Friday, April 1, 2022

Alaska After a four-year hiatus, Southeast’s winter troll season returns to April KCAW by Robert Woolsey - March 31, 2022 Commercial trolling for king salmon will reopen on April 3 on the outside waters of Southeast Alaska, and could remain open for most of the month, following an emergency order by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game on Wednesday (3-30-22). https://www.kcaw.org/2022/03/31/after-a-four-year-hiatus-southeasts-winter-troll-season-returns-to-april/ Alaska Fisheries Report March 31, 2022 KMXT - March 31, 2022 On this week’s Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: The Board of Fish bans sockeye spearfishing in Sitka. Homer fisherman Michael Heimbuch is the Governor’s new nominee to the Board of Fish. And a fisherman competition caps Comfish. https://kmxt.org/2022/03/alaska-fisheries-report-march-31-2022/ International Russia to Revise Quotas With U.S. in Bering Sea SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - April 1, 2022 Amid the ever deteriorating relations with the West, Russian authorities are considering revising quotas for fishing in the Bering Sea, particularly those, which were agreed by Russia and the U.S. almost 32 years ago. At that period of time 80% of the overall resource, or 1.4 million tonnes annually, were provided to the U.S. fishermen. Now the Russian Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) is proposing to give 50% of quotas to Russian companies, which will allow them to double their catch in this area. The fishing area in the Bering Sea was divided between Russia and the U.S. as far back as in 1990 by an agreement signed by the then head of the USSR Foreign Ministry Eduard Shevardnadze and U.S. Secretary of State James Baker. This document delimited economic zones between the USSR and the U.S. on the continental shelf in the Bering and Chukchi Seas. Later, Russia, as the legal successor of the USSR, became a party to the agreement. As a result, Russian fishermen got about 20% of the Bering Sea fish reserves, or 400,000 tons per year. The remaining 80%, or 1.4 million tons, were allocated to the U.S. fisherman. In accordance with the latest proposal of Ilya Shestakov, head of Rosrybolovstvo, the total allowable catch (TAC) for Russian fishermen in the Bering sea should be increased, otherwise Russia may completely abandon the existing quotas’ agreements. One of the options involves fixing quotas on the parity basis at the level of 50% to 50%. That would allow Russian fishermen to increase production by 2–2.5 times in this area. Representatives of Rosrybolvstvo have confirmed that they had conducted a study of a possible increase in TAC in the Bering Sea and its results will be sent for environmental review. In the meantime, according to Alexei Ositsnev, head of the Association of Fishing Fleet Owners of Russia, in recent years there have been fewer large fish and more juveniles in the Bering Sea. As he said in an interview with the Russian Kommersant business paper, it would be more reasonable to agree the reduction in the TAC for the United States, and not the increase of volumes for the Russian side. Other analysts, however, expect the revision of quotas and the increase of catch by Russia may lead to a sharp drop in prices in major consumption markets, which is "critical in an environment of instability" and may have a negative effect on those fishermen, which already conduct catch in this area. As Alexey Buglak, head of the Russian Pollock Association told in an interview with Kommersant already in 2023 the volume of TAC for Russian fishermen in the Bering Sea will increase to 450,000 tonnes. In addition, according to him, in the West Bering Sea subzone, Russia annually allocates pollock quotas to China and South Korea under intergovernmental agreements in the amount of up to 60,000 tons. However, the central region of the Bering Sea, where fishing has not been carried out since 1994, may become promising. Previously, up to 1.4 million tons of pollock were produced there every year. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1222511/Russia-to-Revise-Quotas-With-US-in-Bering-Sea Environment/Science DNA in water samples can help document Alaska fish communities National Fisherman - March 31, 2022 Scientists with the National Marine Fisheries Service and University of Alaska have shown how an innovative DNA technology can be used to document the fish species that use Southeast Alaska’s nearshore waters. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/alaska/dna-in-water-samples-can-help-document-alaska-fish-communities Canadian Research Vessel Completes Pac-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition Survey Fishermen's News - March 30, 2022 The Canadian research vessel CCGS Sir John Franklin returned to its home port in British Columbia in late March after a month at sea taking part in the 2022 International Year of the Salmon Pan-Pacific Winter High Seas Expedition. https://fishermensnews.com/canadian-research-vessel-completes-pac-pacific-winter-high-seas-expedition-survey/ Federal Register Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Catch Sharing Plan A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 04/01/2022 This final rule approves changes to the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan for the International Pacific Halibut Commission's regulatory Area 2A off of Washington, Oregon, and California. In addition, this final rule implements management measures governing the 2022 recreational fisheries that are not implemented through the International Pacific Halibut Commission. These measures include the recreational fishery seasons, quotas, and management measures for Area 2A. These actions are intended to conserve Pacific halibut and provide angler opportunity where available. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/04/01/2022-06834/pacific-halibut-fisheries-catch-sharing-plan FYI’s Wild and Scenic film fest set for Earth Day Cordova Times - March 28, 2022 Copper River Watershed Project’s Wild and Scenic Film Festival is scheduled for Earth Day, April 22. The hybrid live and virtual event will feature films hand-picked by the CRWP team from the official Wild and Scenic 2022 film catalog and cover topics on conservation, wildlife and outdoor spaces. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/03/28/wild-and-scenic-film-fest-set-for-earth-day/ Secretary of Commerce Appoints Seven New Committee Members to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee The Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee advises the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on all marine life matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. NOAA Fisheries - March 30, 2022 Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo appointed seven new members to NOAA’s Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee, bringing the group’s membership to the full complement of 21. MAFAC advises the Secretary of Commerce and NOAA on all living marine resource matters that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/secretary-commerce-appoints-seven-new-committee-members-noaas-marine-fisheries Homer fisherman appointed to Board of Fish KDLL by Sabine Poux - March 30, 2022 A second-generation commercial fisherman from Homer is Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s latest pick for the state’s Board of Fisheries. https://www.ktoo.org/2022/03/30/homer-fisherman-appointed-to-board-of-fish/ 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. 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