Fishermen’s News Online – Page 36

Cook Inlet Commercial Salmon Fishery Run Exceeds Preseason Forecast

14Dec

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Cook Inlet Commercial Salmon Fishery Run Exceeds Preseason Forecast

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s preliminary summary of the Upper Cook Inlet commercial salmon fishery shows the area’s sockeye salmon total run of 5.2 million fish was 6% greater than the preseason forecast of 4.9 million fish. The commercial salmon fishery harvest of 1.4 million salmon however was 44% less than the recent 10-year average annual harvest of 2.5 million fish. The 2022 ex-vessel value of all salmon species was $12.3 million and 535 less than the previous 10-year average annual ex-vessel value of $23.0 million. ADF&G biologists said that of the five species of Pacific salmon harvested in Upper Cook Inlet the sockeye salmon accounted for 91% of the total ex-vessel value over the past decade. The 2022 chinook salmon harvest of 2,278 fish is the lowest on reco...

Comment Period on Bering Sea Halibut Management Proposal Opens

14Dec

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Comment Period on Bering Sea Halibut Management Proposal Opens

NOAA Fisheries is seeking comment through Feb. 7 on a plan for abundance-based management of halibut in the Bering Sea. The proposed rule would implement Amendment 123 to the fishery management plan for groundfish within the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area for the Amendment 80 trawl sector prohibited species catch limit for Pacific halibut. NOAA Fisheries said in its request for comment that Amendment 123 balances interests of the two largest halibut user groups in the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands Fishery Management Area. The Amendment 80 sector is a fleet of nearly 20 trawl catcher-processor boats targeting Pacific cod, Pacific Ocean perch, Atka mackerel and rock, yellowfin and flathead sole in the Bering Sea. The action was initiated at the December 2021 meeting of t...

14Dec

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Ocean Commercial Dungeness Crab Season Remains Closed in Oregon

The ocean commercial Dungeness crab season remains closed in Oregon as round two of preseason testing is showing crabs are too low in meat yield in some areas. The Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said elevated domoic acid is still being detected in some crab viscera, and round three of crab meat yield and biotoxin testing is to occur in coming weeks. Those test results will help determine if the season will open Dec. 31 or is further delayed or split into areas with different opening dates. The season was targeted to begin on Dec. 1 but can be delayed so that consumers get a high-quality product and crab are not wasted, according to the ODFW. Oregon, California and Washington coordinate Dungeness crab quality testing and the commercial season opening dates. California and Washi...

14Dec

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Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force Delivers Recommendations

The Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force has delivered its recommendations to the state on research, state engagement and management priorities on tackling the subject of thousands of fish caught incidentally to directed fisheries. In its final report to Gov. Mike Dunleavy, the task force said that while bycatch can and should be reduced, it can’t be completely eliminated without significant economic consequences. The report recommended continuous work to reduce bycatch through research, implementation of effective management measures and public engagement. As the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council has heard frequently in testimony, any action taken to change management of one fishery always has some impact on other vessels targeting other fisheries in the same area. Balancing th...

Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination

7Dec

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Pebble Mine Decision: Litigation Likely to Follow Final Determination

A final determination on the future of a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine in Alaska’s Bristol Bay watershed could be handed down in February by the Environmental Protection Agency, but more litigation and possible deadline extensions could follow. Still, the announcement in early December by Casey Sixkiller, Regional 10 administrator for the EPA, that he had transmitted to the agency’s headquarters a Recommended Determination to prohibit and restrict use of certain waters in the watershed for certain discharges of dredged or fill materials from the mine got plenty of attention. Advocates for the Canadian-owned mine, a subsidiary of the diversified global mining group Hunter Dickenson in Vancouver, British Columbia, cried foul while opponents of the project hailed the possibil...

