Thursday, March 18, 2021

Alaska Lawmakers consider relaxing conflict rules for boards of fish, game KSTK by Sage Smiley - March 16, 2021 Members of the citizen boards that set the rules for fishing and hunting on state lands aren’t allowed to join the discussion if they have a conflict of interest. https://www.kstk.org/2021/03/16/lawmakers-consider-relaxing-conflict-rules-for-boards-of-fish-game/ Federal Register Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2021-2022 Biennial Specifications and Management Measures; Correction A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 03/16/2021 This action contains corrections to the final rule for the 2021-2022 Biennial Harvest Specifications and Management Measures for groundfish harvested in the U.S. exclusive economic zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California published on December 11, 2020. This action corrects: the Rockfish Conservation Area (RCA) waypoints for the 100 fathom depth contour, the other flatfish gear restrictions in the RCA, language describing the boundary lines for the depth contours, and the boundaries of the non-groundfish RCA for California halibut, sea cucumber, and ridgeback prawns south of 34°27′ N. lat. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/16/2021-05359/magnuson-stevens-act-provisions-fisheries-off-west-coast-states-pacific-coast-groundfish-fishery North Pacific Fishery Management Council; Public MeetingA Notice by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 03/17/2021The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) Enforcement Committee will meet March 31, 2021.https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/03/17/2021-05538/north-pacific-fishery-management-council-public-meeting FYI’s Comment Sought on Proposals for Washington State’s Ocean Salmon Fisheries Fishermen's News - March 17, 2021 Fishery managers have developed options for Washington’s ocean salmon fisheries reflecting the need to minimize impacts to low forecasts of abundances of coastal coho stocks, while providing opportunity to access the large forecast for Columbia River coho. Three ocean options approved by the Pacific Fishery Management Council are now up for public review. http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2021/03/comment-sought-on-proposals-for.html Cutter Douglas Munro returns home from final patrol KMXT by Dylan Simard - March 17, 2021 After 49 days at sea on its final patrol, the Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro has returned home to Kodiak. https://kmxt.org/2021/03/cutter-douglas-munro-returns-home-from-final-patrol/ Mental Health and the Modern Fisherman With support from their advocates, fishermen are starting to confront the toll that dangerous working conditions, economic and environmental uncertainty, and ever-changing regulations take on their minds and bodies. Hakai Magazine by Christina Couch - March 16, 2021 In 2005, Randy Cushman spent two days trolling through the Gulf of Maine, searching for Gary Thorbjornson’s body. Thorbjornson was family—not by blood, but in all the ways that really count. The men had grown up together, fishing the gulf’s waters since they were kids, and the intervening decades had sculpted their lives into similar shapes: careers in commercial fishing, marriages at about the same time, children of about the same age, and a tight-knit fishing community around Port Clyde, Maine. https://www.hakaimagazine.com/features/mental-health-and-the-modern-fisherman/ Opinion Commentary: Shield Alaska fisheries from trade battles with China Cordova Times by Gov. Mike Dunleavy, Guest Commentary - March 17, 2021 Dear Secretary of State Blinken, In light of your imminent meeting with Chinese officials in Alaska, I write to impress upon you the international challenges faced by our commercial fishing industry. Perhaps no group of Alaskans has been impacted more severely by the global economic collapse than our fishers and processors. Both coped admirably with the logistical challenges of running businesses that rely on the free movement of labor, but neither escaped the pain of demand shock that rippled outward from shuttered restaurants, reductions in consumer spending, and the partial collapse of many export markets. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2021/03/17/commentary-shield-alaska-fisheries-from-trade-battles-with-china/

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