Author: Fishermen's News

A study of potential new Pacific salmon habitat in western North America as a result of glacial retreat through the year 2100 poses benefits to salmon, but also warns of the need for forward-looking management decision making and conservation planning. The study, published recently in the journal Nature, projects that by the year 2100 glacier retreat will create 6,146 kilometers (3,818 miles) of new streams accessible for colonization by Pacific salmon, of which 1,930 km (1,200 miles) have potential for spawning and juvenile rearing within 18 sub-regions. “With climate change, the distribution of habitat of salmon in the future is probably going to be different than the distribution for salmon now, because of changes in temperature and precipitation which affect stream flow,” sai...

OBI Seafoods’ Chief Executive Officer Mark Palmer said the company plans a full force showing at Seafood Expo North America in Boston March 13-15, to introduce the company to new customers. As a seafood producer, OBI is well-versed at operating during a pandemic, and the protocols in place for the show should allow everyone to have a successful show and get back to business, Palmer said. The OBI Seafoods global sales booth at Booth #1205 is expected to be fully staffed. This will be OBI’s first opportunity to present its expanded capabilities since the merger of Ocean Beauty Seafoods’ Alaska operations with Icicle Seafoods’ Alaska salmon and Gulf of Alaska groundfish operations to form OBI Seafoods in May 2020. “We have had a high level of interest from our global customers...

A pilot project to reintroduce endangered winter-run Chinook salmon and other salmon runs to their historical habitat in California’s Central Valley via a test collection system is being funded by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. The project in the McCloud Arm of the Shasta reservoir is designed to solve what may be the biggest challenge in reintroducing winter-run Chinook salmon to the McCloud River. The $1.5 million grant for this first year of testing the collection system, leveraged by CDFW from the Wildlife Conservation Board, is going to the state’s Department of Water Resources. The collection system consists of a debris broom, guidance net, fish trap and temperature curtain, which will be tested in the McCloud Arm of Shasta reservoir from mid-September to m...

Legislation introduced in the U.S. Senate by Alaska’s two U.S. senators would ban the import of all Russian seafood products into the United States to response to Russia’s ban on the import of U.S. and other western seafood products since 2014. The United States-Russian Federation Seafood Reciprocity Act of 2022, sponsored by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, would prohibit import of any Russian Federation seafood or seafood products into the U.S. The prohibition would be terminated only when the Russian Federation terminates its ban on the import of U.S. seafood products. The bill notes that in 2014 the Russian Federation invaded and annexed the Crimean Peninsula from Ukraine and that the United States and its allies responded by imposing sanctions on the ...

Federal fisheries managers were expected to take action Feb. 9 on a halibut catch share plan allocation review during the virtual February meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. If the council concludes that its objectives for the catch sharing plan are being met and the program is functioning as intended, then the review is complete and the 10-year trigger for reevaluation is reset. If not, the council could request further analysis considering different allocation percentages of halibut in the commercial and charter sectors. Extensive testimony on the subject ran to late afternoon on Tuesday, Feb. 8 and was continued until Wednesday, Feb. 9. Among those submitting written testimony was Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Ass...

The nearly $1 million that Oregon legislators approved so ocean researchers can help Oregon better understand and monitor ocean changes is starting to make its way to researchers. Last year, the Oregon Legislature passed House Bill 3114, which allocated the funds to the Oregon Ocean Science Trust to address ocean acidification and hypoxia and the risks these issues pose to the state’s economy and ecosystems. Now, through competitive grants, these funds are being distributed to marine researchers. Laura Anderson, chair of the Oregon Ocean Science Trust, said her entity is thankful to Oregon lawmakers for realizing the value of investing in increasing ocean knowledge. “Coastal economies and Oregon fisheries are directly dependent on healthy marine ecosystems,” Anderson said. “An...

Members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting virtually this week due to the ongoing COVID-19 global pandemic, have recognized retiring NOAA General Counsel Lauren Smoker and NOAA Fisheries senior scientist Anne Hollowed for outstanding achievement. Smoker, who has served as NOAA General Counsel for three decades, was presented with the Bob Mace Distinguished Service Award. Council members noted that Smoker worked on some of the most complex and controversial fishery management actions in Alaska, including the Community Development Quota Program, the Crab Rationalization and Amendment 80 programs, and salmon management. The council said her depth of knowledge about legal requirements of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act helped guide t...

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has scheduled its annual salmon information meeting for 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Wednesday, March 2 via webinar. This year’s public meeting will feature CDFW’s outlook for the 2022 sport and commercial ocean salmon fisheries, plus a review of the 2021 salmon fisheries and spawning escapement. Stakeholders are encouraged to participate by providing input on potential fishing seasons to a panel of fishery managers, scientists and industry representatives who will be participating in the upcoming Pacific Fishery Management Council meetings in March and April. The 2022 salmon information meeting marks the start of a two-month public process to develop annual sport and commercial ocean salmon fishing regulations. The process involves collabor...