Alaska
Good pink salmon catches help push Alaska’s total salmon catch over 90 million Anchorage Daily News by Laine Welch - August 19, 2020 Good pink salmon catches at Kodiak, Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet helped push Alaska’s total salmon catch over the 90 million mark, or about 65% of the 132 million salmon target for 2020. https://www.adn.com/business-economy/2020/08/18/good-pink-salmon-catches-help-push-alaskas-total-salmon-catch-over-90-million/ Alaska Symphony of Seafood Calls for New Products for 2020-21 and Gets New Bristol Bay Sponsor SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - August 18, 2020 Wrangell, AK — The Alaska Symphony of Seafood is on for this year with a new sponsor and an expanded initiative. The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) has joined the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation (AFDF) as a major sponsor of the event and two new product categories have been added: Salmon and Whitefish products. Since 1994, AFDF has hosted and organized the “Symphony”, a competition for value‐added products made from Alaska seafood. The Symphony invites companies to invest in product development, helps them promote those new products and competitively positions Alaska Seafood in national and global markets. Deadline for entries into the 2020-21 competition is October 06, 2020. Product categories will now be Salmon and Whitefish, Retail, Food Service and Beyond the Plate. Product entries can be submitted for all qualified categories and are eligible for multiple awards. Special awards categories are Grand Prize, Seattle People’s Choice, Juneau People’s Choice and the Bristol Bay Choice. These new categories will allow for more opportunities for product awards, promotion and recognition, including increased exposure for products out of Bristol Bay. A key part of the Symphony’s expansion this year is showcasing first-place winners from each category, plus special awards and the Grand Prize winner at Seafood Expo North American in Boston. The winners will receive booth space at the show and entry into their national new product competition, the Seafood Excellence Awards, as well as airfare to and from the show provided by event sponsor, Alaska Air Cargo. AFDF believes it is the perfect time to invest in the innovation of new products through increased partnerships, marketing and promotions for the Symphony. Seafood products with new product fors, from new species, and responding to new sectors, such as salmon baby food or kelp hot sauce, position the industry to remain competitive and relevant to consumers, which is especially important in today’s COVID-19 market. Alaska's seafood industry has invested heavily in quality improvements (both during harvesting and processing) and processing equipment, increasing the capacity to create new products. Across the industry, the quality and sophistication of the new products in the last few years has reached a new level. Previous winners and entrants have leveraged the Symphony platform and continue to see increased sales and market exposure of their products. Bullwhip Hot Sauce, by Barnacle Foods, was a triple winner last year (Retail category, Juneau People’s Choice and Grand Prize). Upon receiving the Grand Prize, Barnacle Foods commented, “When [Alaska] kelp is paired with piri piri pepper, tomatoes, and fresh garlic, the delicious flavor makes you want to put this sauce on everything! The Alaska Symphony of Seafood encourages all seafood processors to prioritize innovation in product development.” In order to participate in the Symphony, products must be market ready—in commercial production by the date of the event. The Call for Product[https://www.afdf.org/wp-content/uploads/ASOS-CFP-2021-full-V6-revision.pdf] will describe benefits, rules and guidelines. The AFDF website [https://www.afdf.org/projects/current-projects/symphony-of-seafood/] offers more information on the Symphony, including sponsorship opportunities and upcoming dates. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1178537/Alaska-Symphony-of-Seafood-Calls-for-New-Products-for-2020-21-and-Gets-New-Bristol-Bay-Sponsor West Coast B.C. Indigenous leaders call for closure of all Fraser River sockeye fisheries Times Colonist by The Canadian Press - August 18, 2020 VANCOUVER — First Nations groups in British Columbia are calling on the federal fisheries minister to issue an emergency order to close all sockeye fisheries on the Fraser River. https://www.timescolonist.com/b-c-indigenous-leaders-call-for-closure-of-all-fraser-river-sockeye-fisheries-1.24188529 Seattle fishing boat outbreak suggests antibodies protect against coronavirus infection Seattle Times by Sandi Doughton - August 18, 2020 Crew members from a Seattle-based fishing boat that experienced an explosive outbreak of the novel coronavirus have serendipitously provided what could be the first direct evidence that antibodies can protect people from reinfection. https://www.seattletimes.com/seattle-news/health/seattle-fishing-boat-outbreak-suggests-antibodies-protect-against-coronavirus-infection/ International Russia Hopes for Increased Pollock Catch During Forthcoming Fishing Season SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - August 19, 2020 Leading Russian pollock producers are preparing for a new fishing season this year, which is scheduled for October-December, according to recent statements, made by representatives of producers and some local analysts in the field of fishing. Traditionally, the majority of the planned catch will account for the Okhotsk and Bering seas, which are historical centers of pollock catch in Russia. As Evgeny Ovsyannikov, Head of the Pollock and Herring Laboratory of the Pacific Fisheries Research Center (TINRO), one of Russia’s largest centers in the field of fisheries, said in an interview with EastRussia, the Russian Far-East-based business paper, at present the pollock stock in both seas is estimated at significantly higher the average figures, which may contribute to good catch this year. In regard to the Sea of Okhotsk, as analysts expect the pollock stock in the sea will begin to decline starting from 2023-2024, which may lead to the reduction of catches by this time and after this. As for the Bering sea, the reserves of Russian pollock is expected to remain on the level of 400,000-450,000 a year for the next several years. In the next five to 10 years, pollock will continue to be one of the most important fish items for the Russian Far Eastern fishermen. Unlike such fish species as saithe, iwasi sardine and mackerel, whose catch depends on the ways of their migration to Russian waters, pollock traditionally lives in Russian waters. Due to this, scientists of TINRO expect within the next 5-10 years, pollock will continue to remain one of the most important fish species, caught in Russian waters. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1178640/Russia-Hopes-for-Increased-Pollock-Catch-During-Forthcoming-Fishing-Season Environment/Science Alaska's salmon are getting smaller, affecting people and ecosystems Phys.org by University of California - Santa Cruz - August 19, 2020 The size of salmon returning to rivers in Alaska has declined dramatically over the past 60 years because they are spending fewer years at sea, according to a new study led by researchers at the University of California, Santa Cruz, and the University of Alaska Fairbanks. https://phys.org/news/2020-08-alaska-salmon-smaller-affecting-people.html FYI’s Southeast fisherman says he’ll donate a boatload of salmon to Metlakatla community once a week KRBD by Eric Stone - August 14, 2020 A Southeast fisherman says he’s donating a day’s salmon catch every week to help feed his Annette Island community. https://www.krbd.org/2020/08/14/southeast-fisherman-says-hell-donate-a-boatload-of-salmon-to-metlakatla-community-once-a-week/
Pacific Seafood Processors Association 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.