Friday, November 26, 2021

Alaska Red King Crab Savings Area Extension Decision Ready for Action at NPFMC Meeting Fishermen's News - November 24, 2021 During its December meeting, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is expected to receive an analysis regarding the Red King Crab Savings Area. Image via NPFMC. https://fishermensnews.com/red-king-crab-savings-area-extension-decision-ready-for-action-at-npfmc-meeting/ Alaska to Get Billions From Biden’s $1.2 Trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - November 24, 2021 The Biden administration’s $1.2 trillion Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will funnel billions to Alaska to support essential ferry service, airport and harbor improvements, water and wastewater projects, relocating coastal communities forced elsewhere due to climate change, improve and expand broadband access, shore up severely strained health care facilities, and more. “This landmark legislation could not have come at a more urgent time,” said Rep. Don Young, who attended the signing ceremony. “This infrastructure bill represents what very well could be our last chance to make the federal investments necessary to modernize and strengthen America’s infrastructure needs. “It’s historic in terms of what it will deliver to the country in terms of infrastructure,” said Sen. Lisa Murkowski. “People need to connect by water, air and virtually,” she said. “Our colleagues saw the need. In Alaska we don’t all connect by road. Some of us have to connect by ferry.” Of the $342 million earmarked for construction of ferry boats and ferry terminal facilities progress, Alaska will receive $73 million for the Alaska Marine Highway System. The fishing ports of Cordova and Haines will each receive $20 million for improvements to their existing harbors. In Cordova that will go to restoring docks and floats on the city's South Harbor, providing funding for sheet piling, dredging, and construction of a new drive-down floatplane and vessel service dock. "Cordova Harbor is one of Alaska’s largest single-basin harbors. Whether it is tourists, fish, food, fuel, or other supplies, Cordova is front-and-center to our state’s economic well-being, Young said. “The improvements to South Harbor will be extensive and include safety hazard removal, water pollution prevention, and greater resiliency and disaster preparedness. I want to thank Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin for his commitment to Cordova’s infrastructure and for his valuable partnership as we worked to secure funding. I am also grateful to Secretary Buttigieg for recognizing the great need to invest in Cordova." "As host to the largest commercial fishing fleet in Alaska, growing cruise ship visitor industry, US Coast Guard, commercial, and private maritime industry needs, our aged harbor is in dire need of renovation, said Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin. “Seafood has become one of the top five imports into the US exceeding $18 billion, and Cordova has ranked as high as 5th largest seafood delivery port in the nation; averaging the 11th largest over the past decade.” In the community of Haines, the $20 million will demolish the Lutak Dock and replace it with a bulkhead, fenders, and mooring dolphins capable of taking vessels as large as 350-feet. Lutak is Haine’s main freight and fuel dock. “The reason we’ve been pushing this is the base of the dock is at the point of failure,” said Haines Mayor Doug Olerud. “If that were to fail we wouldn’t be able to get our groceries and other products off the barge.” Among the transportation items is $250 million for an electric or low-emitting ferry pilot program, with at least one pilot to be conducted in the state with the most marine highway system miles — Alaska. Of 187 of Alaska’s remote communities, around 93 are affected by “usteq” (Yupik for “catastrophic land collapse caused by thawing permafrost, flooding and erosion”) and 35 are in imminent danger from it, reported the Arctic Sounder last week. “If you are a community that is threatened — say, Shishmaref or Mertarvik, where they are already in the process of moving — the ability to access some of these funds may come more readily,” Murkowski said. Newtok, a village on the Ninglick River about 100 miles west of Bethel in western Alaska, has been slowly losing land to the river and persistent thawing of what once was permafrost. Two years ago about a third of the 400 residents began moving to a new homesite across the river. The new town is called Mertarvik. The Nunakauyarmiut Tribe will get $12 million for a 30-mile Geocell trail connecting Mertarvik to the existing trails system on Nelson Island, to villages of Toksook Bay and Nightmute. Designated funds will support Coast Guard personnel in Kodiak, Sitka and Ketchikan, plus an additional $5 million for operation and maintenance of these efforts. Economic relief funds for costs related to keeping airports open during covid, include: King Salmon: $1.2 million to the King Salmon Airport Anchorage: $42 million to the Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport Unalaska: $1.1 million to the Unalaska Airport Bethel: $2.4 million to the Bethel Airport Kodiak: $1.57 million to the Kodiak Airport Cordova: $1.1 million to the