Friday, January 7, 2022

Alaska Alaska Fisheries Report January 6, 2021 KMXT - January 6, 2022 On this week’s Alaska Fisheries Report: Indy Walton resigns from the Alaska Board of Fish, which has also postponed its next meeting. Plus a look at EEZs, MSA, and the National Standards. https://kmxt.org/2022/01/alaska-fisheries-report-23/ 2021 AK Salmon: 233.8M Fish Harvested Worth $644M, 2022 Bristol Bay YOY Forecast Higher SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - January 6, 2022 True for the past several years, sockeye is the reason why. Last year, sockeye or red salmon made up 56% of the total value and 24% of the total number. Pink salmon accounted for nearly a third of the value at $179 million and 70% of the harvest with almost 161 million pink salmon. Chum harvest was third with 10% of the value at $62.7 million 6% of the harvest at 12.8 million fish. Coho harvest was 4% of the value at $24 million and 1% of the numbers at 2.7 million fish. Chinook salmon was just over 265,000 fish with an estimated preliminary exvessel value of $17.1 million. The statewide fleet numbered 6,362 individual permit holders, a slight decrease from 2020’s 6,496 permits. The bad news is last year’s size of salmon continues a downward trend. “The total harvest was up only 18% from 2020 (2019 for pinks) based on total pounds,” noted Dan Lesh of McKinley Research in a January 3 report from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “Areas where small fish particularly influenced the disparity between fish count and fish weight numbers include Southeast Alaska (where pink salmon averaged 2.8 pounds) and the Alaska Peninsula, where sockeye weighed an average of 4.8 pounds in 2021. Statewide, all salmon species except pinks saw their lowest average weight per fish since at least 1975,” Lesh wrote. Alaska’s salmon managers have not provided forecasts for all areas yet, but Bristol Bay’s is up and ringing bells. Another record-breaking run is predicted: 75.27 million sockeye are expected to return to Bristol Bay this year, a 44% larger run than the most recent 10-year average of Bristol Bay total runs (52.09 million) and 111% greater than the long-term (1963–2021) average of 35.73 million fish. A run of 75.27 million sockeye salmon would allow for a potential harvest of 61.82 million fish; 59.94 million fish in Bristol Bay and 1.88 million fish in South Peninsula fisheries. A Bristol Bay harvest of this size is 75% greater than the most recent 10-year average harvest of 34.24 million, and 170% greater than the long-term average harvest of 22.22 million fish, from 1963 to present. Another preliminary forecast ADF&G has posted is for Togiak herring, worth noting because it too is at the high end. “The 2022 mature herring biomass forecast is 357,536 tons and is the highest forecast since an age-structured assessment model was first used for the 1993 forecast,” ADF&G managers explained in their December 8 forecast. “Under a 20% exploitation rate, the 2022 potential harvest is 71,507 tons in all fisheries and 65,107 tons in the Togiak sac roe fisheries (purse seine and gillnet).” That forecasted harvest will be split 80/20 between seiners (52,086 tons) and gill net vessels (13,021 tons). ADF&G managers say the large forecast is due “to the largest estimated recruitment of age-4 fish on record in 2021 (about 1.5 times larger than the large recruitments seen in the early 1980s) and one of the largest recruitments on record in 2020. “These cohorts are projected to make up an even larger portion of the population in 2022 due to increasing maturity. The majority of the mature population in 2022 is age-5 and age-6 fish, both by number (52% and 20% respectively) and by biomass (45% and 21% respectively. The forecast average weight of a fish in the 2022 mature population is 281 grams, whereas the forecast average weight of a fish that is vulnerable to the commercial purse seine fishery is 297 grams,” they noted. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1216049/2021-AK-Salmon-233-point-8M-Fish-Harvested-Worth-644M-2022-Bristol-Bay-YOY-Forecast-Higher Politics Koplin: New mayor should be supporter of fisheries Outgoing mayor says candidates for that post should be open minded and diplomatic Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - January 7, 2022 When it comes to major accomplishments during his six years as mayor of Cordova, Clay Koplin is quick to say he’s throwing those kudos right back to the community. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/01/07/koplin-new-mayor-should-be-supporter-of-fisheries/ East Coast Fishery Boston Seafood Show Requiring Masks, Proof of Full Vaccination For 2022 Attendees Urner Barry by Amanda Buckle - December 23, 2021 Seafood Expo North America, also known as the Boston Seafood Show, is set to return to Boston on March 13 after a two year hiatus due to COVID-19. However, the show organizers are implementing some new rules. New requirements have been posted under a page dedicated to health and safety information at the trade show. According to the site, “attendees, exhibitors, vendors and staff will be required to wear a mask indoors.” In addition, “proof of vaccination will be required for all individuals entering the building (attendees, exhibitors, vendors and staff), as per Boston’s ‘B Together’ vaccine requirement for certain indoor space.” The City of Boston announced this week that starting on January 15, 2022, to address the rise in COVID-19 cases and encourage individuals to get vaccinated, proof of vaccination will be required to enter certain indoor spaces in Boston. This goes for people that work at those locations as well. Those looking to dine indoors or visit bars and nightclubs will be required to show proof of vaccination. Indoor fitness facilities and indoor entertainment, which includes movie theaters, music or concert venues, commercial events and party venues, museums and galleries, professional sports arenas and indoor stadiums, convention centers and exhibition halls, performing arts theaters, bowling alleys and other recreational centers, will also require proof of vaccination. This new order does not apply to any foodservice establishment that offers food or drink exclusively for off-premises or outdoor