News
PRPA Funds Aid Salmon Research Projects in Skeena River Estuary
More than $94,000 from the Prince Rupert Port Authority (PRPA) is expected to help fund two unique projects supporting salmon populations in British Columbia’s Skeena River estuary and its tributaries. [...]
News
Toxic Toilet Paper Found in Endangered Orca Whales: UBC Study
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 [...]
News
2023 Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon Forecasts Anticipate Lower Harvest
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 [...]
News
Fishing Boat Fuel Spill Cleaned Up on Santa Cruz Island
Crews worked to contain and clean up diesel fuel spilling out of a 60-foot fishing boat that ran aground on Santa Cruz Island on Dec. 15, according to the U.S. [...]
News
Coast Guard Station Honolulu Partners on Search-Rescue Training Course
Members of the U.S. Coast Guard Station Honolulu teamed up with the Hawaii Department of Transportation’s Airport Division Aircraft Rescue Fire Fighting Unit for five days of training. The agency [...]
News
Seattle-Based Coast Guard Cutter Leaves Australia, Bound for Antarctica
The Seattle-based U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star departed Australia on Dec. 21 to begin its journey across the Southern Ocean en route to Antarctica in support of Operation Deep [...]
News
USCG Cutter Bertholf Returns from 77-Day Patrol
After more than 18,000 nautical miles and 77 days on patrol, the crew of the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Bertholf returned to Alameda, Calif. from a trek through the Eastern [...]
Boat Bang Bars
Commercially Fishing for Crab: Bang or Not? And How Best to Bang?
Many fishing vessels in the Pacific Northwest have installed bang bars (also known as banger bars) to assist crew while they empty Dungeness crab pots into the dump box. There [...]
Boat Prep
Preparing Your Boat, Crew for the Upcoming Commercial Fishing Season
Commercial fishing vessels are built to withstand rough conditions and last for generations, but regular maintenance and upkeep are crucial to keeping them in tip-top shape. It’s particularly important to [...]
BC Fisheries
British Columbia Fisheries: Status Update
The salmon fisheries of BC remain threatened and take center stage in the region’s fisheries dialogue. It’s a new year, which merits a review of British Columbia commercial fisheries in [...]
AMSEA
Anyone who has spent time on a boat knows that bumps and bruises are inevitable. You can be standing there minding your own business and the boat gets jostled by [...]
Columns
An Energy Revolution in the Commercial Fishing Fleet?
With diesel prices soaring and the world abuzz about climate change, there has never been a better time for fishermen to contemplate our fuel use. Diesel fuel is a necessary [...]
From the Editor
From the Editor: BC Fisheries in Flux
Inside this issue, you’ll find an excellent article on the status of the British Columbia fishing industry. In the article, reporter Norris Comer states that “A myriad of challenges face [...]
News
Fishery Disaster Determinations Issued for Alaska, Washington
Fishery disaster determinations were approved by the U.S. Commerce Department in mid-December, with $300 million in disaster assistance for fishing families impacted by canceled crab and salmon harvests to be [...]
Silver Bay Seafoods Acquires Orca Bay Foods
Silver Bay Seafoods, a Sitka, Alaska-based integrated processor of salmon, herring and squid products, has acquired Seattle-based food processing company Orca Bay Foods, a nationwide distributor of value-added seafood and [...]
News
Hawaii Research Center Paying Commercial Fishermen to Collect Derelict Nets
Hawai’i Pacific University’s Center for Marine Debris Research has launched a project to remove derelict fishing gear from the ocean. A bounty will be paid to eligible commercial fishers to [...]
News
California Sea Grant Releases 2024-2027 Strategic Plan
California Sea Grant, administered through the University of California San Diego, has released its 2024-2027 strategic plan, with a goal of better preparing the state’s coastal communities for extreme weather [...]
News
Oregon, California Coastal Chinook Salmon Move Closer to Endangered Species Protection
In response to a petition by the Native Fish Society, Center for Biological Diversity and Umpqua Watersheds, the National Marine Fisheries Service in mid-January determined that the Oregon Coast and southern [...]
News
NSEDC Says ‘No’ to Buying Winter Red King Crab
The Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. (NSEDC) will not purchase crab from the 2023 red king crab winter commercial fishery, in what the corporation has described as a difficult decision [...]
News
Comment Period on Bering Sea Halibut Management Proposal Open
NOAA Fisheries is seeking comment through Feb. 7 on a plan for abundance-based management of halibut in the Bering Sea. The proposed rule would implement Amendment 123 to the fishery [...]
Canadian Government Offering to Buy Back Commercial Fishing Licenses
Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO) has put out notice of $123 million earmarked to buy back Pacific salmon commercial fishing licenses from harvesters who want out of the industry. The [...]
News
Demise of Alaska’s Bering Sea Crab Fisheries Expected to Have Ripple Effect
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. [...]
News
Seafood Industry Veteran Rogness to Join GAPP
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. [...]
News
IMO Adopts Whale Protections, Extended West Coast Vessel Lanes
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 [...]
News
NOAA Backs $16M+ in Fish Passage Funds, Including in Alaska, Washington, Oregon
NOAA Fisheries has recommended spending more than $16 million for 13 tribal priority fish passage projects in seven states, including Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington. In Alaska, the allocations [...]
News
Update on Hatchery Fish Impact on Wild Salmon Due in 2023
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 [...]
News
California Hatchery Boosting Fall Run Projection of Chinook Salmon to 9.5M Fish
The Feather River Fish Hatchery in Oroville, Calif. is expected to increase production of fall-run Chinook salmon in 2023 to some 9.5 million fish to combat the impacts of drought [...]
News
NOAA Fisheries Proposes Rule to Expand Seafood Import Monitoring
NOAA Fisheries has announced a proposed rule that would expand the Seafood Import Monitoring Program (SIMP), a risk-based program for targeted species of seafood imported into the United States. SIMP [...]
News
UW Study Shows Parasite Decline in Puget Sound
A University of Washington fisheries scientist says her research shows that fish parasites in Puget Sound have been in decline over the last century. “We all have this sense that [...]
News
ODFW to Look Back at 2022, Forward to 2023 Salmon Season
The 2023 Ocean Salmon Industry Group meeting is scheduled to take place Feb. 27 in Newport, Ore., both in person and virtually, to review the 2022 seasons and take a [...]
News
Pacific Fishermen Shipyard’s Dixon Honored for Support of North Pacific Fishing Industry
John Douglas “Doug” Dixon, the general manager of Pacific Fishermen Shipyard in Seattle, has been honored by the Norwegian Commercial Club for his life-long contributions to the North Pacific fishing [...]