Wednesday, March 27, 2024

Alaska Pacific Salmon Commission Selects Projects for Funding in 2024 SeafoodNews.com by Susan Chambers - March 26, 2024 Projects relating to salmon management, enhancement and habitat restoration in the Pacific Northwest, Canada and Alaska will get a funding boost totaling more than $9 million thanks to Pacific Salmon Commission funds for 2024. The projects are aligned with the Pacific Salmon Treaty and include projects led by First Nations and Tribes, non-profit organizations, researchers, U.S. states and both U.S. and Canadian federal management agencies, the Commission said in a news release.The Northern Fund is supporting 40 projects with funding totaling $5.36 million. The Southern Fund is supporting 43 projects totaling $3.66 million.Since inception, the PSC’s Northern and Southern Funds have awarded more than $135 million in grants to more than 1,700 projects.The Northern Fund includes the following:Priority type: Information - $4,872,317.25Priority type: Habitat - $74,538.00Priority type: Enhancement - $412,558.50The Southern Fund includes the following:Priority type: Southern Panel - $502,457.70Priority type: Habitat - $1,397,493.78Priority type: Fraser River Panel - $857,612.25Priority type: Chinook technical Committee - $527,871.96Priority type: Other - $378,313.78More details on the endowment funds and the projects can be found here, in the Commission's online searchable database. The page includes all projects currently receiving support from the funds as well as projects that have been supported in the past. Projects that did not proceed due to cancellation by the proponent are not shown, the Commission said on its website. Final technical reports are available to be downloaded. Reports summarizing work funded by the Endowment Funds frequently represent ongoing research that may subsequently be published in peer reviewed journals. In order to ensure access to these reports in the future, the Commission asks that reports not be cited without permission of the authors. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1274455/Pacific-Salmon-Commission-Selects-Projects-for-Funding-in-2024 West Coast Proposal to Extend Marine National Monument Would Impact Western Pacific Fisheries Fishermen's News - March 27, 2024 Fishing community advisors attending the Western Pacific Regional Fishery Management Council (Wespac) meeting in Honolulu expressed concern over U.S. plans to extend the Papahanamokuakea Marine National Monument and potentially the Pacific Remote Islands with sanctuary regulations. https://fishermensnews.com/proposal-to-extend-marine-national-monument-would-impact-western-pacific-fisheries/ Environment/Science With ‘eDNA,’ researchers can track fish after they’ve left the area KCAW by Meredith Redick - March 21, 2024 Scientists have many ways to track fish populations – but they usually require seeing the fish. Now, researchers at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are refining a method to collect data about what fish were present in an area – up to two days after those fish have moved on. https://www.kcaw.org/2024/03/21/with-edna-researchers-can-track-fish-after-theyve-left-the-area/ Federal courts face another Groundhog Day in the Pebble mine saga Cordova Times by Margaret Bauman - March 25, 2024 It’s Groundhog Day all over again in the federal court system over the fate of a proposed copper, gold and molybdenum mine in an area of Southwest Alaska abutting the Bristol Bay watershed. https://www.thecordovatimes.com/2024/03/25/federal-courts-face-another-groundhog-day-in-the-pebble-mine-saga/ Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod by Catcher Vessels Greater Than or Equal to 50 Feet Length Overall Using Hook-and-Line Gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 03/26/2024 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific cod by catcher vessels greater than or equal to 50 feet (15.2 meters (m)) length overall using hook-and-line (HAL) gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the A season allowance of the 2024 Pacific cod total allowable catch (TAC) apportioned to catcher vessels greater than or equal to 50 feet (15.2 m) length overall using HAL gear in the Central Regulatory Area of the GOA. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/26/2024-06388/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-cod-by-catcher-vessels-greater-than-or Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Cod in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 03/27/2024 NMFS is opening directed fishing for Pacific cod by American Fisheries Act (AFA) trawl catcher/processors (CPs) in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). This action is necessary to fully use the 2024 total allowable catch (TAC) of Pacific cod allocated to AFA trawl CPs in the BSAI. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2024/03/27/2024-06524/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-cod-in-the-bering-sea-and-aleutian FYI’s Alaska Delegation Secures Funding for 1st Commercial Icebreaker in Decades Fishermen's News - March 27, 2024 U.S. Senators Dan Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski (both R-Alaska) and Rep. Mary Peltola (D-Alaska) have secured federal funding for the purchase of a commercially available icebreaker ship, they announced March 21. https://fishermensnews.com/alaska-delegation-secures-funding-for-1st-commercial-icebreaker-in-decades/ Opinion Op-ed: Marine protected areas in British Columbia only good for bragging rights Seafood Source by Ray Hilborn - March 25, 2024 Ray Hilborn has a doctorate from the University of British Columbia and is a professor at the University of Washington’s School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences. He is a fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and the Washington State Academy of Sciences. He has been awarded the Volvo Environmental Prize and the International Fisheries Science Prize, and has published over 300 papers in peer-reviewed scientific journals. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/op-ed-marine-protected-areas-in-british-columbia-only-good-for-bragging-rights

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