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NOAA Seeks Applicants for American Fisheries Advisory Committee
17Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA Seeks Applicants for American Fisheries Advisory Committee

NOAA Fisheries is seeking applications through Sept. 24 for the new American Fisheries Advisory Committee, which will make recommendations for Saltonstall-Kennedy priorities and grand award funding. The committee, with three representatives from each of six regions, was established in May by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee Act. The trio is to include one seafood harvester or processor, a recreational or commercial fisherman or seafood farmer, and one representative of the fisheries science community or a relevant regional fishery management council. There will also be four at-large members, with experience in food distribution, recreational fishing and commercial fishing, plus a NOAA Fisheries employee with expertise in fisheries research Members will represent seafood ...
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AFSC Research Plan Focuses on Shellfish, Seaweed Aquaculture Development
17Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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AFSC Research Plan Focuses on Shellfish, Seaweed Aquaculture Development

A strategic research plan released by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) will be used to help the NOAA Fisheries agency guide research to expand shellfish and seaweed production over the next five years, in hopes of expanding the state’s blue economy. The goal is to provide information for state and federal regulatory agencies and coastal communities in Alaska to ensure a sustainable seafood supply and economic opportunities for Americans. This research will provide an important foundation for sustainable development, AFSC Director Bob Foy said. “Marine aquaculture contributes to restoration efforts in Alaska and is increasing economic opportunities for coastal communities through the farming of shellfish and seaweed,” Foy explained. The research plan notes that the...
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Alaskans Celebrate 7th Annual Wild Salmon Day
10Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Alaskans Celebrate 7th Annual Wild Salmon Day

Alaskans are celebrating the seventh annual Wild Salmon Day on Aug. 10 in Anchorage to honor shared connections to salmon and the importance of health salmon habitat. Organizers said the free event at Anchorage’s Westchester Lagoon from 6-8 p.m. will feature live music, several vendors, activities for children and the Salmon Hookup food truck, selling menu items made with fresh Cook Inlet sockeye salmon. Participation organizations include Trout Unlimited, SalmonState, the Alaska Public Interest Research Group (AKPIRG), Citizens Climate Lobby and others. Speakers include Suzanne Little, who oversees Pew’s land conservation issues in Alaska. Her goal is to ensure that local people are heard on land use issues, including policy debates relating to conservation of Alaska lands. T...
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Alaska Canned Pink Salmon Heading to Ukraine
10Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Alaska Canned Pink Salmon Heading to Ukraine

More aid to help feed people with insufficient access to food in the war-torn Ukraine is on its way, thanks to a $300,000 donation by the Alaska Legislature, led by Sen. Gary Stevens, R- Kodiak. Some 3,200 cases of canned Alaska pink salmon were to be loaded onto a container ship in Seattle on Monday, Aug. 8, headed to chefs with the World Central Kitchen in the Ukraine, according to Bruce Schactler, food aid program and development director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. The fish will provide some 400,000 meals for Ukrainians, Schactler said. The World Central Kitchen (WCK) was founded by celebrity chef Jose Andres in 2010 after a devastating earthquake in Haiti. Together with its partners, WCK has to date has served well over a million meals to Ukrainians living in ...
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NOAA, Partners Working on Recovery of Oregon Coast Coho Salmon
10Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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NOAA, Partners Working on Recovery of Oregon Coast Coho Salmon

Federal fisheries officials, working with collaborators in the private-public Oregon Coast Coho Partnership, are expressing optimism on restoring healthy coho salmon runs to the Oregon coast through science driven restoration and sound watershed management. This includes efforts to uphold Native American tribal fishing rights. Coho salmon populations on the Oregon coast, as well as the coast of Northern California, are currently listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act, because there isn’t enough high-quality habitat available for vulnerable juvenile cohos to rear in. The cohos weigh an average of eight pounds and two feet in length. More than 30 habitat restoration projects have been funded and are underway through the partnership, which is collaborating with com...
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USDA Approves $52M Purchase of Pacific Northwest Seafood Products
10Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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USDA Approves $52M Purchase of Pacific Northwest Seafood Products

