Friday, December 2, 2022

Environment/Science EPA edges closer to banning Pebble Mine in Alaska. A veto is now just one step away. Alaska Public Media by Liz Ruskin - December 1, 2022 Federal regulators are one step away from action that would protect the Bristol Bay watershed and crush the dreams of those who want to see a mine developed to extract ore from the massive Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska. https://alaskapublic.org/2022/12/01/epa-edges-closer-to-banning-pebble-mine-in-alaska-a-veto-is-now-just-one-step-away/ West Coast How ORCA can help NOAA Fisheries observers National Fisherman by Jose Antunes - November 30, 2022 NOAA Fisheries observers face a daunting task on commercial fishing vessels to do their job and record key data as the crew hauls in catch. Project ORCA may change this soon… and ORCA 2 is coming next. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/west-coast-pacific/how-orca-can-help-noaa-fisheries-observers International Russia Eyes to Become A Major Player in Global Surimi Market SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - November 29, 2022 Russia has increased the production of surimi this year by almost four times, which is mainly due to the increase of the number of fish processing trawlers. Alexei Buglak, President of the Russian Pollock Association (ADM), said in an interview with the Russian Vedomosti business paper that by mid-November 2022, Russia had produced more than 24,000 tons of surimi. This, according to him, is about four times higher than the figures for the same period last year when about 6,000 tons of surimi were produced. In total, 8,400 tons of this product were produced in 2021. The forecast for this year is about 28,000 tons. Experts explain that the growth in surimi production is by an increase in the number of fish processing trawlers. Until last year, such raw materials were not produced in Russia. However, as follows from the reports of the Federal Agency for Fishery, a number of processing capacities (including on-board) have been built in Russia in recent months. In total, as of May 2022, 21 out of 24 processing facilities in the Far East and the Northern Basin (includes the White, Barents and Kara Seas) were built at a cost of 25.6 billion rubles. The second stage of the program was planned to be launched in 2022. It involved the construction of 8-10 large plants. However, according to Buglak, even at current capacity, on-board production of surimi has increased 9-fold to around 14,000 tonnes. Thanks to such growth of production, Russia may soon become one of the leading players in the global surimi market. According to ADM, over the past five years Russia has mainly imported surimi: the weighted average deliveries amounted to about 12,000 tons per year. Basically, such products were imported to Russia from the countries of Southeast Asia, where raw materials are made from warm-water fish species, including aquaculture. As German Zverev, head of the Russian Association of Fish Producers (VARPE), said in an interview with Vedomosti Now, Russia, as one of the largest producers of pollock have great prospects in this segment, as domestic producers can bring premium sea-frozen products to the international market. According to him, increasing domestic production of this product will not only reduce dependence on imported raw materials (now they are supplied from China, Japan, India, Thailand and Vietnam), but also improve product quality. Buglak also agrees with him, believing that 28,000 tons of surimi should be enough to meet both domestic demand and to send such products for export. Moreover, according to him, the volume of production of such raw materials from pollock can potentially grow to 50,000 tons within three years, taking into account the commissioning of new facilities. So far, Russia is far behind its competitors. For example, the United States produced 161,000 tons of pollock surimi this year, but that's still 32% less than last year, says Buglak. In his opinion, such a decline in production in this country may facilitate the entry of Russian exporters, for example, to Japan (the main consumer of surimi). Moreover, the attractiveness of the Japanese market for the supply of such products is also affected by the depreciation of the yen against the dollar (minus 25% this year), which also impacts the rise in prices in the domestic market and slows down domestic consumption. As for consumption within Russia, according to Zverev, pollock surimi is more expensive and of higher quality, so it will take time for the Russians to switch to this product. According to the analytical agency Fact.MR, about US$3.2 billion amounted to surimi sales in the world in 2021. By 2031, it predicts the growth of this market by more than 1.8 times. ADM estimates global demand for surimi products at US$4.9 billion. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1240527/Russia-Eyes-to-Become-A-Major-Player-in-Global-Surimi-Market Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/02/2022 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Eastern Aleutian district (EAI) of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI) by vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access sector fishery. This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2022 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific ocean perch in the EAI allocated to vessels participating in the BSAI trawl limited access sector fishery. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/02/2022-26273/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-ocean-perch-in-the-bering-sea-and Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Gulf of Alaska; Proposed 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/02/2022 NMFS proposes 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, apportionments, and Pacific halibut prohibited species catch limits for the groundfish fishery of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2023 and 2024 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska. The 2023 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, and the 2024 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2024 when the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the GOA in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/02/2022-26173/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-gulf-of-alaska-proposed-2023-and-2024-harvest 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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