Tuesday, June 28, 2022

Alaska Salmon season opens, with all eyes on sockeye potential National Fisherman by Charlie Ess - June 27, 2022 Alaska’s salmon season went off with a bang in some areas and a thud in others, while some areas will have to wait until fish arrive to make predictions on their seasons. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/alaska/salmon-season-opens-with-all-eyes-on-sockeye-potential A federal court temporarily suspends ADF&G from announcing conflicting openers on the Kuskokwim KYUK by Olivia Ebertz - June 24, 2022 A federal court ruled that the State of Alaska cannot issue gillnet openers for all Alaskans in the federal areas of the Kuskokwim River, at least for now. That will be the job of the federal government. A local Tribal group requested the order favoring federal management following disagreements between state and federal managers. The court order follows years of low Chinook and chum salmon runs on the Kuskokwim River and in the broader region. https://www.kyuk.org/science-and-environment/2022-06-24/a-federal-court-temporarily-suspends-adf-g-from-announcing-conflicting-openers-on-the-kuskokwim Massive Tundra Fires in Western Alaska Threaten Fishing Communities SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - June 24, 2022 Fishermen and their families in St. Mary’s on the Yukon and in Dillingham and King Salmon in Bristol Bay were breathing a bit easier earlier this week when wildfires are no longer advancing their way. Residents of St. Marys evacuated as the East Fork fire — currently 125,000 acres — came within 3.5 miles of the Yukon River community. In Dillingham, the Iowithla River Fire, then burning some 36,500 acres, advanced to within 9.5 miles of the largest population center in the Bristol Bay region, just a few weeks away from peak fishing when the 1,500-member fleet will be delivering more than a million salmon a day to processors. And in King Salmon, the Pike Creek fire, along with the nearby Koktuli River fire burning 111,500 acres, got within nine miles of the 2nd largest community serving the Bristol Bay fishery. Statewide this has been a year of record-breaking wildfires in Alaska already. More than 1 million acres have gone up in flames already, the Washington Post reported last weekend, the earliest date on record. Far more are burning in the tundra as climate change has thawed the permafrost areas and allowed more vegetation to grow. More than 100 wildfires — almost all caused by lightning brought by unusual weather patterns that are also a feature of global climate change, are still burning, including the East Fork Fire, now over 165,000 acres and ranked as the state's fifth-largest tundra fire on record. Current weather conditions and lightning strikes over the past week have taken fire activity from a Preparedness Level 3 to 4 as of noon on Wednesday, June 22. Elevating the Preparedness Level to 4 means more firefighting resources will be allocated to Alaska because of the potential for extreme fire behavior, increased difficulty to control or extinguishing fires, and the probability of new starts. Preparedness Level 5 is the highest level identified in the Alaska Preparedness Plan. The latest state update on the Lime Complex fires, which includes the Pike Creek/Koktuli River fires near King Salmon, notes “significant fire movement on Upper Talarik (#205) and Pike Creek (#239)/Koktuli River (#240) fires. “There is a high-pressure ridge that is expected to bring temperatures into the lower 80-degree range. Sustained winds are expected to be widespread from Southwest region through south central,” state officials wrote. “There are expected winds of 12-15 mph which will lead to movement along the perimeters of the active fires. Due to this impact of weather, there will be a measurable increase in fire behavior and measurable growth along the active fire perimeters. Communities in the area will likely experience smoke as the wind shifts throughout the day.” Over the next week, a predicted "heat dome" will be over a wide section of the state, from Southwest to Juneau. Fire watchers have said this could create conditions, including increased lightning and thunderstorms, that could result in more strikes and a growing number of wildfires. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1228771/Massive-Tundra-Fires-in-Western-Alaska-Threaten-Fishing-Communities International Biden raises U.S. tariff rate on certain Russian imports to 35% Reuters - June 27, 2022 WASHINGTON, June 27 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden on Monday raised the tariff rate on certain Russian imports to 35% as a result of suspending Russia's "most favored nation" trading status over its war in Ukraine, according to a proclamation issued by the White House. https://www.reuters.com/markets/us/biden-raises-us-tariff-rate-certain-russian-imports-35-2022-06-2 Biden aims at China in new illegal fishing policy framework AP News by Barry Hatton and Joshua Goodman - June 28, 2022 LISBON, Portugal (AP) — The Biden administration is stepping up efforts to combat illegal fishing by China, ordering federal agencies to better coordinate among themselves as well as with foreign partners in a bid to promote sustainable exploitation of the world’s oceans. https://apnews.com/article/climate-politics-china-5c5b2f79c2f02196651cf99f5bfc4ac0 FYI’s Salmon Jam kicks off July 11 in Cordova Copper River Salmon Jam celebrates art and salmon Cordova Times - June 24, 2022 The Copper River Salmon Jam planning committee announced that this year’s Salmon Jam events in Cordova will begin on July 11, spread out around town, with live music scheduled on the evenings of July 15 and 16 at Mt. Eyak Ski Area. Cordova Arts & Pageants will host local musicians on the Salmon Jam stage, along with this year’s headliner, alt rock, avant-garde Alaska band, Zen Trembles. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/06/24/salmon-jam-kicks-off-july-11-in-cordova/ 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. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.