Article Category: News

Four U.S. senators and six U.S. House of Representatives members from Washington, Oregon and California have asked the U.S. Department of Agriculture to continue purchases of West Coast seafood products for the economic benefit of the industry and coastal communities. Pacific Northwest and West Coast seafood products are currently being produced in large volumes, easily accessible and easily transportable for immediate distribution to food assistance program, they told Secretary of Agriculture Thomas Vilsack in a letter, noting economic challenges the seafood industry has been facing, from the COVID-19 pandemic to the war in Ukraine. The purchases are being made under Section 32 of the Agricultural Adjustment Act of 1935, which authorizes USDA to support prices of commodities in surplu...

Participants in the Southwest Alaska Municipal Conference (SWAMC) March 2-3 at the Hotel Captain Cook in Anchorage heard an update on fish management, research projects and markets from Nicole Kimball, left, representing the North Pacific Fishery Management Conference; Ashley Heimbigner, communications director at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, center, and Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. The annual gathering includes reports and updates on socioeconomic topics from broadcast and health care to mariculture, plus updates from legislators representing Southwest Alaska.  

The commercial ocean troll salmon fishery seasons scheduled to be open between March 15 and May 15 in all areas from Cape Falcon to the Oregon-California border are canceled for 2023, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife announced March 9. In a statement explaining the rational for its decision, ODFW said that multiple stocks of California Chinook salmon are at “extremely low abundance” and are projected to potentially fall below target spawning escapements. “Guidance from the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) for 2023 ocean salmon seasons for Sacramento River fall Chinook was that ‘extraordinary measures are needed in 2023 to address these circumstances and to ensure that fishery management is not a contributing factor’,” ODFW said in its announcement. For Klamath River fa...

A collaborative effort of environmental, scientific, industry and tribal partners will involve an increasing number of commercial fishermen, who’ll share ecological observations on fisheries and oceans with researchers studying climate change. The Skipper Science Partnership, now in its third year in Alaska, continues to attract more fishermen willing to provide feedback on their observations at sea. In 2022, the second year of the project, more than 150 fishermen offered their opinions on climate change and feedback on their experiences with the program and the app via phone interviews. “Our next phase will be to match fishermen in specific regions and fisheries with scientists and managers in those areas to collect data points that support specific projects ad research needs,” Lindsey...

The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) on March 9 joined commercial fisheries entities in recommending that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rescind the current Oregon call areas designated for floating offshore wind energy management and restart the siting process. In reconsidering the issue, the PFMC urged BOEM to use a spatial mapping tool focused on identifying deconflicted areas suitable for wind energy development. A copy of the council’s recommendation was also sent to Oregon Gov. Tina Kotel. Seven council advisory groups have provided statements voicing concerns about the current process, with several calling for BOEM to rescind the current call areas. “The Council’s action sends a strong signal to BOEM that fisheries leaders do not want to risk losing our ...

Peter Pan Seafood has announced plans for an asset purchase of Anchorage-based seafood wholesaler Trapper’s Creek Smoking Co., including a smokehouse facility and its brands: Copper River Smoking Co., Alaska’s Best, Trapper’s Creek and Eat Like a Grizzly. Peter Pan officials said March 10 that a letter of intent for the asset purchase had been signed and that current Trapper’s Creek Smoking Co. owner Andi Wahry would stay on in an advisory role to ensure a smooth transition. Rodger May, chief growth officer for Peter Pan, said his company is eager to expand with the addition of smoking capabilities and a growth of its footprint in Alaska. “We are very proud to add these brands, including the Copper River brand, to the Peter Pan Seafood portfolio,” Peter Pan CEO Kevin Bixler said. “Thi...

Fisheries researchers in a collaborative federal, state and university study have concluded that at-sea competition is the main driver of the decline in sockeye salmon size, with an emphasis on the tradeoff between fish abundance and body size. The study notes that pink and sockeye salmon show high diet overlap, indicating that direct competition for food might be causing the negative link between sockeye size and pink salmon abundance. Recent high seas salmon research in the central and eastern Gulf of Alaska suggests little spatial overlap between sockeye and pink salmon in winter/spring months, but knowledge about their spatial overlap in other areas and seasons is incomplete, the researchers said. Study results published in February in the Proceedings of the Royal Society, an inde...

Wild Alaska sockeye salmon with ribbon kelp chimichurri by Peter Pan Seafoods claimed the grand prize in the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafoods, an annual competition to promote new products made with wild Alaska seafood. Peter Pan’s entry also claimed first place in retail competition. The recipe is the first time a major Alaska processing company has integrated Alaska kelp into a new product. Ocean Beauty Seafood’s Ocean Beauty Grill House Burger won the food service competition and Trident Seafoods’ Pure Catch Wild Alaska Omega-3 Triple Strength fish oil supplements took top honors in the “Beyond the Plate” competition.  Also honored in retail competition was Kelp Chili Crisp by Barnacle Foods, which received second place. Kelptastic Farms’ CBD Kelp Brownies and Thunder’s Catch Wild ...

A former Star-Kist tuna cannery that operated at the Port of Los Angeles from the 1950s through the 1970s should be demolished, the port’s Board of Harbor Commissioners has decided. On a 3-1 vote during its Feb. 9 meeting, the board decided to approve the demolition despite opposition from parties that wanted to preserve the building, which has served as a link to LA’s past as a significant tuna fishery. The former Star-Kist cannery facilities sit on a 14-acre site on the Terminal Island container terminal within the port. There are plans to develop the site as a chassis repair and maintenance depot. The demolition area would be covered with recycled concrete and asphalt until the area is ready for development, port officials have said. “The port has attempted to reuse these facilitie...

Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) project manager David Turner has been appointed to the National Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee to represent the viewpoints of naval architects and marine engineers, EBDG announced March 13. Turner, who has 20 years’ experience in naval architecture and vessel design, is responsible for the fishing vessel sector with Seattle-based EBDG and has managed and worked onboard vessels for projects ranging from concept design, vessel refurbishments, stability and weight calculations, to efficiency improvements, according to his employer. EBDG Principal John Waterhouse said the firm is extremely proud of Turner’s work in the fishing industry as well as of the recognition that being named to the committee brings. Elliott Bay Design Group is a full-serv...