Issue: September 2024

They came for the community, nearly 9,000 of them in all, for Salmonfest 2024, three days of fish, love and music anchored in a passion to protect wild Alaska salmon and healthy fish habitat. And on the cool, overcast evening of Aug. 3, hundreds of them danced in the mosh pit of the Salmonfest amphitheater, clapping with their hands raised high above their heads, to the music of Michael Franti and Spearhead, an internationally known band led by an outspoken advocate for the environment, peace and social justice. At length, Franti joined his fans on the edge of the mosh pit, all of them hopping and waving their arms to the beat of  the song “Meet Me When The Sun Goes Down.” The crowd at the amphitheater of the Kenai Peninsula Fairgrounds in Ninilchik, Alaska, was estimated at upward of ...

Oregon’s commercial fishing industry landed 301 million pounds of seafood onshore worth $178 million in 2023, an increase from 2022, where 286 million pounds of seafood worth an inflation-adjusted $136 million was caught, but below the average landings and revenue of the previous five years (2018-2022) of 319 million pounds and $189 million. The data, which was provided by the State of Oregon in July, also show that crab harvests in 2023 were 37.2 million pounds versus 4.9 million pounds in 2022. Typically, the crab season begins in December, with most of the catch occurring at the beginning of the season. But because last year’s Oregon crab season didn’t fully open until Feb. 1, the 2022 crab harvest was incredibly low compared with historical trends. On the other hand, 2023’s crab ha...

Alaska’s total statewide commercial salmon harvest stood at 55.5 million fish as the fishery began winding down at the end of July, but the jury was still out on how the chum and coho harvests in August would boost the overall 2024 catch. Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists in April had forecast a 2024 commercial harvest of 135.7 million salmon, including 69 million pink salmon, 39.5 million sockeye salmon, 24.3 million chum salmon and 2.6 million coho salmon. As of July 23, the latest estimated ADF&G harvest calculation showed the harvest at 36% of the projected harvest and industry insiders said they were waiting to see what the final harvest of pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound would be. As of July 26, the estimated catch of 55.5 million salmon statewide in...

Discarded plastic marine debris washed ashore on the coastline of Alaska, a health hazard to the fish, wildlife and water, is a growing problem in Alaska. And back in the summer of 2021, Alaska inventor Patrick Simpson got a first-hand look at the extent of that pollution in Prince William Sound. Simpson joined the Prince William Sound Stewardship Foundation for part of a project to remove layers of such debris that had washed up on Knight Island and the Elrington/Bainbridge areas. That summer, the foundation removed 3,000 pounds of trash along nearly 100 miles of shoreline. With a background in computer technology, Simpson was embarked on a mission to recycle those mounds of trash into construction lumber he named Grizzly Wood. Simpson grew up in the Prince William Sound fishing com...

As the 2024 commercial salmon fishery began to wind down and worn out, discarded fishing nets piled up, fishing industry veteran Nicole Baker moved quickly to recycle those nets into new products and keep tons of them out of landfills. In advance of the 2024 fishing season Baker traveled to Haines, Juneau, Cordova, Valdez, Homer, Kenai, Naknek, Egegik and Dillingham to speak with fishermen and others in those communities about how to clean those discarded nets so they are ready to bale up and ship to recycling firms in British Columbia, Tennessee or Southern California to make new products from recycled plastic. Nets collected from fishermen on the East Coast go to European recyclers, she said. Baker, a former fisheries observer and fisheries researcher at the University of Washington...

Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials on Aug. 9 began preseason vessel registration for 2024-2025 commercial crab fisheries in the Bering Sea in order to determine the number of observers needed to meet fishery coverage goals if these seasons open. Total allowable catches are to be announced by subsequent Fish & Game advisory announcements if its determined that harvests will be allowed for the Bristol Bay red king crab, Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab, Western Bering Sea Tanner crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries, ADF&G officials said. Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers Executive Director Jamie Goen said she’s cautiously optimistic that there will be a commercial king crab fishing season this year. The king crab fisheries were closed in 2021 and 2022 and reopened for 2023-24...

The Department of Commerce and NOAA officials have recommended over $105 million in funds for 14 new and continuing salmon recovery projects and programs for the West Coast and Alaska, the federal agencies announced Aug. 1. The money is to be funded through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF), the agencies said, with funds including Fiscal Year 2024 annual appropriations, plus $34.4 million under the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and $7.5 million under the Inflation Reduction Act. The money is expected to help support programs and projects in Alaska, California, Idaho, Oregon and Washington, including habitat restoration stock enhancement sustainable fisheries and research and monitoring. California received allocations to two entities, while Alaska, Idaho, Oregon and Was...

Officials with the West Coast Seafood Processors Association (WCSPA) say recent U.S. Department of Agriculture purchases of $22 million in Pacific rockfish fillets and Pacific hake fillets are helping mitigate the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. “Continuing this partnership in 2024 will maintain this trend,” WCSPA Executive Director Lori Steele said in a July 16 statement. The purchase benefits the USDA, the domestic seafood industry and the public, she said. What with the current global and domestic seafood markets in disarray, the USDA’s commitment to purchasing rockfish and whiting from the West Coast will help keep fishermen on the water, allow processors to retain employees and communities to thrive, Midwater Trawlers Cooperative Executive Director Heather Mann said. “S...

Federal officials are seeking proposals through Nov. 4 for grants for citizen science projects to address data gaps in assessing the health of marine fish stocks or how fisheries and fishing communities may be impacted by changing environmental conditions. The Department of Commerce and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) announced the $600,000 funding opportunity on Aug. 5. The money comes via the Biden administration’s Inflation Reduction Act, the largest climate investment in U.S. history. It follows a NOAA Fisheries announcement in June 2023 highlighting that agency’s intent to use $145 million of Inflation Reduction Act funds focused on transforming NOAA Fisheries’ data enterprise. “Given the impacts of climate change on fisheries, it’s crucial to have a comp...

It was real freedom on the 4th of July for a humpback whale struggling after being entangled in fishing lines in the Port of Valdez, in Alaska’s Prince William Sound, thanks to efforts of the U.S. Coast Guard and NOAA Fisheries. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration said July 19, that NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Marine Mammal Stranding Hotline had received numerous reports late on the afternoon of July 3 of a young humpback whale entangled in the middle of the Port of Valdez. The animal was believed to have multiple wraps of line around the base of its tail and was trailing a bright yellow buoy. The Coast Guard Station Valdez launched a boat crew to get eyes on the situation to pass along to NOAA experts to determine the severity of the entanglement. On July 4, two NOAA larg...