Tuesday, May 3, 2022

Alaska From the Mayor’s Desk: It’s business as usual in Cordova for fishing season Editor’s note: In his letter of April 21, Mayor David Allison told commercial seafood harvesters in Cordova that his administration stands ready to help them have a successful season. Cordova Times by David Allison - April 29, 2022 Greetings Community partners in industry, The Cordova City Council has asked me, as mayor, to write this letter to our commercial fishing industry partners as a follow-up to the state of Alaska’s industry letter regarding preparations for the 2022 fishing seasons. As you are aware, the state of Alaska does not have any restrictions/mandates, and the city of Cordova is following state guidelines. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2022/04/29/from-the-mayors-desk-its-business-as-usual-in-cordova-for-fishing-season/ National Labor crunch driving push for more complete processing automation Seafood Source by Chris Chase - May 2, 2022 Seafood companies around the globe have faced a drastic shortage of workers as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic and its ripple-effects. Even though many countries are beginning to ease off their more-stringent COVID-19-pandemic-related restrictions, the seafood industry is reported a continued struggle with a scarcity of labor. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/processing-equipment/labor-crunch-driving-push-for-more-complete-processing-automation International A new Iron Curtain is eroding Norway’s hard-won ties with Russia on Arctic issues NPR News by Quil Lawrence & Connor Donevan - May 2, 2022 Capt. Pal Bratbak has patrolled the Barents Sea for decades. His Norwegian coast guard search-and-rescue cutter mostly chases after distress calls from fishermen. The fishermen are chasing the cod — and the cod sometimes lead them astray. https://www.ktoo.org/2022/05/02/russia-norway-nato-arctic-council/ 2022 Seafood Expo Global award-winners share insights into product innovation Seafood Source by Cliff White - May 3, 2022 Despite concentrating on different parts of the seafood marketplace, a common theme unites the two winners of the grand prizes of the 2022 Seafood Excellence Awards, presented 26 April at Seafood Expo Global in Barcelona, Spain. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/foodservice-retail/2022-seafood-expo-global-award-winners-share-insights-into-product-innovation Bristol Bay Herring Losing Japanese Market Due To Smaller Carcass SeafoodNews.com by Tom Asakawa - May 2, 2022 The primary raw materials for domestic herring products are Pacific herring, such as roe herring from the United States and roe herring and feeding migration herring from Russia. It has a wide range of uses as an edible raw material for year-end products such as kazunoko herring roe, dried fillets, and semi-dressed herring pickled with fermented rice bran, Minato Shimbun reported. The import volume of frozen herring, including roe herring and feeding migration fish, was the lowest in recent years at about 10,000 tons in 2020. In 2021, it was more than double to 23,500 tons due to the increase in production from Alaska in the United States. However, in the early 2000s, more than 40,000 tons in good years, at least 30,000 tons, were brought in. But in recent years, demand has dramatically reduced. In North America, production in British Columbia, Canada, decreased by 60% year-on-year, while Sitka in Southeastern Alaska increased by 70% year-on-year. Kodiak Island also has reportedly good fishing. Bristol Bay will enter the fishing season and reach its final stage from late April to early May. Due to the disengagement of processors in Bristol Bay in recent years, production has continued to be significantly below the catch quota. In 2020, the Bay's processors decreased to one from four in the past, and the Japanese reprocessors faced a raw material shortage. Although production recovered last year, the two largest companies, Silver Bay Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods, caught only 10,000 short tons with purse seine, only about 25% of the catch quota. This season, the total number of purse seine and gillnet fisheries is 65,000 short tons, which is the highest ever. With the withdrawal of Icicle Seafoods, only Silver Bay Seafoods was initially thought to operate. In late March, OBI revealed that it would enter the market, and the same two-company system as last year has been confirmed. However, in recent years, the fish has become remarkably small. Last year the average size was 250 grams, and there were few raw materials for processing for food. This year forecasts that the fish size will be similar to the previous year. Japanese reprocessors are shifting to larger fish from Hokkaido due to bumper catch, and Bristol Bay, which has long been the mainstay of processing raw materials, is losing its place in Japan. Therefore, it is said that the Japanese advance order to Silver Bay has not reached the minimum order of 8000 short tons. It draws attention to how much supply will be to Japan, including OBI, which is expected to produce about 2000 short tons. The fish from Russia is uncertain due to the situation in Ukraine. The feeding migration herring from Kamchatka produced in the fall and winter of last year arrived at the beginning of the year. Roe herring from the Okhotsk Sea, which is about to enter the fishing season, does not hinder production. It is said that the Japanese import is not disrupted unless an embargo is taken on Russian marine products. However, there are many uncertainties, such as the global logistics turmoil caused by the new coronavirus pandemic and the yen depreciation. The COVID lockdowns in China, a third country processor for the Japanese importers, are another uncertainty. One must watch future development. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1224729/Bristol-Bay-Herring-Losing-Japanese-Market-Due-To-Smaller-Carcass FYI’s Fleet Forecast and Run Timing with UW Alaska Salmon Program - Thursday 5/5/22 Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association - April 29, 2022 Join UW Alaska Salmon Program for these important presentations about the 2022 Bristol Bay forecast and run timing. Thursday, May 5, 2022 9:00 AM Alaska Time https://www.bbrsda.com/updates/2022/3/24/fleet-forecast-and-run-timing-with-uw-alaska-salmon-program-5522-wxf9m 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.