Issue: June 2024

Federal fisheries researchers studying the dramatic crash of snow crab in the Bering Sea from 2018 to 2021 have found that their caloric requirements quadrupled when sea temperatures rose. Unable to meet those needs, the crab ultimately starved to death. Snow crabs will eat almost anything they can catch and break open with their claws, a diet that may include fish, shrimp, crabs, worms, clams, brittle stars, snails, algae and sponges, as well as anything dead they find. In 2018, there were more snow crab in the Bering Sea than ever seen before, Cody Szuwalski, a fisheries biologist with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center, said. So the decline of roughly 10 billion crab from 2018 to 2021 was a precipitous unexpected collapse, he said ...

U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on April 19 announced the determination of salmon fishery disasters in Alaska and one in Puget Sound. They include: the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s 2021 Puget Sound fall chum and coho salmon fisheries, the 2022 Kuskokwim River salmon fishery and the 2021 and 2022 Upper Cook Inlet East Side setnet salmon fishery. The determination came in response to requests from the late Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe Chairman Jeromy Sullivan and Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy. Raimondo’s office evaluates fishery resource disaster requests based primarily on data submitted by the requesting official. Each request must meet specific requirements under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. For example, there must be economic impacts and an unexpe...

A record low number of fish stocks were subject to overfishing in the U.S. during 2023, according to the latest edition of the annual “Status of Stocks” report that assesses the 506 stocks and stock complexes managed by NOAA Fisheries. In the report, which was released May 2, U.S. fisheries data confirmed that 94% of stocks in 2023 were not subject to overfishing and 82% were not overfished, a 1% improvement over 2022 data of 93% and 81% respectively. Ongoing positive trends continued with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by three stocks, reaching an all-time low of 21 stocks, and the number of stocks on the overfished list decreasing by one to 47 stocks. Since 2000, NOAA Fisheries has rebuilt 50 stocks, the report states. NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said t...

The seafood industry plays a critical role in Alaska, employing over 48,000 workers annually and contributing $6 billion to the state’s economy, according to a new report from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. Alaska has the most prolific commercial fishing industry in the U.S., harvesting more seafood than all other states combined, according to ASMI data. “The economic benefits of the seafood industry are felt by all Alaskans,” said Jeremy Woodrow, executive director of ASMI, which released the 2024 update of “The Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry” report on April 24. Current global challenges notwithstanding, the variety and superior quality of products Alaska has to offer is unmatched, Woodrow said. “Research shows that consumers strongly prefer wild seafood to fa...

American Seafoods, a major frozen-at-sea processor of wild Alaska pollock and wild Pacific hake, has released its 2023 annual sustainability report, detailing its efforts in environmental and social responsibility to protect the environment. Einar Gustafsson, CEO of the Seatle-based corporation, said upon the report’s April 18 release that he’s “thrilled with the progress American Seafoods has made with achieving key sustainability metrics” as the company remains in the forefront of innovation in the seafood industry. Highlights of the report include maintaining 100% third-party eco-certification for all American Seafood catch and achieving a 99% target catch rate in the Alaska pollock fishery, a nearly 1% increase from the prior year. The report also documents that harvesting wild Alas...

Legislation backed by 16 members of Congress aims to expedite delivery of disaster relief following fisheries disaster declarations by cutting red tape currently complicating the approval process by federal agencies. The Fishery Improvement to Streamline Untimely Regulatory Hurdles post Emergency Situation (FISHES) Act was introduced May 2 by Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan, both R-Alaska, and Rick Scott and Marco Rubio, both R-Florida. Representatives Mary Peltola, D-Alaska and Byron Donalds, R-Florida, introduced companion legislation in the House of Representatives last year. Co-sponsors among the 12 representatives in the House include James Moylan, R-Guam, and Aumua Amata Coleman Radewagen, R-America Samoa. The legislation seeks to improve the federal regulatory process...

A federal grand jury in Anchorage has indicted the owner and captains of two crab-catcher vessels on charges of illegally transporting crab from Alaska in violation of the Lacey Act, which bans trafficking in fish, wildlife or plants that are illegally taken, possessed, transported or sold. Court documents released on April 22 cited Corey Potter as the owner of the two crab-catching vessels and Justin Welch and Kyle Potter as captains of the vessels, in the alleged taking of crab through Canadian and Washington waters. Corey Potter was charged with two counts of unlawful transportation of fish or wildlife in violation of federal law. Welch and Kyle Potter face one count each on the same charge. Court documents did not identify the vessels or hometowns of the defendants, who were sched...