Thursday, May 5, 2022

Alaska NSEDC to Resume Purchases of Norton Sound Red King Crab Fishermen's News - May 4, 2022 Norton Sound Economic Development Corp. board members have voted to resume purchases of Norton Sound red king crab this summer. https://fishermensnews.com/comment-period-ending-on-proposed-regulations-revision-for-pacific-halibut/ Seafood Product Development Tax Credit Passes Alaska Legislature, Awaits Governor’s Signature SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - May 5, 2022 A bill to continue for another four years an Alaska state tax credit to seafood processors of value-added salmon and herring, and to broaden that credit to processors of value-added pollock, sablefish and cod has been approved by the State Legislature. SB 33, "An Act relating to a fisheries product development tax credit; and providing for an effective date," passed the state Senate and House earlier this month. “It is awaiting the Governor’s signature,” said Stevens (R-Kodiak) in an email yesterday. “That will probably happen after the session is over. Big step forward.” The Alaska Legislature’s session will end May 19, 2022. Alaska’s annual harvest of about 5.7 billion pounds of wild seafood, shellfish, and mariculture products, has been steady for many years. Volume is not likely to change, so increasing value among seafood products is “key to future growth in the sector,” Stevens said. “SB33 is thus intended to incentivize increasing seafood value by encouraging innovation in the seafood processing sector, facilitating greater utilization of each fish, and providing incentives to respond to changing market demands,” he said. The bill would “extend the ability for Alaska seafood processors to receive capital cost recovery for installing new equipment and for making significant investments to get more value out of each fish. It will also encourage new products made from what would otherwise be fish waste. The seafood industry has moved in this direction for salmon, and has considerable potential to do so in other fisheries,” Stevens said. In 2003, Stevens sponsored the original legislation creating the Alaska Salmon Product Development Tax Credit which ultimately increased the overall value of Alaska salmon. A later bill extended tax credits to herring value-added processing which expanded markets for the fishery. The existing tax credits on salmon and herring cost the state $2.3 million to $4.4 million between 2017 and 2020. Adding Pacific cod and pollock processors could cost the state $2.9 million to 5.1 million per year, Stevens explained in an interview with Kodiak’s radio station KMXT on April 11, 2022. The tax breaks wouldn’t impact fish taxes that pay for local government services, he said. OBI Seafoods CEO Mark Palmer supported the bill during a Senate Finance Committee last January. “The kinds of equipment that we have to invest in are hugely expensive, and seasons that only last six weeks, it is hard to amortize that expense over such a short season,” he said. OBI Seafoods, which has 10 processing facilities in Alaska, focuses on Alaska’s intense salmon season but also process groundfish, shellfish, halibut, and herring. The Alaska Resource Development Council lists salmon as the state’s most valuable fishery, followed by pollock. Prior to 2018, more than a third of the state’s seafood exports went to China, mostly as raw product to be value-added in China. In the last three years, however, that’s drop by 20%. Palmer told Senators that financial incentives to buy new equipment will give processors in Alaska a chance to compete, KMXT reported. “The opportunity is there for us to invest in equipment for full utilization for nutraceuticals, pharmaceuticals, other value-added food grade products,” Palmer told the Senate committee earlier this year. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225061/Seafood-Product-Development-Tax-Credit-Passes-Alaska-Legislature-Awaits-Governors-Signature National NOAA Announces Projects Recommended for Saltonstall-Kennedy 2022 Funding NOAA Fisheries Announces $11.87 million in grant funding for the promotion, development, and marketing of U.S. fisheries. NOAA Fisheries - May 3, 2022 NOAA Fisheries has recommended more than $11.8 million for 44 projects under the 2022 Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program. The projects fall into two categories: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/noaa-announces-projects-recommended-saltonstall-kennedy-2022-funding?utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery International Russia Given Authority to Halt Exports Under Executive Order Signed by