Friday, May 14, 2021

Alaska Alaska Fisheries Report May 13 2021 KMXT - May 13, 2021 On This Week’s Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: Sabine Poux Reports on a Fund for Salmon Sustainability, Plus Stories from Jacob Resneck and Eric Stone on the State’s Raw Fish Tax and Ketchikan’s Cancellation of it’s King Salmon Derby. https://kmxt.org/2021/05/alaska-fisheries-report-may-13-2021/ Alaska Legislature rejects Dunleavy nominee to Board of Fish KTOO and Alaska Public Media by Andrew Kitchenman - May 12, 2021 The Alaska Legislature rejected one of Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s nominees to the state Board of Fisheries on Tuesday. The nomination of Anchorage resident Abe Williams failed in an 18 to 41 vote during a joint session. https://kmxt.org/2021/05/alaska-legislature-rejects-dunleavy-nominee-to-board-of-fish/ National Bipartisan Bill Would Strengthen NOAA Response to Sexual Harassment, Assault Fishermen's News - May 12, 2021 Bipartisan legislation recently introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives would strengthen NOAA’s response to sexual assault and sexual harassment and offer more resources for survivors. http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2021/05/bipartisan-bill-would-strengthen-noaa.html Labeling and Marketing Alaska's Fisheries Committee Gets Seafood Market Report from ASMI in Last Days of Session SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - May 12, 2021 [Edited to correct the committee schedule at 2:46 p.m. PDT.] Alaska's House Fisheries Committee had the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) slated for a marketing update last Tuesday, but the meeting -- and the presentation -- were cancelled. As it was, committee members got a copy of the presentation, which brings the state up to date on Alaska's seafood marketing activities and impacts of COVID-19 on the seafood sector. The full presentation is still available on the House Fisheries Committee website. It gives a snapshot of ASMI's structure, mission, funding sources, recent consumer research results, and the challenges and opportunities ahead. ASMI’s structure as a public-private partnership was unprecedented when it was approved by the state nearly fifty years ago. Over its long history the state has provided cash support for most of those years, but no longer. Alaska has not contributed state funds to the group since 2018. Today ASMI’s budget is made up entirely of a .5% voluntary industry assessment of the state’s ex-vessel value of commercial fisheries harvest and competitive federal grant funding. Revenues to the internationally-recognized marketing group have dropped 25% in the last year, due to an estimated $500 million in lost income to the statewide fleet caused by market disruption due to the pandemic. ASMI’s revenue is expected to decline by $5 million over the next two years. COVID-related market impacts include “wide-spread closures in the global foodservice sector; shipping disruptions that make it more difficult and more expensive to get Alaska seafood to market; and added costs for harvesters and processors as they ensure the safety of their workers on fishing vessels, in processing lines, and in the Alaska communities where they operate.” About 75% of Alaska seafood production is exports annually to 100 countries, and in many key markets the state is facing significant headwinds in the form of tariffs or unfavorable trade barriers. In China, the industry's largest trading partner, 37%-42% tariffs are levied on Alaska seafood, a 25% tariff is charged on flatfish that are reimported into the U.S., and in the Phase One Trade Deal, retaliatory tariffs remain unchanged. Russian markets have been closed to U.S. exports since 2014, but exports to U.S. are up 173% since 2013. Russia is Alaska’s leading global competitor. The Putin government has made significant investments in seafood industry infrastructure, technology and marketing. Important trade barriers still exist in the European Union and in Japan, including Alaska seafood getting caught up in the Boeing/Airbus dispute, Brexit, and recently enacted trade agreement between Japan and several U.S. seafood competitors. The good news is global consumer response to the pandemic has seen an increase in retail sales, especially online (122% increase year-on-year in e-commerce seafood sales) and a banner year in frozen seafood (35% increase in y-o-y frozen) and 24% increase in fresh. The report also noted that more people are cooking at home more often, which provides an unprecedented opportunity for education, and that consumers are looking for immune-boosting, sustainable foods. Finally, in an area where Alaska outpaces most other sources of seafood, research shows that seafood consumers’ concern for sustainability has gone up from 29% in 2019 to 41% in 2020. Tuesday's committee meeting was originally postponed, then Wednesday's meeting was cancelled according to Thatcher Brouwer, legislative staff to Committee Chair Representative Geran Tarr. "ASMI did not have an opportunity to present," Brouwer wrote in an email, but the presentation was distributed to members. The Legislature is in the final days of its session with a scheduled May 19 adjournment. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1198770/Alaskas-Fisheries-Committee-Gets-Seafood-Market-Report-from-ASMI-in-Last-Days-of-Session Federal Register Fisheries Off West Coast States; Emergency Action to Temporarily Remove 2021 Seasonal Processing Limitations for Pacific Whiting Motherships and Catcher-Processors A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 05/14/2021 This emergency rule temporarily allows at-sea Pacific whiting processing vessels to operate as Start Printed Page 26440both a mothership and a catcher-processor during the 2021 Pacific whiting fishery. This action is necessary to ensure catcher vessels in the at-sea whiting sector are able to fully harvest sector allocations. Emergency measures under this rule will allow catcher-processors to operate as motherships and replace mothership processing vessels that are unable to operate in the at-sea whiting sector during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting high economic uncertainty in 2021. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/14/2021-09558/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-emergency-action-to-temporarily-remove-2021-seasonal-processing Fisheries Off West Coast States; West Coast Salmon Fisheries; 2021 Management Measures A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 05/14/2021 Through this final rule, NMFS establishes fishery management measures for the 2021 ocean salmon fisheries off Washington, Oregon, and California and the 2022 salmon seasons opening earlier than May 16, 2022, under authority of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/05/14/2021-10035/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-west-coast-salmon-fisheries-2021-management-measures

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