Alaska/Pacific Coast
Alaska Fisheries Report KMXT by Maggie Wall - October 3, 2019 Heads up for fishermen getting relief checks for the 2016 Pink Salmon disaster. Some of the calculations are off and there is a limited time in which to appeal to get the correct amount of money. http://kmxt.org/2019/10/alaska-fisheries-report-oct-3-2019/ Amid a big fight for cod in the Bering Sea, can remote Adak survive? Alaska Public Media by Zachariah Hughes - October 3, 2019 A heap of slimy fish heads nearly filled a deep tote. Above, workers finished sorting stacks of decapitated halibut they had run through a grim mechanical apparatus. https://www.alaskapublic.org/2019/10/03/amid-a-big-fight-for-cod-in-the-bering-sea-can-small-town-adak-survive/ Alaska unemployment rate at 6.2 percent Cordova Times - October 3, 2019 Employment in Alaska has crept up an estimated 0.1 percent or August, or 400 jobs, from August 2018, putting the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate at 6.2 percent compared to the 3.7 percent national average, state labor officials say. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2019/10/03/alaska-unemployment-rate-at-6-2-percent/ This Week in Bycatch KBBI by Nancy Heise / Wikimedia - October 2, 2019 Incidental catch of king, opilio, and tanner crab by vessels targeting groundfish more than doubled for the third week in a row, according to data from onboard observers compiled by the National Marine Fisheries Service, or NMFS. Crab bycatch totaled just under two hundred and fifty thousand animals for the week ending September 21. About one hundred eighty thousand were opilio crab landed by non-pelagic trawlers fishing for yellowfin sole in Areas 514 and 524, covering the American portion of the northern Bering Sea. Vessels pot fishing for Pacific cod in Area 512 in southern Bristol Bay added seventeen thousand red king crab to the total. https://www.kbbi.org/post/week-bycatch-october-2 Voicing the Stories of Women in Alaska Fisheries NOAA Fisheries - October 1, 2019 Women work to keep fisheries sustainable, communities resilient, and traditional knowledge alive in Alaska. A new NOAA study documents women’s experience through their own stories. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/voicing-stories-women-alaska-fisheries International US to hit EU with USD 7.5 billion in tariffs; mussels, clams among seafood products affected Seafood Source by Cliff White - October 3, 2019 The United States will impose tariffs valued at USD 7.5 billion (EUR 6.8 billion) against the European Union in what it says is a response to E.U. subsidies to aerospace firm Airbus that broke World Trade Organization rules. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/us-to-hit-eu-with-usd-7-5-billion-in-tariffs-mussels-clams-among-seafood-products-affected Russian Seafood Industry Prepares for Huge Tax Increases in 2020 SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - October 4, 2019 The level of tax burden on fish producers in Russia may significantly increase this year, mainly due to industry tax reforms, which are prepared by the local government, according to recent statements of leading local fishermen and industry analysts. As part of the reform, new increased tax rates for the use of fish and seafood in Russia will come into force on January 1, 2020, and may cost the local seafood industry millions of dollars of additional payments. Such calculations have been recently made by the experts of the All-Russian Association of Fisheries Enterprises, Entrepreneurs and Exporters (VARPE). They say total fees for the use of aquatic biological resources in Russia may grow from RUB 2.24 billion (~$35 million USD) in 2018 to almost RUB 52.5 billion (~$812 million USD) in 2020, while the total annual tax burden on the industry may increase from the current RUB 46 billion (~$712 million USD) to almost RUB 100 billion (~$1.5 billion USD). As part of these plans, the new tax rates in the Russian fishing industry will be set on the basis of the rates of inflation in Russia since 2004, taking into account the level of profitability of the catch for each type of fish and seafood. According to analysts, the use of this approach will automatically result in the growth of tax rates in the industry by 3 to 4 times, compared to the current rates. Moreover, the government also has plans to abolish the existing tax benefits and preferences for so-called collective fish enterprises, guilds and other similar enterprises, most of which are small and medium size organizations. The majority of these enterprises operate in remote coastal regions of Russia, providing jobs to local inhabitants. So far, they have paid only 15% of the existing tax rate. However, it is expected, the existing preferences for them will be annulled starting next year. According to the VARPE, more than 80 such enterprises operate in Russia, which produce about 600,000-650,000 tonnes of fish annually, or about 12% of the overall Russian catch. The proposed changes will be the third major reform in the Russian seafood industry in the last three years. The first reform started in 2016 and involved the introduction of quotas for investment purposes, while the second one was completed only recently and involved the introduction of auctions in the Russian crab industry. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1153840/Russian-Seafood-Industry-Prepares-for-Huge-Tax-Increases-in-2020 Environment/Science Ocean-based climate action urged in new United Nations report Seafood Source by Bernadette Carreon - October 3, 2019 Ocean-based solutions can play an important role in the fight against climate change, according to a new scientific report published last week at the United Nations Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit in New York City, U.S.A. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/ocean-based-climate-action-urged-in-new-united-nations-report NOAA awards $10.2 million for harmful algal bloom research Projects will help improve efforts to protect marine resources, public health and coastal economies NOAA Fisheries - October 1, 2019 NOAA will fund 12 new research projects around the country to better understand and predict harmful algal blooms (HABs) and improve our collective response to them. https://www.noaa.gov/media-release/noaa-awards-102-million-for-harmful-algal-bloom-research FYI’s Ocean cleanup device successfully collects plastic for first time The Guardian by Daniel Boffey - October 3, 2019 Floating boom finally retains debris from the Great Pacific Garbage Patch, creator says A huge floating device designed by Dutch scientists to clean up an island of rubbish in the Pacific Ocean that is three times the size of France has successfully picked up plastic from the high seas for the first time. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/oct/03/ocean-cleanup-device-successfully-collects-plastic-for-first-time
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