Issue: October 2024

Land Management Bureau Invests $3.25M in Alaska Salmon Habitat Restoration

Land Management Bureau Invests $3.25M in Alaska Salmon Habitat Restoration

A federal grant of $3.25 million announced on Sept. 16 is expected to be used improve the ecosystem health and Pacific salmon resiliency in the Yukon, Kuskokwim and Norton Sound regions of Alaska, according to the Bureau of Land Management. Project work under the new agreement was estimated to begin in early September 2024 and continue through the end of summer 2029, the BLM said. The funds implement, through a partner award, part of the $36 million in Bipartisan Infrastructure Law funding dedicated to the Interior Department’s ‘Gravel to Gravel’ initiative. The project work, implemented in partnership with the Salcha-Delta Soil and Water Conservation District under the Good Neighbor Authority, includes efforts to restore areas impacted by historic land uses. The Good Neighbor Authori...
Congressional Delegation Voices Renewed Concern Over Transboundary Mines

Congressional Delegation Voices Renewed Concern Over Transboundary Mines

Alaska’s congressional delegation is raising renewed concern with the Biden administration over environmental pollution issues from existing and planned British Columbia mines along the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers flowing into Southeast Alaska and the Tongass National Forest. In an Aug. 16 letter to President Joe Biden, the delegation renewed its plea for action in the wake of the recent heap leach pad failure at the Eagle Gold Mine in central Yukon. The facility uses a cyanide solution to percolate through ore to dissolve the gold. The delegation, consisting of Republican U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan and Democrat Rep. Mary Peltola, noted that it has been advocating for years for binding protections and financial assurances to protect these salmon rich rivers. Withou...
2024-25 Alaska BOF Proposal Book Is Online

2024-25 Alaska BOF Proposal Book Is Online

The 2024-25 Alaska Board of Fisheries proposal book, with 31 proposals at upcoming meetings in Cordova, Ketchikan and Anchorage, Alaska, is online at https://tinyurl.com/46w8wxm9. The proposals were submitted by members of the public, local fish and game advisory committees, organizations and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Their publication was announced Sept. 2 by ADF&G. The Prince William Sound and Upper Copper/Upper Susitna Rivers Finfish and Shellfish (except shrimp) meeting is scheduled for Dec. 10-16 at the Cordova Center in Cordova. The Southeast and Yakutat Finfish and Shellfish meeting is planned for Jan. 28-Feb. 9 at the Ted Ferry Convention Center in Ketchikan, while the Statewide Shellfish (including Prince William Sound shrimp) is March 11-16 at the Egan Conv...
EPA Petitioned to Ban Use of Oil Dispersants Found Toxic to Marine Life

EPA Petitioned to Ban Use of Oil Dispersants Found Toxic to Marine Life

A petition filed by the non-profit environmental group Earth Island Institute is asking the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to ban two oil dispersants used in the BP Deepwater Horizon oil disaster from future oil spill responses. The petition, announced Aug. 19 in Berkeley, Calif., identified the chemical dispersants as Corexit 9527A and 9500A, products currently authorized under the National Contingency Plan for use in oil spill response. According to key studies compiled in the petition, the Corexit dispersants are respiratory and skin sensitizers that cause chronic breathing difficulties and reoccurring skin rashes and carcinogens that trigger multiple cancer pathways. The studies also show the dispersants to be neurotoxins that cause brain damage and teratogens that disrupt d...

