Fishermen’s News Online – Page 42

NOAA Hosts First Responder Training on Entangled Whale Response

28Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

NOAA Hosts First Responder Training on Entangled Whale Response

NOAA Fisheries, the leader in the Alaska Large Whale Entanglement Response Program, recently held workshops in four Alaska communities on how to best respond to entangled whales. The training sessions in Metlakatla, Auke Bay and Gustavus in Southeast Alaska and Cordova, on Prince William Sound, taught safety skills needed to approach whales in distress, especially entangled whales. Participating NOAA employees and partner agencies included a team of advanced, authorized responders and trainers who use specialized equipment to safely and legally respond to entangled whales. The program emphasizes the importance of assessment and documentation from a safe, legal distance from the on-water communities. NOAA Fisheries leads the Alaska Large Whale Entanglement Response Program. It ...

Sunken Fishing Vessel Raised Off San Juan Island

21Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Sunken Fishing Vessel Raised Off San Juan Island

A commercial fishing vessel that sank near Washington’s San Juan Island on Aug. 13, with estimated 2,600 gallons of diesel and oil on board, was successfully lifted to the surface this past week, in a lengthy process that ended on the evening of Saturday, Sept. 17. The lifting of the Aleutian Isle began during that weekend afternoon and continued late into the night. The Coast Guard said after the vessel was brought to the surface that the crew began the complicated task of dewatering and removing fuel. The vessel was partially dewatered and approximately 775 gallons of oily-water liquids were removed, but crews were unable to safely access all spaces and completely dewater the vessel. The Aleutian Isle is now floating with assistance from the barge DB-24. The incident command...

Comment Period Open for Items on NPFMC’s October Agenda

21Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Comment Period Open for Items on NPFMC’s October Agenda

Comment is being accepted in advance of the Oct. 6-11 meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage on agenda topics ranging from integration of electronic monitoring on Pollock catcher vessels to a proposal for expanded Pacific cod catches in federal waters. Final decisions on both matters are expected at the meeting. Development of the trawl electronic monitoring program evolved as part of a cooperative research plan developed by the Trawl Electronic Monitoring Committee through pilot projects in 2018 and 2019, and under an exempted fishing permit, which has expanded participation since 2020. The proposed amendment to redefine the current federal Bering Sea/Aleutian Island Pacific cod jig sector to include jig catcher vessels and catcher processors, as...

Alaska to Request Federal Disaster Aid for West Coast Storm Damage

21Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Alaska to Request Federal Disaster Aid for West Coast Storm Damage

The State of Alaska has indicated that it plans to seek a federal disaster declaration for the September storm that hit struck the Western coast as soon as a damage assessment to determine the financial need is completed. Gov. Mike Dunleavy has already issued a state disaster declaration for the storm, activating the State Emergency Operations Plan, for all communities impacted by the record storm. If the state’s request for federal aid is approved, at least 75% of eligible disaster costs would be covered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency. FEMA disaster aid covers three general categories, including assistance to individuals and households, public assistance for emergency replacement of public facilities, and hazard mitigation assistance to reduce future losses to public...

Growth in Protein Demand is Driving the Global Aquaculture Sector

21Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Growth in Protein Demand is Driving the Global Aquaculture Sector

A new analysis from the San Antonio, Texas research firm Frost & Sullivan says innovation in aquaculture technologies and smart farming methodologies are revolutionizing the sector and generating billions of dollars in revenue streams. The company predicts that the market will garner $415.82 billion in revenue by 2030, up from $284.63 billion in 2021, an uptick at a compound annual growth rate of 4.3%. According to Frost and Sullivan research analyst Akheela Dhiman, the aquaculture industry has fully recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic, after facing the most intense impact in the first half of 2020. Dhiman said that with reopening of hotels, restaurants and cafes since and recovery in global household demand have revived the aquaculture industry. To take advantage of t...

New OA, Hypoxia Report Delivered to Oregon Legislators

21Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

New OA, Hypoxia Report Delivered to Oregon Legislators

A new report delivered to Oregon legislators by the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia says that impacts of ocean acidification and hypoxia are now predictable every summer. That steady increase in acidification is approaching or meeting levels problematic not only for oysters, but for crab, mussels, urchins, salmon rockfish and other species, according to the report from the Oregon Coordinating Council on Ocean Acidification and Hypoxia (OAH Council). The diverse stakeholder group provides science-based recommendations to legislators in Oregon. Since it was created by legislators in 2017, the OAH Council has worked to understand, mitigate and adapt to changing ocean conditions and associated negative impacts. Over the last two years, the OAH Counci...

Mature Snow Crab Struggling in Eastern Bering Sea, But Immature Numbers Rising

14Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Mature Snow Crab Struggling in Eastern Bering Sea, But Immature Numbers Rising

A NOAA Fisheries analysis of the summer survey of Bering Sea crab stocks has concluded that in the wake of consecutive years of record warm temperatures numbers of mature male and female snow crab are still down, but there’s a significant increase in immature snow crab abundance, NOAA revealed Sept. 2. “Depending on how many of these young crabs actually survive to adulthood, this could be one bright spot for the fishing industry in a few years,” said Mike Litzow, survey lead and director of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s Kodiak Laboratory. “We are providing these early results to stock assessment scientists and resource managers to inform science and management discussions that will occur over the next few months to identify fishery management measures for the 2023 fishin...

EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine

14Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

EPA Extends Its Period of Consideration for Proposed Pebble Mine

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has extended its consideration period for proposed restrictions on mining at the proposed Pebble mine site in Southwest Alaska, this time until Dec. 2. The comment period was originally set to end in July, then continued to early September. While the comment period is now closed, the EPA is giving itself additional time to consider its decision. The crux of the issue is the potential adverse impact of the mine on the Bristol Bay watershed, home of the world’s largest run of sockeye salmon. The 2022 season was a record breaker for the millions of salmon caught in Bristol Bay, providing thousands of jobs to workers and millions of dollars to the industry and economy of Alaska. The EPA is currently faced with whether to withdraw proposed r...

Alaska Sea Grant Offering Strategy Session for New Seafood Harvesters

14Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Alaska Sea Grant Offering Strategy Session for New Seafood Harvesters

Educational institution Alaska Sea Grant is planning a virtual and in-person strategy session on Friday, Sept. 30, for educators and training organizations whose goal is to teach newcomers to the seafood industry how to be successful in harvesting. The strategy session will be a discussion on findings of Sea Grant’s needs assessment and a chance to develop strategies to meet those needs. Attendees are welcome to participate at the Alaska Sea Grant office conference room in Anchorage or online via Zoom. Registration is required for both in-person and online participation. In-person space is limited, so those interested in being there in person are urged to register soon. Those attending via Zoom will receive a meeting link on Wednesday, Sept. 28. Sea Grant officials noted th...

Study Notes Potential Impact of Climate Change on Maritime Boundaries

14Sep

By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments

Fishermen's News Online, News

Study Notes Potential Impact of Climate Change on Maritime Boundaries

A new study released Sept. 12 by University of Sydney researchers concludes that the rules for atolls and coral reefs in international law of the sea, already subject to interpretation due to their shifting nature, will be under greater stress as sea levels rise and ocean acidification disrupts reef integrity. These reef islands, found across the Indo-Pacific are already growing and shrinking due to complex biological and physical processes yet to be fully understood, and now climate change is leading to new uncertainties for legal maritime zones and small island states, according to the study, which was published in Environmental Research Letters. Thomas Fellowes, a postdoctoral research associate at the university and the lead author of the paper, called the situation “a perfec...