News – Page 29 – Fishermens News

Northern Edge War Games Take Place in Gulf of Alaska

Thousands of U.S. military service members, five ships and over 150 aircraft were in Alaska from early-to-mid-May for Northern Edge 2023 (NE23), war games in the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere in the state to enhance combat readiness. They were joined for the Indo-Pacific Command exercise by other service members from the United Kingdom and Australia to provide opportunity for joint, multinational and multi-domain operations designed to offer high-end, realistic war fighter training. Northern Edge got underway May 4 and continued through May 19. For security reasons, the start of the biennial training is never announced until it’s already underway. Commanding officers have described NE23 as an example of their strong relationship with the state of Alaska and one that demonstrates Americ...

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...

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...

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...

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...

Decision on Fishing in Cook Inlet EEZ Goes to Feds

Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council took no action during April meetings regarding amending the fishery management plan for salmon in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ) waters off Cook Inlet. The inaction now puts the decision in the hands of the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS). NMFS’ Alaska Regional Administrator Jon Kurland said his agency is now tasked with coming up with a plan to revise that fishery management plan, which was written by the federal fisheries council. Marine Fisheries Service members had intended to amend the salmon plan for management of all salmon fishing in the federal waters of upper Cook Inlet. Federal management must be consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, along with the 2016 Ninth Circuit C...

Polar Star Home After Operation Deep Freeze

On April 10, the Coast Guard cutter Polar Star and its crew returned to Seattle following a 144-day deployment to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep Freeze 2023. This was the Polar Star’s 26th voyage to Antarctica for Operation Deep Freeze, which is an annual joint military service mission to resupply the United States Antarctic stations, in support of the National Science Foundation, the lead agency for the U.S. Antarctic Program. This year marks the 63rd iteration of the annual operation. The Polar Star is a 399-foot heavy polar icebreaker commissioned in 1976. It weighs 13,500 tons and is 84-feet wide with a 34-foot draft. The vessel has six diesel and three gas turbine engines able to produce up to 75,000 horsepower. The cutter left Seattle for Antarctica on Nov. 12, a journ...

PFMC Recommends Closing California’s 2023 Ocean Salmon Fisheries

On April 6, the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) unanimously voted to recommend a full closure of California’s commercial and recreational ocean salmon season due to a variety of factors. This action follows recent projections showing Chinook salmon abundance off California’s coast is at historic lows. It’s expected that the National Marine Fisheries Service will take regulatory action to enact the closure, effective in mid-May. In addition, the California Fish and Game Commission is expected to consider whether to adopt a closure of inland salmon fisheries during a May 17 teleconference. “This decision, while difficult, is intended to allow salmon to recover in order to provide future fishing opportunities, California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Charlton ...

Sections of California Dungeness Crab Fishery Closed in Mid-April

Four zones of the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery from the Sonoma and Mendocino county line to the U.S. Mexico border were closed down at noon April 15 to protect humpback whales, California fisheries officials said. The announcement of the closure was made March 30 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW). The closure impacts Zones 3, 4, 5 and 6. Zones 1 through 6 also remain under a fleet advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. The action came in the wake of the department’s entanglement risk assessment, according to CDFW Director Charlton H. Bonham. The take and possession of Dungeness crab is prohibited as of that time and date, to minimize entanglement risk for humpback whales as they return to forage off the coast of C...