Daily Online Update, Thursday - February 9, 2012

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Alaska/Pacific Coast

N. Pacific Council considering individual vessel bycatch quotas in Gulf of Alaska (Video)

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS (Video produced with Waterfront Associates LLC) Feb 9. 2012
Chris Oliver, Executive Director of the N. Pacific Council, continues discussing bycatch issues, which are a major issue before the council. He says that they are considering a proposal that would give individual vessels by-catch allowances for halibut in the Gulf of Alaska; also the council is taking up chum salmon bycatch which may also result in changes in the Gulf of Alaska fishery, and is looking at other sources of salmon bycatch beyond the pollock fleet.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5R_Jc6t0544&list=UU-4HWZkkvzbpkiFpRfrB3pQ&index=2&feature=plcp

New bycatch rules for Alaskan pollock fishery should help Yukon River king salmon stocks

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [CBC] February 9, 2012

In Alaska, people who keep a close eye on fisheries think there's good news for future king salmon runs on the Yukon River. This past fall, Alaska imposed tough new regulations on the by-catch of king salmon by the pollock fishery. By-catch is fish caught unintentionally in a fishery while intending to catch other fish. The Alaska Renewable Resource Coalition said that last year, Alaska’s Pollock fishery scooped up more than 50,000 king salmon. The new rules should cut that by-catch by more than half. The coalition hopes it will lead to a healthy return of king salmon. “When you put those regulations in, the fishermen tend to go and update or improve their fishing gear and that has, I think, that will definitely help the king salmon fishery in the future. They are very tasty and lovely to catch and a lot of people certainly rely on them so I think anything we can do to help improve that and make sure they get all the way up the river and meet the allotments that are supposed to reach the Canadian border would certainly be helpful,” said Melissa Heure from the Alaska Renewable Resource Coalition. Heure cautions that it could take a few runs with the new regulations in place before the king salmon numbers return to normal on the Yukon River.

NPFMC Relaxes Reporting Requirements for Crab Fishery

KUCB.org, February 7, 2012

Enlarge imageThe North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted over the weekend to relax economic data reporting requirements for the Bering Sea-Aleutian Islands crab fisheries.  Mark Fina, the Council’s senior economic advisor, testified that many of the current requirements are duplicated elsewhere or are not reliable enough for use by analysts.

http://kucb.org/post/npfmc-relaxes-reporting-requirements-crab-fishery

Timelines Proposed for Impact Statement on Steller Sea Lion Regulations

KUCB.org, February 9, 2012

The National Marine Fisheries Service is asking for at least 15 months to assess the impact of their Steller sea lion protection measures.

http://www.kucb.org/post/timelines-proposed-impact-statement-steller-sea-lion-regulations

Environment & Science

New source detected for sonar that's troubling whales: Canada's navy

The Seattle Times, February 8, 2012

Whale advocates are troubled to discover that a Canadian Navy frigate was using sonar off San Juan Island in an area popular with endangered killer whales.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2017460670_sonar09m.html

Study finds rising ocean acidity worst for Caribbean and Pacific

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Environmental News Network] - February 9, 2012 -
The current trend of increasing ocean acidification, which threatens fisheries around the world, is driven mainly by man-made changes and is higher even than that seen at the end of the last ice age, some 11,000 year ago, a study has said. Much of the carbon released by human activity ends up in the oceans, increasing their acidity and reducing the growth of corals and molluscs, which in turn may affect fisheries and aquaculture. Fisheries in the Pacific and the Caribbean may suffer the most — in these regions, man-made acidification has already caused a 30-fold increase in the natural variation in ocean acidity, according to a study published in Nature Climate Change last month (22 January). Regional acidification far exceeds pre-industrial levels, and coral calcification (growth) rates may have fallen by 15 per cent in the western tropical Pacific and the Caribbean, the study shows.

FYI’s

Letter: MSC strongly denies it is conducting negative campaign against Alaska Salmon

SEAFOOD.COM NEWS [Letters] Feb 9, 2012
To: Editor and Publisher SeafoodNews.com
Dear John,
I realize that many of your recent published pieces and videocasts are editorials and thus your opinion to which you are, of course, entitled. There is no basis at all, however, for accusations that the Marine Stewardship Council is engaged in a negative campaign or is maligning the Alaska salmon industry. (Article and Video, Friday Feb 3rd). We take strong exception to that inaccurate characterization of the MSC around Alaska salmon. The MSC has not initiated or participated in any campaign against Alaska, the salmon fishery, salmon companies, Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the men and women in the Alaska fishing industry or anyone else. We continue to respect and value these partnerships. We have received many inquiries from media and partners and have responded by providing factual information. Statements made by retailers, conservation organizations and others are their views and are of their own volition. When the MSC was informed that eight of the 43 companies in the client group had withdrawn their support and the fishery was being withdrawn from assessment, MSC said in its first statement, and in every subsequent statement, media interview, meeting and conversation, that MSC values the longstanding participation of the Alaska salmon fishery in the program and hopes the fishery will choose to continue. That remains our view. The only accurate characterization of the MSC is that from the outset, we have said nothing negative about the Alaska salmon fishery and we continue to hope the fishery will be re-entered into assessment for a third certification.

Sincerely,
Kerry Coughlin,
Regional Director, Americas
Marine Stewardship Council

ADF&G News:

Alaska Board of Fisheries to Meet in Ketchikan February 24-March 4, 2012

NOAA Fisheries:

2012 Information Bulletins – February:

12. NMFS Reallocates Pacific Cod from Vessels Using Jig Gear to Catcher Vessels Less Than 60 Feet Length Overall Using Hook-And-Line or Pot Gear.

11. NMFS Reallocates Pacific Cod from Vessels Using Jig Gear to Catcher Vessels Less Than 60 Feet Length Overall Using Hook-And-Line or Pot Gear.

2012 Federal Register Rules and Regulations:

Community Development Quota (CDQ):77 FR 6492, February 8, 2012 Final rule to revise CDQ regulations associated with recordkeeping, vessel licensing, catch retention requirements, and fisheries observer requirements to ensure that they are no more restrictive than the regulations in effect for comparable non-CDQ fisheries managed under individual fishing quotas or cooperative allocations. Effective March 9, 2012.

Fur Seals:77 FR 6682, February 9, 2012 Final estimates for fur seal subsistence needs for 2011 through 2013, and the annual fur seal subsistence harvest numbers for St. George and St. Paul Islands for 2008 to 2010. Effective March 12, 2012.

Nancy Diaz

Administrative Assistant/Bookkeeper

Pacific Seafood Processors Association

1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205,

Seattle, WA 98119

Phone: 206.281.1667

E-mail: nancy@pspafish.net

Website: www.pspafish.net

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