alfa – Fishermens News

ALFA Launches 2025 Crew Training Program

12Feb

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ALFA Launches 2025 Crew Training Program

Crew training opportunities for the 2025 fishing season are being offered by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) in an effort to match the needs of skippers with young people interested in a career in commercial fisheries. ALFA is partnering with the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT) in the Young Fishermen Initiative, which dates back to 2015. The objective of this crew training program is to attract younger entrants into an industry where the average fisherman's age in Alaska is over 50. To date, over 100 apprentices have been trained and placed on local fishing vessels in Southeast Alaska, according to the two organizations. “There are always skippers looking for crew and crew looking for skippers,” ALFA communications and program director Natalie Sattler ...

IPHC Cuts Coastwide Commercial Halibut Catch By 18%

5Feb

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IPHC Cuts Coastwide Commercial Halibut Catch By 18%

In a somber and tense meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission in Vancouver, British Columbia, stakeholders faced with the lowest spawning biomass in 40 years opted to cut the commercial catch limits for the 2025 season by just over 18%. The 2025 quotas were announced Jan. 31. The fishery has been scheduled to open at 6 a.m. on March 20 and run through 11:50 p.m. on Dec. 7. “The halibut spawning biomass is at historic low levels,” Linda Behnken, a veteran commercial harvester and executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, said. “Stock productivity is low with no obvious strong year classes on the horizon,” she continued. “Reductions in catch limits are necessary, but would be less painful if Canada’s harvest was proportional to the abu...

Salmon Troller Advocacy Group to Attend Wild Seafood Connection

5Feb

By Peter PhilipsNo Comments

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Salmon Troller Advocacy Group to Attend Wild Seafood Connection

ALFA to highlight challenges to the independent commercial fishing fleet Around the U.S., commercial fishermen of all kinds are being targeted by lawsuits and misinformation campaigns orchestrated by competing special interest groups posing as environmentalists. Among other sustainably managed commercial fisheries, Southeast Alaska’s salmon troll fisheries have been the target of aggressive lawsuits and misleading rhetoric trying to frame small-boat salmon fishermen as the cause for declining Chinook salmon and Southern Resident Killer Whales in the Pacific Northwest. In a coordinated effort to correct misinformation, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) has implemented an initiative to educate chefs and seafood buyers with well-documented science to promote salm...

Alaska Fishing Organizations Set Date for Annual Expo

3Apr

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Alaska Fishing Organizations Set Date for Annual Expo

Commercial longline fishermen in Southeast Alaska are planning a free day of educational workshops and training on April 24, aimed at boosting knowledge about harvesting seafood for new and veteran fishermen, as well as others interested in the fishing sector. The hybrid expo is presented annually by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT). The event is part of an effort by ALFA and ASFT to provide resources and educational opportunities for seafood harvesters, especially those just starting out in the industry. Attendees have the option of attending in person in Sitka or virtually via Zoom. Commercial and subsistence fishermen of all gear types will be able to participate in interactive classes on: Southeast Alaska ...

Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association Seeks Applications for Crew Training Program

21Feb

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Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association Seeks Applications for Crew Training Program

A fishing crew training program in Sitka, Alaska is accepting applications through March 31 to teach the next generation of young people interested in a career in commercial fisheries. Since 2015, the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and its partner, the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT), have trained more than 100 apprentices and placed them on fishing vessels in Southeast Alaska. The program is an effort to attract younger entrants into an industry where the average fishermen’s age in Alaska is now over 50. The program was formalized as part of ALFA’s Young Fishermen Initiative in 2015. In 2017, ALFA was granted funds to get more boots on deck statewide. Over several years, one of the skipper participants, ALFA Member Eric Jordan of the f/v I Gotta, ...

Fall Hybrid Fishermen’s EXPO Offers Free Workshops, Training in Sitka

1Nov

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Fall Hybrid Fishermen’s EXPO Offers Free Workshops, Training in Sitka

Workshops and training on topics ranging from updates on fuel efficiency and hybrid engine projects to Alaska marine safety are on tap for the Fall Hybrid Fishermen’s EXPO in Sitka on Nov. 15. The free event, taking place at Sitka’s Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association’s conference room, is sponsored by the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) and the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust (ASFT), with additional funds from the City and Borough of Sitka, the Edgerton Foundation and the OneUSDA Southeast Alaska Sustainability Strategy initiative. Attendees are invited to participate in various sessions, including the possible start-up of a Regional Seafood Development Association in Southeast Alaska, Nobeltec TIMEZERO updates to cartography and bathy and Natio...

Federal Fisheries Council Action on Bycatch Prompts Critical Rebuttal

18Oct

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Federal Fisheries Council Action on Bycatch Prompts Critical Rebuttal

A group of commercial, sport and subsistence fishing entities are taking issue with a decision by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) to postpone setting limits on chum salmon bycatch and reducing seafloor damage caused by midwater trawl gear. Their concerns were summarized in a statement issued Oct. 12 by the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA), SalmonState, DeepStrike Sportfishing and the Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association. During its October meeting in Anchorage from Oct. 2-10, the council approved analysis of additional management measures to minimize chum salmon bycatch. The council acknowledged that about 99% of the chum salmon encountered as bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock fishery are encountered ...

Energy Dept. Awards ALFA $700,000 for Energy Transition

4Oct

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Energy Dept. Awards ALFA $700,000 for Energy Transition

A $700,000 Department of Energy (DOE) award announced on Oct. 3 is expected to allow the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) in Sitka to move forward with its long-term plan of energy transition in the small boat fishing and mariculture industries. The ALFA BETA (Boat Energy Transition Accelerator) project aligns with ALFA’s mission to address climate change and decarbonize the seafood industry. “With generous support from DOE, ALFA is poised to play a leading role in revolutionizing energy usage within the small boat commercial fishing sector,” ALFA Executive Director Linda Behnken said. “This project will allow us to pilot test hybrid and full electric propulsion in small boat fishing and mariculture operations,” she continued. “We will build on our work with the ...

Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel to Be Tested in Alaska

6Sep

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Battery-Electric Fishing Vessel to Be Tested in Alaska

Harvesters with the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association (ALFA) are collaborating with the federal Energy Department’s Energy Transitions Initiative Partnership Project to test the future of energy-efficient low emissions fishing vessels powered by battery-electric motors. Plans are, this fall, for a 46-foot commercial fishing boat, the I Gotta, to cruise into the waters of Sitka, cut its diesel engine and turn on a low-and zero-emissions propulsion system, becoming one of the first low-emissions fishing vessels ever deployed in Alaska. Officials with the Energy Department’s National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) in Golden, Colo. announced Aug. 22 that when using a unique parallel hybrid battery-diesel system, the boat can travel at full speed using its diesel engine, the...

Subsistence Fishermen Share Catch with Yukon, Chignik Families

26Jul

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Subsistence Fishermen Share Catch with Yukon, Chignik Families

Subsistence salmon gathered by Dillingham, Alaska area residents in advance of the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery are sharing over 5,000 pounds of their catch with families along the Yukon River and Chignik area that are unable to fish in 2023 because of low run returns. Plans are for Grant Aviation to fly the whole, cleaned and frozen fish in August to Alakanuk, Pitkas Point, Saint Mary’s, Chignik Lagoon and Chignik Bay. Some fish will also be used by the Yukon River Drainage Fishermen’s Association Educational Exchange program where several youth will travel to communities on the Yukon and share their experiences with salmon. The salmon donation project is a collaborative effort of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association’s (ALFA) Seafood Distribution Network, plus No...