Fishermen’s News – Page 55

NPFMC Requests Expanded Discussion Paper on Bristol Bay Red King Crab Issues

13Apr

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NPFMC Requests Expanded Discussion Paper on Bristol Bay Red King Crab Issues

At their April meeting, federal fisheries managers voted for an extended discussion paper with an analysis of impacts of annual or seasonal closures to pelagic trawl, groundfish pot and longline gear in the Red King Crab Savings Area, plus tables for all sources of BBRKC mortality across federal waters. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council also requested that the paper go to its scientific and statistical committee for review and comment before it is presented at the October council session. The unanimous vote came after extensive testimony and discussion at the Anchorage meeting, a move that Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen called a step in the right direction, but that left out some important protections for crab and also was action not happeni...

NTSB Determines Inadequate Planning Led to Loss of Commercial Processing Vessel

13Apr

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NTSB Determines Inadequate Planning Led to Loss of Commercial Processing Vessel

A report from the National Transportation Safety Board attributes a fire aboard a commercial fish processor docked at a shipyard in Tacoma, Washington to inadequate planning for “hot work.” The fire resulted in a loss exceeding $16 million. Marine Investigation Report 22/10, issued in March, stated that the fish processor Aleutian Falcon was docked for repairs at a Tacoma shipyard on Feb. 17, 2021, when the fire occurred. The Tacoma Fire Department managed to extinguish the fire after four days. No one was on board the vessel at the time of the fire and there were no injuries. However, an estimated 20-30 gallons of hydraulic oil leaked into the water and was captured by containment boom. The vessel was declared a total loss with an estimated value of nearly $16.5 million. T...

13Apr

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Polar Star Goes Into Dry Dock After 147-Day Antarctic Deployment

Polar Star, the nation’s only heavy icebreaker, returned from its 147-day mission is support of the U.S Antarctic Program, and other national interests in Antarctica and the Southern Hemisphere, going directly into dry dock at Vallejo, California, rather than its Seattle homeport. Work began on phase two of a five-year, $75 million Service Life Extension Program in early April. The Coast Guard is replacing antiquated technology to ensure the longevity of the operational heavy icebreaker while in drydock this year, supporting the Coast Guard’s enduring commitment to Antarctic operations. The 140-member Polar Star crew departed Seattle on Nov. 13, 2021 for the cutter’s 25th Operation Deep Freeze deployment and traveled 24,300 nautical miles to Antarctica and back. Coast Gua...

OBI to Operate Buying Stations in Upper Cook Inlet During 2022 Salmon Season

13Apr

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OBI to Operate Buying Stations in Upper Cook Inlet During 2022 Salmon Season

OBI Seafoods is assuring commercial fishermen that the company will be there to purchased fish during the 2022 salmon season on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The company has several buying stations in Upper Cook Inlet and plans to operate all of them this summer, from Homer to North Salamatof Beach. With other buyers pulling out of the region, we wanted to make it clear to fishermen and local communities that we will be there throughout the season to buy fish and support our fleet,” OBI Seafoods Executive Vice president of Alaska Operations John Woodruff said. “We are very interested in talking to any Upper Cook Inlet fishermen who may be looking for a new market.” Woodruff added that OBI would be paying competitive prices in the region and offering fishermen support services as ...

Wild Alaskan Company Donates 95,000 Pounds of Salmon to Alaska Food Bank

13Apr

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Wild Alaskan Company Donates 95,000 Pounds of Salmon to Alaska Food Bank

Wild Alaskan Company, a direct to consumer sustainably-caught seafood membership firm, has donated over 95,000 pounds of individually-portioned, wild-caught salmon valued in excess of $1.4 million to the Food Bank of Alaska. The contribution, a mix of both sockeye and coho species, comes as communities across Alaska face the fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic, economic hardships and ongoing food insecurity. A 2020 Northwestern University study showed that almost one in five Alaskans experiences food insecurity. Arron Kallenberg, founder and CEO of Wild Alaskan Company, said that “there would be no Wild Alaskan Company without Alaska. We are fortunate to be in a position to give back to Alaskans during this time of need — so that’s what we did.” TOTE Maritime Alaska facilita...

