Wednesday, December 14, 2022

Alaska Commercial Tanner crab fishery opens in Eastern Aleutians for first time since 2018 KUCB by Theo Greenly - December 9, 2022 The general harvest level for the Makushin/Skan Bay section of the fishery is 49,000 pounds, which is the second largest there’s been since the section was established in 2004. https://www.kucb.org/industry/2022-12-09/commercial-tanner-crab-fishery-opens-in-eastern-aleutians-for-first-time-since-2018 Bristol Bay Board of Fisheries 2022: Here's how each proposal fared KDLG by Isabelle Ross - December 9, 2022 At the Board of Fisheries meeting last week, it considered 52 proposals to change fisheries regulations in Bristol Bay. The board delayed deciding on proposals 11 - 13 on the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan until its statewide meeting in March, so it started deliberations with proposal 14. https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2022-12-09/bristol-bay-board-of-fisheries-2022-heres-how-each-proposal-fared National Biden administration announces additional H-2B visas Seafood Source by Steve Bittenbender - December 13, 2022 The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden announced Monday, 12 December, that additional H-2B visas will be available for American companies in need of temporary labor over the next nine months. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/biden-administration-announces-additional-h-2b-visas International Russia to Catch 150,00 Tonnes of Pollock, Migrating From US Waters in Bering Sea SeafoodNews.com by Eugene Gerden - December 13, 2022 The Federal Agency for Fishery (Rosrybloovstvo) is working on the creation of a new fishing area in the Bering Sea where Russian fishermen will be able to additionally catch up to 150,000 tons of pollock migrating from U.S. waters to feed in Russia, according to results of the recent meeting of the Far Eastern Scientific Fisheries Council. As Alexei Baitalyuk, deputy director of the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO) said during the meeting, there will be no by-catch restrictions for pollock juveniles for this area, while the volume of catch will probably be set based on the volumes previously allocated for Soviet fishermen. According to representatives of VNIRO, the presence of fish in this area is confirmed by studies conducted by the fish science of the United States and Russia, when each country worked according to its own program of pollock population studies. Implementation of these plans will be part of the recent initiative of the Russian government to review the parity of the pollock fishery between Russia and the United States. In the Bering Sea, pollock is a transboundary species, meaning it migrates from the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) to the Russian EEZ and vice versa. Scientists considers the transboundary stock as the common resource of the two countries. More than 1.5 million tons of pollock are allowed to be caught annually in the Bering Sea. In August, the All-Russian Research Institute of Fisheries and Oceanography (VNIRO), increased the volume of Russian catch in this area by 149,000 tons of pollock up to 559,000 tonnes. According to Federal Agency for Fishery, the additional catch of 150,000 tonnes in the new area, is planned to be produced on the basis of Olympic principle, when any Russian fishing company can set up a fleet and start fishing. When 150,000 tons will be closed on a competitive basis, the area will be closed. At the same time, if pollock biomass from US waters is significant, then regulators will be able to increase the volume of fishing in this area. At the same time, pollock fishing in the rest of the Bering Sea will be subject to quotas. Still, these plans have been criticized by representatives of some Russian fishin associations – the Association of Pollock Producers (ADM) and the Association of Ship Owners of the Fishing Fleet (ASRF). According to Aleksey Buglak, head of the ADM, the current 1.5-fold increase in the total allowable catch already bears the risk of losing MSC certification for members of the association in the West Bering Sea zone and the launch of a revision of all pollock certificates. In the meantime ASRF representative Sergey Koryakin, said that the additional catch should be activated when Russia builds new trawlers capable of producing minced surimi from small fish. Some Russian analysts believe the MSC certification is deterring countries from increasing catches in their certified fisheries. According to them the organization exerts political and economic pressure on the sovereign right of the states to use its biological resources. They also believe without any foreign certification, Russian fishing companies have been catching pollock in the Bering Sea for more than 30 years, producing products and successfully selling them on foreign markets. Not a single Russian enterprise has publicly stated that it has any obstacles with access to markets or that the sale of products not certified by MSC. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1241553/Russia-to-Catch-15000-Tonnes-of-Pollock-Migrating-From-US-Waters-in-Bering-Sea Environment/Science NOAA releases its annual report on the Arctic WBUR by Barbara Moran - December 13, 2022 ARI SHAPIRO, HOST: The Arctic is the sentinel for global climate change. The region is warming faster than the rest of the planet. And the news from this year's Arctic Report Card from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration paints a picture of profound change. Barbara Moran of member station WBUR has the key takeaways. https://www.kdlg.org/2022-12-13/noaa-releases-its-annual-report-on-the-arctic Labeling and Marketing 3MMI - Prepare for LENT; China COVID Ease; CNY Production TradexFoods - December 12, 2022 The Lenten season is fast approaching and you'll want to be stocked up for all of your seafood requirements - especially as - the latest major news out of China (to abandon key zero-Covid policies) could make production schedules even more unpredictable. Watch to Find Out More. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IV6fwLXB-Ew&feature=emb_logo Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands; Proposed 2023 and 2024 Harvest Specifications for Groundfish A Proposed Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 12/14/2022 NMFS proposes 2023 and 2024 harvest specifications, apportionments, and prohibited species catch allowances for the groundfish fisheries of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) management area. This action is necessary to establish harvest limits for groundfish during the 2023 and 2024 fishing years and to accomplish the goals and objectives of the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (FMP). The 2023 harvest specifications supersede those previously set in the final 2022 and 2023 harvest specifications, and the 2024 harvest specifications will be superseded in early 2024 when the final 2024 and 2025 harvest specifications are published. The intended effect of this action is to conserve and manage the groundfish resources in the BSAI in accordance with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (Magnuson-Stevens Act). https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/12/14/2022-27119/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-bering-sea-and-aleutian-islands-proposed-2023 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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