Wednesday, June 23, 2021

Alaska 2021 Preliminary Alaska Commercial Salmon Harvest - Blue Sheet Alaska Department of Fish and Game - June 2021 The Blue Sheet reports cumulative salmon harvest during the commercial fishing season in thousands of fish. Statewide harvest estimates on this page are refreshed twice daily. Please note, inseason harvest estimates published in this report are preliminary and subject to change. Confidential catch information is not included in these cumulative totals. Questions about inseason data collection and individual estimates should be directed to the fishery area management biologists. https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyfisherysalmon.bluesheet North Pacific Fishery Management Council June 2021 Newsletter Craig Cross retires from Council member seat, Appointments and Call for Nominations, Observer Report on 2020 Deployment During Covid,Trawl Electronic Monitoring, BSAI Crab, BSAI Pcod Trawl CV LAPP... https://www.npfmc.org/june-2021-newsletter/ State Shutdown Threatens Alaska Salmon, Crab Fisheries Seafood News by Laine Welch, Alaska Fish Radio - June 22, 2021 Pink slips have gone out to 15,000 state workers as a state shutdown looms on July 1. The impasse stems from lawmakers and Governor Dunleavy not agreeing on a budget. A sticking point is the amount of Alaskans’ annual Permanent Fund Dividend check, or PFD. The potential showdown has Alaska fishery managers in a holding pattern - “Our instructions at this point are to just maintain operations.” Sam Rabung is director of the commercial fisheries division for the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. “We're hopeful that this will be resolved and we won't have to go through the wasted effort of pulling camps and then reinstalling them, and all the additional costs. So at this point, we're just maintaining the course and making sure our assessment projects are working to inform our management decisions and hoping for the best right now.” Rabung says it will be up to Governor Dunleavy to decide which of the fisheries personnel and projects will or won’t stay in place. “We've formulated a list of personnel that are essential to keeping the projects rolling and keeping things operating as normally as possible. By that I mean having our managers and the people operating our in season assessment projects stay in place. It'll be up to the governor to decide who on that list stays in place if we do have a shutdown. And that'll be the governor's choice as to which projects keep operating and which don't. But support staff and things that aren't making in season decisions and data to make those decisions - those are the people that will stay home on July 1.” The shutdown threat arrives at the surge of Alaska’s salmon season; Dungeness crab, shrimp and other state fisheries could be crimped, and projects and surveys that enable management decisions could be grounded. “It's not going to be a one size fits all, but some of the fisheries that are more programmatic will be unhampered. But everything from running a sonar or counting tower or flying aerial surveys, those kinds of things we have to keep going. And when the fish tickets come in, somebody tallies that information and it goes into our management decisions as well. So those are the kind of gray areas. How long can we do without those kind of people? And I would say not very long during our active fisheries.” State shutdown threats have been averted before and Rabung says he’s optimistic one will be again. “The anxiety of this and the impact on staff is really, from my perspective, kind of my biggest concern. We have a lot of people who this affects them directly and affects their families. And, quite frankly, it has an impact on our recruitment and retention. I mean, people are starting to say maybe it's not the best deal to go to work for the state”. The Alaska legislature and Governor will begin another special budget session on Wednesday. Meanwhile, as with other state workers, Rabung says fishery managers are “along for the ride.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1201768/State-Shutdown-Threatens-Alaska-Salmon-Crab-Fisheries Federal Register Magnuson-Stevens Act Provisions; Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; 2021 Harvest Specifications for Pacific Whiting, and 2021 Pacific Whiting Tribal Allocation A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 06/23/2021 NMFS issues this final rule to establish the 2021 harvest specifications and management measures for Pacific whiting caught in the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone off the coasts of Washington, Oregon, and California consistent with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, the Pacific Whiting Act of 2006, and other applicable laws. This rule also establishes the 2021 adjusted U.S. Total Allowable Catch (TAC), tribal and non-tribal allocations, and research and bycatch set-asides. These measures are intended to help prevent overfishing, achieve optimum yield, ensure that management measures are based on the best scientific information available and ensure the long-term sustainability of Pacific whiting. