Issue: December 2023

A group of commercial, sport and subsistence fishing entities are taking issue with a decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to postpone setting limits on chum salmon bycatch and reducing seafloor damage caused by midwater trawl gear.  Their concerns were summarized in a statement issued Oct. 12 by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), SalmonState, DeepStrike Sportfishing and the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. During its October meeting in Anchorage from Oct. 2-10, the council approved analysis of additional management measures to minimize chum salmon bycatch. The council acknowledged that about  99% of the chum salmon encountered as bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery are encountered by th...

Washington Department of Natural Resources’ so-called “net pen ban,” which last November effectively banded commercial net-pen fish farming is not legally binding, a Superior Court judge has ruled. During an Oct. 20, Summary Judgment Hearing regarding a Jamestown S’Klallam Tribe-Northwest Aquaculture Alliance’s (NWAA) complaint against the state Department of Natural Resources (DNR), Thurston County Superior Court Judge Indu Thomas ruled that DNR’s ban on net pens is only an internal directive to begin the rulemaking process regarding commercial net pens in state aquatic lands. This decision essentially declares that the “ban” on commercial net pens that Public Lands Commissioner Hilary Franz touted last November has no legal effect in Washington. Franz’s announcement had made it clear ...

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, is calling on NOAA Fisheries to end the status quo on action to prevent killer whales from being caught up in groundfish trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.  On Oct. 26, Peltola released a statement saying she has asked NOAA Fisheries to release conclusions of an analysis of the 10 killer whales caught in trawl nets this year.  Killer whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which requires vessel owners and operators to report to NOAA Fisheries all incidental mortalities and injuries of marine mammals that occur during commercial fishing and survey operations.  Peltola said she’s working collaboratively with stakeholders, fisheries managers and user groups to develop innovative bycatch solutions at every level, from ...

Federal authorities have approved a fishery disaster for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 at Oregon Chinook salmon ocean commercial fisheries, a decision that makes fishermen eligible to apply for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Oregon’s congressional delegation, also including five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced the determination on Friday, Oct. 13, saying the aid would help the state’s coastal economies recover from years of drought, changing ocean conditions, and critical habitat loss that have harmed salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. The delegation said that the U.S. Department of Commerce has fishery disaster assistance funding available and would soon determine the allocation. “Oregon’s fishing industry...

Nominations are open for advisors to fill positions on the commercial and recreational advisory groups from Washington and Oregon to provide input on fishing seasons on the Columbia River. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife (WDFW) and Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced Oct. 13 that they’re accepting nominations through Nov. 3 for appointees to three-year terms on the Columbia River Commercial Fishing Advisory Group and the Columbia River Recreational Fishing Advisory Group. The new terms begin in January 2024 and run through December 2026. Each group meets two to four times annually to develop recommendations for salmon, steelhead, sturgeon and smelt fisheries. The recreational advisory group focuses on recreational fisheries jointly managed by Washingt...

Alaska’s Bristol Bay red king crab fishery opened on Oct. 15 after being closed for two years due to stocks not meeting minimal levels for fishing. The assigned quota was 2.15 million pounds, slightly lower than the 2020 opener quota of 2.6 million pounds. Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen said that while members were anxious to get back on the water, they wanted to do so with minimal impact so that the crab resource remains sustainable for generations to come. “They are tracking closely the science around the health of crab stocks and want to help crab continue to rebound,” she said. “We’re adding extra measures this season during our directed pot fishery for crab to reduce our interactions with crab. We’re increasing communication with the fleet on best handlin...

Federal fisheries managers have approved analyzing changes to chum salmon bycatch management measures to minimize bycatch of western Alaska chum salmon bycatch to the extent practicable in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, while achieving optimum yield in Bering Sea groundfish fisheries. A statement issued Monday, Oct. 9 by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in Anchorage cited standards 9 (the Bering Sea pollock fishery) and 1 (the Bering Sea groundfish fisheries) of the Magnuson Stevens Act National Standards. The council is focused on bycatch of western Alaska origin chum salmon. The decline of the chum returning to spawn in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in recent years has had a negative impact on this source of subsistence food for residents of villages along these...

A group of commercial, sport and subsistence fishing entities are taking issue with a decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to postpone setting limits on chum salmon bycatch and reducing seafloor damage caused by midwater trawl gear.  Their concerns were summarized in a statement issued Oct. 12 by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), SalmonState, DeepStrike Sportfishing and the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. During its October meeting in Anchorage from Oct. 2-10, the council approved analysis of additional management measures to minimize chum salmon bycatch. The council acknowledged that about  99% of the chum salmon encountered as bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery are encountered by th...