Bad Storm Inspires Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Processing Vessel

7Dec

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Bad Storm Inspires Plan for Environmentally Sustainable Processing Vessel

A seafood processor stung by an autumn storm in 2020 that grounded and destroyed its processing barge may be back in Bristol Bay for the 2024 salmon fishery with a new vertically integrated vessel that could produce higher quality fillets to sell year-round in an environmentally superior facility. “We developed the Hannah to produce higher quality fish through a more efficient process that benefits both fishermen and customers,” Ben Blakey, an industry veteran and chief executive officer of Northline Seafoods, with offices in Bellingham, Wash. and Sitka, Alaska said. “This project is a continuation of Northline’s commitment to innovation and environmental sustainability in the fishing industry.” Blakey said he hopes this one-of-a-kind vertically integrated vessel inspires others. “The...

NOAA, BOEM Develop Joint Strategy for Fisheries Surveys

7Dec

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NOAA, BOEM Develop Joint Strategy for Fisheries Surveys

A Federal Survey Mitigation Strategy developed by NOAA Fisheries and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management is the new vehicle for the two agencies to address potential impacts of offshore wind energy development on NOAA Fisheries’ scientific surveys. An announcement from NOAA on Monday, Dec. 5 stated that the new strategy underscores both agencies’ commitment to the Biden-Harris administration’s clean energy goals of responsibly advancing offshore wind energy production while protecting biodiversity and promoting mutual use of the ocean. NOAA Fisheries scientists have been collecting survey data that forms the basis of science-based management of America’s federal fisheries for 150 years. This new strategy is expected to ensure the quality of NOAA’s fisheries surveys and data are maint...

Dam Demolition in California, Oregon Could Help Restore Klamath River Salmon Habitat

7Dec

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Dam Demolition in California, Oregon Could Help Restore Klamath River Salmon Habitat

A new report in Smithsonian magazine details how demolition of four aging dams slated for removal from the Klamath River in 2023 could help restore hundreds of miles of historical salmon habitat in California and Oregon. The project was made possible by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission in November 2022 approving $500 million for the project that Native American tribes and environmentalists have been urging for years. Chrysten Rivard, Oregon director for nonprofit conservation group Trout Unlimited, said the Klamath River has been Exhibit A for how dams, drought, imbalanced water management and climate change can strangle a river, but is now poised to become a prime example of how an entire river system and all those depend on it can be renewed. The four PacifiCorp dams slate...

Tanner Crab Fishery Opens Jan. 15 in One Section of Eastern Aleutian District

7Dec

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Tanner Crab Fishery Opens Jan. 15 in One Section of Eastern Aleutian District

A Tanner crab fishery opens on Jan. 15 in the Makushin/Skan Bay section of the Eastern Aleutian District, but is to remain closed in the Akutan and Unalaska/Kalekta Bay sections for lack of sufficient mature male abundance. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists said the 2022 survey of estimated mature male abundance managed to exceed regulatory thresholds necessary for a commercial crab season in the Makushin/Skan section and calculated guideline harvest level (GHL). That 2023 fishery now has a GHL of 49,000 pounds. A commercial Tanner crab fishery may occur when estimated abundance of mature male Tanner crab meets or exceeds stock size thresholds established in regulation and requires a GHL of at least 10,000 pounds in the Makushin/Skan Bay and Akutan Sections and 15,000 pound...

30Nov

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IPHC Meets Virtually Nov. 30-Dec. 1

The 98th International Pacific Halibut Commission interim meeting is underway online Nov. 30 and Dec. 1, with all sessions to be webcast and open to the public. Topics up for discussion include fishery monitoring, stock status of Pacific halibut for 2022 and the 2023 harvest decision table, project updates on biological and ecosystem science research activities, a management strategy evaluation and proposals for the 2022-23 process regarding IPHC fishery regulations. Meeting discussions are expected to begin with an update on actions arising from the 98th session of the IPHC annual meeting, 2022 special sessions and intersessional decisions, plus the IPHC five-year program of integrated research and monitoring, and a report from the 23rd session of the IPHC research advisory board. ...