Author: Fishermen's News Online

Prices for the famed Copper River kings and sockeye are holding their own at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle, while in Alaska’s Copper River fishery itself, the harvest has been slow. “The fish are fine,” said veteran harvester John Renner, vice president of Cordova District Fishermen United. “There are just not enough of them. It’s a weak season in my humble opinion. It’s not a biological catastrophe, but a financial one,” he said. “It is coming in well under the forecast for reds and kings on the Copper River,” noted Jeremy Botz, gillnet area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at Cordova. “The run is coming in late, but also looking smaller than forecast. So far it has been pretty scratchy, but we have lots of potential for sockeye and chum for western P...

A new federal Commerce Department report shows that America’s marine economy contributed about $373 billion to the nation’s gross domestic product in 2018, growing faster than the nation’s overall economy. “The marine economy statistics clarify just how dependent America is on our waters,” said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Service. “It is nearly impossible for most Americans to go a single day without eating, wearing or using products that come from or through our coastal communities.” According to Deputy NOAA Administrator Tim Gallaudet these statistics are the first-of-its-kind estimate of the U.S. marine economy, a primary driver of jobs, innovation and economic growth. “Data such as these provide a critical baseline to inform, track progress and accelerat...

Federal officials tasked with deciding whether to issue a crucial permit for the proposed Pebble mine, in Southwest Alaska, have identified as a preferred transportation route acreage owned by Alaska Native entities adamantly opposed to the mine. The decision announced on Friday, May 22, by the US Army Corps of Engineers (USACE), identified the 82-mile two lane access road along the northern shore of Lake Iliamna as the least environmentally damaging way to develop a wetlands mitigation plan for the mine. The choice of a northern transportation route would change the port site for the mine to Diamond Point, which lies further north on Cook Inlet. The USACE announcement was hailed as good news by Tom Collier, chief executive officer of the Pebble Limited Partnership (PLP) in Anchorage, A...

Federal fisheries officials have canceled five large-scale research surveys in federal waters off Alaska in 2020 in an effort to protect their crews and communities associated with the surveys from spread of the novel coronavirus pandemic. NOAA Fisheries officials said on May 22 that it was a difficult decision to make, while balancing their core mission and the realities and impacts of the pandemic. The cancelations include the Aleutian Islands bottom trawl survey, the Eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey, the northern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey, the Bering Sea Pollock acoustics survey and the fall ecosystem survey. The annual Alaska longline survey will take place as planned. NOAA Fisheries said that after two months of careful planning and rigorous analysis of various options ...

In the wake of two slow openers on May 14 and May 18, and a third period when no fishing was allowed, commercial harvesters on Alaska’s Copper River brought home an estimated 1,467 Chinooks and 33,752 sockeye salmon in the 12-hour Memorial Day opener. That fourth period catch boosted the overall harvest to date for the famed Copper River to an estimated 45,537 fish, including 4,935 kings and 39,823 reds, which was, in the eyes of veteran harvester Jerry McCune of Cordova “still not good.” McCune, who is the president of Cordova District Fishermen United, said he was doubtful that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game would allow a harvest for the fifth opener schedule for Thursday, May 28. “First,” said McCune, “there will have to be some improvement on escapement numbers into the rive...

Independent fishermen hard hit by seafood markets crashing and prevention requirements for operating during a global pandemic say that loss of income, community health and safety and the proposed Pebble mine are their top concerns. When the coronavirus was first documented in the United States and seafood markets crashed, SalmonState, a broad based non-profit communications network dedicated to protection of Alaska’s salmon habitat, realized the need to get a handle on what fishermen were experiencing and needing, said Tyson Fick, a Southeast Alaska fisherman and spokesperson for SalmonState. “As a result, we have an invaluable snapshot of what Alaskan fishermen want and need right now.” Between April 14 and May 3, SalmonState surveyed 779 Alaska fishermen, primarily salmon harvesters,...

The federal fisheries managers have approved three emergency actions for Alaska’s halibut fisheries prompted by the novel coronavirus pandemic. Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council on May 15 approved allowing the transfer through the rest of this season for quota shares owed by halibut and sablefish IFQ holders, based on a request from 11 industry leaders. The council also recommended that the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) modify bag limits and size restrictions for the halibut charter industry in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska, and that the IPHC remove vessel use cap rules for IFQ halibut harvested in Areas 4B, 4C and 4D for the remainder of the season. The council approved the quota share transfers without making it specific to harvesters with c...

Commercial salmon harvesters are off to a slow start in the Copper River fishery, which in its first two 12-hour periods delivered a total of 3,255 Chinook and 6,025 sockeye salmon. The celebrated opener on May 14 brought in 1,552 kings and 1,473 reds, for a total of only 3,059 salmon. One veteran harvester said he caught five fish in a total of eight sets. The second opener brought in 1,703 kings and 4,562 reds for a total of 6,382. Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) biologists said there would be no commercial fishery tomorrow, May 21 and that they would decide on Friday, May 22, whether there would be a commercial fishing period on Memorial Day, Monday, May 25. Jeremy Botz, the finfish area management biologist for ADF&G in Cordova, Alaska, noted that the water had ...

Test results that showed an asymptomatic employee of Trident Seafoods testing positive in Dillingham, Alaska, have Bristol Bay economic, health and tribal leaders renewing their demand for pre-arrival quarantine and testing of seafood workers. The individual involved tested positive while still in quarantine in Dillingham, and Trident Seafoods sent a charter aircraft to take the employee out of the area. Meanwhile several other workers who were quarantined in the same area have all tested negative for COVID-19. Seafood industry veteran Norm Van Vactor of Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation said the incident exemplifies why testing and enforced quarantine must be a requirement for all incoming fishermen, a much more vulnerable group, which faces more challenges than processors w...

The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBSDA) has posted its own COVID-19 Fishermen’s Handbook, online at https://static1.squarespace.com/static/56b0dfb660b5e98b87fc3d52/t/5ebf2f9d0ecfc828c105d061/1589587872581/BBRSDA+COVID+Handbook+-+05-15-20pm.pdf The intent is educating the fishermen on how to comply with state and local laws and to provide best practice to keep everyone safe from COVID-19 during the 2020 season. A set net mandate is also to be included soon. The BBSDA advises that it is the responsibility of all Bristol Bay fishermen to understand and take steps to comply with mandates on the state and local level. These regulations are mandatory and failure to comply is punishable by fines of up to $25,000 The fleet is advised to plan their season in Bristol Ba...