April/May 2021 – Page 2 – Fishermens News

Marine Business Updates

Naval Architects Re-Organize as Hockema Group The longtime West Coast firm of Hockema Whalen Myers Associates, Inc. kicked off 2021 with management changes that have resulted in a new name for the company, which specializes naval architecture and marine engineering. Hockema Group’s president is now John Myers; Michael Minnig will take on Myers’ former role of vice president and senior principal, while Craig Pomeroy is now the principal naval architect. Founder Hal Hockema will ease back and continue on a part-time basis as an advisor. The group’s last fishing vessel project was the plan for the completion of a 58-foot x 27-foot x 11-foot steel hull that was begun by Delta Marine in Seattle almost a decade ago. The bare hull was kept in a warehouse for about five years until it was bough...

Pandemic, Changing Markets Pose Challenges for Bering Sea Fisheries

Harvesters who annually deliver millions of pounds of wild Alaska seafood from the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands are facing new challenges these days: an ongoing global pandemic that has perhaps forever changed the way they operate, and the industry’s markets themselves. For a second consecutive season, groundfish and shellfish harvesters operating in these often stormy, icy waters are prioritizing their responsibility to keep their employees and the coastal communities they work in safe from the novel coronavirus, while continuing to operate in changing markets. “The greatest challenge for 2021 is to continue to stay operational across multitudes of fisheries and communities across Alaska, while protecting those communities and our workforce from COVID-19, so that we can continue to...

Fishermen’s News 2021 Deck Gear & More Survey

Kolstrand Expands Product Lines with Acquisition of Nordic/JK Fabrication It’s been nine months since Integrity Machining, Inc., maker of Kolstrand marine deck equipment, announced the acquisition of the assets of Seattle, Wash.-based J.K. Fabrication, Inc., maker of Nordic winches. Fishermen’s News called them recently to learn how the merger was succeeding during Washington state’s Covid restrictions. “The entire team from JK Fabrication came across and have stayed with us at Integrity Machining’s much larger facility in Marysville, Wash. This has significantly expanded Kolstrand’s already broad product line, to create a leader in the production and supply of all types of equipment for the entire fishing industry,” Integrity Machining President Paul Glyer explained. “This has create...

National Ocean Exploration Act Reintroduced in Congress

Legislation to update national priorities for ocean mapping, exploration and characterization is included in the National Ocean Exploration Act, a bill reintroduced in the 117th Congress by a bipartisan group of senators. The legislation would authorize and improve the National Ocean Mapping, Exploration and Characterization Council, and reauthorize the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s existing Ocean Exploration, Ocean and Coastal Mapping, and Hydrographic Services programs from fiscal years 2021 to 2030. It would also establish a system to enhance public access to the National Environmental Policy Act documents and the geo-referenced data included in them. It is sponsored by Senators Roger Wicker, R-MS; Maria Cantwell, D-WA; Lisa Murkowski, R-AK; Sheldon Whitehouse, D-...

Wang Takes Helm at NPRB

Research biologist Shiway Wang has been appointed as acting executive director of the Anchorage-based North Pacific Research Board. Wang also serves as science director for the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trust Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the University of Colorado Boulder and master’s and doctoral degrees in marine biology from the University of Alaska Fairbanks. The NPRB, established in 2001, is authorized to recommend marine research to the Secretary of Commerce to be funded through a competitive grant program using a portion of the interest earned from the Environmental Improvement and Restoration Fund, part of a large settlement in the U.S. Supreme Court related to a land dispute in the Arctic known as Dinkum Sands. The legislation requires tha...

Alaska Seeks to Intervene in Troll Lawsuit from Washington State

State of Alaska officials are seeking to intervene in litigation filed by a Washington state conservation entity that wants Southeast Alaska Chinook salmon troll fisheries halted to ensure a sufficient food supply for endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales. The state’s request to intervene was filed in mid-March in U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington state. The Alaska Trollers Association earlier in March hailed a decision by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones denying a motion by the Wild Fish Conservancy of Duvall, Washington, for a preliminary injunction to halt the Chinook troll fishery this summer. “Great news,” said Amy Daughtery, executive director of the trollers’ association. Meanwhile, the Wild Fish Conservancy is pushing ahead with its lawsuit, citi...

From the Editor

A new beginning…and a continuation. That’s what this issue of Fishermen’s News represents. First, it’s a new beginning because the magazine has changed ownership. As you may know, Philips Publishing has sold the magazine to San Diego-based Maritime Publishing. Maritime Publishing is a division of Training Resources Limited, the largest privately held provider of maritime training in the Western United States. The magazine’s new publisher is Dave Abrams, the CEO of Training Resources Maritime Institute. He’s a former U.S. Navy Surface Warfare Officer and a certified instructor with the National Safe Boating Council, as well as an authorized instructor for the USCG Auxiliary Boating Skills & Seamanship program. So why would Dave enter publishing? His interest arose out of a desire to ...