Oceana Sues NOAA Fisheries Over Bottom Trawling

International ocean advocacy organization Oceana has filed a lawsuit against NOAA Fisheries for failure to meet federal requirements to protect the ocean floor environment. Oceana, represented by Earthjustice, filed its litigation on Aug. 16 in U.S. District Court in Anchorage, challenging the fishery service’s approval of amendments to five fishery management plans in the North Pacific. The amendments revise plan descriptions of essential fish habitat, which include all types of aquatic habitat where fish breed, spawn, feed or grow to maturity. The lawsuit asks the court to suspend the amendments and the environmental assessment supporting those amendments for completion of new amendments that comply with existing federal fisheries laws. Oceana contends that in approving the amendme...
Wespac Releases Report on Status of Western Pacific Region Fisheries

Wespac Releases Report on Status of Western Pacific Region Fisheries

The Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) on Sept. 11 released its 2023 Western Pacific Region Status of the Fisheries report, which highlights some of the changes in U.S. Pacific Island fisheries from 2021 through 2023. Bottomfishing in some parts of Hawaii was slow due to poor conditions potentially associated with the Kona weather pattern, according to the report, but fishers noted good recruitment with larger opakapaka around Oahu and abundant ehu and gindai fish around Kauai. University of Hawaii data showed a decrease in active commercial harvesters and trips, but landings of Deep 7 bottomfish species were up by over 8,000 pounds from the previous year to just over 197,000 pounds. American Samoa’s bottomfish fishery had a total estimated catch of 4,689 pou...
From the Editor: Golden Anniversary

From the Editor: Golden Anniversary

The year 1974 was a significant year in America. Actually, every year in the U.S. is significant in multiple ways, but 1974 was especially significant. Among the things that occurred in 1974 was that Richard Nixon resigned the presidency and was succeeded by Gerald Ford. It was also the year a U.S. District Court judge ruled that Native American tribes in Washington state were entitled to half the legal salmon and steelhead fish catches in state waters, based on treaties signed by the tribes and the federal government. But there’s another event that took place in 1974 that’s of special importance to the commercial fishing industry in the Pacific Northwest: this is the year that Fred Wahl Marine Construction first opened its doors. And as the Reedsport, Oregon-based business celebrates...
USCG Cutter Frederick Hatch Wraps Blue Pacific Safety Patrol

USCG Cutter Frederick Hatch Wraps Blue Pacific Safety Patrol

The crew of the cutter Frederick Hatch completed a patrol period from July 22 to Aug. 12 under Operation Rematau, which showcased the U.S. Coast Guard’s maritime safety, security and stewardship work in the Blue Pacific. The patrol saw the crew cover over 1,252 nautical miles and engage in various operations, from maritime law enforcement boardings of fishing vessels to community outreach and crucial training. During the patrol, the Frederick Hatch team boarded two foreign-flagged fishing vessels in the Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission operational area on the high seas, with no violations reported. The cutter’s crew participated in significant community relations events in Tinian, Northern Mariana Islands, including the March-On for the 80th anniversary of the Battle o...
Fisheries Researchers Cite Errors in Scientific Publications

Fisheries Researchers Cite Errors in Scientific Publications

An article written by six prominent fisheries researchers and published in the October issue of online magazine Marine Policy, contends that scientific publications often influence evolving policies and inform the public, but that they at times contain errors. “The prevalence of papers conveying unjustified messages and with potential to influence public perceptions and policies is concerning,” the six researchers from Argentina, Australia, NOAA Fisheries, Africa and the University of Washington, stated in the article. Their paper focuses on marine examples that have led to exaggeration of negative impacts on ecosystems particularly from fisheries, but that these criticisms and recommendations also apply more generally. Examples are given include papers on high profile topics that use...
Newsmakers

Newsmakers

Copper River Seafoods Named Alaska Manufacturer of the Year Copper River Seafoods has been honored as Alaska’s Manufacturer of the Year for 2023, with the award being presented Aug. 6 in Anchorage. Copper River was chosen for the honor by officials with Alaska’s Commerce, Community and Economic Development (CCED) department. CCED Commissioner Julie Sande cited Copper River Seafoods, which has offices in Cordova and Anchorage, for its innovation in utilizing seafood byproducts and offcuts. “By ensuring that the entire fish is marketable, not just the prime cuts of every filet, the company has reduced waste and created more value for the Alaska seafood resources they process,” Sande said. Fourth generation harvester Scott Blake and three fellow commercial Alaska fishermen founded the ...