Merle K (Mudhole) Smith Airport from the Federal Aviation Administration Klawock: $1.1 million for the Klawock Airport Sitka: $1.65 million to the Sitka Rocky Gutierrez Airport Nome: $1.3 million to the Nome Airport Wrangell: $1.1 million to the Wrangell Airport Kenai: $1.7 million to the Kenai Municipal Airport Haines: $1 million to the Haines Airport In an op-ed written last week by former Governor Bill Walker and Heidi Drygas former Commissioner of Labor and Workforce Development, Walker noted the importance of the legislation. “It’s hard to overstate the significance of this bill. A few examples: We will receive $3.5 billion in federal highway funding, $1 billion for essential ferry service to rural communities, $250 million for new harbor construction, $73 million for the construction of new ferries for Alaska as the Alaska Marine Highway System is now eligible for future federal highway funding for operation and repair, as well as significant investments in rural broadband access. Thousands of jobs will be created by the federal investment in our roads, highways, ferries, ports and harbors and internet connectivity systems, which will all enable future economic growth.” Walker is challenging current governor Mike Dunleavy in the 2022 election. Drygas is a candidate for Lieutenant Governor in 2022. Outside of Alaska, but key to the seafood supply chain that starts there, another $20 million will go to improvements on Seattle’s East Marginal Way Corridor. The money will reconstruct a 1.1-mile segment of the East Marginal Way roadway and upgrade the route to Heavy Haul Network standards to help reduce supply chain bottlenecks and improve operations along this important freight route. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1213209/Alaska-to-Get-Billions-From-Bidens-1-point-2-Trillion-Infrastructure-Investment-and-Jobs-Act International Record Salmon Catch in Russia This Year Does Not Lead to Decline of Prices in Local Market SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - November 24, 2021 This year salmon catch in the Russian Far East will amount to 538,000 tons. According to recent statements, made by representatives of the Russian Federal Agency of Fisheries (Rosrybolovstvo), it will be the third best result in the history of the Russian fishery, being only slightly lower than the figures of 2009. Traditionally the bulk of salmon catch in Russia accounted for the Kamchatka region, which this year is almost 80% higher than in 2020. But despite record catch, salmon prices in Russia this year—including for red caviar—remain generally high and, according to analysts, may further grow prior to holidays period. Already these days prices for red caviar in Russia for the first time exceeded RUB 5,000 (US$67) per kg—a historical high. One of the reasons for this is expensive logistics and the lack of state subsidies for transportation of fish from the Far East to the European part of Russia. In addition, the growth of prices is fueled by high demand for Russian red caviar in Japan. According to Rosrybolovstvo, the production of salmon caviar in Russia has reached 20,700 tons. Representatives of the agency have also denied reports of some Russian media about a shortage of salmon and red caviar in the Russian market. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1213173/Record-Salmon-Catch-in-Russia-This-Year-Does-Not-Lead-to-Decline-of-Prices-in-Local-Market Environment/Science EPA looks to place permanent protections on Bristol Bay by 2022 National Fisherman - November 24, 2021 The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has placed dates on the timeline to reinstate Clean Water Act protections on Alaska’s Bristol Bay, with a Federal Register notice posted on Wednesday, 17 November, naming a date of 31 May, 2022, for the finalization of the safeguards. https://www.seafoodsource.com/national-fisherman/epa-looks-to-place-permanent-protections-on-bristol-bay-by-2022 B.C. gives KSM developers more time to court investors for transboundary mine KRBD by Jacob Resneck - November 24, 2021 Regulators in Canada have granted a two-year extension for the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell mine’s environmental review which will effectively give the project’s owners until July 2026 to find major investors. https://www.krbd.org/2021/11/24/b-c-gives-ksm-developers-more-time-to-court-investors-for-transboundary-mine/ Juvenile Chinooks Rescued from Drought Released Into California’s Klamath River Fishermen's News - November 24, 2021 More than two million juvenile Chinook salmon that were rescued from drought conditions by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are being released back into the Klamath River with cooler temperatures and increased water flow giving them a better chance at survival. https://fishermensnews.com/juvenile-chinooks-rescued-from-drought-released-into-californias-klamath-river/ FYI’s From the Editor: PME Recap Fishermen's News - November 24, 2021 If you were fortunate enough to attend this year’s Pacific Marine Expo, I hope that you found the experience both productive and informative. https://fishermensnews.com/from-the-editor-pme-recap/ 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. 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