March 2025 – Fishermens News

Alaska Task Force Proposes Steps to Stabilize Seafood Industry

Eight legislators tasked with helping to lift the Alaska seafood industry out of a financial crisis have recommended 27 specific steps related to marketing, workforce development and more, including annual meetings of the Alaska Board of Fisheries for each region. The report of the Joint Legislative Task Force Evaluating Alaska’s Seafood Industry, approved on Jan. 31, also included four primary recommendations aimed at catalyzing public and private investment, removing barriers to modernization and innovation, supporting critical infrastructure development and creating requisite conditions for the industry to thrive. Potential changes for the Alaska Board of Fisheries include replacement of the three-year rotating meeting cycle with annual meetings for each region, the addition o...

Strong Runs Forecast for Copper River Sockeye, PWS Pink Salmon

State fisheries biologists are predicting strong runs of sockeye salmon into the Copper River and wild pink and chum salmon into Prince William Sound for the upcoming 2025 commercial salmon fisheries in Alaska. An Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast released Jan. 23 estimated the run of wild sockeye salmon into the Copper River fishery, which is scheduled to open in late May, as having a forecast range of 2.2 million to 2.9 million fish, 55% above the total run 10-year average of 1.6 million fish. The Chinook salmon run into the Copper River, by comparison, is forecast with a range of 25,000 to 51,000 fish, or 25% below the total run 10-year average of 48,000 kings. For the odd-year run of pink salmon into Prince William Sound, biologists forecast a range of 8.5 million to 28....

Saint Paul Crab Harvest to be Processed at Unalaska

A processing agreement forged between the cities of Saint Paul and Unalaska, thanks to an annual exemption approved by National Marine Fisheries Service, will allow for processing of 1.5 million pounds of snow crab at Unalaska, with tax benefits going to Saint Paul. “Under the circumstances, it’s a win-win for both communities,” Saint Paul City Manager Phillip Zavadil said when the deal was announced Jan. 21. The low north region snow crab total allowable catch (TAC) is 1,576,624 pounds. Zavadil said capacity issues associated with processing low amounts of crab at the Trident Seafoods plant on Saint Paul Island had made processing and custom processing of snow crab in the northern region non-viable. “After careful consultation with crab industry partners and consideration by our cit...

Wild Fish Conservancy Threatens Lawsuit Over Chinook Salmon

The Washington state-based non-profit conservation organization Wild Fish Conservancy has notified NOAA Fisheries of its intent to sue for failure to meet deadlines under the Endangered Species Act related to Chinook salmon in Alaska. The conservancy’s notification, issued Feb. 6, noted that the once abundant Chinooks are experiencing dramatic declines in Alaska, threatening food security, indigenous cultural practices, economics and coastal communities. The WFC formally petitioned NOAA on Jan. 11, 2024, to grant ESA protections for Chinook salmon from rivers that flow into the Gulf of Alaska. The WFC said NOAA responded May 24, confirming that the petition contained substantial information indicating ESA-listing and protection may be warranted. The initial finding triggered an in-dep...

Washington Sea Grant Plans Commercial Fishing Skills and Drills Course

Washington Sea Grant officials are launching a new two-day Skills and Drills course for people who want hands-on experience performing tasks that may be required on a West Coast commercial fishing vessel. The Feb. 13 announcement said the course is scheduled for March 27-28 at Bendiksen Landing in South Bend, Wash. from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Skills and Drills is part of a project funded through the Sea Grant Young Fishermen’s Career Development Program to enhance the commercial fishing workforce in Washington. Washington Sea Grant said it’s also is planning a December 2025 conference for fishermen and crew, to prepare the next generation for a successful career in commercial fishing. The course is to cover basics of welding fiberglass repairs, vessel handling, navigation, maintenance of inbo...

Beyond Regulation: A Smarter Approach for Protecting Food Security

For generations, commercial fishing has been a way of life. It is how families have supported themselves, how coastal communities have been built, and how fresh sustainably harvested wild seafood with a low carbon footprint has made its way to dinner tables. Commercial fishing has long proven its ability to adapt, because in fishing if you don’t adjust, you don’t survive. The ocean changes, fish and crab move, weather shifts and regulations tighten. Fishermen always work to find a way forward because that is what they do and it is what is needed to keep domestic seafood available and accessible to the public. Yet today, adapting to ocean conditions is no longer the biggest challenge. Navigating an endless cycle of new regulations, legal threats from some NGOs (non-governmental organizat...

USCG Helicopter Rescue Procedures

Fishermen have a complicated relationship with the U.S. Coast Guard. When we are at sea and the white Coast Guard boat with a red racing stripe approaches, we are wary. But when we are in trouble at sea and the white helicopter with the red racing stripe is seen approaching, we are so happy to see them. In the Bering Sea a few years ago, the USCG was contacted to evacuate a crew member suffering from a heart attack on a factory longliner. The helicopter crew calculated their fuel consumption and realized that they only had time to make one approach to hoist the patient off the vessel and still have enough fuel to make it back to base. Everything had to go seamlessly. Once they got on the vessel’s location, the USCG pilot found the crew had the patient ready, the deck cleared and the ...

Marine Propulsion Technology News Roundup

The marine propulsion market is growing and evolving, with new and different low- and zero-emissions products for commercial fishing vessels entering the design and production phase. In recent times, companies on the Pacific coast and beyond have been, and continue to be, busy working on new and different engines and other devices that can help fishing boats operate faster and more efficiently while doing minimal harm to the environment. Here’s a roundup of news about companies that in recent months have announced that they’re either bringing new propulsion technologies to market, or intend to do so within the next several months. John Deere In late January, marine engine maker Deere & Company, commonly known as John Deere, announced the unveiling of two new products—the JD14 and...

Coast Guard Medevacs Man from Vessel Off Oahu

The Coast Guard medevac’d an ailing man from a fishing vessel 40 miles offshore of Oahu on Jan. 20. Joint Rescue Coordination Center Honolulu watchstanders received notification at 4:30 p.m. Jan. 18 from crew members aboard the fishing vessel Capt. Davis that a 34-year-old crewman had suffered an eye injury about 350 miles southwest of Oahu. Watchstanders consulted with the duty flight surgeon, who recommended a medevac. At 6 a.m. on Jan. 20, an HC-130 Hercules airplane crew and an MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Barbers Point rendezvoused with the Capt. Davis about 40 miles southwest of Kapolei, Hawaii. The helicopter crew hoisted the man from the fishing vessel and transported him to Queen’s Medical Center in Honolulu. As of the time of the incident, the m...

First of 3 New Coast Guard Cutters Arrives at Kodiak, Alaska Homeport

The crew of U.S. Coast Guard cutter John Witherspoon arrived at its new homeport in Kodiak, Alaska on Jan. 28. The cutter, which is scheduled to be commissioned during a ceremony in April, is the first of three Fast Response Cutters (FRCs) to be homeported at Coast Guard Base Kodiak, and is now the fourth FRC currently based in Alaska. Although the ships will be homeported in Kodiak, they’ll operate throughout the 17th Coast Guard District, including the U.S. Arctic, Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea. According to the Coast Guard, crew on the Witherspoon will carry out “integral” missions such as maritime law enforcement and security and search and rescue. “They will provide security for Alaskan coastal communities as they continue to utilize the ocean for their livelihoods while preserv...