Tag: alaska

Commercial fishing for Alaska’s famed Copper River sockeye and Chinook salmon is now set to open May 15 in the state’s Copper River and Bering River districts. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials announced this past week (Friday, May 5) that the two districts’ 12-hour openers would begin at 7 a.m. Alaska time. For the Copper River District, waters within the expanded Chinook salmon inside closure area will be closed for that initial opener.  During the commercial fishing season, subsistence harvest may occur in the Copper River District concurrently in time and area with commercial fishing periods until the Copper River District is closed at the end of the season. “Everyone is excited about it,” Cathy Renfeldt, executive director of the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, said. “Th...

A commercial salmon troll fishery in Southeast Alaska that contributes millions of dollars to the regional economy is uncertain, with federal fisheries managers and harvesters pitted against an environmental group that contends endangered orca whales need those fish more. The state of Alaska on May 3 served notice of its intent to appeal a two-page ruling by U.S. District Court Judge Richard A. Jones to close the salmon troll fishery to provide more food for endangered Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound. A day earlier, the judge ruled in favor of the plaintiff, the Washington State-based Wild Fish Conservancy, in its three-year-old battle to secure more Chinook salmon for the Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound. Emma Helverson, executive director of the Wild Fis...

Thousands of U.S. military service members, five ships and over 150 aircraft are in Alaska for Northern Edge 2023 (NE23), war games in the Gulf of Alaska and elsewhere in the state to enhance combat readiness. They are being joined for the Indo-Pacific Command exercise by other service members from the United Kingdom and Australia to provide opportunity for joint, multinational and multi-domain operations designed to offer high-end, realistic war fighter training. Commanding officers describe NE23 as an example of their strong relationship with the state of Alaska and one that demonstrates the U.S. commitment to the region by building interoperability, and a commitment to U.S. allies and partners in ensuring a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Northern Edge got under way on May 4. For...

A new economic report issued in early May by the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) in Sitka underscores the importance of coastal ecosystems, fisheries, forests, waterways and wildlife to the economy of Southeast Alaska. The report focuses on recent research related to climate change impacts on Southeast Alaska, including projections for much warmer temperatures under different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios, and identifies mitigation measures that would prove helpful in protecting the SeaBank’s green and blue carbon. The term “SeaBank” was coined by ASFT to describe Southeast Alaska’s diverse coastline, stretching 500 miles from Metlakatla to Yakutat, an interconnecting network of land, water, vegetation, wildlife, resources, economies and culture. ASFT launched the SeaBa...

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) on March 30 set the 2023 all-gear allowable harvest limit for Southeast Alaska/Yakutat (SEAK) under Chinook salmon management provisions of the 2019-2028 Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement at 201,900 treaty Chinook salmon. The 2% reduction from last year’s allocation is to serve as a buffer against exceeding the all-gear limit and payback provisions within the treaty. The resulting 2023 troll harvest allocation for this year will be 149,100 Chinooks, which is 44,100 fish less that the preseason limit that was available in 2022. ADF&G also said annual catch limits for the SEAK Chinook fishery would be established using measures of Chinook abundance, using the catch per unit effort from the winter power troll fishery in District 113 dur...

An umbrella entity for 15 Southeast Alaska Native tribes seeking better protection of transboundary watersheds of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers is asking for a seat at the table whenever British Columbia processes permits for new mines. The request from the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) on March 20 referenced a letter from Alaska legislators sent to British Columbia Premier David Eby on March 13. Legislators told Eby in that correspondence that the U.S. and Canada federal governments, as well as indigenous peoples on both sides of the border have a responsibility and opportunity to better managed their shared watersheds in a constructive and cooperative manner. The letter notes that the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (...

A report in the online publication Politico contends that while nearly 250 trawl boats continue to have banner seasons, harvesting between 3-4 billion pounds of fish annually, the Alaska fisheries overall are collapsing. The report, produced in partnership with Type Investigations – where the article’s author, Adam Federman, is a reporting fellow – states that what makes this inequity especially jarring is that the trawlers are dragging huge nets long the sea bottom, scooping up millions of pounds of species they don’t want and most of that catch is thrown overboard, no matter its value. That undirected bycatch includes roughly two-thirds of the total halibut caught in the Bering Sea since 2006, most of which is dumped back in the ocean, Federman said. In 2021, while subsistence fishe...

Alaska’s Board of Fisheries has voted against a proposal to reduce significantly commercial fishing times and areas in the South Alaska Peninsula region known as Area M. Instead, the board this past weekend approved another measure to reduce fishing times in early June for salmon also sought by the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region to the north. The board’s decision on the intercept fishery of Chinook, sockeye and chum salmon came after several days of emotional testimony from fishermen and residents of Area M and the AYK, with both sides speaking out on the socioeconomic and cultural significance of chum salmon to their region. Proposal 140 would have amended the South Unimak and Shumagin Islands June Salmon Management Plan, written by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, to redu...

Wild Alaska sockeye salmon with ribbon kelp chimichurri by Peter Pan Seafoods claimed the grand prize at the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafoods, an annual competition promoting new products made with wild Alaska seafood. Peter Pan’s entry also claimed first place in retail competition with this recipe, which was the first time a major Alaska processing company has integrated Alaska kelp into a new product. Ocean Beauty Seafood’s Ocean Beauty Grill House Burger won the food service competition and Trident Seafoods’ Pure Catch Wild Alaska Omega-3 Triple Strength took top honors in Beyond the Plate competition.  Also honored in retail competition was Kelp Chili Crisp by Barnacle Foods, which received second place. Kelptastic Farms’ CBD Kelp Brownies and Thunder’s Catch Wild Salmon Chowder ...