Friday, October 29, 2021

Alaska Updated Sockeye Market Data & Commentary Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association - October 26, 2021 Sockeye Market Commentary - October 2021 The wild salmon season is complete and more data is becoming available about market conditions in the wholesale, export, and retail sectors. Many data sets have been updated below, so check those out. In general, demand is very strong and prices for sockeye products are up substantially over last year (with the exception of canned product). Here’s some key stats & takeaways from data released in recent weeks: https://www.bbrsda.com/updates/2021/10/26/updated-sockeye-market-data-amp-commentary Gulf of Alaska Crab GHLs Set for 2022 at 1.8 Million Pounds SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - October 28, 2021 After being closed last year, the Kodiak Tanner crab fishery will open, along with the Chignik and South Peninsula Districts, at noon on January 15, 2022 unless delayed by weather. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) established guideline harvest levels (GHLs) for Kodiak at 1.1 million pounds, Chignik at 200,000 pounds, and the South Peninsula District at 500,000 pounds. The Kodiak District’s GHL is further divided in the Eastside section (500,000 pound GHL), Southeast section (400,000 lbs.), and Southwest section (200,000 lbs.). The South Peninsula District’s GHL is also divided into Eastern and Western sections; the Eastern will have a GHL of 200,000 lbs. and the Western, of 300,000 lbs. The department’s survey showed the estimated abundance of mature male Tanner crab meets or exceeds abundance thresholds and minimum guideline harvest levels (GHLs) established in regulation. Further requirements are that in sections that meet or exceed the abundance thresholds, abundance must also be sufficient to provide for a GHL of at least 100,000 pounds per section and at least 400,000 pounds total for the entire district. Based on 2021 Kodiak District survey results, the Northeast, Westside, North Mainland, South Mainland Sections will remain closed for the 2022 commercial Tanner crab season. Regulations also call for an opener in the Semidi Island Overlap Section when either the Southwest Section of the Kodiak District or the Chignik District opens; therefore, the Semidi Island Overlap Section will open in 2022 to both Kodiak District and Chignik District permit holders. The 2022 Kodiak District Tanner crab GHL is below 2,000,000 pounds; therefore, the regulatory pot limit is 20 pots per vessel in the Eastside, Southeast, and Southwest Sections and 70 pots per vessel in the Semidi Island Overlap Section. Kodiak district was closed this year (2020-2021) “due to the high exploitation rate on legal males needed to achieve the 400,000-pound district minimum GHL and the potential for high bycatch mortality on sublegal male crab that may recruit to legal size in the next 1–2 years,” according to ADF&G’s announcement last year. In the Chignik District this year, the surveys showed abundance was sufficient to provide for a minimum GHL of 200,000 pounds, as stated in the regulations before a commercial Tanner crab fishery may occur in the district. The 2022 Chignik District commercial Tanner crab GHL will be 200,000 pounds. Chignik also opens at noon on January 15, 2022 unless delayed by weather. The regulatory pot limit is 30 pots per vessel. Vessels greater than 58 feet in overall length may not participate in the Chignik District commercial Tanner crab fishery. In the South Peninsula District, 2021 surveys established that abundance for mature males was sufficient to provide for a minimum GHL of 200,000 pounds. Both the Eastern and Western Districts exceeded that threshold, allowing for Tanner crab GHLs of 200,000 pounds in the Eastern Section and 300,000 pounds in the Western Section. As in other areas, opening day here will be noon on January 15, 2022. The regulatory pot limit is 20 pots per vessel. Vessels greater than 58 feet in overall length may not participate in the South Peninsula District commercial Tanner crab fishery. On October 8, 2021, ADF&G announced season openers and total allowable catches (TAC’s) in the Bering Sea for snow (opilio) crab and Tanner (bairdi) after surveys showed far less crab than was expected. The 2021/22 Bering Sea snow crab fishery will open in Bering Sea District waters west of 165° W longitude at 12:00 noon October 15, 2021 and close 11:59 pm, May 15, 2022 in the Eastern Subdistrict (east of 173° W longitude) and in the Western Subdistrict (west of 173° W longitude) with a TAC of 5.6 million pounds. The total is allocated to the IFQ fishery (5.04 million pounds) and to the CDQ fishery (560,000 pounds). On the same day, ADF&G announced quotas for Bering Sea Tanner Crab season, also opening October 15 in the Western Bering Sea only. “Estimated mature male biomass in the Eastern Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery (EBT) area remains below thresholds required for a fishery opening,” read the department’s announcement. The 2021/22 Western Bering Sea Tanner crab fishery (WBT), west of 166° W long, will open 12:00 noon October 15, 2021, and close 11:59 pm March 31, 2022, with a TAC of 1.1 million pounds. That is divided between the IFQ and the CDQ fleets with IFQ permit holders getting 990,000 lbs, and CDQ permits gettin 110,000 lbs. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1211246/Gulf-of-Alaska-Crab-GHLs-Set-for-2022-at-1-point-8-Million-Pounds Labeling and Marketing Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute: Monthly Update Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute - October 2021 40 Years of Fish ASMI Celebrates 40th Anniversary, Alaska Seafood in the News, Consumers Choose Alaska Seafood, USDA Now Accepting Applications for the Seafood Processors Pandemic Response and Safety Block Grant Program, Healthy & Fresh Wild Alaska Seafood Bowls, ASMI Activities, ASMI teams up with Stony Brook University to promote Alaska Seafood https://mailchi.mp/alaskaseafood/august-2021-monthly-update-10473916?e=fd023624e1 Federal Register North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/29/2021 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Groundfish Plan Teams will meet November 15, 2021 through November 19, 2021. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/29/2021-23526/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting Fisheries Off West Coast States; Emergency Action to Temporarily Extend the Sablefish Primary Fishery Season A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/29/2021 This emergency rule temporarily extends the 2021 sablefish primary fishery for vessels using bottom longline gear from October 31, 2021, to December 31, 2021. This action is necessary to provide operational flexibility so that vessels in the sablefish primary fishery are able to fully harvest their tier limits despite high economic uncertainty in 2021. This action would also extend the incidental halibut retention allowance provision for the primary fishery north of Point Chehalis, Washington from October 31, 2021, to December 7, 2021. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/29/2021-23650/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-emergency-action-to-temporarily-extend-the-sablefish-primary-fishery Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2021-2022 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/29/2021 This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial groundfish fisheries. This action is intended to allow commercial fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting rebuilding and depleted stocks. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/29/2021-23653/magnuson-stevens-act-provisions-fisheries-off-west-coast-states-pacific-coast-groundfish-fishery FYI’s Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Board Election Announcement Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute - October 15, 2021 On Oct. 6, Jack Schulteis concluded his final meeting as ASMI Board Chair. He has demonstrated stellar leadership over the last three years. https://www.alaskaseafood.org/news/alaska-seafood-marketing-institute-board-election-announcement-2021/ 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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