Features – Page 15 – Fishermens News

Feds, States Pouring Millions of Dollars into Boosting Declining Pacific Salmon, Steelhead Runs

For Alaska’s Bristol Bay salmon commercial fishery, 2021 was another robust season, with deliveries of an estimated 40.5 million of the Bay’s famed wild sockeyes. Statewide through late September, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary harvest data showed 226.3 million salmon delivered to processors, including 156.5 million pinks, nearly 55 million sockeyes, 12 million chums, 2.4 million cohos and 247,000 Chinooks. Still, there were signs of concern even in Bristol Bay which, with its nine major river systems, comprises the largest commercial sockeye salmon-producing region in the world. “In Bristol Bay, average size is at 4.5 pounds per sockeye this year, down from 5.1 pounds in 2020,” fisheries consultant Dan Lesh noted in a late July report for McKinley Research Gr...

Fishing Safety Entering 2022: COVID-19 and Industry Stakeholders

It’s well known at this point that several American industries have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on personal freedom and movement implemented by the federal and state governments across the U.S. This is true even at sea, where crews of all sorts of private vessels are placed at higher risks than land-based professions. Because of that, all segments of the maritime sector of commerce have responded to the pandemic in one way or another, prompting a new period of safety training and policymaking focused on addressing the impacts of infectious diseases and ailments that are spread through close proximity human-to-human interactions. One of the occupations requiring such interactions is commercial fishing, which even before the pandemic was alread...

Deep-Set Buoy Gear and Swordfish: NMFS Moves Forward

In August, the West Coast Region branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a move to allow deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) for swordfish in federal waters offshore of California and Oregon. It’s a step that fishery officials are optimistic could help invigorate commercial domestic swordfish markets. Officials also say that the move could potentially provide almost $5 million in annual revenue for fishers, an economic impact that could expand if deep-set gear proves widely adaptable. The projections are part of a NMFS Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), released in August. The DEIS provides an extensive analysis regarding deep-set gear and swordfish. Following the public comment period, which ended Oct. 4, NMFS plans to amend the Fishery Management Plan for West Coast...

Catch Processing Tech Continues to Evolve in the Face of COVID-19

In an unprecedented year, catch processing companies have strived to continue innovating in spite of the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. And catch processing, while less technologically complex than other aspects of the marine industry, has historically been a major source of innovation. Heading machines, plate freezers, pinboning machines, de-licing and portioning equipment have all been the beneficiaries of technological advances over the past few years. Many vessels have begun to integrate these technologies on-board, with installations of catch processing technology into more and more ships. Although catch processing has become more difficult due to the coronavirus pandemic — which stymied global trade and limited access to customers and suppliers — companies have still managed t...

Crab Prices Soar in Restaurants and at Markets

Menus at top seafood restaurants these days from Anchorage to San Diego boast gourmet entrees from sockeye and king salmon to Pacific halibut and cod, plus Dungeness crab and a variety of crab cake starters. But those looking for an entrée of Bering Sea red king crab legs will find their listings on some of the West Coast’s finest restaurants few and far between, because of soaring prices. It’s the highest price in the marketplace for king crab “and I expect this year’s (price) to beat last year’s,” said Jake Jacobs, executive director of the Inter-Cooperative Exchange in Seattle. “Prices have been climbing. It has been a really strange market with (the) COVID (pandemic) going on and it’s hard to tell what’s going to happen,” he said. “Based on what the fishermen said I am optimistic....

Coast Guard Icebreaker Healy Crew Undertakes Months Long Research Mission

High latitude research, professional exchanges with foreign navies and patrols and a visible U.S. surface presence in the Arctic are among the mandates for the Coast Guard Cutter Healy on its Arctic deployment and circumnavigation of North America. The crew aboard the 420-foot medium icebreaker, which departed Seattle on July 10, is also conducting other operations as directed throughout its months long journey. “Healy’s deployment provides opportunities to deepen the Coast Guard’s cooperation and commitment with our Arctic allies and partners and to support scientific exploration to increase understanding of the changing Arctic environment and associated impacts,” Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Adm. Michael McAllister explained. The Healy is scheduled to circumnavigate North...

New Trawl Technology Hopes to Reduce Bycatch

Trawl fishermen are faced with a dilemma: how to catch as much of the desired species of fish as possible, while limiting the accidental capture of bycatch, which are limited by government quotas and can be a major headache. A 2018 article in Fish and Fisheries estimated that around 10% of all fish caught worldwide is bycatch. These accidental captures can have negative effects on marine ecosystems and the productivity of fisheries. With large trawl equipment that captures hundreds of tons of fish a day, reducing this number is a difficult task. This problem has led researchers, fishermen and industry professionals to develop new trawl technology with the hope of reducing bycatch. Bycatch in the Bering Sea In the Bering Sea, the main bycatch issue is Chinook salmon, according to ...

Coast Guard Cutter Munro Deployed in Support of U.S. Indo-Pacific Command

The Legend-class U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro and its crew are currently deployed on a months-long mission in support of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, with plans to have exchanges and capacity-building exercises with partners and allies, and also patrol in the area. The cutter’s deployment to the Indo-Pacific theater aligns with the Integrated All-Domain Naval Power of the Naval Service. “An increased presence throughout the Indo-Pacific strengthens our alliances and partnerships through improved interoperability, which will enhance regional stability, promote rules-based order, and improve maritime governance and security in the region and globally,” said Vice Adm. Michael F. McAllister commander of the Coast Guard Pacific Area. The cutter’s mandate ranges from search and rescue to...

West Coast Shipyards: Changes & Challenges

Busy West Coast shipyards are expanding their capacity and capabilities, making investments in their drydocks and marine lifts not just to enhance services in the markets in which they’re already established, but to grow into new markets, as well. Newer players such as Everett Ship Repair have found success meeting demand for dry docking large vessels in the Puget Sound, while established shipyards like Commodore’s Boats in British Columbia continue to leverage their reputations to build new business. Meanwhile, Seattle’s Pacific Fishermen Shipyard is facing a cost challenge that threatens its long-term sustainability as an urban shipyard. Commodore’s Boats Five years ago, wood boat specialists Commodore’s Boats forged into new markets, investing in a steel and aluminum weld fabricat...

Mandatory E-Reporting Coming to Hawaii and Alaska Longline Pelagic Fishery

Compulsory electronic logging of certain types of fish catches by commercial fishing operations could be coming to two U.S. states in the coming months. In June, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) proposed mandatory use of electronic reporting (ER) and electronic logbooks for pelagic longline, bigeye tuna catches from class C and D vessels in Hawaii and American Samoa. The rule could be finalized by the end of the year, according to officials with the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration. As the program starts, NMFS has committed to paying all e-logbook costs for individual fishers. Recording would be within an android-based tablet, provided by NMFS. There are 146 vessels in the Hawaii longline fishery and 16 vessels in the American Samoa fleet, according ...