Monday, April 25, 2022

Alaska Southeast pink salmon harvest could drop by two-thirds this year KSTK by Sage Smiley - April 22, 2022 Southeast Alaska’s pink salmon harvest is predicted to drop by two-thirds (66 percent) this year compared to last year, according to a report from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game released Tuesday (April 19). But the forecast shows the harvest could be double the last even-year pink salmon return to the region. Pink salmon runs in Southeast tend to peak in odd years, and fall in even years. https://www.kstk.org/2022/04/22/southeast-pink-salmon-harvest-could-drop-by-two-thirds-this-year/ NOAA opens up nearly $200 million in loans for six Western Alaska nonprofits KUCB by Maggie Nelson - April 22, 2022 Six Western Alaska nonprofits can now apply for a slice of nearly $200 million in federal loans to pay for fishing vessels, quota and other industry expenses to support economic development in their region. https://www.kucb.org/regional/2022-04-22/noaa-opens-up-nearly-200-million-in-loans-for-six-western-alaska-nonprofits ADF&G releases statewide forecasts, harvest projections for 2022 Cordova Times - April 22, 2022 State fisheries officials have released their annual statewide salmon run forecast and commercial harvest projection report, which projects a 2022 record sockeye salmon harvest of 74 million fish mostly from Bristol Bay, plus a substantially smaller harvest of pink salmon than occurred in 2021. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/04/22/adfg-releases-statewide-forecasts-harvest-projections-for-2022/ Here's how many Kuskokwim salmon ADF&G estimates made escapement in 2021 KYUK by Anna Rose MacArthur - April 22, 2022 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released its estimates of the 2021 Kuskokwim River salmon escapement. Escapement refers to the fish that escape harvest nets to swim to the headwaters to spawn. https://www.kyuk.org/hunting-fishing/2022-04-22/heres-how-many-kuskokwim-salmon-adf-g-estimates-made-escapement-in-2021 International Japan, Russia settle salmon quota amid tensions over Ukraine AP News by Mari Yamaguchi - April 23, 2022 TOKYO (AP) — Japan and Russia have reached an agreement over Tokyo’s annual catch quota for Russian-born salmon and trout, the Japanese Fisheries Agency said Saturday, despite delays and chilled relations between the two sides amid Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. https://apnews.com/article/russia-ukraine-business-europe-fish-salmon-33bae2ca219ae7ceb7aa9ca309348783 State Department criticized over foreign research vessel issues PEER: foreign researchers should meet same standards as domestic vessels Cordova Times - April 24, 2022 State Department procedures for approving foreign vessels to conduct scientific research in U.S. waters are being challenged by Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility, which contends that these foreign vessels are not meeting the standards required of domestic researchers. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/04/24/state-department-criticized-over-foreign-research-vessel-issues/ Russian-Affiliated Vessels Banned from U.S. Ports Urner Barry by Ryan Doyle - April 22, 2022 President Joe Biden announced on April 21 that Russian-affiliated vessels would be prohibited from entering United States ports in the Administration’s latest move to address Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. “The policies and actions of the Government of the Russian Federation to continue the premeditated, unjustified, unprovoked, and brutal war against Ukraine constitute a national emergency by reason of a disturbance or threatened disturbance of international relations of the United States,” President Biden wrote. “In order to address this national emergency and secure the observance of the rights and obligations of the United States, I hereby authorize the Secretary of Homeland Security (Secretary) to make and issue such rules and regulations as the Secretary may find appropriate to regulate the anchorage and movement of Russian-affiliated vessels, and delegate to the Secretary my authority to approve such rules and regulations, as authorized by the Magnuson Act.” Vessels impacted by the ban include: vessels of Russian registry (Russian flagged); vessels Russian owned by the Russian government, or a Russian company, citizen, or permanent resident; or Russian-operated vessels. The ban will go into effect on April 28, 2022, per the order. Find the full order from the Biden administration on the Federal Register here. In total, trade between the U.S. and Russia totaled $35 billion in 2019, putting the country just outside of the top 25 trading partners, per Politico. The U.S. had a $17 billion goods trade deficit and a $3 billion services trade surplus with Russia that year. The U.S. has now followed Canada and the European Union to close ports to Russian ships. As SeafoodNews covered, Canada shut its ports to Russia in March and raised tariffs on goods from the country as a response. “The economic costs of the Kremlin’s barbaric war are already high, and they will continue to rise. Canada and our allies are united in our condemnation of President Putin and his war of aggression, and we are united in our support for the remarkable Ukrainians who are so bravely resisting his assault,” Chrystia Freeland, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance said. SeafoodNews managing editor Amanda Buckle has also stayed on top of the EU’s run of sanctions, including the latest slapped on Russia earlier in the month which included a notable ban on certain seafood products like lobster, crab and caviar. The U.S. has also banned Russian seafood, which President Biden announced on March 11. The ban was supposed to go into place at the end of March, however, the deadline was ultimately delayed until June 23 for those that had written purchase agreements in place prior to the March 11 Executive Order, as Buckle wrote earlier this month. The impact of the ban will continue to unfold throughout the year but in his monthly update on the crab industry, seafood consultant Les Hodges indicated that a new world order will emerge as the U.S. supply of crab in the future will be from Canada and Norway on snow crab and the U.S. and Norway on king crab. Urner Barry market reporter Lorin Castiglione noted in late March that with groundfish having a large presence in the foodservice sector where country of origin labeling is not as easily visible, it’s the consumer-facing products, largely in the retail sector, that are under more pressure. Fellow UB market reporter Janice Schreiber reported mixed demand for Russian king crab product during that same time frame. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1224092/Russian-Affiliated-Vessels-Banned-from-US-Ports 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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