Wednesday, January 4, 2023

Alaska Warming waters, not bycatch, are driving Bering Sea salmon and crab crashes. But Alaska’s fishing industry is barely talking about it. Anchorage Daily News by Nathaniel Herz - December 31, 2022 Billions of snow crab disappeared from the Bering Sea in the past few years — a crash that’s devastated Alaska’s crab fishing fleet and a harvest that just two years ago was worth $130 million. https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/2022/12/31/warming-waters-not-bycatch-are-driving-bering-sea-salmon-and-crab-crashes-but-alaskas-fishing-industry-is-barely-talking-about-it/ National USDA Proposes Better Access to Seafood in WIC Program Fishermen's News - December 29, 2022 Federal officials in late November proposed changes for participants in the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), including improved access to canned fish, to reflect the latest dietary guidelines. https://fishermensnews.com/article/usda-proposes-better-access-to-seafood-in-wic-program/ International Japan-Russia Offshore Fisheries Negotiations Concluded; Japan Gained Pacific Cod Quota Doubled Seafood News by Tom Asakawa - January 3, 2023 The Fisheries Agency of Japan (FAJ) announced on December 27 that the 39th bilateral meeting of the Japan-Russia Fisheries Commission (Japan-Russia offshore fisheries negotiations) was concluded. In 2023, the 200-mile EEZ quotas for the two countries will have decreased by 25,000 tons (33%) from 2022 to 50,000 tons each. Of the fishing quotas granted to Japan in Russian waters, Pacific saury decreased by 44% to 31,824 tons from 56,424 tons in 2022, while Pacific cod doubled to 3,200 tons, reported Minato Shimbun. Regarding the reason for the decrease in the saury quota, the FAJ said that Japan's saury catch in Russian waters was 450 tons in 2021 and zero in 2022. "The saury quota was overly allocated. The Japanese fishers instead requested an increase in the quota of Pacific cod" a FAJ official explained. The flying squid is 5,619 tons, and the sardine is 2,822 tons, the same as in 2022. Mackerel decreased by 2,000 tons (32%) to 4,194.2 tons. The total number of fishing vessels allowed to enter Russian waters remained at 585, the same as in 2022. In Japanese waters, the mackerel quota for Russian fishers decreased by 5000 tons (11%) to 40,000 tons, sardine decreased by 12,000 tons (60%) to 8,000 tons, and longfin codling decreased by 8,000 tons to 2,000 tons, a decrease of 80%. The total number of vessels entering Japanese waters is 89, the same as in 2022. From 2023, Russian fishing vessels targeting mackerel and sardines will be prohibited from fishing in all waters of Japan from March 16 to November 14. And year-round fishing within 15 miles off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture will be prohibited. It is the first action to oust Russian vessels from 15 miles off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture. A new rule has also been established requiring that all Russian fishing vessels maintain a distance of at least two miles from Japanese fishing vessels as much as possible. The number of simultaneous entry vessels off the coast of Ibaraki Prefecture will be limited to 5, down from 6 in 2022. Regarding paid fishing operations in Russian waters by Japanese fishing vessels, the fishing quota is 694.66 tons, the total number of vessels is 22, and the compensation is approximately 26.94 million yen ($205,541.73), all of which are the same as in 2022. The conference was held online from December 19 to 27. Discussions were held on operating conditions, such as each country's quota for fishing vessels in the 200-mile mutual waters in 2023. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1242898/Japan-Russia-Offshore-Fisheries-Negotiations-Concluded-Japan-Gained-Pacific-Cod-Quota-Doubled Labeling and Marketing 3MMI - China: COVID Rampant, Production Delays, Raw Materials Ups & Downs TradexFoods - January 2, 2023 It is said that at least 40 percent of China is infected with COVID-19 & with most plants expected to close for Chinese New Year between January 10th and 20th, processors will most likely delay their orders and push them to after Chinese New Year. Pollock trends downwards, Haddock gains momentum, Cod remains strong, and the US may be pushing US Flounder Sales to China. Watch to Find Out More. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5UhTcN5D02g&t=49s 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.