are upbeat this year, buoyed by the forecast of a robust harvest, a reopening economy, more people cooking salmon at home and the ebbing of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Conditions are very favorable,” said Andy Wink, executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA), which represents some 1,800 drift gillnetters. “There is high demand … and there is a lot less fear and anxiety this year because we have been dealing with the pandemic for a much longer time.” The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a run exceeding 51 million red salmon, with a harvest of 36.35 million fish, which would be 13...

NOAA Fisheries to Review Killer Whales’ Endangered Listing

On April 22, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) announced its intent to conduct a five-year Endangered Species Act (ESA) review of Southern Resident killer whales (SRKW), also known as “orcas.” The purpose: “to ensure that the listing classification remains accurate.” Currently, the Southern Residents are listed as endangered – “in danger of extinction throughout all or a significant portion of (their) range,” according to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. It’s unlikely that status will be moderated since experts believe there are only 75-80 SRKW left. “The Southern Resident population remains small and vulnerable and has not had a net increase in abundance since the mid-1980s,” NOAA writes in its new, 2021-2025 “Species in the Spotlight” document, which presents upcoming a...

Pollock Tariffs: An Ongoing Problem for the Commercial Fishing Industry

According to a study by the European Commission, China is the largest and fastest growing seafood market in the world. However, due to an ongoing China-U.S. trade war, American Alaska Pollock producers are having their access to this expanding market limited during this period of growth. The path to this exclusion from such a lucrative market began in January 2018, with the onset of the U.S.-China trade war. The Trump Administration imposed tariffs on Chinese goods entering the United States while China in turn placed tariffs on U.S. exports, setting off a series of tit-for-tat measures that would see hefty tariffs against multiple U.S. products, including Alaska Pollock. The first round of Chinese tariffs went into effect on July 6th, 2018, and netted Alaska Pollock in its list of affec...

Nigiri Project Rears Juvenile Chinook Salmon in Winter-Flooded Rice Fields

A fisheries research project using winter-flooded California rice fields as a nursery for juvenile Chinook salmon is being hailed for its potential to reverse the drastic decline of this economically and culturally important fish over the past century. The Nigiri Project, which has been ongoing since 2011, takes its name from the sushi-like marriage of fish and rice. Nigiri sushi is a Japanese dish made with sushi rice hand formed into a small clump and capped with a layer of fish. The project is a collaborative effort of the University of California, Davis Center for Watershed Sciences, the California Department of Water Resources and California Trout, a 50-year-old nonprofit organization whose mission is to protect and restore wild trout, steelhead, salmon and their waters throughout...

Marine Business Updates

Naval Architects Re-Organize as Hockema Group The longtime West Coast firm of Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, Inc. kicked off 2021 with management changes that have resulted in a new name for the company, which specializes naval architecture and marine engineering. Hockema Group’s president is now John Myers; Michael Minnig will take on Myers’ former role of vice president and senior principal, while Craig Pomeroy is now the principal naval architect. Founder Hal Hockema will ease back and continue on a part-time basis as an advisor. The group’s last fishing vessel project was the plan for the completion of a 58-foot x 27-foot x 11-foot steel hull that was begun by Delta Marine in Seattle almost a decade ago. The bare hull was kept in a warehouse for about five years until it was bough...

Pandemic, Changing Markets Pose Challenges for Bering Sea Fisheries

Harvesters who annually deliver millions of pounds of wild Alaska seafood from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are facing new challenges these days: an ongoing global pandemic that has perhaps forever changed the way they operate, and the industry’s markets themselves. For a second consecutive season, groundfish and shellfish harvesters operating in these often stormy, icy waters are prioritizing their responsibility to keep their employees and the coastal communities they work in safe from the novel coronavirus, while continuing to operate in changing markets. “The greatest challenge for 2021 is to continue to stay operational across multitudes of fisheries and communities across Alaska, while protecting those communities and our workforce from COVID-19, so that we can continue to...

Fishermen’s News 2021 Deck Gear & More Survey

Kolstrand Expands Product Lines with Acquisition of Nordic/JK Fabrication It’s been nine months since Integrity Machining, Inc., maker of Kolstrand marine deck equipment, announced the acquisition of the assets of Seattle, Wash.-based J.K. Fabrication, Inc., maker of Nordic winches. Fishermen’s News called them recently to learn how the merger was succeeding during Washington state’s Covid restrictions. “The entire team from JK Fabrication came across and have stayed with us at Integrity Machining’s much larger facility in Marysville, Wash. This has significantly expanded Kolstrand’s already broad product line, to create a leader in the production and supply of all types of equipment for the entire fishing industry,” Integrity Machining President Paul Glyer explained. “This has create...