Friday, September 19, 2025
- admin04655
- Sep 18
- 7 min read
Alaska
PWS coho, humpy harvests still coming in
Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - September 18, 2025
Prince William Sound commercial fisheries are continuing to tick up their harvests of pink and coho salmon, bringing the state’s preliminary area catch report to 48.7 million fish.
Brief tuna bounty in Southeast Alaska spurs excitement about new fishing opportunity
Waters off Sitka were warm enough to lure fish from the south, and local anglers took advantage of conditions to harvest species that make rare appearances in Alaska
Alaska Beacon by Yereth Rosen - September 16, 2025
In Alaska, a state famous for abundant salmon and huge, cold-water-loving crab, another type of fish is making a splash: tuna.
US Senate passes algal bloom legislation, sends to House
Seafood Source by Nathan Strout - September 17, 2025
The U.S. Senate has passed legislation reauthorizing and strengthening the Harmful Algal Bloom and Hypoxia Research and Control Act (HABHRCA), a law designed to coordinate a government response to harmful algal blooms (HABs).
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Pacific Halibut Landings at 58 Percent of Quota With 3 Months Left in Season
SeafoodNews by Peggy Parker - September 19, 2025
Two-thirds of the way through the Pacific Halibut season, coastwide landings — from Alaska through British Columbia and the US West Coast — as of September 15 are only 57% of the annual quota.The 2025 quota for commercial, recreational, and tribal limit was 23.8 million pounds, some 15.8% less than the annual quota for 2024. Even at that reduced limit, only 13.71 million pounds have been landed as of September 15, or 57.6% of the annual quota.
The rate of landings has been the worst seen in recent history, significantly lower than the 5-year average (-23.36%) as of August 31, and lower than last year at the same time (see chart above).
The season began on Thursday, March 20 and will end on Sunday, December 7. An earlier end date has traditionally been in the first or second week of November. Since the COVID pandemic, the season has been extended, allowing harvesters more flexibility, but often, weather and the availability of buyers impact fishing activity in parts of Alaska.
British Columbia (Area 2B) has landed more of its quota — 63.8% than any other as of September 15, catching 2.95 mlbs of the 4.55 mlbs quota.
The Southeast Alaska region, known as Area 2C, has landed 63.1% of its quota — 2.47 mlbs of 3.91 mlbs. In Area 3A, historically the area with the highest catch, has landed 62% of its 7.82 mlbs quota, or 4.84 million. The story is similar in Area 3B, the western Gulf of Alaska, where the fleet has landed 62.5% of their quota, or 1.54 mlbs of the 2.47 mlbs limit.
Further west, fishing has dropped off considerably. In Areas 4A and 4B, north and south of the Aleutian chain, only 45.6% of a 1.0 million-pound quota has been landed (460,000 lbs.)
In Area 4CDE, the Bering Sea, only 30.8% of the quota has been landed, just under half a million pounds of a 1.6 mlbs quota.
Off the West Coast, total landings as of September 15 have reached 950,000 lbs. of a 1.53 mlbs quota.
Fishermen in Area 2A – Washington, Oregon and California – said during a Pacific Fishery Management Council Groundfish Advisory Subpanel meeting Wednesday that halibut fishing was slow in the early summer but picked up later. Tribal fishermen from northern Washington experienced better fishing during seasons in late summer, they said. Similarly, fishermen in the directed commercial fishery that operates primarily in Oregon and northern California said individual fishermen had low landings during the first two openers but solid landings on the third – and last–opener in late July. While vessel limits for halibut ranged from 2,000 to 5,000 pounds for the first two periods, vessel limits for the third opener were 5,000 pounds apiece, in part leading to higher individual landings. According to NMFS, preliminary fishing period catch estimates were roughly the same across all three openers:
- Fishing period #1: 86,819 pounds (39.4 mt), net weight;
- Fishing period #2: 88,453 pounds (40.1 mt), net weight; and
- Fishing period #3: 88,325 pounds (40.1 mt), net weight.
Quota holders up and down the coast have enjoyed strong ex-vessel prices this season, but production levels continue to be low. In Areas 2A and 2B, landing rates may still increase as the fish move and other options for fishermen become less viable.
