Issue: March 2024

Back in the late 1990s, herring caught commercially off of Togiak, an Inuit village in the Dillingham Census Area of Southwestern Alaska, was worth over $1,000 a ton. And with an allowable catch of 20,000 tons, it would fetch fishermen $20 million. “In the heyday of the 1990s there were 300 seine boats and 500 gillnetters,” said Tim Sands, area management biologist at Dillingham for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. An ADF&G announcement released on Jan. 13 put the total allowable 2025 harvest at 45,761 tons, but as of Jan. 27, there were no buyers, Sands said. With no buyers to purchase the commercial harvest, a ton of herring has no value, he said, adding that the last Togiak commercial herring fishery to have buyers was in 2022. The historic size of Togiak herring was cl...

Marine scientists focused on the Arctic Ocean, Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska presented a plethora of research results to several hundred participants at the 2024 Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage Jan. 29-Feb. 2, while acknowledging the unknowns that are still to be determined. Associate Professor Peter Westley of the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences offered an update on his research into chum salmon on tributaries of the Colville River in Arctic Alaska, where fish are caught for subsistence from Kaktovik to Point Hope.  Ongoing studies, which Westley said he hopes will yield more information by the fall of 2024, are to determine the diet of these chum, their size and abundance. All five species of Pacific salmon have been encountered o...

On Feb. 12, Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) introduced the Working Waterfronts Act, legislation that includes more than a dozen provisions aimed at boosting the workforce, energy and shoreside infrastructure, food security, and economies of coastal communities across the U.S. The bill would also support efforts to mitigate the impacts of climate change on coastal communities and strengthen federal conservation research projects. Murkowski’s office first began soliciting feedback from Alaskans to help draft the Working Waterfronts legislation back in October 2022. “The blue economy continues to be a growing and thriving industry full of opportunity for coastal communities in Alaska—and that’s why I’m focused on bolstering the workforce and strengthening shoreside and coastal infrastructure ...

Partners have pulled together to support the recovery of endangered Sacramento winter-run Chinook salmon in the last few years. However, the species still faces threats from climate change and other factors. That is the conclusion of an Endangered Species Act review that NOAA Fisheries completed for the native California species. It once returned in great numbers to the tributaries of the Sacramento River and supported local tribes. The review concluded that the species remains endangered, and identified key recovery actions to help the species survive climate change. While partners have taken steps to protect winter-run Chinook salmon, blocked habitat, altered flows, and higher temperatures continue to threaten their survival. While threats related to habitat destruction have eased, ...

With $3.8 million in funding from NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation, the Clackamas Partnership is removing fish passage barriers and restoring habitat to benefit threatened Chinook salmon and steelhead. Endangered Species Act-listed species of salmon and trout, including the Upper Willamette River Chinook and steelhead, migrate through Oregon’s most populated areas on their way to spawning grounds. Their safe passage through urban waterways is key to their survival. Over the next three years, the Clackamas Partnership is removing barriers and restoring habitat at 10 sites around the Portland Metro area. NOAA’s Office of Habitat Conservation awarded $3.8 million to the partnership under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and Inflation Reduction Act. “Getting the NOAA funding has b...

Final action on a proposal to reduce hatchery production of pink salmon is scheduled to be heard at the next meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, scheduled for Feb. 23-March 5.  The board took testimony on Proposal 43 during its meeting in Homer, Alaska from Nov. 28 through Dec. 1, and received additional written testimony in advance of the Anchorage meeting, which is being held at the Egan Convention Center.  According to Board of Fisheries Executive Director Art Nelson, Proposition 43 is slated for discussion by Group 6 of the board’s committee on March 2, with final action set for after further deliberations on March 3. Proposition 43, proposed by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee, calls for reduction of overall hatchery production of pink salmon to 25% of the yea...

A marketer of wild Alaska pollock is now offering biweekly podcasts on what it describes as “fish nuggets” of in-depth fishery and market analysis relevant to the Alaska pollock fishery.  The Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) launched the “Pollock Pod” on Jan. 19. Plans are for the podcasts to offer the analysis contained in some of GAPP’s routine reports on the market, trade and surimi supply. GAPP CEO Craig Morris described the effort as an extension of GAPP’s commitment to keep its community well-informed and engaged. “We’re an organization by and for our members and are always looking for new ways to connect to our members and the broader industry we serve,” Morris said. “This is yet another way we’re hoping to get information out in a fun, engaging succinct and, most of all,...

On Jan. 22, Peter Pan Seafood said that after less than two months on the job, industry veteran Kevin Bixler is leaving the company, with plans to remain CEO until a replacement is found. The announcement came 10 days after the company revealed that it has cancelled operations at its King Cove, Alaska facility for the 2024 ‘A’ season. The company expressed its appreciation for his time and leadership and wished him well in his future endeavors, which were not identified in the news release. Rodger May, president and chief growth officer of Peter Pan, meanwhile, is expected to continue leading the company along with several other managers. Bixler began his tenure with Peter Pan in November 2022, leaving his post as the global director of group fish procurement at the Thailand-based pr...