Alaska/Pacific Coast
Sockeye harvests wind down; pinks and chums slow going Alaska Journal of Commerce by Elizabeth Earl - August 14, 2019 As Alaska’s salmon fisheries transition away from sockeye and kings to pinks and chums, the harvest results so far look mixed. http://www.alaskajournal.com/2019-08-14/sockeye-harvests-wind-down-pinks-and-chums-slow-going In hot water: Ghost fish clog nets in Alaska’s Bristol Bay National Fisherman by Brian Hagenbuch - August 13, 2019 The 2018 season in Alaska’s Bristol Bay was the most lucrative in the fishery’s 126 years of recorded history. Final numbers are still out for 2019, but a larger catch and higher base price mean it should top last year’s record-setting $281 million in ex-vessel value. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/alaska/in-hot-water-ghost-fish-clog-nets-in-alaskas-bristol-bay/ Pink salmon harvests are poor in northern Southeast Alaska but average in southern areas KFSK by Angela Denning - August 14, 2019 Southeast Alaska’s pink salmon harvest is turning out to be what managers expected but where the fish are returning isn’t consistent. KFSK’s Angela Denning reports from Petersburg: https://www.kfsk.org/2019/08/14/pink-salmon-harvests-are-poor-in-northern-southeast-alaska-but-average-in-southern-areas/ Helping threatened coho salmon could generate hundreds of millions in non-market economic benefits Science Daily - August 14, 2019 A new study provides evidence that increasing the abundance of a threatened or endangered species can deliver large benefits to the citizens of the Pacific Northwest. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/08/190814144508.htm International Salmon and Cod Dropped from USTR’s New List for Additional 10% Tariff on Imports from China SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - August 14, 2019 Washington, DC - The trade war with China continues as the United States Trade Representative (USTR) yesterday released the fourth list of additional 10% tariffs on an estimated $300 billion of Chinese imports. The only seafood product on the new list is frozen or chilled pollock fillets, a trio of Harmonized Codes that describe mostly Russian-caught pollock. USTR split the list for those for which the tariff would be implemented September 1 and others, notably computers, cell phones, and pollock, that would not see increased tariffs until December 15, 2019. Salmon, cod, and haddock, which all appeared on an August 1, 2019 list released by the USTR, have been taken off the current list. The listing of “Alaska pollock” (see specific descriptions below) targets mostly Russian-caught pollock that is exported to China for processing and then exported to the U.S. The announcement reflected the dynamic nature of President Trump’s use of tariffs against China as punishment for violating Sections 301 through 310 of the Trade Act of 1974, including China’s policies on intellectual property. “On May 17, 2019, USTR published a list of products imported from China that would be potentially subject to an additional 10 percent tariff. This new tariff will go into effect on September 1 as announced by President Trump on August 1,” the announcement explained. However, “Certain products are being removed from the tariff list based on health, safety, national security and other factors and will not face additional tariffs of 10 percent. “Further, as part of USTR’s public comment and hearing process, it was determined that the tariff should be delayed to December 15 for certain articles. Products in this group include, for example, cell phones, laptop computers, video game consoles, certain toys, computer monitors, and certain items of footwear and clothing,” the announcement added. Trump elaborated later that the delayed implementation “might have an impact on people, what we’ve done is we’ve delayed it, so that they won’t be relevant to the Christmas shopping season.” The comment is a reversal from his long-held position that tariffs are paid to the U.S. by Chinese exporters. “We’re doing this for the Christmas season,” Trump says, “just in case some of the tariffs would have an impact on U.S. customers.” The current list includes pollock as follows: 0304.75.10 Frozen Alaska pollack fillets, skinned, in blocks weighing over 4.5 kg, to be minced, ground or cut 0304.75.50 Fillets, frozen, of Alaska pollock, other than above 0304.94.10 Alaska pollack chilled or frozen fillets,in bulk or in immediate containers weighing with their contents over 6.8 kg each The USTR also noted that it “intends to conduct an exclusion process for products subject to the additional tariff.” and that they will “publish in the Federal Register as soon as possible additional details and lists of the tariff lines affected by this announcement.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1149758/Salmon-and-Cod-Dropped-from-USTRs-New-List-for-Additional-10-percent-Tariff-on-Imports-from-China Environment/Science NOAA Recommends Five Pacific Northwest Projects for Funding Fishermen's News - August 14, 2019 Five Pacific Northwest projects that would improve wild salmon habitat have been recommended for funding through NOAA’s community-based restoration program coastal and marine habitat restoration grants. http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2019/08/noaa-recommends-five-pacific-northwest.html FYI’s Valdez harbor expansion provides much needed room for fishing vessels. KTUU by Hank Davis - August 12, 2019 VALDEZ, Alaska (KTUU)- The city of Valdez has been out of room in its 500-slip harbor for decades. The result, according to Valdez Ports and Harbors Director Jeremy Talbott, was a crowded, dangerous cluster of commercial fishing vessels and recreational crafts fighting for space. https://www.ktuu.com/content/news/Valdez-harbor-expansion-provides-much-needed-room-for-fishing-vessels-538453551.html
Ann Owens Pacific Seafood Processors Association Office Manager 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; 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.