Tuesday, May 17, 2022

Alaska A healthy herring harvest for Alaska National Fisherman by Charlie Ess - May 16, 2022 All through the 1980s and ‘90s, in April hundreds of seiners, crab boats, floating processors, and other support vessels made the long trek across the Bering Sea to convene in the northwest reaches of Bristol Bay near the village of Togiak. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/a-healthy-herring-harvest-for-alaska Alaska salmon LIVE UPDATES: Copper River salmon season kicks off Follow along to get the latest news on Alaska's wild salmon season this year in one convenient roundup. IntraFish by Rachel Sapin - May 16, 2022 The 2022 Alaska salmon season has officially started, and that means our full-season coverage kicks off as well. https://www.intrafish.com/markets/alaska-salmon-live-updates-copper-river-salmon-season-kicks-off/2-1-1219230 West Coast Spring/Summer Crabbing Rules Go Into Effect in Washington, Oregon as Whales Arrive SeafoodNews.com by Susan Chambers - May 17, 2022 Whales are migrating along the West Coast, which means Dungeness crabbers have to adjust their fishing behavior to avoid whale entanglements at a time when ex-vessel prices are favorable to fishermen. In Oregon, the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission has contracted with six vessels coastwide to recover derelict pots outside 40 fathoms in an effort to help decrease the risk of entanglements. The spring in-season derelict crab pot recovery is a pilot project set up by the Crab Commission in partnership with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Crab pots frequently get moved and lost due to heavy storms, natural drifting debris, or vessel traffic and is then considered derelict gear. Recovery efforts target waters deeper than 40 fathoms where commercial crab pots are prohibited beginning May 1. "Although prevalence of ESA-listed species entangled in Oregon crab pots is low, research shows endangered and threatened humpback whales are most abundant in offshore Oregon waters from spring through fall," ODFW said in a press release. Oregon’s main entanglement risk reduction strategy is designed to reduce the overlap of protected species with crab pots, and the number of vertical lines in the water. Retrieving derelict pots at the end of the spring crabbing season is supporting this strategy aimed at both conserving Oregon’s protected species and maintaining a sustainable and thriving commercial Dungeness crab fishery. The ODCC allocated $70,000 to contract with commercial crabbers to find and retrieve derelict pots along the Oregon coast. Crabbers applied to be part of the program. Successful applicants receive a daily stipend, $100 per pot retrieved, and reimbursement for fuel costs. Anyone can report derelict pots seen outside 40 fathoms to 541-267-5810 or email info@oregondungeness.org. So far this season, Washington crabbers have delivered more than $89 million of Dungeness; already more than the almost $72 million last year. Oregon fishermen also are enjoying a great season, delivering $90 million worth of crab during the 2021-2022 season vs. $60.5 million in the 2020-2021 season. However, preliminary ex-vessel prices in April and May are lower this year than last year. Oregon crabbers were getting an average of $8.39 per pound in April 2021 and $7.63 per pound in April this year, according to the PacFIN database. Average ex-vessel prices for Washington fishermen were $7.75 per pound in April last year and $7.11 this year. Inside 40 fathoms, the Oregon commercial crabbing season continues through Aug. 14 but with a 20 percent reduction in the number of pots used to avoid crowding and reduce vertical lines. All pots must be removed from the water by the end of the season. Similarly in Washington, crabbers will have to adhere to reduced pot limits in the coastal crab fishery to reduce the risk of entanglements when whales may be present off the coast. Between May 1 and Sept. 15: - Licenses with a permanent pot limit of 500 will be assigned a reduced pot limit of 330 pots; and - Licenses with a permanent pot limit of 300 will be assigned a reduced pot limit of 200 pots. Additionally, Washington crab gear deployed after May 1 must have summer buoy tags attached. Licensed crab gear left in the ocean after April 30 without summer buoy tags attached will be subject to gear recovery. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225870/Spring-Summer-Crabbing-Rules-Go-Into-Effect-in-Washington-Oregon-as-Whales-Arrive National These Are The Top 10 Seafood Items Consumed In The U.S. For 2020 Urner Barry by Amanda Buckle - May 17, 2020 Seafood consumption figures are in for 2020, revealing how the pandemic helped - and hurt - the industry. When the coronavirus began spreading in the U.S. in early 2020, the government took extreme lockdown measures, shutting down all non-essential businesses. While restaurants were allowed to remain open, their dining rooms were closed. This was a major blow to the seafood industry, where fish and shellfish thrived at dine-in. However, retail seafood purchases did increase with many people using the lockdown to learn how to cook items that they might not normally have cooked at home. But that uptick in retail purchases weren’t enough to make up for the loss at foodservice. NOAA’s 2020 Fisheries of the United States report reveals that per capita consumption of seafood dropped slightly from 19.3 pounds in 2019 to 19.0 in 2020. A deeper dive into the “Top Ten” list by the National Fisheries Institute (NFI) sheds some interesting light. Shrimp held its top spot and even increased consumption from 4.7 pounds in 2019 to 5.0 pounds in 2020. Salmon stayed at the number two spot, but consumption dropped from 3.1 in 2019 to 2.83 pounds in 2020. Canned Tuna stayed in the number three spot and increased from 2.2 pounds in 2019 to 2.60 pounds in 2020. Tilapia bumped Alaska pollock from the number four spot and increased consumption from 0.98 pounds in 2019 to 1.07 pounds in 2020. Alaska Pollock came in at number five, with consumption decreasing from 0.996 pounds in 2019 to 0.88 pounds in 2020. Cod stayed at the number six spot and had a slight decrease from 0.59 pounds in 2019 to 0.57 pounds in 2020. Crab consumption stayed the same at 0.52 pounds, and catfish decreased from 0.55 pounds in 2019 to 0.52 pounds in 2020. Pangasius consumption increased from 0.36 pounds in 2019 to 0.39 pounds in 2020. Finally, scallops entered the top 10, bumping clams which came in the 10th spot in 2019 with 0.3 pounds. Scallop consumption in 2020 was 0.22 pounds. Overall the top 10 items made up 14.60 pounds (77%) of the 19.0 pounds per capita consumption. NFI notes that the raw data provided by NOAA is “historically retrospective, so pandemic-related market forces will likely only really be illustrated by data released over the next few years.” “The next Top Ten list could answer some long-held questions,” explains NFI Programs Director Richard Barry. “Keep in mind, experts at the Global Seafood Market Conference, in January, were busy mapping a predicted overall increase in pandemic-era seafood consumption and species diversification trends, so watch this space.”

Photo Credit: National Fisheries Institute https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225863/These-Are-The-Top-10-Seafood-Items-Consumed-In-The-US-For-2020

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