March 2023 – Page 2 – Fishermens News

Roadless Rule Decision Cited as Benefit for Healthy Salmon Habitat

Commercial fisheries harvesters are praising a Biden administration decision reinstating the Roadless Rule for the Tongass National Forest in Southeast Alaska as an important move to protect wild salmon habitat, while Alaska’s governor criticized the decision. “Our fisheries depend on healthy habitat and with climate change driving ocean warming, protecting habitat is increasingly important to the fish, the fisheries and the coastal fishing communities,” said Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association in Sitka. “This is welcome news.” The governor called the move by the White House bad for the state’s economy. “This decision is a huge loss for Alaskans, and it’s yet another way the Biden administration is singling out Alaska,” Gov. Mike Dunleavy s...

Crab Season on the North Oregon Coast

The f/v Ramblin’ Rose is shown here docked at Pier 39 in Astoria prior to the start of the 2023 Dungeness crab season on the north Oregon coast on Feb. 1. The boat had a full load of 800 Dungeness crab pots to drop for two local license holders who run their own smaller boats once the harvest begins. The crew are shown loading bait shortly before departing. Oregon Fish and Wildlife had originally predicted an opening date of Dec. 1, but that was delayed after tests showed crabs had too little meat yield as well as elevated levels of domoic acid. Last year, this fishery generated about $170 million, making it the biggest earner for the West Coast commercial fishing fleet. The Ramblin’ Rose was built in 1990 by Giddings Boatworks in Charleston, Oregon. It has a length of 92.4 feet and...

Thiamine Deficiency Eyed as Link to Poor Returns of Western Alaska Chinooks

A report from the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) says thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency may play an important role in poor returns of western Alaska Chinook salmon. The report in the January 2023 edition of the NPAFC newsletter notes that thiamine deficiency causes abnormal neuromuscular signs and mortality in fish consuming diets lacking thiamine or containing thiaminase, an enzyme that destroys thiamine. The thiaminase enzyme has been found in high levels in certain small pelagic forage fishes that are common prey for juvenile and maturing Chinook. Diets high in thiaminase have been shown to be associated with depressed thiamine concentrations in the predator species, says the article’s author, research biologist Wesley Strasburger of the Alaska Fisheries Science Cent...

After Five Years, Hawaii Commercial Aquarium Fishing Ban Lifted

Following a five-year ban on commercial aquarium fishing off West Hawaii, the state land board has regained the authority to consider issuing new permits. On Jan. 30, Hawaii Circuit Court Judge Jeffrey Crabtree lifted an injunction in a case filed by opponents of commercial aquarium fishing. The order had prohibited the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits to commercial collectors pursuant to Hawaii law regarding the West Hawaii Regional Fishery Management Area (WHRFMA). However, an injunction concerning the issuance or renewal of aquarium fish permits in the rest of the Hawaii remains in effect, and aquarium fish collecting remains banned everywhere else besides West Hawaii. The state legislature is considering a bill to make a statewide ban permanent. During the January lega...

Coast Guard Cutter Alex Haley Returns to Alaska

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Alex Haley returned to its homeport at Kodiak, Alaska on Jan. 13 following an extended seven-month dry dock maintenance period in Seattle. While in dry dock, the crew and contractors successfully completed more than $6 million worth of repairs, according to the Coast Guard. The engineering department oversaw 76 work items including major overhauls on the cutter’s controllable pitch propeller system, speed reducers, rudders and boilers, along with inspections of fuel, sewage and water tanks. The operations department supervised a renewal of the cutter’s flight deck, navigation systems and electronics while maintaining critical law enforcement currencies. Additionally, the deck department completed painting and topside preservation, according to the Coast Gua...

Coast Guard Expands National JROTC Program

The U.S. Coast Guard on Jan. 25 announced that it is establishing four new Junior Reserve Officers’ Training Corps units for the coming school year including, for the first time, one on the West Coast. The four new units will increase the national total from six to 10. The new units are to be located at: Mission Bay High School in San Diego Aspira Business and Finance High School in Chicago Saraland High School in Saraland, Ala. Clinton High School in Clinton, Miss. According to the Coast Guard, the addition of the four JROTC units is the largest expansion in the program’s history, and the first time the Coast Guard will establish more than two of the units in a single year. The Coast Guard established the JROTC program in 1989 at the MAST Academy in Miami. The program...

Coast Guard, Partners Respond to Mysterious Oil Sheen Off Calif. Coast

U.S Coast Guard pollution responders and partners responded to an oil sheen off Summerland Beach in Santa Barbara County, Calif. on Jan. 6. The estimated 1.5-mile to 2-mile-long sheen was reported to be five nautical miles off Santa Barbara. The sheen’s cause was unknown at the time, but on Jan. 17, the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response said the sheen was likely natural seepage. Just after 2 p.m. on Jan. 6, watchstanders from the Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment Santa Barbara were notified by the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services of the possible oil sheen. The partner agencies informed the National Response Center of the incident and planned further actions. A Coast Guard Air Station San Francisco MH-65 Dolphin heli...

Coast Guard Pursues Civil Penalty for Columbia River AIS Violation

The Coast Guard in late January stated that it’s pursuing a civil penalty with a maximum punishment of $41,000 against a commercial fishing vessel for violating Automated Identification System (AIS) regulations near the mouth of the Columbia River. AIS is a maritime navigation safety communications system adopted by the international community to help save lives and facilitate safe transit of navigable waterways. It automatically transmits vessel information to shore stations, other ships and aircraft. That includes vessel identity, type, position, course, speed, navigational status and safety-related information. Coast Guard Sector Columbia River has said that on Dec. 3, a commercial fishing vessel deactivated its AIS while underway near the mouth of the Columbia River in violation of ...

Diving Gear Tackles Tough Conditions with Modern Technology

Commercial fishermen who need to head below the surface of the water for their catch have specific needs for their unique form of fishing. In recent years, gear has been upgraded to be more efficient, durable enough to tackle tough conditions, and to allow divers to breathe easier underwater. Innovative solutions that incorporate modern technology and premium materials have helped to confront these necessary challenges. Some of the newest products and advances in scuba include a regulator that is resistant to freezing and can work in silty and murky waters, a mask-mounted and hands-free computer and a bubble-free rebreather system that provides five hours of dive time. In the spearfishing world, some professionals use scuba gear, but many are freediving. Spearfishing gear has been tr...

Pacific Northwest Fisheries: A Bird’s Eye View

The complex story of Cascadian fisheries defies a simple narrative, but seems mostly positive—minus the El Niño and Oregon quillback mystery. Commercial fisherfolk don’t need an article to know that Earth in the 2020s is a dynamic—some would say pretty insane—time and place, but the next fishing season is eternal. From a macro level, how did Pacific Northwest fisheries fare in 2022? How do they look in 2023? What environmental or economic factors should fishermen from the owner-operator to seasonal deckhand keep in mind? Read on for some intel of what’s to come. El Niño Possibility and Hypoxic Zone Considerations “I’ve just heard the first predictions of what the ocean is going to look like off our coast, and there is a very early … prediction out of NOAA that this will be a stro...