consumption, or a foodservice establishment providing charitable food services, like soup kitchens. This new order is being rolled out in stages, with people ages 12 and up required to show proof of one dose of vaccination by January 15. People ages 12 and up must show proof of full vaccination beginning February 15. Beginning Tuesday, March 1 children between the ages of 5 and 11 must show proof of one dose of vaccination, and by May 1 anyone five years old and up must show proof of full vaccination. While Diversified Communications, the Seafood Expo North America show organizers, haven’t provided any additional details about the vaccination requirement, the City of Boston website does clarify that proof of vaccination verification can be done with either a CDC vaccination card, a digital image of your CFC card, an image of any official immunization record, or a City of Boston app or any other COVID vaccine verification app. This new mandate for masks and vaccination at the Boston Seafood Show comes after the event was canceled for two consecutive years due to the virus. As of December 22, 2021 the U.S. reported 242,794 new cases, with a seven-day average of 171,380 new cases. On December 22, 2021 Massachusetts reported 8,602 new cases, with a seven-day average of 6,146 new cases. https://www.seafoodnews.com/SearchStory/2oxrxQs4MWgU1D56heQx96gG__vHeCnHThu9H75sR0__Q=/1215234 International Russian seafood industry at crossroads as large companies seek market control Seafood Source by Ivan Stupachenko - January 6, 2022 The Russian seafood industry is at a crossroads as large companies are beginning to invest more money and seek more quotas from the country’s government, while smaller companies oppose big changes in how quotas and the market are configured. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/russian-seafood-industry-at-crossroads-as-large-companies-seek-market-control FYI’s 2022 Seafood Processing Wastewater & By-product Recovery Conference Annual PNW (OR, WA, AK) Seafood Processing Wastewater & By-product Recovery Conference will be held virtually January 18-20, 2022. Learn about best wastewater management practices, innovations in waste stream recovery, and state updates on wastewater regulations from the Pacific Northwest. View OSU’s conference website for the details on the conference program and registration. The 2022 virtual conference will run each day between 8:45 am to 12:00 pm, January 18-20, 2022. https://blogs.oregonstate.edu/seafoodwastewater/ High School Students Bring Seafood to Low-Income Consumers Fishadelphia is a pilot community seafood program based in Philadelphia, that was awarded a Saltonstall-Kennedy Grant, designed to connect seafood to low-income consumers. NOAA Fisheries - January 4, 2022 Based in Philadelphia, Fishadelphia is a pilot community seafood program that was awarded a Saltonstall-Kennedy (S-K) Grant in 2020. It was designed to connect low-income consumers in Northern Philadelphia with neighboring New Jersey harvesters. This project promotes improved business practices, increased market demand for U.S. commercial fish species, and keeping working waterfronts viable. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/high-school-students-bring-seafood-low-income-consumers In Memoriam Pacific Fishery Management Council Mourns the Passing of Former Chairman, Donald Hansen Pacific Fishery Management Council - January 7, 2022 This week we mourn the passing of our friend, colleague, and former Chairman, Donald Hansen. Don was a towering figure in the world of U.S. West Coast fisheries, playing an immense role in the work of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (Pacific Council or Council) and in the development of several fisheries off the West Coast. His impact and influence stretched well beyond the West Coast and helped shape fisheries policy across the U.S. and beyond. He was a strong proponent of the regional fisheries management council process. He was an especially strong proponent of local stakeholders and the idea that local people and local context should shape fishery policy decisions. Don touched the professional and personal lives of thousands of people engaged in West Coast fisheries, and was sought after as a source of vision, leadership, institutional knowledge, as a trusted advisor, and a friend. Don never lost sight of the fact that fisheries policy decisions affect people, while at the same time advocating for the wise use and conservation of West Coast marine resources. “Our coastal communities have benefited greatly from Don Hansen’s decades of passion for West Coast fisheries,” said Marc Gorelnik, Chairman of the Pacific Council. “His knowledge, his friendship and humor, his dedication to the Council process, and his steady hand will be sorely missed.” Throughout the course of his tenure with the Pacific Council, Don engaged in fishery management decision-making that began with the Council’s second-ever meeting in the 1970s, included membership of the Groundfish Advisory Panel (1981-2000), as a member of the Pacific Council (2000 – 2009), as Chairman of the Council (2003 – 2009), and as Special Assistant to the Pacific Council’s Executive Director (2009 – 2018). After his official tenure with the Council ended, he continued to be a trusted friend, ally, and advisor to subsequent Council Chairs and Executive Directors until his passing. “Don’s passion for the Council was enduring,” said Merrick Burden, Executive Director of the Council. “Many of us benefited from his friendship, leadership and mentorship during our career.” In addition to being an astute leader and visionary, Don was perhaps best known for his collegiality, desire to help, and his good humor. Don was known as someone that always appreciated a good joke, as a man that could always find a silver lining, and as someone who could always find time to pay attention to the needs of other people and their well-being. His extraordinary impact on the people, wildlife, and process of the Pacific Council will remain for many years. We will miss him dearly. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1216118/Pacific-Fishery-Management-Council-Mourns-the-Passing-of-Former-Chairman-Donald-Hansen 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.