Article Category: News

Forecasts from the University of Washington Alaska Salmon Program (UW-ASP) and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) foresee a 2023 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon harvest of 35 million to 38 million, compared to the 2022 harvest of 60 million fish. Forecasts differ due to the modeling used by researchers at the two entities. The UW-ASP preseason forecast, based on historical catch and escapement data collected by ADF&G, plus additional stock, plus 38 individual stocks by age class forecasts, is lower than the recent 10-year average of 57 million fish and 4% higher than the recent 20-year average of observed runs of 48 million sockeyes to Bristol Bay. In recent years, the UW-ASP program has increasingly relied on Dynamic Linear Models (DLM) to generate forecasts based on their...

University of British Columbia researchers say a chemical used to produce toilet paper, as well as so-called ‘forever chemicals’ have been found in the carcasses of stranded endangered orca whales offshore of the Canadian province. Study results, released in December 2022 in an online publication of the American Chemical Society, show that chemical pollutants are prevalent in killer whales. A chemical often found in toilet paper was the one of the most prevalent in the samples studied, accounting for 46% of the total pollutants identified. The research was a collaborative effort of the UBC Institute for the Ocean and Fisheries, British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture and Food, and Fisheries and Oceans Canada, with researchers analyzing tissue samples from six Southern Resident killer wh...

Researchers with the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) in Vancouver, B.C. Canada, said they anticipate including the latest hatcheries-related research in their upcoming 2023-27 science plan, in hopes that the data will be used to improve management to support salmon stocks. “Scientists are focused on density dependent and carry-capacity issues to understand how salmon growth and survival are affected by hatchery and wild salmon abundance, and quantify the current limits to salmon production at each life stage,” the commission’s Executive Director Vladimir Radchenko said. “The ability of the Pacific Ocean to produce salmon is not constant, and for the most part, the limits are not known,” he explained. “A general concern is that competition among different salmon populat...

Officials with the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) say they anticipate industry veteran Ronald Rogness becoming the organization’s director for industry relations, partnerships and fishery analysis on Feb. 27. Rogness previously served as a consultant to the organization on economic and fishery matters.  Once on board, he’s expected to focus attention on seafood collaborations and committees and securing additional funding to advance GAPP’s mission to boost demand for wild Alaska pollock through grants and other opportunities, officials said. Rogness began his career nearly 30 years ago as a commercial harvester in Washington and later in Alaska.  Thereafter Rogness served as staff economist for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, in purchasing at Long ...

Beginning this summer, large commercial vessels along the California coast will begin lining up for entry into the docks farther west and away from the continental shelf in an effort to protect endangered whales, NOAA announced Jan. 5. The International Maritime Organization recently adopted a proposal by the U.S. to expand the area that ships should avoid to allow more protected space for endangered blue, fin and humpback whales. The proposal is expected to go into effect after the spring. The 13-nautical-mile vessel traffic lane extension means that ships would line up for port entry farther west. It also means that the area vessels need to avoid grows by over 2,000 square nautical miles for a total area of avoidance of about 4,476 square nautical miles off Point Conception and Point A...

Analysis published by Seattle-based online nonprofit news website Crosscut predicts the collapse of crab fisheries in Alaska’s Bering Sea will have ripple effects in Washington state as well as Alaska. Since 2006, 57% of snow crab fleet vessels have been registered to Washington addresses. During the 2020-2021 season, 27 members of that 60-boat crab boat fleet were registered in the Seattle metropolitan area. That same year, Bering Sea snow crab generated $62.6 million in revenue across King, Pierce and Snohomish counties, plus $6.8 million elsewhere in Washington, according to a rebuilding plan drafted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Also, according to the Seattle-based Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers (ABSC), compounded with several poor harvests, the canceled crabbing se...