News – Page 70 – Fishermens News

Spinrad Confirmed as 11th NOAA Administrator, Coit as Fisheries Asst. Administrator

Rick Spinrad, who served as chief scientist of National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration under the Obama administration, has returned to the federal agency as Undersecretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and 11th NOAA administrator. NOAA Fisheries has also announced the appointment of Janet Coit as NOAA Fisheries assistant administrator. Spinrad is tasked with leading the agency’s strategic direction and oversight of $7 billion in proposed FY22 annual spending to tackle challenges ranging from weather modeling and prediction, and the climate crisis to leveraging non-governmental and private partnerships and promoting a sustainable blue economy. His appointment was confirmed by the U.S. Senate on June 17. Spinrad also previously served as NOAA’s assistant administra...

Canned Octopus with a Kick

Wildfish Cannery of Klawock, Alaska, has partnered with Barnacle Foods, in Juneau, to produce its latest gourmet product, Wildfish Cannery Octopus in Bullwhip Kelp Hot Sauce. Cannery owner Mathew Scaletta, holding octopus ready to can, said he’s wanted to add a spiced octopus to the line-up for years, but needed to work with another Alaska manufacturer that shared his values. Wildfish Cannery’s smoked octopus is a fan favorite with customers who also snap up the company’s salmon geoduck and herring items.

Efforts Increase to Protect Transboundary Rivers from Adverse Impacts

British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Bruce Ralston is moving to boost communications with Alaska to collaborate further on protect habitat in the salmon-rich Stikine Unuk and Taku rivers flowing into Southeast Alaska. Ralston said in correspondence to the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) in June that the province is committed to ensuring that the effect of mining projects proposed within British Columbia are appropriately assessed in environmental assessment and permitting processes, including appropriate consideration of downstream and cumulative effects. Six years ago, BC and Alaska signed a memorandum of understanding based on resolving mine pollution issues on the transboundary waters. They also agreed to enhance engagement ...

Plan to Restore Roadless Rule to Tongass National Forest Receives Kudos, Criticism

A Biden Administration decision to repeal or replace a U.S. Forest Service rule allowing road construction and industrial old-growth logging in Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska is receiving kudos from fishermen and criticism from the region’s economic development entity. Remarks for and against a U.S. Department of Agriculture plan, which was prompted by the administration’s concerns about climate change, ranged from relief from commercial fish harvesters and conservationists to concerns from the state’s Southeast Conference over potential loss of jobs and economic development. “This fisherman sure feels this is welcome news and most every fisherman in the region would welcome this news,” said Tyson Fick, a Southeast Alaska gillnetter and owner of Yakobi Fisheries and captain ...

Alaska Sea Grant Study Underway Could Aid Rockfish Management

Researchers with the Alaska Sea Grant program are studying rockfish off Gulf of Alaska waters, including interviews with harvesters and fishery managers, in an effort to inform better management decisions for rockfish populations in decline. An Alaska Sea Grant report published on June 23 notes that with increased commercial and sport fishing of nearshore rockfish, fishery managers in Alaska need more information about their size, distribution and relative abundance to make more informed management decisions. The work by researchers Anne Beaudreau and Jesse Gordon is demonstrating how local ecological knowledge has the potential to augment scientific knowledge, improving on what’s known about rockfish and how to better manage them, the report said. Beaudreau, who holds a doctorate in aq...

NOAA-YDFDA Partner in Chinook Study

A partnership between federal and state agencies with local fishermen is underway to find answers to a decline of Chinook salmon populations on Alaska’s Yukon River. The partnership research involves NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Yukon Delta Fisheries Development Association. It’s now part of NOAA’s new Citizen Science Strategy, released in January, in which community-based collaborations increase the cost effectiveness of projects and provide hands-on science, technology, engineering and math learning. They also connect the public directly with NOAA science missions. The combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries and YDFDA proved particularly valuable last year, when the COVID-19 pandemic shut down NOAA’s ability to conduct fieldwork. COVID restrictions in place t...

Atlantic Cod Study May Have Implications for Other Fisheries in Trouble

Rutgers University researchers have for the first time sequenced genomes from Atlantic cod, drawing information that may have implications for other fish maturing earlier as a result of fishing. Author Malin Pinsky, an associate professor in the School of Environmental and Biological Sciences at Rutgers-New Brunswick, says there is evidence that many species of fish are maturing earlier as a result of fishing, including haddock, European plaice, whiting, American plaice, sole and sockeye salmon. The study, led by Rutgers and the University of Oslo, concludes that overfishing likely did not cause the Atlantic cod to evolve genetically and mature earlier. “Evolution has been used in part as an excuse for why cod and other species have not recovered from overfishing,” Pinsky said. “Ou...

Legislation Before U.S. House Aims to Halt IUU Fisheries

Legislation introduced in the U.S. House on Tuesday, May 11, aims to end illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing, expand transparency and stop seafood fraud, while also strengthening U.S. leadership on issues threatening oceans, consumers and human rights. The Illegal Fishing and Forced Labor Prevention Act, introduced by Rep. Jared Huffman, D-CA, and Rep. Garret Graves, R-LA, makes specific reference to the need to halt the mislabeling of seafood products, including complying with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, Lacey Act amendments of 1981 and other federal laws, plus an end to oppressive child labor, other forced labor and human trafficking. Up to one-third of the annal global seafood catch — as much as 56 billion pounds — is estimated to be a p...

Resolution Urges Senate to Ratify UN Convention on the Law of the Sea

Senators from Alaska, Hawaii and Virginia have joined forces in a resolution calling on the U.S. Senate to ratify the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Mazie Hirono (D-HI) and Tim Kaine (D-VA) introduced the resolution in the Senate on May 18. A similar resolution was introduced in the U.S. House in April by Representatives Joe Courtney (D-CT) and Don Young (R-AK). UNCLOS, which is already ratified by 166 nations and the European Union, details rights and responsibilities of countries regarding the world’s oceans, including guidelines for businesses and management of marine natural resources. Hirono noted that the world currently is facing challenges from those seeking to prevent international freedom of navigation worldwide, incl...

Elliott Bay Design Group Appoints Robert Ekse as President

Board members of Elliott Bay Design Group in Seattle have named Robert Ekse as president, succeeding Brian King, who most recently served as president and chief engineer. King, who is retiring after 33 years with the firm, plans to still remain active in EBDG projects on a limited capacity. Ekse was promoted from director of project operations to president, while remaining a principal of the firm. He now directly supervises the company’s business affairs, including subsidiary company SeeSaw Services. He also has assumed responsibility for advancing EBDG’s major strategic objectives while leading team planning in business management, engineering, personnel development and sales. Ekse has 30 years’ experience in the maritime industry, including prior employment with Vigor, Alaska Marine H...