Putin Urner Barry by Courtney Shum - May 4, 2022 On Tuesday, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed an Executive Order allowing Russia to halt exports and eliminate existing contracts for individuals on a forthcoming sanctions list. Putin has ordered the Russian government to compile a list of sanctions against foreign individuals and companies over the next 10 days. The Executive Order was signed "to protect the national interests of the Russian Federation in response to unfriendly actions, which contradict international law, undertaken by the U.S., and joined by other foreign states and international organizations," according to a statement on Russia's presidential website. The Russian economy is on track for its biggest contraction in about three decades amid crippling sanctions from the West, according to former Russian Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin. According to U.S. and Western officials, the Russian President could formally declare war on Ukraine as soon as May 9. The move would enable additional troops and equipment movement. U.S. stock futures climbed for the third consecutive session ahead of an anticipated interest rate hike by the Federal Reserve. The central bank is expected to raise interest rates by a half-percentage point for the first time in over two decades. Inflation surged to 8.5% in March, the highest level since 1981, driven by gains in gasoline, food, and other necessities. Early Wednesday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was up 0.2%. S&P 500 gained 0.3% while Nasdaq rose by 0.2%. West Texas Intermediate crude futures, the main oil benchmark for North America, climbed by 3.7% to $106.25 a barrel this morning. Brent futures were up 3.5% to $108.71 a barrel. The national average gas price currently stands at $4.23 a gallon, up 9 cents from the week prior and $1.31 above the year-ago figure, according to AAA. Gas prices are on the rise again, largely due to elevated crude oil prices. The ongoing war in Ukraine has raised concerns about global food and energy supplies since Russia and Ukraine are major exporters of key commodities including wheat and oil. Traders are also eyeing a potential decrease in demand from China due to lockdown measures. “As long as the supply remains tight, it will be hard for crude oil prices to fall and consumers will in turn face higher prices at the pump,” said Andrew Gross, AAA spokesperson. “It now costs drivers in the U.S. about $23 more to fill up than a year ago.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1224913/Russia-Given-Authority-to-Halt-Exports-Under-Executive-Order-Signed-by-Putin Wholesale Prices for Cod, Herring, Pollock and Chum Salmon Have Decreased in Russia SeafoodNews by AK&M Information Agency - May 5, 2022 According to the industry monitoring system, wholesale prices for a number of items of frozen fish products decreased during the week. This was reported by Rosrybolovstvo. As of May 4, 2022, pollock and herring have fallen in price in the Far Eastern region, due to the increasing volume of supply. The price of pollock fell by 2% to 93 rubles per kilogram, herring – by 1% to 94 rubles per kilogram. Keta fell by 5.3% to 360 rubles. In the North-West, amid the strengthening of the ruble, there was a decrease in cod prices by 0.7% to 295 rubles per kilogram. Atlantic herring fell by 3.3%. Prices for another popular assortment of frozen fish have not changed. In the central regions, the positive dynamics of unrealized inventories and the reorientation of consumer demand for other types of products on the eve of the long May holidays provided cheaper pollock, herring, capelin, pink salmon and chum salmon. The cost of pollock fell by 4% to 118 rubles per kilogram, Atlantic herring – by 6.7% to 140 rubles, capelin – by 3.4% to 140 rubles, pink salmon – by 2.9% to 170 rubles, chum salmon – by 2.6% to 375 rubles. Prices for other types of frozen fish were stable. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225033/Wholesale-Prices-for-Cod-Herring-Pollock-and-Chum-Salmon-Have-Decreased-in-Russia FYI’s Health officials talk Bristol Bay COVID safety ahead of first fishing season without restrictions KDLG by Isabelle Ross - May 3, 2022 We’ve come a long way. That was the enduring message from state and local health care providers at a meeting on the current status of the COVID-19 pandemic in Bristol Bay. https://www.kdlg.org/health/2022-05-03/health-officials-talk-bristol-bay-covid-safety-ahead-of-first-fishing-season-without-restrictions 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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