Issue: November/December 2021

Fishing Safety Entering 2022:  COVID-19 and Industry Stakeholders

Fishing Safety Entering 2022: COVID-19 and Industry Stakeholders

It’s well known at this point that several American industries have been negatively impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions on personal freedom and movement implemented by the federal and state governments across the U.S. This is true even at sea, where crews of all sorts of private vessels are placed at higher risks than land-based professions. Because of that, all segments of the maritime sector of commerce have responded to the pandemic in one way or another, prompting a new period of safety training and policymaking focused on addressing the impacts of infectious diseases and ailments that are spread through close proximity human-to-human interactions. One of the occupations requiring such interactions is commercial fishing, which even before the pandemic was alread...
UBC Study: Coral Reefs’ Capability to Support Ecosystems Decreases

UBC Study: Coral Reefs’ Capability to Support Ecosystems Decreases

A University of British Columbia study has concluded that climate change, overfishing, habitat destruction and pollution have dramatically diminished the capacity of coral reefs to provide ecosystem services relied on by millions of people worldwide. While the cumulative impact of this decline is unknown, UBC researchers have determined that global coverage of living coral has declined by over half since the 1950s. The study was published on Sept. 17 in the online journal One Earth. “We know coral reefs are biodiversity hot spots,” said the study’s lead author, Tyler Eddy, who conducted the study as a research associate at the UBC Institute for Oceans and Fisheries. “Preserving biodiversity not only protects nature but supports the humans that use these species for cultural, subsistenc...
Alaska’s Commercial Salmon Season Nets 219M Fish

Alaska’s Commercial Salmon Season Nets 219M Fish

Alaska’s 2021 commercial salmon season drew to a close in mid-September, with the preliminary catch standing at an estimated 219.3 million fish, and sockeye and pink harvests exceeding the forecast. While the novel coronavirus pandemic raged on in Alaska, combined efforts of harvesters, processors and others to stem the spread of COVID-19 through vaccinations, testing, masking and social distancing resulted in much less of an overall impact of the multi-million-dollar fishery in 2021 than in the first year of the pandemic. Commercial fisheries consultant Dan Lesh, who produces in-season commercial salmon updates for McKinley Research Group on behalf of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, noted that while harvest numbers were large that the low average fish sizes led to much less impr...
Applications for Seafood Processors Pandemic Grants Due Nov. 23

Applications for Seafood Processors Pandemic Grants Due Nov. 23

Federal Agriculture Department officials are accepting applications from U.S. states through Nov. 23 for the Agricultural Marketing Service’s Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety (SPRS) block grant program, which is expected to award about $50 million in assistance early in 2022. Distribution of funds to seafood industry recipients will depend on each state’s plan, a USDA spokesperson said. USDA has allocated funding to certain states and territories based on a formula that considers economic activity as demonstrated through commercial fisheries landings, as detailed in the request for applications. The program is funded through pandemic assistance funds provided in the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2021. Once USDA has awarded the funds, state agencies will provide those...
ADF&G Selects All Pre-Registered Snow Crab Vessels for Observer Coverage

ADF&G Selects All Pre-Registered Snow Crab Vessels for Observer Coverage

Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials have taken the precautionary step of selecting all vessels pre-registered for the 2021-22 Bering Sea snow crab fishery for observer program coverage. Vessel captains have been advised that it’s their responsibility to contact the state-contracted observer firm, Saltwater Inc., in Anchorage for observer coverage for the eastern and western Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab fisheries. Captains must also advise Saltwater if they choose not to participate in either fishery. Failure to do so will result in delayed fishing operations or enforcement actions, according to the announcement. ADF&G officials also noted that total allowable catches were to be announced in subsequent news releases, but that this announcement did not imply that a fishery wo...
Ocean Observing Funds to Aid Alaska, Pacific Coast States

Ocean Observing Funds to Aid Alaska, Pacific Coast States

Cooperative agreements reached by NOAA nationwide, including in Washington, Oregon, California, Alaska and the Pacific Islands, are expected to support expansion and modernization of climate, coastal and ocean observing capabilities in those states over the next five years. The $41 million effort is a competitive process funded by U.S. IOOS (Integrated Ocean Observing System), with NOAA’s National Ocean Service, Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research, National Weather Service, NOAA Fisheries, Office of Marine and Aviation Operations, U.S. Geological Survey and the Environmental Protection Agency. The network is customized to meet regional needs that help NOAA understand and forecast changes in the ocean and climate, prepare for and respond to coastal disasters, and balance needs of r...
U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy Hold Joint Training Near Dutch Harbor

U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Canadian Navy Hold Joint Training Near Dutch Harbor

Crews aboard the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Kimball and Royal Canadian Navy military vessel Harry DeWolf conducted a joint exercise in late September off the coast of Dutch Harbor, Alaska, in the latest of the Coast Guard’s international joint exercise efforts. Crews representing both nations exchanged radio communications on Sept. 23, after both crews saluted in formation rendering honors from their respective ship’s port railings. Coast Guard officials said the joint exercise offered a significant opportunity for crews to demonstrate international operability and reaffirms a longstanding relationship between the U.S. and Canada. The alliance between the two Arctic nations continues to contribute to maritime security in the increasingly critical region, they said. Capt. Thomas D’Arcy, com...
New NOAA Study Looks at Reproductive Success in Variety of Habitats

New NOAA Study Looks at Reproductive Success in Variety of Habitats

A new NOAA Fisheries study now underway is looking into the relationship between fish condition and reproductive success in varied habitats, with a focus on deep-sea coral and sponge ecosystems. Part of this research includes developing methods to accurately assess the condition of rockfish by measuring their fat content, since for Alaska rockfish fat signifies health. Evidence compiled by researchers suggests that fish with higher energy reserves (of fat) are more reproductively successful and therefor more productive. Several species of rockfish in Alaska have been shown to skip spawning in certain years. Scientists are uncertain if this reproductive failure is related to body condition. The focus of the study is the most commercially important rockfish in the Gulf of Alaska and Aleu...
Deep-Set  Buoy Gear and Swordfish: NMFS Moves Forward

Deep-Set Buoy Gear and Swordfish: NMFS Moves Forward

In August, the West Coast Region branch of the National Marine Fisheries Service announced a move to allow deep-set buoy gear (DSBG) for swordfish in federal waters offshore of California and Oregon. It’s a step that fishery officials are optimistic could help invigorate commercial domestic swordfish markets. Officials also say that the move could potentially provide almost $5 million in annual revenue for fishers, an economic impact that could expand if deep-set gear proves widely adaptable. The projections are part of a NMFS Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS), released in August. The DEIS provides an extensive analysis regarding deep-set gear and swordfish. Following the public comment period, which ended Oct. 4, NMFS plans to amend the Fishery Management Plan for West Coast...
Coast Guard Pacific Area  Hosts 6 Nation Summit

Coast Guard Pacific Area Hosts 6 Nation Summit

Coast Guard entities from six nations, led by the U.S. Coast Guard Pacific Area, gathered virtually for three days in mid-September for their annual forum summit, to discuss topics including the need for coordinated responses to challenges in the North Pacific. Also under discussion was the Japan Coast Guard’s best practices and lessons learned in support of the Tokyo Olympics. The North Pacific Coast Guard Forum, formed in 2000, comprise the coast guard and maritime law enforcement agencies of Canada, China, Japan, South Korea, Russia and the United States. Its main focus includes combating illegal trafficking, combined operations, emergency response, fisheries enforcement, information exchange and maritime security. A non-binding memorandum of cooperation signed by all participating n...