alaska – Fishermens News

29Nov

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Fisheries Board Takes Up Proposal to Lower Salmon Production at Alaska Hatcheries

Extensive public testimony is anticipated during the Alaska Board of Fisheries (ABF) meeting in Homer, which concludes Dec. 1, on a proposal to greatly reduce salmon production at Alaska hatcheries. Final action isn’t expected until 2024. Proposition 43 would amend the Cook Inlet Salmon Enhancement Allocation Plan to reduce hatchery production to 25% of the year 2000 production, as was promised in 2000. The proposition, introduced by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee, contends that there’s an over-production of hatchery pink salmon threatening wild Alaska salmon stocks. Art Nelson, executive director of the fisheries board, said the ABF would receive public testimony on Proposition 43 at Homer and may discuss it to some extent during committee work, but not vote o...

Bristol Bay Entities Challenge State of Alaska Pebble Mine Lawsuit

15Nov

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Bristol Bay Entities Challenge State of Alaska Pebble Mine Lawsuit

Two Bristol Bay region entities have filed an amicus brief with the U.S. Supreme Court to counter Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s lawsuit against the Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Water Act veto of the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska. “EPA finalized Clean Water Act protections in Bristol Bay with the strong support of the people of our region and across Alaska,” said Russell Nelson, board chair of the Bristol Bay Native Corp. (BBNC), which has offices in Dillingham and Anchorage. The EPA’s work in Bristol Bay, Nelson said, “is grounded in solid science and an important regulatory obligation to protect the invaluable salmon resource that has sustained our people since time immemorial.” He also said in a Nov. 9 statement issued by BBNC and United Tribes of Bristol...

GAPP Explores New Pollock Markets in Southeast Asia

1Nov

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GAPP Explores New Pollock Markets in Southeast Asia

Attracting new customers in Malaysia is the focus of the latest sales effort of the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP), based on market research that has identified the southeast Asia country of as a favorable market for wild Alaska pollock. Conclusions of a recent market research study on current and potential future markets conducted for GAPP by McKinley Research Group in Anchorage, Alaska showed that Malaysians embrace wild Alaska pollock in both its fillet and surimi forms, with wild Alaska pollock and other whitefish being cooked at home as a center-of-the-plate entrée, with the head on and bones in, fried or cooked in sauce. During Chinese New Year each February, fish is served with the head and tail on, signifying the start of and an end to the year. Su...

NOAA Seeks Comment on Federal Management of Cook Inlet Fisheries

25Oct

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NOAA Seeks Comment on Federal Management of Cook Inlet Fisheries

NOAA Fisheries is seeking public comment on a proposed rule to implement federal management of commercial and recreational salmon fishing in Alaska’s Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone. NOAA published the proposed rule in the Federal Register on Thursday, Oct. 19. Previously, salmon management in the federal waters was deferred to the state of Alaska and fishing occurred without respect for the EEZ boundary. Amendment 16 and the proposed rule would result in separate federal management of salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ, with the state continuing to manage all salmon fishing within state waters. Federal management would implement new requirements for commercial drift gillnet vessels that are fishing in the Cook Inlet EEZ, which would occur from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Mondays and T...

Analysis Shows Pink Salmon’s ‘Incredible’ Sense of Direction

18Oct

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Analysis Shows Pink Salmon’s ‘Incredible’ Sense of Direction

Results of University of Alaska Fairbanks’ DNA analysis of a massive database on pink salmon shows a remarkable ability of the fish to spawn at nearly the same spot within streams that their parents did. The project, which reviewed genetic data from over 30,000 pink salmon, taps into an ongoing study in Alaska’s Prince William Sound that has collected DNA samples from pink salmon carcasses since 2011. The Alaska Hatchery Research Program (AHRP) samples pink salmon in 30 streams, including five where researchers try to get samples from every salmon returning to spawn. The AHRP is a collaboration of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), nonprofit hatcheries, the fishing industry and academia, largely focused on the impact of hatchery fish on wild salmon populations. T...

NOAA Fisheries Releases Aquaculture Accomplishments Report

4Oct

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NOAA Fisheries Releases Aquaculture Accomplishments Report

NOAA Fisheries has released its Alaska 2023 Aquaculture Accomplishments Report, highlighting 14 projects that supported the Alaska aquaculture priorities of managing sustainably and efficiently, leading science for sustainability and educating and exchange of information. For 2023, NOAA’s Alaska Aquaculture Program prioritized 10 of 17 total national objectives listed in the 2023-2028 Aquaculture Strategic Plan. One highlight of the year is a project underway at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center’s (AFSC) Kodiak Lab, a collaboration with local kelp farmers to investigate how farmed seaweed compares to natural seaweed beds as a habitat for local marine animal species. Fishery ecologist Alix Laferriere is using video surveys, Standard Monitoring United for the Recruitment of Fi...

27Sep

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Alaska Board of Fisheries 2023-24 Meeting Date Proposals Now Available

Agendas for the latest 2023-2024 Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting cycling, with sessions in Homer, Kodiak and Anchorage, are now available online. The board accepted a total of 255 proposals from the public, local fish and game advisory committees, organizations and the Department of Fish and Game for review in these regulatory areas. Proposals may be downloaded off the board’s website individually, in sections, or for entire meetings. The website is http://boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov. The Homer session from Nov 28 through Dec. 1, is to be held at the Land’s End Resort. The Kodiak finfish session is set for Jan. 9-12 at Kodiak Marketplace. From Feb. 23 through March 7, the state fisheries board is to meet on Upper Cook Inlet finfish issues at the Egan Convention Cente...

27Sep

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Ocean-Based Climate Policies Under Fire

Commercial fisheries entities, including the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) and Alaska’s Coastal Villages Region Fund are voicing new opposition to new marine sanctuaries, citing potential adverse impact to current commercial fisheries. Testimony presented to the WPFMC in Honolulu in mid-September contends that the conservation plan for the new sanctuary is already satisfied by existing fishing regulations, the publication Seafood Source reported. Rep. Paul Gosar, R- AZ, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said that the marine protected sanctuaries plan was done without due consideration to negative consequences for the economy, environment and thousands of working Americans. The Biden administrati...

New Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commissioner Named

20Sep

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New Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commissioner Named

Mike Porcaro, a radio talk show host and advertising consultant, has been appointed by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy to serve on the state’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC), which oversees the state’s commercial fishing permits. The Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) is a two-member agency that’s independent from the state’s executive branch. Its mandate is to provide due process hearings and appeal processes for disputes related to limitations on fishery participation. The commission was established in the 1970s after Alaska voters approved a constitutional amendment to limit access to the state’s commercial fisheries — a right that had previously been guaranteed to all residents. Porcaro’s appointment occurred in August, but no formal announcement was made...

Commercial Salmon Catch in Alaska Tops 200M Fish

30Aug

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Commercial Salmon Catch in Alaska Tops 200M Fish

Alaska salmon harvests statewide have now exceeded 97% of the pre-season forecast, after a large jump in the harvest total, fueled by what was likely the peak week for pink salmon harvest. As of Monday, Aug. 28, the preliminary commercial salmon total for the 2023 season stood at 200.7 million fish. That number includes 133.2 million pink, 49.6 million sockeyes, 16.6 million chums, 1.2 million coho and 185,000 kings, according to calculations of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Following weeks of trailing the 2022 (2021 for pinks) benchmark, the 2023 harvest volume is now similar to the comparison year in estimated total volume, according to Simon Marks, a research analyst with McKinley Research Group in Juneau, who’s producing weekly in-season commercial salmon harvest up...