Issue: June 2022

The combined efforts of U.S. Coast Guard crews and a Canadian military vessel resulted in a seizure in the Eastern Pacific Ocean of 11,300 pounds of cocaine and over 4,000 pounds of marijuana. The drugs, worth over $223 million on the street, were recently unloaded from the Coast Guard cutter Kimball in San Diego. The authorities seized the cocaine and marijuana in international waters off the coasts of Central and South America. The haul included contraband seized and recovered during eight interdictions of suspected drug smuggling vessels between late February and early March. “At-sea interdictions of pure cocaine are the most effective way to limit cartel’s destabilizing effects throughout the Western Hemisphere,” said Vice Admiral Michael McAllister, the Coast Guard’s Pacific Area ...

Opponents of the proposed Pebble Mine that would be adjacent to the Bristol Bay watershed in Southwest Alaska have embarked on a fundraising effort to support federally elected officials also opposed to the mine’s construction and development. Alaskans for Bristol Bay Action, a 527 (tax exempt) political organization, said in mid-April that it anticipated having $600,000 in cash to report for its first fundraising quarter of 2022. Former Alaska State Senate President Rick Halford, a senior advisor to Alaskans for Bristol Bay Action, said the early fundraising was a testament to how significant each federal candidate’s position on Bristol Bay would be in the months ahead. “We fully intend to leverage these resources to support champions who are fighting to end the threat of Pebble Mi...

OBI Seafoods is assuring commercial fishermen that the company will be there to purchase fish during the 2022 salmon season on Alaska’s Kenai Peninsula. The company says that it has several buying stations in Upper Cook Inlet and plans to operate all of them this summer, from Homer to North Salamatof Beach. “With other buyers pulling out of the region, we wanted to make it clear to fishermen and local communities that we will be there throughout the season to buy fish and support our fleet,” OBI Seafoods Executive Vice President of Alaska Operations John Woodruff said. “We are very interested in talking to any Upper Cook Inlet fishermen who may be looking for a new market.” Woodruff added that OBI will pay competitive prices in the region and offer fishermen support services as well. H...

An additional 35,000 visas are being made available for foreign workers willing to fill nonagricultural jobs in the second half of fiscal year 2022, an action that is expected to help fill many jobs at Pacific Northwest seafood processors. The announcement by federal officials on March 31 was hailed By Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Chris Barrows, president of the Pacific Seafood Processors Association in Seattle, as a boon to industry efforts to fill hundreds of onshore and at-sea jobs, particularly in the groundfish sector. Murkowski praised officials in the departments of Homeland Security and Labor for allowing the additional workers. “With the tourism and fishing season right around the corner, and the economic fallout we have seen from COVID, it is vital to ensure Alaskans h...

At their April meeting, federal fisheries managers voted for the production of an extended discussion paper with an analysis of impacts of annual or seasonal closures to pelagic trawl, groundfish pot and longline gear in the Red King Crab Savings Area. They also called for tables to track all sources of red king crab mortality across federal waters. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council also requested that the paper go to its scientific and statistical committee for review and comment before it is presented at the October council session. The unanimous vote came after extensive testimony and discussion at the Anchorage meeting, a move that Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen called a step in the right direction. But it left out some important protections fo...