News – Page 2 – Fishermens News

NOAA’s 2022 Status of Stocks Report Show Slight Improvement Over 2021

NOAA Fisheries has released its 2022 Status of Stocks report, showing some improvement over the previous year in terms of overfishing. According to the latest report, released during a NOAA Fisheries teleconference on April 27, 93% of stocks were not subject to overfishing in 2022 and 81% were not overfished. Those numbers compared with data showing that 92% of stocks were subject to overfishing in 2021 and 80% were not overfished. NOAA officials said positive trends were seen this year with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by two to 24. Overfished stocks decreased by three to 48. NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said the latest annual report reveals the U.S. remains a global leader in maintaining sustainable fisheries that drive the blue economy, support coastal c...

Investigation Continues into Fire Aboard Trident Fishing Vessel

As of early May, an investigation was continuing into an April 8 fire that occurred aboard Trident Seafoods’ Kodiak Enterprise while the 276-foot fishing vessel was moored in the Hylebos Waterway in Tacoma, Wash. The Kodiak Enterprise had returned to Tacoma in late March on the heels of the groundfish A season and was there for maintenance. In a statement released at the time by Trident Seafoods, in response to a request from Tacoma television station KIRO 7, company officials said that they did not know the cause of the fire, were cooperating with the investigation and would conduct a thorough review of shipyard maintenance safety protocols with internal and external experts. At the time the fire began, the Kodiak Enterprise was reported to have an estimated 55,000 gallons of diesel ...

Mild Weather, Few Fish Greet Harvesters for Alaska’s Copper River Opener

Dozens of commercial harvesting vessels out on May 15 for the celebrated Copper River salmon opener were greeted by calm waters and temperatures in the low 40s, but relatively few fish. “On our first set we caught two fish,” veteran Copper River harvester Bill Webber of Cordova said. “The sea lions got them out of the net, and they ripped a big hole in the net,” he said. “Then we moved offshore and then west, and ended up with 31 fish for the whole day, all sockeyes.” If the fishing was slow, so was the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s effort to calculate the day’s overall harvest. ADF&G fisheries biologist Jeremy Botz in Cordova noted that the agency’s new online reporting system was not at first reporting the harvest correctly. Processors were initially paying $10 a pound ...

Fishing, Conservation Groups Sue Utility Over Harm to Salmon and Steelhead in Eel River

A coalition of five commercial fishing and conservation groups have filed suit in federal court charging that Pacific Gas and Electric Co.’s Potter Valley Hydroelectric Project on the Eel River in Northern California is illegally harming salmon and steelhead listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Specifically, the lawsuit charges the utility with maintaining and operating the Potter Valley Project in a manner that harms and harasses Coastal California Chinook salmon and Northern California steelhead trout, amounting to illegal take of these species. The Potter Valley Project includes two dams, Scott Dam and Cape Horn Dam, which impede fish passage and block access to hundreds of miles of critical, high quality spawning and nursery habitat for Chinook salmon, steelhead trout a...

‘Bulldog of the Bering’ Returns to Kodiak After 30 Days at Sea

The Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley returned to Kodiak, Alaska, in early May after a 30-day patrol in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands to enforce federal fishery laws and ensure mariners are maintaining all required safety equipment. The crew sailed the 282-foot medium endurance cutter over 2,000 nautical miles from the Alaska Peninsula to Adak and north of the Pribilof Islands, also steaming west to cross the 180th Meridian into the eastern hemisphere, to conduct a time-honored naval ceremony. Training and drills were performed throughout the patrol to ensure mission readiness. Crewmembers donned firefighting gear for simulated engine room fires, arranged dewatering pumps for flooding drills, and manually navigated the cutter without GPS all of which enhanced proficiency in damage contro...

NOAA Recommends Millions to Fund West Coast Habitat Restoration Projects

Federal officials are recommending over $265 million in funding for new projects nationwide, including salmon habitat in Alaska, California, Hawaii, Oregon and Washington state, to help strengthen climate resilience of coast ecosystems and communities. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) said in an April 21 announcement that the projects are supported by the Biden-Harris Administration’s Bipartisan Infrastructure law, with funds leveraged from the Inflation Reduction Act. NOAA said these projects would reconnect rivers to their historic floodplains, outplant corals to rebuild reefs, build living shorelines to protect coasts from erosion and sea level rise, and more. Beneficiaries identified by NOAA include endangered Southern Resident killer whales by boosting th...

Alaska Files Criminal Charges for Illegal Trawling Near Kodiak

Criminal misdemeanor charges have been filed by the state of Alaska against a vessel operator for allegedly operating non-pelagic trawl gear within the Kodiak, Alaska groundfish registration area. U.S. Coast Guard officials said trawl gear used in the area had chafing gear attached to it and chain rib lines suitable for fishing in contact with the seabed, all of which are not authorized for legal pelagic trawl gear. The Coast Guard did not identify the boat or operator other than to say it was an 88-foot fishing vessel and that a boarding team determined that it was in violation for trawling in the Barnabas closure are while having a non-pelagic trawl on board. Alaska Wildlife Troopers Sgt. Josh Boyle said the violation is significant in the potential it has for negatively effecting imp...

Biden Salutes Defense of Bristol Bay Salmon Fishery

President Joe Biden celebrated his administration’s defense of the Bristol Bay watershed and other environmental achievements during a mid-May gathering at the White House’s Rose Garden with Alaska guests including tribal leaders and conservationists. “Bristol Bay is an extraordinary place, unlike anywhere in the world,” Biden said. “Six rivers meet there, traveling through 40,000 miles of tundra, wetlands and lakes, collecting freshwater and salmon along the way … making this the largest sockeye salmon fishery on all the earth.” The president spoke also of a number of other conservation achievements in ceremonies in the Rose Garden on May 11, while concentrating on the importance of the Southwest Alaska watershed where millions of sockeye salmon are harvested every summer by commercia...

Researchers Discover New Information Regarding Atmospheric Dust Nourishing Oceans

Research led by Oregon State University (OSU) scientists has identified new information on the role that dust plays in nourishing global ocean ecosystems while helping regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. OSU oceanographer Toby Westberry said this is the first time it has been shown that nutrients carried by dust being deposited on the ocean are creating a response in the surface ocean biology. Westberry, the lead author of the study, collaborated with other scientists from OSU, the University of Maryland, Baltimore Country (UMBC) and NASA Goddard Space Flight Center on the research published in the journal Science. Study results released in mid-May revealed the extent and magnitude of the impact of the dust, particles from sources such as soil that are lifted by the wind and t...

Seattle Kraken Fans Gain Wild Alaska Pollock Option on Arena Menu

Wild Alaska pollock is now on the menu at Climate Pledge Arena for Seattle Kraken hockey games, thanks to a deal struck between the team, Trident Seafoods and the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP). The deal, which was announced by GAPP on April 12, states that new wild Alaska pollock items on the arena menu would include recipes by Molly De Mers, the facility’s executive chef. As part of the partnership, Joe Bundrant, chief executive officer of Trident Seafoods, said his company will reinforce engagement efforts with the goal of supplying more seafood to food banks and feeding centers. “The Seattle Kraken is the 32nd team in the NHL,” Bundrant said. “And we think it’s fitting to increase our donations to reach a lifetime target of donating 32 million servings of f...