Alaska/Pacific Coast
Loss of fish landing tax would have ‘great effect’ on Kodiak community KMXT by Maggie Wall - April 15, 2019 Fish tax is collected at dock and sent to state. Traditionally, half comes back to city and borough. Governor Mike Dunleavy proposes the state keep it all. http://kmxt.org/2019/04/loss-of-fish-landing-tax-would-have-great-effect-on-kodiak-community/ Alaska dominates U.S. seafood industry Clarksburg Caller by Marisa Monroe - April 11, 2019 Alaska is the nation’s superpower when it comes to seafood. American fishermen landed just shy of 10 billion pounds of fish and shellfish last year valued at $5.4 billion, both up slightly from 2016. Of that, Alaska accounted for 61 percent of total landings (6 billion pounds) and 33 percent of the value ($1.8 billion). https://clarksburgcaller.com/alaska-dominates-u-s-seafood-industry/63780/ International Russian Pollock Producers Ready for Expansion in Brazil SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - April 16, 2019 Leading Russian pollock producers, together with the domestic fish authorities, have confirmed their earlier announced plans for the beginning of a massive expansion into the Latin American region within the next several years. As part of these plans, a particular attention will be paid for the increase of pollock exports, including value-added products, to the Brazilian market, where the demand for whitefish has significantly increased in recent years. According to earlier statements of Alexey Bulgak, the vice-president of the Russian Pollock Association (ADM), the consumption of pollock products in Brazil for the last six years has declined from about 60,000 tons to only 20,000 tonnes in 2019. That was mainly due to the relatively low quality of its imports that, so far, have primarily come from China. In this regard, the Russian pollock producers plan to fill a vacant niche already this year. According to experts of the Pollock Association, implementation of these plans is also possible due to a trade agreement signed between Russia and Brazil in June 2017, that resulted in lifting bureaucratic delays and strengthening trade relations between the two countries. In general, in recent years, Russia has achieved great success in the development of domestic pollock processing. This is reflected by statistics of the Russian Pollock Association that noted Russia produced about 65,000 tonnes of frozen pollock in blocks, of which about 25,000-30,000 tonnes were sent to the domestic market last year. According to experts of the Association, by 2025, the production of pollock fillets and minced blocks in Russia will increase up to 225,000 tonnes, which will allow it to start its large-scale exports to abroad. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1138404/Russian-Pollock-Producers-Ready-for-Expansion-in-Brazil Environment/Science As Pebble hearings continue, large turnouts and varied testimony KDLG by Isabelle Ross - April 15, 2019 The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers continued its series of public hearings on the proposed Pebble Mine and the project’s draft environmental review last week. Nondalton saw mixed testimony, while in Dillingham and Homer, many people spoke to longstanding concerns about the project. https://www.kdlg.org/post/pebble-hearings-continue-large-turnouts-and-varied-testimony#stream/0 How Scientists Are Using Real-Time Data to Help Fishermen Avoid Bycatch Using a strategy called dynamic ocean management, researchers are creating tools to forecast where fish will be—and where endangered species won’t be Smithsonian by Rachel Kaufman - April 12, 2019 From 1990 to 2000, fishermen seeking swordfish off the coast of California accidentally caught and killed over 100 leatherback and loggerhead sea turtles, and injured many more. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/how-scientists-are-using-real-time-data-to-help-fisherman-avoid-bycatch-180971931/ Federal Register Western Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/15/2019 The Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) will hold meetings of its Protected Species Advisory Committee (PSAC), Archipelagic Fishery Ecosystem Plan (FEP) Team (APT), Pelagics FEP Plan Team (PPT), and the Fishery Data Collection and Research Committee—Data Technical Sub-Committee (FDCRC-DTC) to discuss fishery issues and develop recommendations for future management of archipelagic, pelagic and protected species. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/04/15/2019-07450/western-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meetings North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/15/2019 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Community Engagement Committee (CEC) will hold a teleconference on April 29, 2019. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/04/15/2019-07446/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone off Alaska; Halibut Deck Sorting Monitoring Requirements for Trawl Catcher/Processors Operating in Non-Pollock Groundfish Fisheries off Alaska A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/16/2019 NMFS proposes regulations to implement catch handling and monitoring requirements to allow Pacific halibut (halibut) bycatch to be sorted on the deck of trawl catcher/processors and motherships participating in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries off Alaska. Halibut bycatch is required to be discarded and returned to the sea with a minimum of injury in the directed groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) and Gulf of Alaska (GOA) management areas. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2019/04/16/2019-07179/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-halibut-deck-sorting-monitoring-requirements-for
Ann Owens Pacific Seafood Processors Association Office Manager 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: pspafish@gmail.com; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.