Monday, September 22, 2025
- admin04655
- Sep 21
- 4 min read
Alaska
Sun'aq Tribe awarded $2.3 million to improve kelp processing KMXT by Brian Venua - September 18, 2025 The money comes from the Southeast Conference's Alaska Mariculture Cluster, as part of a $49 million it received from a federal grant awarded back in 2022. https://www.kmxt.org/news/2025-09-18/sunaq-tribe-awarded-2-3-million-to-improve-kelp-processing Commissioner’s permit available for new GOA tuna fishery Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - September 19, 2025 A brand-new Pacific tuna fishery is open in the eastern Gulf of Alaska and state fisheries officials are anticipating a commercial harvest coming soon.https://thecordovatimes.com/2025/09/19/commissioners-permit-new-goa-tuna-fishery/
West Coast
‘Hurts American fishermen’: Oregon stakeholders urge trade leaders to change U.K. tariffs
KION by Jashayla Pettigrew - September 19, 2025
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Oregon fishermen are asking federal leaders to step in on trade challenges between the seafood industry and the U.K.
US House committee advances Young Fishermen’s Development Act reauthorization
Seafood Source by Nathan Strout - September 18, 2025
The U.S. House Natural Resources Committee has advanced a bill reauthorizing the Young Fishermen's Development Act, legislation that supports workforce development and training for the nation’s next generation of fishers.
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Western Pacific Council Pushes for Tougher Standards on Seafood Imports
SeafoodNews.com by Susan Chambers - September 22, 2025
Western Pacific fishery managers are pressing federal regulators to crack down on seafood imports that don’t meet US standards for protecting marine mammals.At its meeting last week, the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council urged NOAA to strengthen newly finalized Marine Mammal Protection Act Import Provisions, which were published earlier this month in the Federal Register. The Council called for stricter benchmarks when reviewing foreign fisheries and requested a transparent process that allows for public and stakeholder input.The import rules, first authorized in 1972 but only now being fully enforced, are meant to block seafood products from countries that fail to meet US requirements for reducing marine mammal bycatch, according to the Council. For the first time, NOAA has issued Comparability Findings that will ban imports from certain nations and fisheries starting Jan. 1, 2026 — affecting roughly 15% of U.S. seafood imports.However, the restrictions do not cover tuna longline fisheries in the Western and Central Pacific, a gap that Council members have flagged as a major concern, the Council stated in a press release. The Council also requested that NMFS analyze the extent to which the new rule affects the US tuna supply.Hawai'i Longline Association Executive Director Eric Kingma criticized the findings during public comment, questioning how foreign fleets could be seen as less harmful to false killer whales than Hawai'i's tightly regulated longline fleet. “You’re telling me that foreign distant-water longline fisheries operating around Hawai‘i, in the same proximity and same fishing grounds as us, are removing hooks from false killer whales without causing serious injury? To me, that is absolutely inaccurate,” Kingma said.Spotlight on Deep-Sea MiningThe Council also turned its attention to renewed interest in deep-sea mining. University of Hawai‘i Professor Jeff Drazen outlined potential risks to marine ecosystems from new extraction technologies being considered in the Clarion Clipperton Zone and waters off American Samoa, the Council said.Council member Matt Ramsey stressed that not all mining methods are equal, comparing heavy “tractoring” machines that scrape the seabed to bottom trawling – already banned in Council waters since 1983 – while noting that newer robotic collection technologies may present different environmental challenges. Traditional tractoring methods involve large machines moving across the ocean floor, creating sediment plumes and discharges, according to the statement, while companies such as Impossible Metals are developing robotic arms designed to pluck individual mineral nodules from the seafloor.The Council directed staff to keep tracking developments and invited NOAA to brief members on pending recovery permit applications at its next meeting.CNMI Bottomfish Catch Limits SetIn other business, the Council took initial action to set the Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands bottomfish catch limits for 2026–2029 at 72,000 pounds annually, with an annual catch target of 66,000 pounds. The lower ACT provides a buffer to ensure harvests remain sustainable under updated NMFS stock assessments.
Labeling and Marketing
3MMI - Global Salmon End of Summer Season Update
Tradex Foods - September 22, 2025
The 2025 summer salmon season is wrapping up with global supply under pressure, as both Alaska and Russia face some of their lowest odd-year harvests in decades. Sockeye held strong in Alaska and Fraser River, but pink salmon came in well below expectations, tightening overall availability. With Russia consuming up to 90% of its catch domestically and buyers turning to chum as a substitute, supply will remain constrained heading into the fall season. Watch to Find Out More.
Op-ed: From docks to dinner plates, Sea Grant delivers real value for working waterfronts
Seafood Source by Curt Brown, Leann Cyr, Bob Rheault, and Scott Hickman - September 22, 2025
Curt Brown is a commercial lobsterman and marine biologist with Bold Coast Seafood in Maine. Leann Cyr is the executive director of the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA) and a health and safety researcher. Bob Rheault is the executive director of the East Coast Shellfish Growers Association and a long-time shellfish farmer in Rhode Island. Scott Hickman is a Texas-based charter and commercial fisherman who chairs the Texas Sea Grant Advisory Board.
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