Alaska/Pacific Coast
Dutch Harbor crash aftermath disrupts crab season National Fisherman by Kirk Moore - October 24, 2019 Port operations are slowly returning to normal after the Oct. 17 air crash at the Unalaska-Dutch Harbor airport, but regular passenger flights between it and Anchorage remained suspended Wednesday amid the continuing investigation into the accident that killed a passenger. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/alaska/dutch-harbor-crash-aftermath-disrupts-crab-season/ Regional hatchery operator may consider allocation changes KRBD by Maria Dudzak - October 23, 2019 A Ketchikan nonprofit operating regional fish hatcheries says it needs to make some changes, which could include offering fewer salmon for commercial fishermen next year. https://www.krbd.org/2019/10/23/regional-hatchery-operator-considers-allocation-changes/ Tribes, First Nations declare salmon emergency Sanderson: It’s always the tribes working on this Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - October 23, 2019 Indigenous governments in Southeast Alaska and Washington, with First Nations in British Columbia, have declared a salmon emergency and are calling for representation in all government decisions impacting their territories. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2019/10/23/tribes-first-nations-declare-salmon-emergency/ International Trade War Taking a Toll on Seafood Industries in Both the U.S. and China SeafoodNews.com by Amy Zhong - October 23, 2019 After President Trump initiated a trade war against China, drastic changes have occurred to the trading between these two large economies. Both parties are suffering with no winner from either country, according to several media reports, and the seafood industry is among the biggest victims. Industry participants in both countries are feeling the pressure. In China, for example, tilapia prices have decreased due to the coming harvest season and America’s higher tariffs. According to one processing plant in Zhanjiang, the price of live tilapias has contracted from 8.7 yuan per kg ($1.23/kg USD) this July to 8.2 yuan ($1.16/kg USD) now. Local farmers are not so willing to continue farming operations due to market prices being close to costs. Prices in Hainan are even lower and have dropped to about 5.8 yuan ($0.82/kg USD) from 7.8 yuan per kg ($1.10/kg USD). Processing plants in China are trying hard to find a solution to declining prices, while consumers in America are paying more. Statistics point to a price increase of about 10% there in this early September compared with August. Uncertainties overshadow their trade for the president is likely to announce to change tariffs in one tweet. One seafood exporter in China said that they are luckier, and its tilapia export this year is expected to be close to that of last year, around 2,000 containers. But they are far from relieved, and they are developing other products. Several large companies in China have made similar choices for their operations. The situation is also tough for seafood sellers in the U.S. One lobster exporter said he entered the Chinese market about five years ago, and this market helped increase its sales by nearly 40%. He even built a warehouse specifically for live lobster storage. But now with new tariffs, he is teetering, while his Canadian rivals have gained a competitive edge in China. He used to fly lobsters to China frequently to satisfy demand there, but now his revenue has dropped by more than USD $6 million during the first half year. He receives no orders from China and his staff used to work for about 60 hours per week, but now it is less than 40 hours. This is just too much, he is reported as saying. Currently, other lobster companies, especially those in Maine, have encountered similar problems. Statistics show Maine’s export to China ballooned by 169% in the first half of 2018, but after China fought back with retaliatory tariffs, their export is reported to have plummeted by 84%. U.S. exports spent great effort developing that oriental market, however, now the market seems out of reach. Moreover, it is difficult to find substitute export markets for the Chinese market, and the domestic demand is limited. In the future, lobster sellers in America may be dragged into a price war with competitors from countries like Canada in such markets as the E.U. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1155317/Trade-War-Taking-a-Toll-on-Seafood-Industries-in-Both-the-US-and-China Environment/Science Fish Habitat “Realtors” Keep Sustainable Seafood on your Plate NOAA Fisheries - October 22, 2019 NOAA Fisheries works to identify and protect essential fish habitat—areas that fish call home. By doing so, we ensure that there’s sustainable seafood for dinner! https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/fish-habitat-realtors-keep-sustainable-seafood-your-plate Why is Bristol Bay’s salmon run so resilient? Environmental Defense Fund by Rod Fujita and Merrick Burden - October 24, 2019 Editor’s note: This is the fifth in a multi-part blog series, Fisheries for the Future, examining the impacts from climate change on global fisheries and the opportunities to address these emerging challenges. Throughout the series, we’ll be investigating how climate change will impact the world’s supply and distribution of fish and what we can do to ensure the most sustainable future for ourselves and our planet. http://blogs.edf.org/edfish/2019/10/24/why-is-bristol-bays-salmon-run-so-resilient/ NOAA backs new national effort to predict, respond to algae blooms National Fisherman - October 22, 2019 Harmful algae blooms that shut down fisheries and sicken people are the target of new research funding from National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) across the nation. https://www.seafoodsource.com/national-fisherman/new-national-effort-to-predict-respond-to-algae-blooms?utm_source=marketo&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_content=newsletter&mkt_tok=eyJpIjoiTm1Ka056TTNPV0ZpTm1JNSIsInQiOiJHcEFSTEkzcXoxVW5ZZG15WE04M1g4dkdFaW9rWFNCRFUzWWY0dTNSbjVqd2pIbXc3RUhheTlBNTRnYm9YNXZyZE5lb0hXVXVSMVVXd0xsQTNWNTVmeHNaNEV0Zm8weWNHRnRKeUVqTEtcL2MyaFpcL1RGMzA4dWpONXRpSlE3dEowIn0%3D New UAF climate report highlights rapidly changing Alaska ecosystems KMXT by Kavitha George - October 23, 2019 Alaska has been breaking so many climate records over the last five years, it suggests we’ve crossed a threshold into increasingly rapid ecosystem changes. That’s according to a new report by Rick Thoman and John Walsh, scientists at the International Arctic Research Center at the University of Alaska Fairbanks. http://kmxt.org/2019/10/new-uaf-climate-report-highlights-rapidly-changing-alaska-ecosystems/ FYI’s Book chronicles history of Southeast salmon canneries KRBD by Maria Dudzak - October 23, 2019 Karen Holfstad spent 50 years collecting stories, labels and other items to tell the story of fishing in Southeast from the late 1800’s to today. She stopped by KRBD to share her book “Tin Can Country: Southeast Alaska’s Historic Salmon Canneries.” https://www.krbd.org/2019/10/23/book-chronicles-the-history-of-southeast-salmon-canneries/ Uptick in scombroid poisoning from fish spooks Alaska health officials SeafoodSource by Ben Fisher - October 23, 2019 Alaskan health officials are concerned about an increase in scombroid poisoning from fish and some are pointing the finger at Alaska’s unusually warm summer, according to an Alaskan Public Media report. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/food-safety-health/uptick-in-scombroid-poisoning-from-fish-spooks-alaska-health-officials
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