International
Marine Stewardship Council Opens Ocean Stewardship Fund Open for Applications Urner Barry by Ryan Doyle - October 8, 2020 Fisheries, scientists, NGOs and postgraduates were invited by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) to apply for grants from its Ocean Stewardship Fund (OSF) 2021. The OSF is a fund dedicated to supporting best practices in sustainable fishing. Awards of £5,000 to £50,000 are available across five different strands of funding within the Ocean Stewardship Fund. MSC’s two priorities for the Science and Research section of the Fund are fisheries’ harvest strategies to ensure effective stock management, and research focused on improvements in bait fisheries. The MSC said, “Driving progress in both areas will help accelerate the uptake of sustainable fishing practices.” “The MSC wants to use its Oceans Stewardship Fund to contribute to the acceleration of this much needed transition by funding and supporting research and projects that tackle the challenges facing the global fishing industry,” said MSC CEO Rupert Howes said. “We recognize that, collectively, the actions we all take will make a difference and can help to safeguard our oceans for future generations.” Another strand, the Innovation portion, will focus on fishery observers. With so many fisheries relying on observers to collect fishery management evidence and the MSC has already committed £100,000 for research to identify safety improvements. “We have seen incredible progress in sustainable fishing but more needs to be done and now to ensure our oceans remain productive and resilient in the face of the growing pressures and demands placed on them,” Howes said. “The clock is ticking and we are not on track to deliver the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal 14, aimed at conserving the oceans, seas and marine resources by 2030.” Grants are also available to support small-scale fisheries and fisheries in the developing world as well as to existing certified fisheries that have already made long-standing sustainability commitments, the MSC noted. In all, the MSC expects to have £1 million available in the 2021 OSF. The fund, which is now in its second year of operation, is supported annually by royalties earned from the sale of products carrying the MSC ‘blue fish’ label. The OSF awarded £650,000 to 15 projects and fisheries last year. Projects focused on tackling lost fishing gear and research into how to limit impacts on endangered, threatened, or protected species. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1182457/Marine-Stewardship-Council-Opens-Ocean-Stewardship-Fund-Open-for-Applications Environment/Science What Happened to the Pollock Born in 2015? NOAA Fisheries - October 08, 2020 New study sheds light on myriad factors that likely contributed to low survival rate of fish born during a Blob year in the Gulf of Alaska. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/what-happened-pollock-born-2015 Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/09/2020 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for pollock in Statistical Area 610 in the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the D season allowance of the 2020 total allowable catch (TAC) of pollock for Statistical Area 610 in the GOA. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/09/2020-22428/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pollock-in-statistical-area-610-in-the-gulf-of North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/08/2020 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Charter Halibut Management Committee will meet via webconference on October 27, 2020. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2020/10/08/2020-22302/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting FYI’s At last, Cordova gets its Coast Guard City ceremony Cordova Times by Zachary Snowdon Smith - October 8, 2020 Rear Admiral Matthew T. Bell and Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, will be among the VIPs participating in a public ceremony at 6 p.m., Friday, Oct. 9, formally recognizing Cordova as a Coast Guard City. Although the city was awarded the designation in September 2019, a formal ceremony was delayed when visiting officials’ travel plans were stymied, first by severe weather and then by the coronavirus pandemic. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2020/10/08/at-last-cordova-gets-its-coast-guard-city-ceremony/ Meet the Fishermen Involved in Cooperative Research NOAA Fisheries - October 7, 2020 Partnerships and collaborations with our region’s commercial fishing industry help us better understand ocean ecosystems and improve fisheries management. Meet a few of our cooperative research partners making that happen. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/meet-fishermen-involved-cooperative-research
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.