October 2022 – Page 2 – Fishermens News

New Alaska Board of Fisheries Executive Director Appointed

Fishing industry veteran Art Nelson, who spent years working in the public and private sector of Alaska’s commercial fisheries entities, was appointed as the executive director of the Alaska Board of Fisheries in mid-August. Nelson fills the vacancy left when the board’s long time executive director, Glenn Haight, was named a commissioner for the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC). The CFEC controls entry into Alaska’s commercial fisheries, with a concentration on conservation and the economic health of that industry. Nelson served on the Board of Fisheries from 2003 to 2007, including two years as board chair. He also has served as a public member of the Anchorage and Northern Norton Sound advisory committees. Prior to being appointed as executive director of the Board of F...

Guest Column: Doing More with Less

It would appear that “doing more with less” could be the unofficial motto for today’s society, especially regarding the workplace. Restaurants, offices, tech companies and many other businesses are feeling the squeeze of being short staffed and finding it hard to recruit and retain qualified long-term help. What does this mean for the employees who are in the workforce? It means doing more than your normal duties in your job description. While it is a fact that sometimes you just do what needs to be done to perform the task at hand, this extra effort is creating an environment for workers that leads to extra stress, longer hours, fatigue and eventually burnout. This does not create a healthy and sustainable model for businesses to succeed and thrive. The COVID-19 pandemic was har...

Responding to Climate Change Threats to Fisheries

Almost exactly a decade ago, in 2012, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations adopted and published a major policy statement explaining just what “global climate change” was all about, and why we as ocean commercial fisheries folks should be concerned. That landmark policy statement “Combating Global Warming & Acidic Seas (2012)” (https://pcffa.org/climate-change-and-fisheries) still stands as a beacon of good sense in a world where the threat of climate change has gone from scientific theory to grim reality—and will with certainty get a lot worse before it gets better. This column is to bring our fleet up to date on what is actually being done to help our industry continue to fish in the face of these scary (and sometimes seemingly overwhelming) worldwide changes. T...

Stability Awareness — Are You Aware?

Fishing vessel stability is often characterized in foreign and misunderstood terms that describe the constantly changing forces that act upon a vessel while it is at sea. The wind and waves provide the motion as the vessel rolls, pitches, yaws, heaves, sways and surges. The burning of fuel and use of water changes the internal weights of the vessel and introduces an additional force of free surface effect. The skipper and crew working hard to move equipment, launch fishing gear, tow nets, haul back the catch, dump it on deck and into the holds adds even more complexity. That’s a lot of dynamic forces going on for a craft at sea. Add in that fishing vessels are what the Coast Guard considers “uninspected,” so there is ambiguity to what standards, if any, need to be followed, which regu...

Southeast Alaska Troll Fishery Faces Legal Challenge Over Orca Harvest

Southeast Alaska’s lucrative commercial king salmon troll fishery faces new challenges from a federal judge’s decision in Seattle over the impact of their harvest on endangered killer whales in Puget Sound. The ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Jones in Seattle in August challenges the National Marine Fisheries Service’s biological opinion for the Southeast Alaska salmon fishery, the document giving Alaska Endangered Species Act “incidental take” coverage and allowing the state’s Pacific Salmon Treaty salmon fisheries to operate. The lawsuit brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy in Seattle argues that Alaska fisheries threaten the survival of several ESA-listed Chinook salmon stocks in Washington and Oregon and the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales that rely on Chinook salm...

Catch Processing Technology

After weathering manifold stresses of the COVID-19 pandemic, the fish processing industry is rolling out a wide variety of new machines. European manufacturers are de-licing without chemicals and slicing filets with speed, while a private-public research collective is building new ways to turn sidestream into commercially viable products. These latest releases could move more fish out the door – and faster than ever. MAREL Multi-national food processing company Marel has released a trio of new machines: the Retail Pack Slicer I-Slice 3400, Pinbone Remover MS 2610 and Salmon Deheader MIS 2721. The single- and dual-lane versions of the Pinbone Remover MS 2610 can process up to 18 and 36 filets a minute, respectively. Each lane uses five liters of water a minute, a roughly 20% reduction ...

Turmoil in Crab Markets as Supply Drops, Along with Retail Customer Interest

Dungeness crab prices rose with increased market demand while domestic snow crab sales brought the lowest prices in five years this past summer, in a struggling commercial shellfish industry plagued by climate change, a global pandemic, supply chain issues and international politics. Prices for a diminished supply of wild Alaska snow crab meat were all over the board, from $74.95 a pound at Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle to $33.95 a pound at 10th &M Seafoods in Anchorage, while the seafood counter at New Sagaya in Anchorage offered Russian snow crab meat for $25.99 a pound. West Coast whole Dungeness crab was in the spotlight at Pike Place Fish Market, with intermittent sales dropping the price for two pounds of legs and claws from $69.98 to $52.49 and other retailers, like Cost...

Round 2 CARES Act Fisheries Relief Applications Due by Oct. 31

Applications for Round 2 CARES Act for Alaska fishery participants are available now on the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission (PSMFC) website, https://www.psmfc.org. They must be filled out and postmarked by Oct. 31 to be eligible for relief funds. The announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game refers to aid being made available to fishermen financially impacted by the global COVID-19 pandemic, which is still ongoing more than two years after it began. The relief funds are from the Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security Act, also known as the CARES Act, which was signed into law on March 27, 2020 in response to the economic fallout of the pandemic. ADF&G officials noted that applicants should carefully review Alaska’s spend plan and instructions before co...

AFSC Research Plan Focuses on Shellfish, Seaweed Aquaculture Development

A strategic research plan released by the Alaska Fisheries Science Center (AFSC) will be used to help the NOAA Fisheries agency guide research to expand shellfish and seaweed production over the next five years, in hopes of expanding the state’s blue economy. The goal is to provide information for state and federal regulatory agencies and coastal communities in Alaska to ensure a sustainable seafood supply and economic opportunities for Americans. This research will provide an important foundation for sustainable development, AFSC Director Bob Foy said. “Marine aquaculture contributes to restoration efforts in Alaska and is increasing economic opportunities for coastal communities through the farming of shellfish and seaweed,” Foy explained. The research plan notes that the industry in...

USCG Expanding Its Astoria, Oregon Facilities to Accommodate Fast Response Cutters

The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded a contract to expand its shoreside facilities at East Tongue Point in Astoria, the USCG announced July 12. The winning bid was placed by GWWH, a joint venture team comprised of Granite Construction, Webcor Construction LP, Weeks Marine, Inc. and Healy Tibbitts Builders, Inc. The $30 million contract provides design-build improvements at the facility to accommodate the homeporting of fast response cutters (FRCs). The facilities are planned to include a fixed pier, two floating docks, gangways between the docks and pier, cutter shore tie utilities on the pier, underground utilities on the shore, new pavement and parking and a security fence around the site. Additionally, the contract includes dredging 96,500 cubic yards of sediment and an additional 18,00...