U.S. Department of Agriculture officials have approved a $52 million purchase of Pacific Northwest seafood products, a deal that Oregon Senators Jeff Merkley and Ron Wyden say will provide a boost to the state’s seafood industry after being hard hit by COVID-19 and climate chaos. The deal includes the purchase of $22 million in Pacific whiting fillets, $18 million in Pacific rockfish fillets and $12 million in Pacific pink shrimp. “Not only do our fisheries deliver incredible products all around the world, they have been the lifeblood of communities up and down Oregon’s coast for generations,” Merkley said. “This announcement ensures Oregon’s coastal fishermen and seafood producers receive critical financial assistance needed to continue operating and providing services here in O...
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Oregon Halibut Poacher Loses Commercial Fishing Rights
10Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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Oregon Halibut Poacher Loses Commercial Fishing Rights

A commercial fishing captain in Tillamook, Oregon, has lost commercial fishing privileges for the next five years after what Oregon state police describe as repeated halibut poaching. Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division brought charges against Charles “Joe” Evens for violating terms of his commercial license by keeping fish he caught instead of selling and documenting the catch with a fish dealer. Evens was suspended from obtaining commercial or recreational fishing licenses for five years, ordered to complete 80 hours of community service and also fined $400 for the violations, which he admitted to in June. The license suspension falls within parameter of the Violator Compact, a reciprocal agreement among most states. The compact dictates that if someone loses thei...
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From the Editor: Tackling Illegal Fishing
3Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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From the Editor: Tackling Illegal Fishing

In the June issue of Fishermen’s News, we ran a lengthy feature article on illegal, unreported, and unregulated (IUU) fishing and how, for multiple reasons, such fishing is a leading global maritime security threat. Well, as a follow up to that report, I’m happy to report this news: the United States is strengthening its commitment to combating IUU fishing. In late June at the United Nations Ocean Conference in Portugal, the U.S. made a series of announcements that elevates the country’s commitment to combat IUU fishing and the labor abuses associated with it. In conjunction with the announcements, President Biden signed a memorandum addressing IUU fishing and related harmful fishing practices. Among the measures that the Biden administration spells out in the memorandum are t...
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USCG Enforcing Safety, Security Zones for Fleet Week
3Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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USCG Enforcing Safety, Security Zones for Fleet Week

To safeguard the public during Seattle’s Parade of Ships, Fleet Week and Seafair festival from Aug. 1-7, the Coast Guard is enforcing multiple safety and security zones on Elliott Bay and Lake Washington. The USCG will work with state and local agencies to increase safety patrols on Lake Washington. In addition, crews will enforce a special local regulation for the hydroplane on Lake Washington from 8 a.m. Friday until midnight Sunday. The Seafair Air Show Performance Safety Zone Regulation, also on Lake Washington, is being enforced from 8 a.m. Friday until 4 p.m. Sunday. These zones are to be established in the vicinity of Stan Sayres Memorial Park. Also, the Coast Guard issued reminders to boaters that children 12 years of age and younger are required by state law to wea...
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SNP Honors Three for Supporting Seafood for Better Health
3Aug By Fishermen's NewsNo Comments
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SNP Honors Three for Supporting Seafood for Better Health

Trident Seafoods’ Joe Bundrant, omega-3 researcher Joseph Hibbeln and executive chef Kelly Armetta are being honored by the Seafood Nutrition Partnership (SNP) for their support of the Nutrition Partnership’s mission to raise public awareness about the essential nutritional benefits of eating seafood. SNP said in a Tuesday, Aug. 2 announcement that all three honorees are passionate about improving the lives of Americans through nutrition and have demonstrated an exceptional impact. Bundrant will be awarded the SNP Seafood Industry Visionary Award for collaborating and focusing on public health benefits of SNP’s mission of increasing seafood consumption for the health of all Americans. He was a founding investor in SNP nearly a decade ago, and his efforts have made a lasting impac...
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