Issue: July 2023

Congress has provided more than $220 million to address fishery disasters that occurred in multiple Alaska and Washington fisheries from 2019 through 2023. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo announced the allocation on May 19, noting the devastating effects these disasters have had on local communities in both states and on the blue economy.  Additional funds for fisheries disasters in Oregon and California were still pending. Raimondo said the money would provide much needed assistance to the fishing industry in both states. The Commerce Department will work with affected Alaska Bristol Bay red king crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries for 2021/2022 and 2022/2023; 2021 Alaska Kuskokwim River salmon and Norton Sound chum and coho salmon fisheries; 2021 Alaska Chignik salmon fishery; 2...

As commercial fishermen gear up for the current Bristol Bay salmon fishery, along with the usual forecast of a robust season involving the harvest of millions of sockeye salmon, the demand for good, hard-working crew is a priority. While many vessel owners and skippers rely on the same crew each year, others may be scrambling to fill crew slots. The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association is offering guidelines on how to get those jobs. First of all, anyone who helps with the commercial harvest of salmon in Alaska must have a crew member license. For Alaska residents, the cost is $60. For out-of-state residents, the cost is $252. Crew members should be sure to have a printed copy of that license, plus a photo ID, with them onboard fishing vessels. Information about crew mem...

Applications for four grant programs offered through the Pacific Salmon Commission are being accepted for projects to enhance wild salmon stocks and their habitat. Deadlines range from Aug. 1  to Nov. 1. The call for proposals for the Southern Endowment Fund, for southern British Columbia, Washington, Oregon and Idaho’s Snake River Basin, as well as the Northern Endowment Funds for the area from Cape Suckling, Alaska, to Cape Caution, British Columbia, is open through Sept. 6. The annual grant programs support projects related to salmon stocks in the U.S. and Canada, within the respective geographic areas covered by each endowment. These funds are earmarked to support projects aligned with specific goals, objectives and priorities, including improving resource management, marine and fre...

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang is taking issue with the Marine Stewardship Council’s business as usual with Russian client fisheries as the war in Ukraine progresses, prompting a response of “deep dismay” over “troubling accusations” from the Council. Vincent-Lang expressed his concerns in a May 30 letter to MSC chief executive Rupert Howes, saying that while those of good conscience have reacted to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine by seeking to deprive Russia of revenues that could fuel its war machine, that MSC has been working overtime to keep Russian seafood flowing into Western markets. “This has ensured that Russian-certified fishery products can still enter North America and Europe, largely through China and Southeast Asian seafood processing hubs,” ...

Legislation introduced in Congress in early June would allow businesses providing direct assistance to fishing operations, including gear producers and cold storage, to access the same loans from the Farm Credit System (FCS) already offered to land-based farmers and ranchers. “The Fishing Industry Credit Enhancement Act is a straightforward, common-sense amendment to the Farm Credit Act of 1971 ensuring businesses that support Alaska’s fishing industry—our ranchers of the sea—have the same financing opportunities as businesses supporting our land-based farmers and ranchers,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who introduced the bill with Sen. Angus King, I-Maine. The Fishing Industry Credit Enhancement Act would allow fishing-support businesses to access the loans of the Farm Credit S...

New research on Atlantic cod, led by scientists at Rutgers University, concludes that if properly managed, stocks of the popular white fish may rebound now that commercial fishing pressure has been reduced. The study, published in the Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, offers the first genomic evidence that Atlantic cod evolved new traits over only decades during a period of overfishing—evolutionary changes that scientists formerly believed could take millions of years.  “The discovery was made possible by new technology that allowed us to extract and read the genetic code of cod, some caught more than 110 years ago, as well as new analytical techniques that detect subtle changes in that genetic code,” said Malin Pinsky, senior author on the study a...

A preliminary report issued May 19 during the annual meeting of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) in South Korea, states that the Pacific salmon harvest in the North Pacific Ocean in 2022 was the second lowest catch of the 21st century. Despite a growth in total catch compared to 2020, even-year pink salmon catch continued to decline to a level last seen from 1988 through 1992, data show. The last time the pink salmon portion of total catch weight equaled 36% was in 1994 and 1996. The report was compiled using data provided by member countries Canada, Japan, South Korea, Russian and the U.S. Individual country totals reported were: 50% by the U.S. (352,000 metric tons, of which 342,000 metric tons was caught in Alaska); 37% by Russia (265,000 metric tons), 12.4% by J...