Monday, September 19, 2022

Alaska NOAA Fisheries unveils new strategic plan for Alaska KDLL by Riley Board - September 15, 2022 A new five-year plan from the NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office lays out institutional values and goals for Alaska fisheries and for working with their many stakeholders. https://www.kdll.org/local-news/2022-09-15/noaa-fisheries-unveils-new-strategic-plan-for-alaska PWS fisheries wind down with catch at 31.2M salmon caught 2019 drought, warmer water temperatures likely cause of low coho harvest Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - September 16, 2022 Opportunity for commercial salmon harvests in 2022 is winding down rapidly, as state fisheries biologists in Cordova wait for survey results to see if any additional fishing for gillnetters in the Copper and Bering rivers should be authorized. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/09/16/pws-fisheries-wind-down-with-catch-at-31-2m-salmon-caught/ New report highlights soaring economy, loss of state jobs in Southeast Alaska KRBD by Eric Stone - September 13, 2022 Southeast Alaska’s economy saw a massive rebound in 2021 and has continued to recover from the pandemic this year, but there’s concern that vanishing state jobs and a lack of housing could weigh on the continued recovery. https://www.krbd.org/2022/09/13/new-report-highlights-soaring-economy-loss-of-state-jobs-in-southeast-alaska/ Alaska Fisheries Report September 15, 2022 KMXT - September 15, 2022 This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: The Crab Committee of the Bycatch Taskforce asks questions about unobserved mortality, and what the word pelagic means. Plus KMXT’s Kirsten Dobroth reports on a blowy beginning to B season Pollock in the Central Gulf. https://kmxt.org/2022/09/alaska-fisheries-report-september-15-2022/ West Coast West Coast Feeling Pinch of Biden's Renewed, Greater Floating Offshore Wind Push SeafoodNews.com by Susan Chambers - September 16, 2022 The Biden administration's announcement Thursday of an invigorated push to develop floating offshore wind hit the West Coast seafood industry like a winter storm. Few, if any, fishermen or processors had heard about the plan, outlined as a launch of "coordinated actions to develop new floating offshore wind platforms, an emerging clean energy technology that will help the United States lead on offshore wind," the Department of Energy and the White House said in a press release. "In tandem with President Biden’s economic and clean energy agenda, these actions will create good-paying jobs, lower energy costs for families, and strengthen U.S. energy security." It's the same thing the administration has been touting since Biden took office. And again, the 77,000 good-paying jobs it promotes as a positive aspect to the plan fails to consider the seafood jobs offshore wind will replace. This announcement, from the Departments of Energy, Interior, Commerce, and Transportation and the White House includes initiatives that focus on floating offshore wind -- the only types of platforms that are suitable for deeper waters, like those off the West Coast, Hawaii or farther offshore on the East Coast or in the Gulf of Maine. The new initiatives are designed to push for deployment of 15 GW of floating offshore wind, enough energy to power 5 million homes and lower offshore energy costs by 70 percent by 2035. The announcement comes at the same time as the National Renewable Energy Laboratory announced a new resource assessment that showed the potential for 2.8 terawatts of energy from floating offshore wind farms across eight geographic areas in the contiguous United States. "This represents regional and national opportunities for offshore wind energy development," the Department of Energy said. The initiative aimed at lowering costs is one key change to this new promotion. Floating offshore wind in the past has been modeled as one of the most expensive forms of renewable energy. The first offshore wind company, Principle Power, to propose floating offshore wind in 2012-2014 discovered Pacific Northwest utilities were reluctant to buy the expensive power and pass the rates on to their customers. The Oregon Legislature failed to pass a bill mandating the power purchase. Oregon and Washington ratepayers enjoy some of the lowest electricity rates in the country thanks to the Bonneville Power Administration and extensive hydropower systems. The three items of the Biden offshore wind agenda include: New Floating Offshore Wind Shot to Lower Costs by 70 Percent: The administration said it is creating a Floating Offshore Wind Shot to accelerate breakthroughs across engineering, manufacturing, and other innovation areas. The Floating Offshore Wind Shot will aim to reduce the costs of floating technologies by more than 70% by 2035, to $45 per megawatt-hour. New Goal to Reach 15 GW by 2035: The administration will advance lease areas in deep waters in order to deploy 15 GW of floating offshore wind capacity by 2035—building on the President’s existing goal of deploying 30 GW of offshore wind by 2030, which will be largely met using fixed-bottom technology. Research & Development Investments: To support these goals, this week the Administration launched a new prize competition for floating offshore wind platform technologies; initiatives funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to develop modeling tools for project design and to analyze port needs; and other funding for research, development, and demonstration efforts. The Pacific Fishery Management Council met earlier in the week and had no idea the administration would make the announcement. However, testimony under the Council's Marine Planning agenda item seemed prescient. Midwater Trawlers Cooperative Executive Director Heather Mann said what many fishermen and Council members have said in the past: "It is impossible to calculate how momentous these activities are and the impact they are going have on our industries, our jobs and our environment on the West Coast. In more than 25 years of working in commercial fisheries, offshore wind energy development is hands down the most significant threat we will face." Sport and commercial fishermen, processors and conservation groups have pushed the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management and other state and federal agencies to slow down in the rush to get offshore wind platforms in the Pacific Ocean. "We understand the need to fight climate change and produce seafood. However, we are concerned that federal agencies are using these broad goals to push too fast for projects that may not be appropriate at the expense of meaningful consideration and stakeholder concerns and without adequately considering the tradeoffs," Oceana Senior Scientist Geoff Shester testified before the Council Tuesday. "This has the effect of underestimating impacts to fisheries, marine wildlife and marine habitats." Some scientists have touted offshore wind as a clean energy alternative and a way to combat climate change. But other scientists counter that installation of floating platforms are still years away and will do little immediately to solve the current climate crisis. "Specific to offshore wind, we believe that globally, it could be a part of climate solutions. However, on the West Coast, we believe that BOEM is putting the cart before the horse." https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1235166/Ocean-Acidification-Another-Climate-Issue Environment/Science EPA extension on decision draws more comment on proposed Pebble mine Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - September 16, 2022 A U.S. Environmental Protection Agency decision to extend its decision on whether to finalize proposed restrictions on the proposed Pebble mine in Southwest Alaska until Dec. 2 is prompting further https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/09/16/epa-extension-on-decision-draws-more-comment-on-proposed-pebble-mine/ Federal Register North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public Meetings A Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 09/16/2022 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) and its advisory committees will meet via hybrid conference October 3, 2022 through October 11, 2022. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/09/16/2022-20054/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meetings FYI’s High-end coolers wash up on Alaska beaches after Washington cargo spill KUOW by John Ryan - September 7, 2022 Consumer goods from coolers to bike helmets have been washing up on beaches on the Gulf of Alaska, at least a 1,200-mile journey from Washington’s Olympic Peninsula, where a cargo ship spilled 109 shipping containers in October. https://www.kuow.org/stories/high-end-coolers-wash-up-on-alaskan-beaches-following-washington-cargo-spill Alaska Sea Grant Offering Strategy Session for New Seafood Harvesters Fishermen's News - September 14, 2022 Educational institution Alaska Sea Grant is planning a virtual and in-person strategy session on Friday, Sept. 30, for educators and training organizations whose goal is to teach newcomers to the seafood industry how to be successful in harvesting. https://fishermensnews.com/alaska-sea-grant-offering-strategy-session-for-new-seafood-harvesters/ 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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