fisheries – Page 4 – Fishermens News

Preseason Vessel Registration for Alaska Shellfish Fisheries Begins Aug. 18

16Aug

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Preseason Vessel Registration for Alaska Shellfish Fisheries Begins Aug. 18

Preseason vessel registration begins this Friday, Aug. 18, for the 2023-2024 Bristol Bay red king crab, Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab, Western Bering Sea Tanner crab and Bering Sea snow crab fisheries. Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) biologists say registration is necessary to determine the number of observers needed to meet fishery coverage goals, and does not imply a fishery will be opened. The first observer training program for this season is planned for Sept. 18 through Oct. 6. For this season, ADF&G has modified the vessel selection plan for the Bristol Bay red king crab, Bering Sea snow, Eastern and Western Bairdi Tanner crab fisheries. To ensure observer coverage goals are met, all vessels pre-season registered for these fisheries will be selected f...

New Funding for Fish Passage Projects Totals $260M

9Aug

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New Funding for Fish Passage Projects Totals $260M

NOAA Fisheries is accepting applications through this fall for a total of $260 million earmarked for new fish passage projects that reopen migratory pathways and restore access to healthy habitat for fish across the coasts. The Biden administration, acknowledging that millions of fish are often blocked by human-made barriers from returning to their spawning habitat, is offering $175 million for restoration projects in coastal and Great Lakes regions, plus $85 million for tribal priority fish passage projects. There is no non-federal matching requirement for the funding opportunities. Applications are due by Oct. 16 for $175 million in funds from the Restoring Fish Passage through Barrier Removal Notice of Funding Opportunity program for coastal areas and the Great Lakes. For the ...

5Jul

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NOAA Fisheries Gives Update Re: Climate Science Regional Action Plans

NOAA Fisheries has announced a second round of Climate Science Regional Action Plans to help decision makers prepare for and respond to rapidly changing ocean conditions. NOAA officials noted on June 29 that in 2022 NOAA Fisheries stock assessments reported significant declines in snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab, which led to fisheries closures in Alaska for those species. NOAA biologists said that those population crashes were likely a result of the 2019 marine heat wave in the North Pacific Ocean, attributed to climate change. The newly released plans build on ongoing efforts first launched by NOAA Fisheries in 2015 to address climate change in an effort with partners to better track, understand, forecast and use information on changing ocean and climate conditions, as ...

3May

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NOAA’s 2022 Status of Stocks Report Show Slight Improvement Over 2021

NOAA Fisheries has released its 2022 Status of Stocks report, showing a slight improvement over the previous year in terms of overfishing. According to the latest report, released during a NOAA Fisheries teleconference on April 27, 93% of stocks were not subject to overfishing in 2022 and 81% were not overfished. Those numbers compared with data showing that 92% of stocks were subject to overfishing in 2021 and 80% were not overfished. NOAA officials said positive trends were seen this year with the number of stocks on the overfishing list decreasing by two stocks to 24, and overfished stocks decreased by three to 48. NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad said the latest annual report reveals the U.S. remains a global leader in maintaining the sustainable fisheries that drive the blue econo...

NOAA Schedules Hearing on Management of Upper Cook Inlet EEZ Salmon Fishery

3May

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NOAA Schedules Hearing on Management of Upper Cook Inlet EEZ Salmon Fishery

NOAA Fisheries has announced a public webinar hearing for 5 p.m. Alaska time (6 pm PT) on May 18 to hear comments on amending the fishery management plan (FMP) to establish federal management for salmon fisheries in federal waters off Alaska’s upper Cook Inlet. NOAA Fisheries officials said they would provide a brief opening statement before accepting public testimony for the record, and that the hearing would be recorded in order to prepare transcripts of all oral comments received. The hearing is to close 15 minutes after the conclusion of public testimony and after responding to any clarifying questions from hearing participants, concluding no later than 8 p.m. Those wishing to make an oral statement during the public hearing are encouraged to also submit a written statement. The de...

Oregon Gov. Asks Commerce Dept. for Expedited Fisheries Disaster Declaration

2May

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Oregon Gov. Asks Commerce Dept. for Expedited Fisheries Disaster Declaration

Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek is asking the Department of Commerce for an expedited declaration of a federal fishery resource disaster, in the wake of a federal fisheries managers’ recommendation to close all commercial ocean fisheries for Chinook salmon from Cape Falcon to the California border. Due to recent droughts, returns of Chinook salmon to the Sacramento and Klamath rivers are expected to be very low this year. Anticipating drought-related impacts on salmon spawning, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is expected to close commercial ocean fisheries for Chinooks from Cape Falcon on the north Oregon coast to the California border through August. Biologists with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife have forecast an 82% reduction in the ex-vessel value of commercial troll...

Fishery Closure Issues on Tap for June NPFMC Meeting

26Apr

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Fishery Closure Issues on Tap for June NPFMC Meeting

Harvest specifications for Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands crab harvests and an initial review of Bristol Bay Red King Crab closure areas are on tap when federal fisheries managers convene their June 5-11 meeting in Sitka, Alaska. The meeting agenda for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) is online at https://meetings.npfmc.org/Meeting/Details/2993. The council meeting’s schedule also include reports from NPFMC’s executive director, the Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, U.S. Coast Guard, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the council’s Advisory Panel and Scientific and Statistical Committee. The Council is accepting written comments on all matters before the council and its advisory panel from May 12 through noon on June 2. Submitted com...

Sections of California Dungeness Crab Fishery to Close on April 15

5Apr

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Sections of California Dungeness Crab Fishery to Close on April 15

California fisheries officials plan to close four zones of the state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery from the Sonoma-Mendocino county line to the U.S.-Mexico border at noon on April 15 to protect humpback whales. The closure, announced March 30 by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW), impacts Zones 3, 4, 5, and 6. Zones 1 through 6 also remain under a fleet advisory for both the commercial and recreational Dungeness crab fisheries. CDFW officials said the recreational fishery remained open to crab traps north of Point Arguerllo, Santa Barbara County, but might be subject to a future trap restriction when humpback whales return to forage in the spring and summer. CDFW also reminded anglers to be prepared to quickly remove fishing gear from remaining open areas if ...

15Mar

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PFMC Offers Alternatives for 2023 West Coast Ocean Salmon Fisheries

The Pacific Fishery Management Council last week adopted three alternatives for 2023 ocean salmon fisheries off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, all in advance of its plan to make a final decision on salmon seasons during its April 1-7 meeting. Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open and catch limits for the three alternatives are on online at the council’s website: www.pcouncil.org. The council noted that forecasts for West Coast Chinook and coho stocks in 2023 are a mixed bag, with some low and high points when compared to 2022 stocks. Federal requirements to conserve Canada’s Fraser River coho, lower Columbia River natural tule Chinook, Klamath River fall Chinook and Sacramento River fall Chinook are the main constraints for this year’s ocean sal...

Report Contends that Alaska’s Fisheries are Collapsing

8Mar

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Report Contends that Alaska’s Fisheries are Collapsing

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...