From the Editor: Russian Seafood Import Ban

6Apr

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From the Editor: Russian Seafood Import Ban

In case you missed it, the Biden Administration has imposed a federal ban on U.S. imports of Russian seafood in response to Russia’s invasion of neighboring country Ukraine. While the administration’s ban, which was imposed in mid-March, is to be applauded, it should not have taken a literal war for it to have been executed, in my opinion. In fact, it was something that the seafood industry has said was years overdue, because after all, Russia has banned imports of U.S. seafood since 2014. And the reason that came about was that in early 2014, while much of the world was focused on the winter Olympics at the time, Russia invaded and annexed Crimea, a peninsula that had been part of Ukraine. Following the annexation, the U.S. placed economic sanctions on Russia, and Russia retaliated by ...

USCG Unloads $223M in Cocaine, Marijuana in San Diego

6Apr

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USCG Unloads $223M in Cocaine, Marijuana in San Diego

Combined efforts of U.S. Coast Guard crews and a Canadian military vessel resulted in the seizure in the eastern Pacific Ocean of 11,300 pounds of cocaine and over 4,000 pounds of marijuana worth over $223 million. The drugs were unloaded from the Coast Guard cutter Kimball in San Diego on March 31. The drugs were seized in international waters of the eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Central and South America, including contraband seized and recovered during eight interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels between late February and early March. “At-sea interdictions of pure cocaine are the most effective way to limit cartel’s destabilizing effects throughout the Western Hemisphere,” Coast Guard Pacific Area Commander Vice Admiral Michael McAllister commented. “Coast Guard...

Feds to Allow Additional Foreign Workers in Alaska Commercial Fisheries

6Apr

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Feds to Allow Additional Foreign Workers in Alaska Commercial Fisheries

Federal officials on March 31 announced that an additional 35,000 visas are being made available for foreign workers willing to fill nonagricultural jobs in the second half of fiscal year 2022. The expected influx of workers is expected to help temporarily fill many jobs at Pacific Northwest seafood processing companies. The announcement was hailed by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Chris Barrows, president of the Pacific Seafood Processors Association in Seattle, as a relief for industry efforts to fill hundreds of onshore and at-sea jobs, particularly in the groundfish sector. Murkowski praised officials in the departments of Homeland Security and Labor for allowing the additional workers. “With the tourism and fishing season right around the corner, and the economic fallout we h...

NOAA Fisheries Designates Critical Habitat For Ringed and Bearded Seals

6Apr

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NOAA Fisheries Designates Critical Habitat For Ringed and Bearded Seals

NOAA Fisheries has designated critical habitat in U.S. waters off Alaska’s coastline for Arctic ringed seals and the Beringia distinct population segment of bearded seals, both of which are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. The Act requires that NOAA Fisheries designate critical habitat for listed species in areas within the jurisdiction of the United States. Critical habitat identifies geographic areas that contain features essential to conservation of such listed species. For these species critical habitat includes marine waters of the Northern Bering, Chukchi and Beaufort seas. Critical habitat boundaries differ between the two species, reflecting differences in where the essential habitat features for each species are found. The final rule to designate critical...

Seattle Aquarium Hosts Wild Pacific Salmon Photo Exhibit

6Apr

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Seattle Aquarium Hosts Wild Pacific Salmon Photo Exhibit

A curated photo exhibit, The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind, featuring the work of award-winning photographer Amy Gulick, is on display at the Seattle Aquarium through August. The exhibit, based on a book of the same title, features photography and stories celebrating the ways of life in Alaska that Wild Pacific salmon make possible. The exhibit is a partnership of the Seattle Aquarium and Braided River, publisher of the 2019 Gulick book “The Salmon Way: An Alaska State of Mind.” The book includes photos of a diversity of Alaskans living the salmon way of life: Alaska Natives, commercial fishing families and sport fishers. Gulick spent five years venturing to Alaska to explore the web of human relationships that revolve around wild salmon. Created as part of the 2019-2022 Intern...