Tuesday, January 18, 2022

Alaska After a yearlong closure, Tanner crab season makes a comeback off Kodiak Island KMXT by Kirsten Dobroth - January 14, 2022 Dave Kubiak spent a recent rainy Thursday stacking the deck of his boat, the Laura Lee, with crab pots in preparation for Kodiak’s Tanner crab season. According to him, the night before the season is always exciting. https://kmxt.org/2022/01/after-a-yearlong-closure-tanner-crab-season-makes-a-comeback-off-kodiak-island/ International Russian Crab Catchers to Build New Refrigeration Facilities in Far East SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - January 17, 2022 The Russian Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybolovstvo) plans to oblige domestic crab producers to invest in the construction of new refrigeration facilities in the country, which should solve the problem of their shortage in the Far East. The second stage of crab auctions in Russia is scheduled for 2023 and will involve distribution of 50% of crab quotas, which will be divided into 35 lots. According to initial plans, all the auction winners would be required to invest in the construction of crab-producing trawlers. However, there is a possibility that these plans may be revised. Still, according to the Russian Kommersant business paper, citing its sources in Rosrybolovstvo, the latter has some concerns that the building of another 35 crab ships will be excessive for the industry. In this regard, a priority could be given to the construction of refrigeration capacities, which can solve the problem of their current shortage. Due to closure of the Chinese market for Russian fish in the Far East, of the existing 220,000 tons of storage capacity, less than 5–10% remained free during peak periods in Russia in 2021. The Association of Fishing Enterprises of Primorye (ARPP) agrees that the construction of 35 new crab catchers will become excessive for the industry. As Georgy Martynov, president of ARPP told Kommersant, it would be more reasonable to wait until the completion of construction of vessels of the first stage and analyze how their activities will affect the crab stock. The ARPP believes that new auctions with quotas for crab catch should be postponed to 2034, when the contracts for the first stage expire. In the meantime, representatives of Russian Crab Group of Companies said that building new ships is the systematic replacement of the old fleet and can not be considered as an increase in the number of crab catchers. According to the company, about 150 vessels are currently working on crab fishing in Russia, while the average age of the crab fleet is more than 30 years, which is 1.5-2 times longer than the standard operating life. As a result of the first stage of the auctions, only 40 new crab ships will be built, and the second stage will provide an opportunity to continue the fleet renewal program at about the same volume. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1216743/Russian-Crab-Catchers-to-Build-New-Refrigeration-Facilities-in-Far-East Environment/Science Past heat waves and low sea ice continued to impact Alaska’s waters in 2021 KDLL by Sabine Poux - January 17, 2022 The so-called blob that brought warm surface water temperatures to the Gulf of Alaska between 2014 and 2016 has passed. But the effects of that blob, and a subsequent heat wave in 2019, are not all in the rearview mirror. And researchers are bracing for more as climate change brings with it more ocean warming. https://www.ktoo.org/2022/01/17/heat-waves-low-sea-ice-impact-alaska-waters/ Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Groundfish in the Red King Crab Savings Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 01/18/2022 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for groundfish by vessels using nonpelagic trawl gear in the Red King Crab Savings Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary because the State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game did not established a guideline harvest level fishery for red king crab in the Bristol Bay area for the 2021/2022 fishing year. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/18/2022-00739/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-groundfish-in-the-red-king-crab-savings-subarea FYI’s BOF Southeast meeting set for March 10-22 in Anchorage Registration required to provide for contact tracing if COVID-19 spreads at meeting Cordova Times - January 13, 2022 Alaska Board of Fisheries officials have rescheduled the Southeast and Yakutat shellfish and finfish meeting for March 10-22 in Anchorage. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/01/13/bof-southeast-meeting-set-for-march-10-22-in-anchorage/ Tim Fitzgerald joins American Seafoods as chief sustainability officer Seafood Source by Cliff White - January 14, 2022 Tim Fitzgerald, the former head of EDF’s global programs on seafood markets, supply chain engagement and fisheries finance, has been named the chief sustainability officer at Seattle, Washington, U.S.A.-based pollock fishing company American Seafoods Group. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/tim-fitzgerald-joins-american-seafoods-as-chief-sustainability-officer 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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