Friday, September 13, 2024

Alaska PWS coho harvest reaches 80,000 fish Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman- September 11, 2024 Coho salmon harvests in Prince William Sound climbed to 80,000 fish as of Sept. 3, while the catch reached nearly 600,000 in Southeast Alaska and 209,000 silvers in the westward region. https://thecordovatimes.com/2024/09/11/pws-coho-harvest/ Will there be an Alaska red king crab fishery this year?Harvesters saw 'all-time highs' for ex-vessel prices for the small fishery in 2023.Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - September 11, 2024There is renewed hope for a small red king crab fishery in Bristol Bay this year, following a preliminary recommendation from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's (NPFMC) crab plan team on Tuesday. https://www.intrafish.com/fisheries/will-there-be-an-alaska-red-king-crab-fishery-this-year-/2-1-1706668 *Requires Subscription ADF&G slams petition to protect chinook as flawed and misguided National Fisherman - September 11, 2024 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has challenged the validity of the January 2024 petition that the Wild Fish Conservancy (WFC) sent to the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), which seeks to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act (ESA) and to designate critical habitat concurrent with the listing. The NOAA Fisheries website states, “We find that the petition, viewed in the context of information readily available in… https://www.nationalfisherman.com/adfg-slams-petition-as-flawed-and-misguided *Requires Subscription National USDA asks for bids on more Pacific Northwest seafoodSeafood Source by Christine Blank - September 11, 2024Soon after awarding USD 17 million (EUR 15 million) in contracts for Pacific rockfish and whiting, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) is asking for bids on more of the same fish. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/usda-asks-for-bids-on-more-pacific-northwest-seafood International Japan: Frozen Cod Imports Recover; Russia Totals Double in January-July, Dip from U.S. SeafoodNews.com by Tom Asakawa - September 13, 2024 According to trade statistics from the Ministry of Finance, the average price for frozen cod imports from January to July was 623 yen/kg ($4.38/kg), 2% lower than the same period last year, while the volume recovered to 2,102 tons, a 52% increase. Imports from Russia saw a 5% decrease in price to 597 yen/kg ($4.20/kg) and a 2.1-fold increase in volume to 1,635 tons. Imports from the United States saw an 11% increase in price to 715 yen/kg ($5.03/kg) and a 23% decrease in volume to 467 tons. The shift from the United States to Russian cod, which had seemed to have slowed down, is accelerating again, reported Minato Shimbun.The volume of American cod, which has a reputation for its quality, was stable at over 10,000 tons until 2017 but has been pushed out by cheaper Russian cod. In 2019, the annual import volume from the United States was 6,386 tons and from Russia 1,992 tons, but in 2022, it was 687 tons from the United States and 4,745 tons from Russia.In 2023, the figures rebounded to 1,864 tons from the United States and 2,830 tons from Russia. As demand grew tired of high prices in areas where it was in demand, prices for US cod fell, and the price gap with Russian fish narrowed to just a few tens of yen per kilogram, which sparked a movement back to US cod.However, in the latter half of 2023, low US prices discouraged producers from operating, and around February, the impact of the US tightening its import restrictions on Russian seafood products also became apparent. US prices rose again, and the price gap widened to around 100 yen/kg ($0.70/kg). In response, there were growing calls within the industry that demand would return to Russian cod. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1285438/Japan-Frozen-Cod-Imports-Recover-Russia-Totals-Double-in-January-July-Dip-from-US Russia's Navy Launches Ocean 2024 War Drills Globally, USCG Alerts Alaska Fishing Industry SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - September 11, 2024 Yesterday, Russia began a long-planned, massive military exercise dubbed Ocean-24 in the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, the Mediterranean, Caspian, and Baltic Seas. The exercise involved over 400 warships, submarines, and support vessels, more than 120 planes and helicopters, and over 90,000 troops, the Russian Defense Ministry said in a statement. The ministry said the maneuvers would continue through Sept. 16.Last week, Alaska’s 17th District of the US Coast Guard warned the fishing industry, particularly those operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutians, to be aware of the presence of Russian warships, including aircraft carriers, but also noted that Russia has not issued a HYDROPAC notice -- an international notice to mariners -- about entering the U.S. exclusive economic zone.Russia is teaming up with China’s military for war exercises outside of the North Pacific, particularly in the South Pacific, where China’s interest in the waters off the Philippines, Malaysia, and Southeast Asia has sparked diplomatic and military actions.The Associated Press reported yesterday that Russia has sought Chinese help in achieving its long-cherished aim of becoming a Pacific power through joint exercises. Moscow has backed China’s territorial claims in the South China Sea and elsewhere.In the same story, the AP reported that Russia’s Defense Minister Andrei Belousov said the drills are aimed to train “repelling large-scale aggression of a potential enemy from ocean directions, combating unmanned boats, unmanned aerial vehicles, defending naval bases, conducting amphibious operations and escorting transports.”