Wednesday, January 26, 2022

Alaska Eastside and Southwest Sections and the South Peninsula close to Tanner Fishing KMXT - January 25, 2022 The Eastside and Southwest Sections of the Kodiak tanner crab fishery and the Eastern and Western Sections of the South Peninsula District have closed for the season. https://kmxt.org/2022/01/eastside-and-southwest-sections-and-the-south-peninsula-close-to-tanner-fishing/ West Coast Gov. Inslee Appoints New Members to Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission SeafoodNews.com by Susan Chambers - January 25, 2022 One-third of the nine-member Washington Fish and Wildlife Commission consists of new members. On Monday, Washington Gov. Jay Inslee appointed three new members to the Commission, the panel that sets policy for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife. The Commission is comprised of three members from Western Washington, three from Eastern Washington, and three “at-large” members who may reside anywhere in the state. One of the appointments fills an empty commission seat left after Fred Koontz resigned in December. The other appointments fill one available seat and one expired position open for more than a year. Dr. John Lehmkuhl, a former research wildlife biologist with the U.S. Forest Service from Chelan County who has also served on WDFW’s Wildlife Diversity Advisory Council since 2015, fills a vacant Eastern Washington position, one of three from the Eastern part of the state. Melanie Rowland, an environmental attorney from Okanogan County who previously worked for the National Marine Fisheries Service Office of General Counsel to implement the Endangered Species Act for salmonids and marine mammals in the Northwest, fills one of the three at-large positions. Lastly, Dr. Tim Ragen, from Skagit County and a former executive director of the U.S. Marine Mammal Commission, will fill one of the three Western Washington positions. This position was previously held by Commission Chair Larry Carpenter, also of Skagit County. The new commissioners were all grateful for their appointments. “I fully recognize that the Commission’s decisions affect not only the well-being and livelihood of Washington residents, but also play a key part in ensuring the future health of fish and wildlife populations across the state – a challenging but vitally important role," Ragen said in a press release. Carpenter’s most recent appointment expired in late 2020, but he continued to serve on the Commission while several seats remained unfilled. He was re-elected as chair by his fellow commissioners in December 2021. Vice-chair Molly Linville will assume the responsibilities of Commission chair until a new Commission vote on leadership positions takes place. “We welcome these new commissioners,” Linville said in the statement. “There are a lot of tough policy issues headed our way, and I am glad Gov. Inslee filled the vacant seats so that we can tackle these pressing issues with a full roster.” Carpenter, a longtime fishing advocate and enthusiast as well as a former boat dealer, served on the Commission for more than a decade, first appointed by then-Gov. Chris Gregoire in 2011. “Larry has provided steady leadership for the Commission in recent years; a critical, often thankless role,” Linville said. “I know I and my fellow commissioners have appreciated his voice and incredibly deep knowledge on fish and wildlife issues across Washington. We will miss working with him.” The new commissioners must take on some challenging and controversial issues on land, but some of the fisheries issues facing the Commission include whale entanglements in the Dungeness crab and other pot or trap fisheries, the declining population of Southern Resident Killer Whales and salmon policy on the Columbia River and other areas. The Center for Biological Diversity, eyeing some of the marine mammal issues in Washington and other West Coast states, supported Inslee's appointments. “We applaud Gov. Inslee for appointing commissioners with science and environmental policy backgrounds,” Sophia Ressler, an attorney at the Center, said in a statement. “We’re hopeful that these new commissioners will be champions of our state’s wildlife and wild places.” Ragen, who worked with the Marine Mammal Commission, for example, already is familiar with the Southern Resident orcas. The Center said he has a doctoral degree in oceanography and has dedicated both his career and life to conservation of marine species such as Steller sea lions, Southern Resident killer whales, Hawaiian monk seals and vaquitas. Commissioners are appointed to six-year terms; appointees are subject to confirmation by the state Senate, which is currently in session. However, members are official upon appointment and serve as voting members on the Commission while awaiting Senate confirmation. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1217319/Gov-Inslee-Appoints-New-Members-to-Washington-Fish-and-Wildlife-Commission Environment/Science Rally on Rewind: Pebble Mine fight carries on National Fisherman by Jessica Hathaway - January 25, 2022 Eight years ago this week, representatives of Bristol Bay Tribes, commercial fishermen, seafood processors, Pacific Northwest and Alaska fisheries, local chefs, and other stakeholders convened in Seattle for a rally to urge the U.S. EPA to veto Pebble Mine. https://www.nationalfisherman.com/alaska/rally-on-rewind-pebble-mine-fight-carries-on Labeling and Marketing Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute Monthly Update Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute - January 2022 Choosing Wild Around the World, Upcoming Events, Alaska Seafood in the News, New Resources, ASMI Activities, Media Library Highlights... https://mailchi.mp/alaskaseafood/alaska-seafood-january-marketing-update?e=fd023624e1 Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by Catcher Vessels Greater Than or Equal to 60 Feet Length Overall Using Pot Gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 01/26/2022 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 meters (m)) length overall (LOA) using pot gear in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season apportionment of the 2022 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) allocated to catcher vessels greater than or equal to 60 feet (18.3 m) LOA using pot gear in the BSAI. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/01/26/2022-01530/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-cod-by-catcher-vessels-greater-than-or FYI’s Seafood People hires former Alaskan seafood supremo Seafood People has announced that the former executive director of the Alaska Marketing Seafood Institute (ASMI), Alexa Tonkovich, will join its Global Executive Advisors Network (GEAN) as an executive partner. The Fish Site - January 24, 2022 ASMI is a public-private partnership between the State of Alaska and the Alaska seafood industry established to foster economic development and position Alaska’s seafood industry as a competitive market-driven food production industry. The GEAN is comprised of senior seafood executives with subject matter expertise who partner with Seafood People to execute global projects and client initiatives. https://thefishsite.com/articles/seafood-people-hires-former-alaskan-seafood-supremo 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.