March 2022 – Page 2 – Fishermens News

From the Editor: Omicron

Just as things in the commercial fishing industry seemed to be getting back on track and trending in the right direction, up pops the obstacle known as the Omicron variant, pulling everything backward again. Omicron, as you hopefully know by now, is a mutated form of the dreaded COVID-19 disease that has cause havoc within global fishing community, as well as most other industries, not to mention nearly everyone’s daily lives. Among the issues the virus and its latest variant have caused are costly shutdown, drops in revenue and manpower shortages. Many of these ongoing problems are detailed in an article on page 24 of this issue of Fishermen’s News by our Alaska bureau chief, Margaret Bauman. In the story, she details how the pandemic has affected commercial fishing over the past couple...

Rally Held in Seattle Regarding Toxic Oil Dispersants in Salish Sea

Commercial fishermen, environmentalists and Native American entities concerned about toxics in the Salish Sea rallied outside the Gates Foundation in Seattle on Jan. 20 to voice concerns over the use of Corexit dispersants for oil spill response. Their goal, rally co-organizer Riki Ott said, was meant to encourage the manufacturer, Nalco, to stop producing these dispersants and instead use the ingredients as feed stock for other products. Ott said that Washington, like every other coastal state, stockpiles Corexit dispersants for oil spill response and pre-authorizes dispersant use. The product is toxic to orcas, salmon, herring and communities who depend on the vitality and bounty of the sea, she said. (Corexit is produced by Illinois-based Nalco Holding Company, a supplier of water,...

House Bill Aims to Restore, Protect Salmon Habitat

Legislation recently reintroduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would identify, restore and protect important salmon rivers and watersheds nationwide and ensure funds needed to sustain thriving salmon populations. The proposed legislation, the Salmon Focused Investments in Sustainable Habitats (FISH) Act, was reintroduced Jan. 25. It would identify the core centers of salmon abundance, productivity and diversity as salmon conservation areas and identify areas of particularly pristine quality as salmon strongholds. The legislation would also ensure actions of the federal government do not undermine the abundance of these areas and authorize funds for a grant program focused on restoration and conservation of salmon conservation areas and salmon strongholds. “The ecological, cult...

APICDA Funds Over $5.6M in Development Grants

Successful investments in federal groundfish fisheries allowed the Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association to fund over $5 million in projects and economic development initiatives for APICDA’s six member communities in 2021. The programs are designed to benefit small boat fishermen and infrastructure projects ranging from housing and health clinics to offsetting high-utility costs. They also are intended to create employment opportunities, for instance through scholarships and vocational training. The fishing community of False Pass is using its infrastructure grant, along with another $500,000 in Community Development Grant Program funds, for construction of a harbor house, to be completed in the summer of 2022. According to False Pass Mayor Nikki Hoblet, the proj...

USDA Invests $500,000 to Help Increase Mariculture Processing Capacity in Southeast Alaska

The United States Department of Agriculture in mid-January announced a $500,000 investment to help a regional economic development organization, the Southeast Conference, create a blueprint for a mariculture (seaweed and other sea products) processing facility on Prince of Wales Island, Alaska. The investment, according to the Agriculture Department, is an effort to support a federal government commitment to support economic, cultural and natural resources sustainability in Southeast Alaska. “USDA is investing in this effort by engaging with local tribes, governments and community leaders to encourage economic growth that reflects the region’s rich diversity, cultural heritage and natural resources,” Department of Agriculture Under Secretary for Rural Development Xochitl Torres Small s...

Support Urged for Moratorium on Deep Seabed Mining in International Waters

Six Canadian entities have relaunched a parliamentary petition calling on the federal government to help establish an international moratorium on deep seabed mining through the International Seabed Authority, based in Kingston, Jamaica. The parliamentary petition was originally launched in June 2021 by MiningWatch Canada, Oceans North, the Canadian Parks & Wilderness Society, Nature Canada, Northern Confluence and West Coast Environmental Law, but was ended after the most recent national election. Over 1,400 people have signed the petition, sponsored by Gord Johns, a member of Parliament with the New Democratic Party Caucus in British Columbia, and enough signatures have been gathered to assure that the petition will be presented for discussion in Parliament in Ottawa, according to...

NMFS Sued for Allegedly Failing to Protect Humpback Whales

The Center for Biological Diversity has filed a lawsuit against the National Marine Fisheries Service for failing to protect endangered Pacific humpback whales from deadly entanglements in sablefish pot gear off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. The lawsuit, filed Jan. 10, challenges the federal permit given to the fishery in December. Fishing-gear entanglements are a major threat to endangered humpbacks that migrate along the West Coast, where 48,521 square nautical miles were designated as critical habitat last April. “These migrating whales shouldn’t have to dodge deadly commercial fishing gear, especially in national marine sanctuaries,” Center for Biological Diversity attorney Catherine Kilduff said. “This is critical habitat for endangered humpbacks, but it’s full ...

King Cove Renews Hope of Approval for Road for Medical Access

Residents of the Alaska Peninsula fishing community of King Cove say they are hopeful that Interior Secretary Deb Haaland will visit their fishing community on Alaska’s Aleutian Chain soon and remove barriers to completing a one-land gravel road to the all-weather airport at nearby Cold Bay. King Cove is the home of Peter Pan Seafood’s largest facility, a year-round seafood plant processing king, bairdi and opilio tanner crab, Alaska Pollock, Pacific cod, salmon, halibut and black cod delivered from fisheries in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. The plant has the largest salmon-canning capacity of any plant in Alaska. At peak season there are some 500 employees working there. The community lies between two volcanic mountains near the end of the Alaska Peninsula, 625 miles southwest of...

Seven Alaska Fisheries Approved for Disaster Relief

Seven Alaska fisheries, from the Yukon River to Southcentral to Southeast Alaska, have been approved by Commerce Secretary Gina M. Raimondo for disaster relief. The relief had been requested by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy for multiple fishery disasters that impacted Alaska’s seafood industry from 2018 through 2021. The fisheries include the Upper Cook Inlet East Side Set Net for 2018, Upper Cook Inlet salmon fisheries for 2020; Copper River Chinook and sockeye salmon fisheries for 2018; Prince William Sound salmon fisheries for 2020; Copper River Chinook, sockeye and chum salmon fisheries for 2020; Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab for 2019-2020; Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska for 2020; and 2020 salmon fisheries for Norton Sound Yukon River, Chignik, Kuskokwim River and Southeast Alaska....

New ASMI Report Hails Seafood Industry as Essential Driver of Alaska Economy

An updated economic report on Alaska’s seafood industry says preliminary 2021 data reflects a partial rebound in the wake of a 2020 season when the industry suffered from widespread impacts of the global COVID-19 pandemic and biological issues in several key fisheries. Information included in the 2022 update of “The Economic Value of Alaska’s Seafood Industry” report, released Jan. 12 by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, notes that unlike previous years, economic impacts were calculated solely on 2019 data as opposed to averaging two years of data. “While the report includes some 2020 data, averaging 2019 data with the pandemic-disrupted 2020 season would not produce an accurate picture of the seafood industry’s economic impact in Alaska,” said Jim Calvin, vice president of McKi...