West Coast
Oregon Pink Shrimp Allies Tell USTR to Open UK Market, End 20% Tariff
Expana by Ryan Doyle - September 19, 2025
The Oregon Trawl Commission (OTC), the Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative (SPMC) and the Oregon Department of Agriculture (ODA) penned a letter to the US Trade Representative (USTR), urging the Trump administration to secure reliable access to the United Kingdom market for Oregon pink shrimp harvesters.“The UK is one of the major global markets for coldwater shrimp, and UK consumers place great value on quality and sustainability, making it an ideal market for the MSC-certified Oregon pink shrimp,” said Yelena Nowak, director of the Oregon Trawl Commission. “Eliminating the 20% tariff on pink shrimp is essential and represents a win-win for both the US and the UK.”The letter noted that in the past, the UK has relied on coldwater species, which are competitive with Oregon’s pink shrimp (Pandalus jordani), primarily Pandalus borealis and Pandalus montagui, which are harvested in countries such as Canada, Greenland, and Norway.However, the popular options are facing headwinds, including declining catches and lower quotas, which has led to increased interest for Oregon pink shrimp.“Reports of UK retailers substituting Oregon pink shrimp for other coldwater shrimp species due to its greater availability, competitive pricing, and sustainability reflect the product's attractiveness in the UK market,” OTC’s letter stated.In 2024, the ODA sought a suspension of tariffs on cooked and peeled Oregon pink shrimp, a move supported by UK seafood importers. While the suspension was initially accepted, it was revoked in early 2025. According to Oregon industry groups, the reversal may have been influenced by potential trade negotiations between the UK and the US, as detailed in their letter.“The UK's decision to maintain the steep 20 percent tariff on jordani shrimp remains a significant barrier to Oregon shrimpers' ability to supply the UK market.”“As previously noted by the OTC, the disparities in tariffs between the US and the UK for the same seafood products directly hurts American fishermen.13 It is therefore necessary for the Administration to address the harm caused by this unfair trade practice by eliminating the current tariff imposed by the UK on US coldwater pink shrimp. Doing so provides further opportunities for domestic, sustainably harvested seafood to compete on a level international playing field,” the group wrote in its letter.
US retail sales of frozen seafood feel inflation’s bite, but salmon defies the trend
Frozen seafood saw greater price increases than fresh and ambient seafood, with price spikes for major species.
Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - September 16, 2025
US seafood sales faced headwinds in August as inflation and waning consumer sentiment dragged down volume across fresh, frozen and shelf-stable categories, according to new data from Circana, analyzed by Texas-based 210 Analytics.
Russia-Japan seafood trade defies political headwinds
Sockeye salmon landings also jumped due to strong catches.
Intrafish by Evgeny Vovchenko - September 18, 2025
Despite ongoing tensions and sanctions between Russia and Japan, Russian seafood exports to Japan have continued to grow.
Mapping Alaska’s Wild Kelp Beds with Farmers
NOAA Fisheries and seaweed farmers team up to chart wild kelp beds, helping grow Alaska’s seaweed aquaculture industry.
NOAA Fisheries - September 16, 2025
Alaska’s coastline holds vast, untapped potential for seaweed aquaculture—but knowing exactly where wild kelp grows is critical for sustainable expansion. A new mapping project, led by NOAA Fisheries in collaboration with Alaska Sea Grant and local farmers, is working to locate these wild kelp beds. This will help:
Federal Register
Agency Information Collection Activities; Submission to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for Review and Approval; Comment Request; West Coast Groundfish Trawl Logbook
A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 09/18/2025
The Department of Commerce will submit the following information collection request to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB) for review and clearance in accordance with the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995, on or after the date of publication of this notice. We invite the general public and other Federal agencies to comment on proposed and continuing information collections, which helps us assess the impact of our information collection requirements and minimize the public's reporting burden. Public comments were previously requested via the Federal Register on March 31, 2025 (90 FR 14252), during a 60-day comment period. This notice allows for an additional 30 days for public comments.
Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2025-2026 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Inseason Adjustments
A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 09/18/2025
This final rule announces routine inseason adjustments to management measures in commercial and recreational groundfish fisheries. These inseason adjustments will change depth restrictions and trip limits for some stocks in recreational and commercial groundfish fisheries off the California coast to allow more attainment of healthy stocks that co-occur with California quillback rockfish. This action is intended to allow commercial and recreational fishing vessels to access more abundant groundfish stocks while protecting overfished and depleted stocks.
Longtime director of Fishery Management Council to retire
Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - September 17, 2025
David Witherell, the longest-serving staffer of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, has announced plans to retire as executive director of the council at the end of October.
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