“The exercise, which will become one of the most important operational and combat training events of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation in 2024, is to be conducted in a bilateral format under the overall command of Admiral Aleksandr Moiseyev, the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy,” the Russian-issued press release stated.In the September 3 notice to Alaska’s fishing industry from USCG Captain Ryan Waters, Russia's military exercise last year followed a HYDROPAC warning for missile training operations in the Bering Sea commencing on Sept. 14, 2023. But as of September 3 this year, no HYDROPAC notice has been seen for the exercises to enter U.S. EEZ waters this year.Waters wrote that fishing fleets have an important role in maintaining safety and security of Alaska waters and encouraged them to subscribe to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency’s HYDROPAC warning system.“Especially as the Bering Sea and Arctic regions become increasingly competitive on the international stage, you are regularly the first American flagged vessel that sees foreign government vessels,” Waters said, according to yesterday's story in The Cordova Times.  He urged fleet members to continue to report observations of foreign government vessels and monitor and follow safety warnings from HYDROPAC or other agencies.The Russian government noted that the exercises will be done in phases."As part of the first phase of the strategic command post exercise, the military command and control bodies will determine how to deploy the groups of forces in the designated training areas.“In the second phase, the participants will be involved in a combat scenario to defeat strategically important objects and forces of the mock enemy. They will also practice landing operations on an unequipped coast, protecting maritime economic activities and strategic communication facilities, taking into account modern naval warfare,” the statement said.Russian President Vladimir Putin, as reported by the AP, said in comments to military officials that the global war games are the largest of their kind in three decades, and that China’s warships and planes were taking part. China confirmed that on Monday, saying the two countries’ navies would cruise together in Pacific, but gave no details.“We pay special attention to strengthening military cooperation with friendly states. Today, in the context of growing geopolitical tensions in the world, this is especially important,” Putin said.The Russian leader accused the United States of “trying to maintain its global military and political dominance at any cost,” seeking “to inflict a strategic defeat” on Russia in its war with Ukraine and to “break the established security architecture and balance of power in the Asia-Pacific region.”“Under the pretext of countering the allegedly existing Russian threat and containing the People’s Republic of China, the United States and its satellites are increasing their military presence near Russia’s western borders, in the Arctic and in the Asia-Pacific region,” Putin said, stressing that “Russia must be prepared for any development of the situation.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1285242/Russias-Navy-Launches-Ocean-2024-War-Drills-Globally-USCG-Alerts-Alaska-Fishing-Industry Federal Register Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meeting A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 09/12/2024 The Groundfish Subcommittee of the Pacific Fishery Management Council's (Pacific Council) Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will convene an online meeting to review the suitability of fish age estimates developed using Fourier Transformed Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (FT-NIRS) for inclusion in groundfish stock assessments. The methodology review meeting is open to the public. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/12/2024-20708/pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 09/13/2024 The Council's Scientific and Statistical Committee (SSC) will begin at 8 a.m. on Monday, September 30, 2024, and continue through Wednesday, October 2, 2024. The Council's Advisory Panel (AP) will begin at 8 a.m. on Tuesday, October 1, 2024, and continue through Friday, October 4, 2024. The Council will begin at 8 a.m. on Thursday, October 3, 2024, and continue through Tuesday, October 8, 2024. The Legislative Committee will meet Wednesday, October 2, 2024, from 1 p.m. to 5 p.m. at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council's Conference Room; 1007 W 3rd Ave., Suite 400, Anchorage, AK 99501-2252. All times listed are Alaska Time. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/09/13/2024-20823/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meetings

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