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/06/23/2021-13150/magnuson-stevens-act-provisions-fisheries-off-west-coast-states-pacific-coast-groundfish-fishery FYI’s Coast Guard, Navy conduct joint oil pollution response exercise KMXT by Dylan Simard - June 22, 2021 Coast Guard and Navy personnel are teaming up this week to conduct an oil pollution response exercise in Kachemak Bay, according to a press release from the Coast Guard. https://kmxt.org/2021/06/coast-guard-navy-conduct-joint-oil-pollution-response-exercise/ NOAA Fisheries Seeks Nominations for MAFAC SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - June 21, 2021 The National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) is seeking nominations for members of the Marine Fisheries Advisory Committee (MAFAC). MAFAC is the only Federal advisory committee with the responsibility to advise the Secretary of Commerce (Secretary) on all matters concerning living marine resources that are the responsibility of the Department of Commerce. The Committee makes recommendations to the Secretary to assist in the development and implementation of Departmental regulations, policies, and programs critical to the mission and goals of NMFS. Nominations are encouraged from all stakeholders of the nation’s fisheries. Nominees should have expertise in a field related to the management of living marine resources and be able to fulfill the time commitments required for two annual meetings and year round subcommittee work. Individuals serve for a term of three years for no more than two consecutive terms if re-appointed. NMFS is seeking qualified nominees to fill pending vacancies. Nominations must have an email date stamp on or before July 29, 2021. They should be sent to Heidi Lovett, MAFAC Assistant Director, NMFS Office of Policy, by email: heidi.lovett@noaa.gov. MAFAC was approved by the Secretary on December 28, 1970, and chartered on February 17, 1971. The Committee meets twice a year with supplementary meetings as needed. No less than 15 and no more than 21 individuals serve. Members are from the commercial, recreational, aquaculture, and subsistence sectors, as well as representing the industry’s processing and marketing endeavors, working waterfronts, and restaurants; marine, ecosystems, or protected resources management and conservation; and human dimensions or social sciences associated with living marine resources. Members may be associated with tribes and indigenous peoples, environmental organizations, academia, consumer groups, and other living marine resource interest groups from a balance of U.S. geographical regions, including the Western Pacific and Caribbean. Each nomination submission should include the nominee's name, a cover letter describing the nominee's qualifications and interest in serving on the Committee, curriculum vitae or resume of the nominee, and no more than three supporting letters describing the nominee's qualifications and interest in serving on the Committee. Self-nominations are acceptable. The following contact information should accompany each nominee's submission: Name, address, telephone number, fax number, and email address (if available). The full text of the Committee Charter and its current membership can be viewed at the NMFS' web page. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1201693/NOAA-Fisheries-Seeks-Nominations-for-MAFAC In Memoriam NFI Releases Statement on Passing of Ray Jones Seafood News - June 22, 2021 The seafood industry is mourning the loss of long-time Rich Products executive Ray Jones. National Fisheries Institute president John Connelly released the following statement on Jones’ passing: “Ray was a genuine advocate for seafood and a trusted voice in meeting with members of the House, Senate, and regulatory agencies. He addressed unnecessary regulations and defended rules that work, all in an effort to ensure retail stores, and ultimately American families, had access to safe, plentiful seafood. When he retired in 2017, NFI’s Board of Directors passed a resolution naming him a Seafood Industry Leader. He was truly a leader but also a friend whose work has had an enormous impact on the broader seafood community. It wasn’t just what Ray did that made him impactful but how he did it. His manor and integrity were hallmarks that will be deeply missed.” He was truly a leader but also a friend whose work has had an enormous impact on the broader seafood community. It wasn’t just what Ray did that made him impactful but how he did it. His manor and integrity were hallmarks that will be deeply missed. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1201799/NFI-Releases-Statement-on-Passing-of-Ray-Jones

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