News – Page 38 – Fishermens News

Congressional Report: Pebble Mine Owners Used ‘Bait and Switch’ Tactics

A new congressional report uses internal documents from the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) to allege that officials created a sham permitting scheme designed to evade regulations and develop an open pit mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. The report was released in late October by Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-OR, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Rep. Grace Napolitano, D-CA, chair of the House Subcommittee on Water Resources and Environment. They said they sent evidence of false statements to the Justice Department based on their findings. The report recommends that Congress prevent future attempts to undermine the federal permitting process by ensuring that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and other federal agencies have the authority, trained personne...

Norton Sound Salmon Runs Increase, But Still Weak

Chum and coho salmon runs into Alaska’s Norton Sound showed up well below runs of the 2010s, but better than a year ago, while the Chinook salmon run was worse than in 2021, state fisheries biologists said. Meanwhile, the pink salmon run was average for an even-numbered year and well below the record runs of the last three even-numbered years, according to the season summary released on Oct. 27 from Nome. The chum salmon harvest of 2022 was over four times higher than last year and the coho salmon harvest was nearly double that of a year ago, but both harvests still were well below the recent five-year average harvest when there were record coho salmon harvests and the chum harvests were the best in 30 years, biologists said. Although the run of humpies was better than last year’s odd...

UBC Researchers Begin Study of Road Salt Impacts on Salmon

A new five-year study by University of British Columbia researchers will focus on the impact of road salt on salmon habitat and baby salmon and how the public can help reduce its potential impacts. The study, announced in early November, noted that Pacific salmon are in decline and posed the question of whether too much salt in critical salmon streams could be a cause. Adult salmon live in salt water but grow up in fresh water and there’s evidence that even moderate salt levels at a young age cause mortality and stunted growth in these fish. The study itself will focus on the region around Vancouver, British Columbia, also known as the Lower Mainland. There is currently relatively limited monitoring of salt levels in the area’s creeks and streams, although there are various monitoring pr...

Survey Shows Rise in Demand for Wild Alaska Pollock Products

An international marketing firm tracking product demand for the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) has found year-over-year survey results show a leap in Americans’ intent-to-purchase wild Alaska Pollock over the next 30 days. Survey results presented by Ketchum Global this week during the fourth Wild Alaska Pollock annual meeting in Seattle on Oct. 17 said nearly seven million more consumers now know more about wild Alaska Pollock than a year ago. Mary Elizabeth Germaine, head of analytics for marketing firm Ketchum Global, said the likelihood of purchasing and eating wild Alaska Pollock within the next 30 days is now 31%, closing the gap between wild Alaska Pollock and Pacific cod. The gap between wild Alaska Pollock and cod is now narrowed by 2%, she said. This is...

Kroger-Albertsons Merger Expected to Impact Seafood Product Sourcing

Two major national retail supermarket chains, Cincinnati-based Kroger and Albertsons, which is headquartered in Boise, Idaho, have entered into an agreement to merge their organizations. In an announcement this past week the two companies said that they plan to expand customer reach to delivery fresh, affordable food to some 85 million households. The online publication SeafoodSource said the acquisition is likely to impact how the retailer sources its seafood products. Kroger operates over 2,700 stores compared to nearly 2,300 owned by Albertsons. Insider Intelligence Senior Analyst Blake Droesch said in a statement provided to SeafoodSource that seafood suppliers are likely to be negatively impacted, as the two mammoth retailers—given an expanded base of 85 million households and 66 d...

NOAA Releases Five-Year Strategy for Combating IUU Fishing

Federal fisheries officials and their partners have released their National Five-Year Strategy for Combating Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing, a global problem impacting ocean ecosystems, the economy and food security. The strategy, announced in mid-October, details U.S. priorities and plans for the next five years to promote maritime security worldwide. The strategy includes a U.S. Interagency Working Group on IUU Fishing, composed of 21 member agencies building an expanding toolbox for partners to combat IUU fishing. Over the next five years, the working group plans to engage with five priority flag states and administrations: Ecuador, Panama, Senegal, Taiwan and Vietnam, focusing on helping them in their ongoing efforts to combat IUU fishing and related threats. ...

Alaska to Receive Nearly $60M in Federal Funds to Boost Commercial Fishing Opportunities

The state of Alaska is set to receive up to $59.9 million in federal money to provide funding opportunities for Alaskans in commercial fishing and other sectors, the U.S. Treasury Department revealed on Oct. 11. The money is part of up to $1 billion in funding approved under the State Small Business Credit Initiative (SSBCI). Alaska is using its funding to help lenders provide new opportunities for Alaskans in commercial fishing, mariculture, manufacturing, tourism and other sectors with capital needs. Alaska is to operate four programs, including a loan-guarantee plan to which $32 million has been allocated. The program would help ensure capital goes to commercial fishing operations and other kinds of small businesses facing reductions in revenues that make it difficult to meet lender...

EM Program Regulations Implemented for Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program

Effective Nov. 2, a new rule has implemented electronic monitoring (EM) program regulations for vessels using groundfish bottom trawl and non-whiting midwater trawl gear in the Pacific Coast Groundfish Trawl Catch Share Program. The rule, which was announced NOAA Fisheries in mid-October, allows vessels using bottom trawl and non-whiting midwater trawl gear to use EM in place of human observers to meet their requirements for 100% at-sea catch monitoring. The final rule is intended to boost operational flexibility and reduce monitoring costs for vessels in this groundfish trawl fishery. It also revises some language in existing regulations for EM vessels and EM service providers to clarify and streamline program requirements. The Pacific Coast Groundfish Management Plan specifies me...

ALFA Wins Seafood Industry Climate Awards Grant

The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) in Sitka has received a $40,000 grant for a pilot project to convert the Alaska fishing fleet to hybrid diesel/electric in order to help lower the carbon footprint within the seafood industry. The project, supported by the Energy Transitions Initiative Project Partnership, joins ALFA with the National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Kemp Energetics to transfer technologies proven through other forms of transportation to small-scale commercial fishing boats. The Seafood Industry Climate Award (SICA) from the Acme Smoked Fish Foundation in Brooklyn, N.Y., will be used to purchase equipment for ALFA’s hybridization and decarbonization project, ALFA Executive Director Linda Behnken said. Together with TD Bank of Anchorage as the catalyst sp...

Seafood Summit Motivates Local, Regional Seafood Entities

A local seafood summit designed to strengthen community-based seafood systems at the local, regional and national levels has concluded in Alaska, energizing a group of small boat harvesters, researchers, marketers and others to continue building such seafood systems. “Meeting salmon people for the first time in my life was overwhelming,” said Jason Jarvis, president of the board of the North American Marine Alliance, whose focus is building a movement toward healthy fisheries and fishing communities. “The connections we’ve made here collectively are powerful. Where do we go from here?” he asked. “What do we do now?” Jarvis was among 170 participants from across the U.S. and Canada who gathered Oct. 2-3 to network with others engaged in community-based seafood systems. The Alyeska Hote...