Fishermen’s News Online

NOAA Fisheries scientists say they have developed a new modeling approach to evaluate the changing productivity of fish populations as ocean temperatures continue to warm. This new approach was used to evaluate productivity for Alaska Pollock and Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska. They found that for Alaska Pollock and especially Pacific cod, sea surface temperatures in the Gulf are already less conducive to successful fish development, growth and survival than in recent decades. Fish productivity is determined by estimating how many fish survive from the egg and larvae stages annually to become adults. According to Mike Litzow, director of the Kodiak laboratory of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, a critical step in climate change adaptation is the ability to effectively eval...

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has announced plans for an assessment of marine life entanglement risk for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery on or around Dec. 15 using its Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program. CDFW officials said in an announcement on Monday, Dec. 13 that new regulations adopted by the California Fish and Game Commission provide the director with the authority to apply management actions to the recreational crab fishery to minimize entanglement risk informed by the program. The California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group was scheduled to meet on Tuesday, Dec. 14, to review currently available data as well as CDFW’s initial assessment and preliminary management recommendations. CDFW officials said that the director would consider t...

Climate change impacts on coastal ecosystems call for steps to protect economically valuable coastlines for current and future fisheries, say the authors of the latest “SeaBank” report produced by the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust. The physical and biological diversities of salmon-producing watersheds are globally unique, according to the report, which was released in early December by the Sitka, Alaska-based nonprofit entity, which takes a multi-disciplinary approach to identify and assess the value of the Southeast Alaska ecosystem. “The 2020 SeaBank report underscores that Southeast Alaska is one of the most productive ecosystems in the world,” said Linda Behnken, trust founder and also executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, and a veteran comme...

Trident Seafoods is acquiring the 300-foot at-sea processor C/P Starbound from Aleutian Spray Fisheries Inc. for use in its wild Alaska Pollock fishery, the two seafood firms have confirmed. The transaction also includes Aleutian Spray’s F/V Ocean Harvester and F/V Muir Milach, which Trident is adding to its fleet of Bering Sea and Pacific whiting catcher vessels. Terms of the deal were not disclosed. Modernizing Trident’s aging fleet of catcher processors has been a priority for some time, and the Starbound “aligns perfectly with Trident’s values and vision,” Trident CEO Joe Bundrant said. “With this investment, we improve our efficiency and environmental performance in our continuous effort to better utilize wild Alaska Pollock and Pacific whiting resources, while keeping co...

A plan to boost the reliability of the Alaska Marine Highway System with a new ocean-class vessel to replace the 57-year-old Tustumena ferry is now in progress, in hopes of having the new multi-million-dollar vessel traveling in coastal Alaska by 2027. The new vessel would boost both vehicle and passenger capacity of the older ferry, from 34 to 52 vehicles and from 160 to 250 passengers. The state’s marine highway system, which serves a number of coastal fishing communities, has been hampered by increasing interruptions of service due to the need for maintenance and repairs of the aging fleet. The replacement vessel, to be competitively bid, is expected to cost $200 million to $250 million, with the money coming from federal dollars secured for Alaska by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Al...

A new report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office recommends that the Defense Department determine whether it has authority to continue working with other nations to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing at sea. The report, released publicly by the GAO on Dec. 6, notes that the U.S. works internationally to combat IUU fishing. The Defense Department, for example, leads a program to build maritime security and maritime law enforcement capabilities among African nations, but Defense Department officials told the GAO that due to a change in U.S. law, it’s no longer clear that the DOD has authority to conduct all aspects of this program, the report states. The U.S. is a member of nine regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs), treaty-based organizati...

A cluster of businesses providing essential services in support of sustainable use of ocean resources in the $2 trillion global Blue Economy continues to grow, with upward of 800 firms nationwide, according to a NOAA report analyzing trends in ocean enterprise. The study, released Dec. 7, 2021, lists a total of 814 such firms nationwide, with 2,227 branch operations, including five businesses in Alaska, 151 in California, six in Hawaii, 11 in Oregon and 46 in Washington state. Report highlights include changes in markets for Ocean Enterprise products and services as the Blue Economy pivots toward rapidly developing areas, such as offshore renewable energy. The report also notes changes in technologies to meet present and future Blue Economy markets, including autonomous surface a...

Coast Guard officials are urging harvesters to take safety precautions in hazardous bar crossings during the commercial Dungeness crab season that’s now underway. Investigators with the Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland said they have responded to over 200 marine casualties so far this year, with many of these incidents involving commercial fishing vessels. When unsafe conditions exist at the bar, the Coast Guard prohibits the passage of recreational and uninspected passenger vessels based on their size. When conditions exceed operating parameters of Coast Guard search and rescue resources, the bar is closed and no vessels allowed to cross unless specifically authorized by the Captain of the Port. Bar closures are announced via broadcast notice to mariners on VHF-FM c...

The discovery of a juvenile whale named “Phoenix” by NOAA Fisheries biologists, has renewed hope for the survival of this critically endangered eastern North Pacific right whale population. A report on right whale research released by NOAA Fisheries on Monday, Nov. 29, credits NOAA Fisheries scientist Jessica Crance and her work with an international team searching for one of the world’s rarest large whales. Phoenix is estimated to be between 1.5 and 4 years old. The research, already published in marine science journals, tells how researchers over the summers of 2017 and 2018, photographed and identified a total of 15 individual North Pacific right whales, four of them documented for the first time, and one determined to be a juvenile. The whales were spotted during the Inter...