Author: Fishermens News Online

A new federal fisheries study projects that ecosystem-based fisheries management (EBFM) can forestall climate-driven collapse of key Alaska fisheries better than other management policies. According to biologist Kirstin Holsman of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center ecosystem based management helps both the fish and fishing communities. “It is the best strategy we have to provide harvest stability in the coming years,” Holsman said. Still by mid-century, or sooner, Alaska fisheries may reach a tipping point or rapid decline in the eastern Bering Sea if climate change continues on the current trajectory and fish and fisheries are not able to adapt to these changing conditions,” she said. “To guarantee long-term success, we need to couple EBFM with global climate change mitigation.” EBFM...

A cargo and cold storage facility planned for Anchorage that would offer opportunities to processors currently storing Alaska-caught seafood in Washington state got an economic boost this week from a $21 million federal grant to the Alaska Energy Authority. Officials at AEA, who are partnered with Alaska Cargo and Cold Storage (ACCS) on the project, said the 190,000 square foot, climate controlled air cargo transfer facility is positioned to take seafood from all over the state and add value by processing before delivering product to flights serving domestic and international markets. Alaska’s commercial fisheries annually harvest more seafood than all other states combined. In 2017 and 2018 alone annual seafood harvests of some 2.5 million tons were worth $4.7 billion after processing. ...

Alaska fishermen have rounded out the 2020 salmon commercial season with a catch of over 112 million fish. That total, along with the historical ranking of salmon harvests, still may improve slightly as final landings of the season are delivered over the next few weeks. Based on the number of fish included in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary harvest estimate, this year’s commercial harvest of all five species of salmon will rank 17th out of the 23 even-numbered years since 1975, says fisheries economist Garrett Everidge, of the McDowell Group, who produces the in-season salmon harvest reports for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. ADF&G data to date show that Alaska’s central region, including Bristol Bay, Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound, delivered more t...

In two months on the high seas of the North Pacific Ocean, the 160 crew members of the Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro traveled some 12,500 nautical miles, to ensure compliance by fishing vessels with Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission and North Pacific Fisheries Commission regulations. Prior to their return to their home base at Kodiak on Monday, Sept. 14, they conducted inspections of 11 fishing vessels of several nationalities. The patrol was part of the annual Operation North Pacific Guard, a U.S. fisheries international law enforcement operation designed to deter illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing activity, including large-scale high seas pelagic draft net fishing. The Coast Guard did not report any illegal activities among the 11 vessels boarded. Still, these...

Commercial harvesters of Alaska salmon have topped the 110 million fish mark as the season continues to wind down, with increased catches of all five species. As of Tuesday, Sept. 8, the harvest was still in progress, with a focus on cohos. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary commercial harvest report showed a total of 110,096,000 salmon delivered to processors, including 56.6 million pink, 45.3 million sockeye, 6.3 million chum, 1.7 million coho and 227,000 kings. Overall, notes Garrett Evridge of the McDowell Group, approximately 500 million pounds of salmon have been landed this season, based on historical average fish weights. Sockeye account for 48 percent of the total, followed by humpies with 40 percent. Keta account for about 10 percent, with coho and Chinook co...

Updates on federal and state legislation, mariculture, and cooperative research are onboard for day one of the 40th annual Comfish Alaska, going virtual for the first time in 40 years for health and safety reasons, due to the global COVID-19 pandemic. The second day agenda includes a look at nonfatal injuries and shipboard electrical safety. The Kodiak Chamber of Commerce meanwhile is still working out details of a ComFish senatorial debate between incumbent Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, and challenger Dr. Al Gross, an orthopedic physician who worked his way through college and medical school as a commercial fisherman, an occupation he is still engaged in. Among the panelists for the Sept. 17- Sept. 18 event is Ted Teske, a health communication specialist with the National Institute for O...

Environmental programs in Alaska, California, Oregon and Washington state are among the 23 entities awarded marine debris prevention and cleanup funds announced by the highly competitive NOAA Marine Debris Program. The $2.7 million in federal funds are matched by other contributors, bringing the total investment in these projects to about $5.9 million. The prevention projects range from efforts to reduce the use of packing bands that have entangled marine wildlife in the area of St. Paul Island, Alaska, to a youth-led education project to reduce barriers to plastic pollution reduction and waste prevention in the Duwamish River area of Washington State. The Aleut Community of St. Paul’s $74,983 grant includes a localized campaign to cut plastic packing band lops prior to disposal, voluntee...