Wednesday, May 11, 2022

Alaska 2022 Copper River Salmon Season Launches on May 16 Wild Sustainable Copper River Salmon Shipping to Domestic Retailers Business Wire - May 10, 2022 CORDOVA, Alaska--(BUSINESS WIRE)--It’s official. Alaska’s Copper River commercial salmon season will begin on Monday, May 16th, when the region’s commercial fishermen will be allowed to set their nets for a twelve-hour opener to harvest the revered king and sockeye salmon from the icy glacial fed waters of the Copper River Delta. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20220510005570/en/2022-Copper-River-Salmon-Season-Launches-on-May-16 Six Alaska Fishery Disasters Now Allocated Funds, the “How” and “To Who” is Next in the Process SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - May 9, 2022 Fisheries disasters happen quickly. A run turns from being late to not there in a few days. Surveys done in the summer show a disastrous decline right away. The extent of the damage and value in lost dollars can be calculated in months, but getting those dollars into the hands of debtors, much less creditors, takes years. Last week Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo announced, just three and a half months after approving five fisheries disasters in Alaska, that Congressional appropriations for each of them had been secured. Nearly $132 million of a total U.S. fisheries disaster funding to $144 will be coming to Alaska once a plan has been determined by the state and approved by the Department of Commerce. Congressional appropriations rarely happen this fast, but Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Dan Sullivan know climate change impacts on oceans and the species that live there are happening faster in Alaska than other places in the U.S. Both were prepared to act when Raimondo announced which fisheries had been approved for receiving disaster funds on January 21, 2022. "I'm pleased to announce this crucial funding is finally on the way for Alaska's seafood industry. After facing both serious fishery disasters and the pandemic, there are owners, employees, families, and entire communities in our state who can now breathe a little easier," Senator Murkowski said. Allocating funds is the next to the last step in the process. Writing a plan on how to allocate the funds and getting it approved is next. Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game will be holding a statewide listening session on Wednesday, May 11 to hear from stakeholders about how the money should spent and who should get it. The six disasters along with approved funding, are listed below. Fishery Disaster Allocations 2019 Alaska Norton Sound King Crab $1,434,571 Alaska 2018 Upper Cook Inlet East Side Setnet Salmon and 2020 Upper Cook Inlet Salmon Fisheries $9,414,087 2018 and 2020 Alaska Copper River and Prince William Sound Salmon Fisheries $34,360,624 2019 and 2020 Alaska Bering Sea Tanner Crab Fishery $12,948,148 2020 Alaska Gulf of Alaska Pacific Cod $17,790,330 Alaska Norton Sound, Yukon, Chignik, Prince William Sound, and Southeast Alaska Salmon Fisheries, 2020 and 2021 Yukon River Salmon Fishery $55,984,834 TOTAL $131,932,594 First up on ADF&G's Wednesday listening session, at 9a.m. ADT, is to hear stakeholders from the Yukon River and Kuskokwim River salmon fishery disaster. Then at 10 a.m. ADF&G will hear from those who suffered losses in the Norton Sound red king crab and salmon At 11 a.m. stakeholders from Southeast Alaska’s salmon fishery will speak, followed at 1 p.m. by the stakeholders from the Upper Cook Inlet, Copper River, and Prince William Sound salmon. Beginning at 2 p.m. testimony from the Chignik salmon and Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fisheries will be heard, then at 3 p.m., Bering Sea Tanner crab stakeholders will offer testimony. The meeting will end at 4 p.m. ADT. For those unable to attend, written comments may be sent to dfg.com.fisheriesdisasters@alaska.gov. Wednesday’s Zoom meeting can be accessed here: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87639321697?pwd=WHY3V0NmdmRtQlhCZmpEZVRVWHBJdz09 Murkowski thanks Raimondo and Director Young of the Office of Budget and Management for helping in the effort to "reform and improve a truly broken approval process. "Going forward, I will be pushing for further assistance, to help guarantee that Alaska's industry can keep their operations up and running and continue to provide fresh, healthy seafood at home and around the globe," Murkowski said. Sullivan echoed that. "I want to express my appreciation to Secretary Raimondo and OMB Director Young for working so closely with me and my team to get these disaster declarations approved and funds allocated for Alaska's fishermen," Senator Sullivan said. "These disasters have had a widespread impact across our state-devastating many of our coastal and river-based communities, fishermen, and Alaska Native subsistence users. While these federal dollars won't make these Alaskans and their families whole, they will go a long way toward providing much-needed relief." https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225300/Six-Alaska-Fishery-Disasters-Now-Allocated-Funds-the-How-and-To-Who-is-Next-in-the-Process Murkowski's 'BLUE GLOBE' initiative advancing in the US Senate KINY - May 6, 2022 Washington, DC (KINY) - Senator Lisa Murkowski, co-chair of the bipartisan Senate Oceans Caucus, released a statement after her legislation, the BLUE GLOBE Act, advanced one step closer to becoming law. https://www.kinyradio.com/news/news-of-the-north/murkowskis-blue-globe-initiative-advancing-in-the-us-senate/ National Inflation dents US fresh seafood sales, though frozen and ambient sales up Seafood Source by Christine Blank - May 10, 2022 Rising seafood prices and consumer concerns about overall inflation in the U.S. continued to harm fresh seafood sales in April, according to new data. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/foodservice-retail/inflation-dents-us-fresh-seafood-sales-though-frozen-and-ambient-sales-up International US Senator Marco Rubio files bill to ban Russian seafood from entering US Seafood Source by Steve Bittenbender - May 9, 2022 Another U.S. senator has come forward with a bill that would prohibit Russian seafood imports from entering the country. On 4 May, 2022, U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Florida) filed S.4143 in the chamber. Dubbed the Protecting American Food Producers from Russia’s Market Distortions Act, the bill would keep fish and other products out of American ports until Russia meets certain conditions. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/us-senator-marco-rubio-files-bill-to-ban-russian-seafood-from-entering-us 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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