May 2023 – Page 2 – Fishermens News

Early Bird Seafood Shares Program Feeds Buyers, Benefits Communities

A seafood program delivering monthly shares to buyers throughout Alaska and the Seattle area is off and running for the 14th year, with profits going directly to affiliated programs benefitting fishery conservation, community health and resilience efforts. This year, Alaskans Own is again offering customers the option of choosing their shares in a variety package, salmon or white fish, all of which feature hook-and-line caught wild Alaska seafood harvested by Southeast Alaska’s troll and longline fishermen. To date, the program, created by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), has helped deliver more than 650,000 donated seafood meals to more than 100,000 families, according to ALFA. It also has given longline fishermen some certainty that they have a market before headin...

Stamping Out Illegal Fishing

We all know that IUU (illegal, unreported and unregulated) fishing is bad for the commercial fishing industry. But a new article by the World Economic Forum, an international non-governmental and lobbying organization, serves as a strong reminder of the reasons why. Among the reasons cited in the editorial are the physical danger to crew members, the threat to marine ecosystems and human rights abuses. The article, which can be found on the World Economic Forum’s website, starts off with the harrowing tale of an IUU fisherman who said it was normal for anglers to work 20 hours or more per day, and that some people were driven to commit suicide or were killed while trying to escape into the sea. “Illegal fishing is commonplace because no one is watching,” the fisherman, 52-year-old Wat...

Researcher Takes ‘Robin Hood’ Approach to Forecasting Global Fish Traits

A NOAA Fisheries researcher in Seattle who’s leading an international team of scientists has compiled a model to predict growth, survival and reproductive strategies for all known fish species in the world. “We’re using a Robin Hood approach,” said Jim Thorson, the leader of the Habitat and Ecological Process Research (HEPR) program at the Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle. “Steal from the data-rich fish, give to the data-poor,” he said in a report released March 27 by NOAA Fisheries. “Our study extends the approach to life-history theory.” The model advances NOAA’s ability to predict impacts of climate change. Besides improving the knowledge of many species traits, it offers the capability to include hundreds of fish species simultaneously in ecosystem models. Global resul...

The ‘30×30 Campaign’ — What and Why?

As the just released—and very alarming—2023 United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) Sixth Assessment Report verifies, there is an across-the-board and strong scientific agreement, now supported by hard data from several independent sources, that the world as a whole is right on the precipice of another Great Extinction Event, triggered by climate change. The current widespread decline in biodiversity is powered by insatiable human population growth and development that is devastating the natural environment. That, coupled with nearly 200 years of world industrialization that has already thrust fossil-fuel generated carbon dioxide as well as atmospheric methane (which is 21 times more powerful as a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide) up to levels well beyond the poi...

Study Shows Changes in Yukon River Discharge May Be Impacting Salmon

Scientists studying new information on changes in river discharge from winter ice melt and temperature in the Yukon River in Alaska say it may be influencing the timing and duration of juvenile chum, Chinook and coho salmon migrations. They are trying to determine if, as salmon migrations change due to shifting environmental conditions, that leads to a mismatch with the availability of prey. Katharine Miller, a fish biologist and lead author of the study, which was released on March 20, said the work is important in helping communities better understand what is behind recent declines in salmon abundance and how climate-induced environmental changes may alter migration patterns in future years. The long-term decline of Chinook salmon along the Yukon River since the early 1990s resulted...

ComFish Alaska Takes on Climate Change’s Challenges to Seafood Industry

Participants in ComFish Alaska 2023, undeterred by a spring snowstorm that halted jet traffic in and out of Kodiak for a day, tackled climate challenges to fisheries, as well as the prospective economic and environmental benefits of kelp mariculture efforts. The state’s biggest and longest-running commercial fisheries trade show—which began in a borrowed Alaska National Guard tent in 1980—incorporated into this year’s March 16-18 program a mix of presenters ranging from harvesters, fisheries managers, federal and state legislators to historians and experts in marine debris and kelp mariculture. The event also featured 50 trade show booths offering fishing marine supplies, vessel permits and sales, expertise in satellite technology, health care, recycling, seafood marketing and more. D...

Coast Guard Counternarcotics Patrol Confiscates More Than 7,500 Pounds of Cocaine

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned to its Astoria, Ore. homeport on March 14 following a 69-day counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, where the crew confiscated over 7,500 pounds of cocaine valued at $85.6 million. The Steadfast had deployed with a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and air crew based in Jacksonville, Fla. Temporarily assigned crews from the Coast Guard cutter Harriet Lane and soon-to-be commissioned Coast Guard cutter Argus joined in as well. When notified by a Maritime Patrol Aircraft (MPA) of a suspected narcotics smuggling vessel transiting international waters, the Steadfast launched a crew and boarding team that interdicted the vessel after many hours of pursuit. The Coast Guard said the suspected smugg...

USCG Munro Returns from Alaska Patrol

After 105 days, the crew members of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Munro have returned to their Alameda, Calif. homeport after a 10,000-nautical mile patrol in Alaska, the agency announced March 8. During the patrol, crew members of the 418-foot Legend-class national security cutter joined forces with the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement on two dozen commercial fishing vessel boardings as part of efforts to ensure sustainable fishing practices and federal compliance, the agency said. “The continued existence of these fisheries depends on a healthy and productive ecosystem,” said Capt. Rula Deisher, Munro’s commanding officer. “As a federal law enforcement agency, it is the Coast Guard’s responsibility to ensure the longevity of these resources and safety of the fishing fleet.” The crew was...

Vessel Owners Must Report Harassment, Coast Guard Says

Owners, masters or managing operators of a vessel are now required to report complaints or incidents of harassment and sexual harassment and assault to the U.S. Coast Guard, according to Investigative Service Director Jeremy Gauthier. In a Marine Safety Information Bulletin issued in March, Gauthier said recent law changes mandate that the vessel’s responsible entity must report misconduct to the Coast Guard. Bystanders, survivors and others would be able to report incidents through a CGIS Tips App or at CGISTIPS@uscg.mil. There’s also a 24/7 watch that can field sexual misconduct reports through the National Command Center at 202-327-2100. The reports can be anonymous or attributed, and are sent and reviewed by the Coast Guard Investigative Service. “Sexual misconduct that occurs onbo...

Coast Guard Offloads $166 Million Worth of Narcotics in San Diego

The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Waesche offloaded more than 6,325 pounds of cocaine and more than 13,220 pounds of marijuana worth more than $166 million in San Diego on March 29. The five interdictions occurred in international waters in the Eastern Pacific Ocean off the coasts of Central and South America in February and March. “This marks Waesche’s first counter-narcotics patrol in several years and the crew did an outstanding job to work with international and inter-agency partners to successfully prevent $166 million dollars’ worth of illicit drugs from entering our country, cities and neighborhoods,” the Waesche’s commanding officer, Capt. Robert Mohr, said. “The Coast Guard is dedicated to preventing illicit drugs from entering our country via the maritime environment,” Eleventh Di...