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NOAA Report on Killer Whale Bycatch Prompts Call for Immediate Action

1Nov

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NOAA Report on Killer Whale Bycatch Prompts Call for Immediate Action

U.S. Rep. Mary Peltola, D-Alaska, is calling on NOAA Fisheries to end the status quo on action to prevent killer whales from being caught up in groundfish trawl gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. On Oct. 26, Peltola released a statement saying she has asked NOAA Fisheries to release conclusions of an analysis of the 10 killer whales caught in trawl nets this year. Peltola urged NOAA to consider increased whale-gear interactions in any National Standard revisions particularly learned whale behavior related to bycatch discards. Killer whales are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, which requires vessel owners and operators to report to NOAA Fisheries all incidental mortalities and injuries of marine mammals that occur during commercial fishing and survey ope...

Commerce Dept. Approves Oregon Fishery Disaster Declaration

18Oct

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Commerce Dept. Approves Oregon Fishery Disaster Declaration

Federal authorities have approved a fishery disaster for the years 2018, 2019 and 2020 at Oregon Chinook salmon ocean commercial fisheries, a decision that makes fishermen eligible to apply for disaster assistance from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Oregon’s congressional delegation, also including five members of the U.S. House of Representatives, announced the determination on Friday, Oct. 13, saying the aid would help the state’s coastal economies recover from years of drought, changing ocean conditions, and critical habitat loss that have harmed salmon populations in the Pacific Northwest. The delegation said that the U.S. Department of Commerce has fishery disaster assistance funding available and would soon determine the allocation. “Oregon’s fishin...

Bristol Bay Red King Crab Fishery Scheduled to Open Oct. 15

11Oct

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Bristol Bay Red King Crab Fishery Scheduled to Open Oct. 15

Alaska’s Bristol Bay red king crab fishery is set to open at noon on Oct. 15 after being closed for two years due to stocks not meeting minimal levels for fishing. The set quota is 2.15 million pounds, just slightly lower than the 2020 opener of 2.6 million pounds. The announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) was cheered by long time drabber captains like Glenn Casto of the f/v Pinnacle, who called it a start in the right direction that would help pay bills and help out crew. Veteran crab captains Oystein Lone, and Gabriel Prout also praised the decision to let them fish. “It’s a needed lifeline for us to keep our businesses afloat,” said Lone, captain and owner of the f/v Confidence and f/v Pacific Mariner. “The impacts the fleet and the stock cont...

NOAA Fisheries: Revision of Endangered North Pacific Right Whale Critical Habitat Warranted

11Oct

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NOAA Fisheries: Revision of Endangered North Pacific Right Whale Critical Habitat Warranted

NOAA Fisheries has announced its decision to revise endangered North Pacific right whale habitat. The agency noted that there are only an estimated 30 eastern North Pacific right whales remaining. Critical habitat for North Pacific right whales was designated in 2008 and consists of two areas: one in the Southeast Bering Sea, the other in the Gulf of Alaska off the coast of Kodiak Island. The areas are about 35,460 square miles and 1,175 square miles, respectively. NOAA officials said their decision is in response to a petition received March 10, 2022 from the Center for Biological Diversity and Save the North Pacific Right Whale. The petition asked that NOAA revise the critical habitat designation for the species to connect the two existing critical habitat areas. Doing so wo...

Analysis for Minimizing Chum Bycatch to Begin in Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

11Oct

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Analysis for Minimizing Chum Bycatch to Begin in Bering Sea Pollock Fishery

Federal fisheries managers have approved analyzing changes to chum salmon bycatch management measures to minimize bycatch of western Alaska chum salmon bycatch to the extent practicable in the Bering Sea pollock fishery, while achieving optimum yield in Bering Sea groundfish fisheries. A statement issued Monday, Oct. 9 by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) in Anchorage cited standards 9 (the Bering Sea pollock fishery) and 1 (the Bering Sea groundfish fisheries) of the Magnuson Stevens Act National Standards. The council is focused on bycatch of western Alaska origin chum salmon. The decline of the chum returning to spawn in the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers in recent years has had a negative impact on this source of subsistence food for residents of villages along...

4Oct

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NOAA Fisheries Offering $2.3M for Bycatch Reduction Projects

NOAA Fisheries on Sept. 28 announced funding totaling about $2.3 million is available for collaborative bycatch reduction projects. NOAA has invited non-federal researchers who are working on development of improved fishing practices and innovative gear technologies that reduce bycatch to apply. The stated goal is to find proactive, meaningful and equitable community engagement in the identification, design and/or implementation of proposed projects. The agency is encouraging applicants to include and demonstrate principles of diversity, equity, including and accessibility. Funding is expected to be issue in 2024. Bycatch is defined by NOAA as catch fishermen don’t want, cannot sell or aren’t allowed to keep. The concern is that bycatch of fish, marine mammals or turtles can h...

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...

Study: Coastal Fisheries Show Resilience to Marine Heatwaves

6Sep

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Study: Coastal Fisheries Show Resilience to Marine Heatwaves

New research published in the journal Nature finds that despite the devastating impact marine heatwaves may have on marine ecosystems, in general heatwaves have not had lasting effects on ocean waters that are home to many of the world’s most robust fisheries. The study by a team of researchers funded through FISHGLOB, an international consortium of scientists who collect, curate, share and use date from scientific bottom trawl surveys, looked at how fish biomass and community composition were affected in the year following a marine heatwave. Researchers discovered that in general, marine heatwaves don’t have a major impact on regional fish communities. “This is the year of marine heatwaves, which now cover nearly half of the world’s oceans,” said Malin Pinsky, a co-author and as...

Limits Set on Oregon Harvest of End of Commercial Season for Chinook, Coho Salmon

23Aug

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Limits Set on Oregon Harvest of End of Commercial Season for Chinook, Coho Salmon

Federal and state authorities have set limits through Sept. 30 for the commercial troll harvest of two salmon species in Oregon’s commercial salmon troll fishery between the U.S.-Canadian border and Cape Falcon, Ore. The announcement this past week from the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife said harvesters would be limited to weekly landing and possession per vessel of seven Chinooks and 100 adipose marked coho salmon. The announcement comes in the wake of NOAA Fisheries consulting with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, the states of Oregon and Washington, and fishery representatives in a conference call. Oregon’s Department of Fish and Wildlife said the harvest of Chinooks to date in that area had passed 90% of the 13,000 Chinook quota, leaving only 1,251 fish to b...

NOAA Fisheries Issues Final Rule Regarding Pacific Cod Harvests in BSAI

16Aug

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NOAA Fisheries Issues Final Rule Regarding Pacific Cod Harvests in BSAI

NOAA Fisheries has issued a final rule allocating Pacific cod harvest quota to qualifying groundfish License Limitation Program license holders and qualifying processors, in order to, the agency has said, improve management of the fishery, increase its value and minimize bycatch to the extent practicable. The final rule, Amendment 122, for groundfish management in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI), establishes the new Pacific Cod Trawl Cooperative Program PCTC). The rule was printed in the Federal Register on Aug. 8 and goes into effect on Sept. 7. Fishing under the PCTC program is scheduled to begin on Jan. 20, 2024. Jon Kurland, NOAA regional administrator for Alaska, noted that PCTC also aims to provide for the sustained participation of fishery-dependent communities,...