Author: Fishermens News Online

The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council is taking public comment through Dec. 16 on four draft resolutions, including one for an ecosystem approach to address a broader spectrum of ecological impacts from the 1989 oil spill disaster in Alaska’s Prince William Sound. The restoration plan approved in 1994 set policies to guide council positions for restoration, with a focus on initial impact boundaries identified as the spill area, where the most serious injury occurred and the need for restoration was greatest, while allowing for flexibility to respond to changing restoration needs. During its October meeting, the council drafted four resolutions, including one to address a broader spectrum of ecological impacts, including adverse effects to ecosystem services and mobile fish and wildli...

Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, came out firmly this past week in opposition to the proposed Pebble mine. She told the Alaska Federation of Natives during their annual convention, which was held virtually this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic, that it is was simply” the wrong mine in the wrong place,” and that it should not be permitted as currently proposed. Advocates of the mine maintain that it can be built in a way that will not have an adverse impact on the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon into Bristol Bay, and also boost the area’s economy considerably, as well as state coffers. Opponents are skeptical of the project, whose construction alone would result in the loss of over 2,800 acres of wetlands and nearly 130 miles of salmon streams. Murkowski said she has been clear th...

A new report released by the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers says for every dollar invested by the wild Alaska Pollock industry over the past two years the return has been $28.04 in wild Alaska Pollock fillet and surimi revenue back to the industry. The report was released during GAPP’s virtual annual meeting, is the “Return on Investment” study commissioned by GAPP from Harry Kaiser, an econometric evaluation expert from Cornell University. Kaiser said that the study found a very significant effect from the recent record purchases of wild Alaska Pollock by the federal government that equated to a lift of 4.8 percent in the value of wholesale frozen fillet block prices. Kaiser also compared the return on investment for GAPP with the return on investment of other commodity e...

Federal fisheries officials are moving toward an initial review analysis to establish an abundance-based halibut prohibited species catch management program in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands for the Amendment 80 sector of the groundfish fleet. The particular area of concern is area 4CDE, including the Pribilof Islands. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting virtually because of the novel coronavirus pandemic, noted that the Amendment 80 sector of the groundfish fleet is accountable for the majority of the annual halibut prohibited species catch mortality in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Island groundfish fisheries. While the Amendment 80 fleet has reduced halibut mortality in recent years, continued decline in the halibut stock requires consideration of additional measures...

Veteran longline harvester Linda Behnken of Sitka, Alaska, is being honored for her advocacy of sustainable fishing practices and support of coastal fishing communities dependent on the ocean for their livelihood and way of life. The Heinz Family Foundation, in Pittsburgh Pennsylvania, will present Behnken on Nov. 19 with its prestigious 25th Heinz Award in the environmental category along with an unrestricted cash award of $250,000. Behnken came to Sitka in 1982 to begin fishing to earn money for college. After earning a master’s degree from Yale she returned to skipper her own boat. These days she’s still fishing commercially for halibut and black cod, with her husband and two sons. She is also the executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, has served on the Nort...

Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials are accepting comments through Oct. 19 on Alaska’s spend plan for the $50 million the state is to receive – out of $300 million nationwide - under the CARES Act relief for fisheries participants. The plan spells out eligibility requirements for participants in seafood processing, commercial harvesting, sport charter, subsistence and aquaculture. ADF&G officials noted that while all sectors have been negatively impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic available funds will only cover a portion of the losses incurred by affected fishery participants. After comments are considered and input is made into the state’s plan, it must be approved by NOAA Fisheries before eligible fishery participants can submit applications for review and payment. The...

A new NOAA Fisheries study on survival of young Alaska Pollock during the 2015 Blob year in the Gulf of Alaska includes significant factors were low-salinity conditions that affected egg buoyancy, low abundance of prey for larval fish and poor body condition of age-0 juveniles. “Marine ecosystems are complex with lots of connections,” said fisheries scientist Lauren Rogers. “When you are trying to identify what might be behind a decline in abundance of fish at a particular age, it is often a series of factors that are at play.” The absence of larval and juvenile fish was due to environmental conditions that were not ideal for Pollock growth and development during the heatwave, she said. In the Gulf of Alaska, Pollock play a key role as both predator and prey and support a $100 million com...

Progress at last appears to be in the works on putting a stop to pollution from the Tulsequah Chief, a transboundary mine in British Columbia that hasn’t operated in over 60 years. According to Alaska Department of Natural Resources spokesman Kyle Mosell the recent release of a remediation plan by the British Columbia officials is a huge step forward. Mosell’s office, as well as officials with the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission in Sitka, have been in steady contact with provincial officials in an effort to halt pollution flowing into the Tulsequah River, which flows into the Taku River, a major salmon habitat flowing into Southeast Alaska. “The release of the remediation plan, a conceptual plan, is a huge milestone in the process,” Mosell said. “Now they have a plan ...

Alaska’s 2020-2021 commercial crab fisheries get underway on Oct. 15, with a total allowable catch of 45 million pounds of Bering Sea snow crab, up from 34 million pounds in 2019. The allowable catch in the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery meanwhile has slipped from 3.4 million pounds a year ago to 2.6 million pounds for the upcoming season. The Western Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery has a total allowable catch of 2.348 million pounds, but the Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery will remain closed. The allowable quotas are determined each year based on stock assessment analysis of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and National Marine Fisheries Service. Based on those analyses the Pribilof District red and blue king crab seasons, as well as the Saint Matthew Island blue king crab...

Two legislators are challenging the role of Alaska’s governor in trying to secure a federal Clean Water Act permit for the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska. Speaker of the House Bryce Edgmon, an independent from Dillingham, and Rep. Louise Stutes, a Republican from Kodiak, wrote to Gov. Mike Dunleavy on Sept. 29, asking him not to stand with the Pebble Limited Partnership in its effort to secure that permit from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. The letter came in the wake of the release of video tapes in which the chief executive officer of the PLP boasted about his influence with state and federal officials in getting the mine approved. The CEO, Tom Collier, has since resigned. Edgmon and Stutes contend that the Dunleavy administration is working directly with the PLP and its pa...