Wednesday, May 17, 2023

Alaska 1st Copper River salmon of the season arrives in Seattle KOMO News - May 16, 2023 SEATTLE — The first planeload of Copper River salmon of the season arrived in Seattle Tuesday morning. An Alaska Airline cargo plane filled with around 17,000 pounds of tasty salmon from Cordova, Alaska, landed at Seattle-Tacoma International Airport around 8:30 a.m. Tuesday. https://komonews.com/news/local/seattle-copper-river-salmon-seatac-airport-alaska-air-cargo-cordova-alaska-spring ‘A’ season pollock quota back on par after decrease last season KUCB by Sofia Stuart-Rasi - May 16, 2023 Crew members shovel pollock onboard a trawler on the Bering Sea in 2019. Bering Sea pollock fishermen have almost met their “A” season quota. https://www.kdlg.org/alaska-state-news/2023-05-16/a-season-pollock-quota-back-on-par-after-decrease-last-season National NOAA Dishes Out $11 Million for 2023 Saltonstall-Kennedy Grants Urner Barry by Ryan Doyle - May 17, 2023 NOAA Fisheries announced over $11 million in grants for 40 projects under the 2023 Saltonstall-Kennedy Competitive Grants Program on May 16. “These grant awards support the promotion and marketing of U.S. fisheries which supports U.S. fishing and aquaculture industries and our nation's working waterfronts,” said Jim Landon, Acting Deputy Assistant Administrator for Operations at NOAA Fisheries.” These are the first Saltonstall-Kennedy grants selected by the new American Fisheries Advisory Committee to be recommended for funding, NOAA shared in its update. “We were pleased to help stand up the Committee so quickly so that we could incorporate the expertise of committee members from around the country into the grant selection process,” said Landon. “It was a successful experience all around.” Demand for funding was high this year, with NOAA receiving 230 pre-proposals. Of those, subject matter experts reviewed 132 full proposals requesting over $36 million during the technical merit review phase. Then, the top proposals in each NOAA Fisheries region were recommended by the American Fisheries Advisory Committee for funding this year. The projects fall into two categories: - Promotion, Development, and Marketing and Science - Technology that Promotes Sustainable U.S Seafood Production and Harvesting NOAA has awarded S-K Grant funding for over 40 years, these funds are aimed at addressing the needs of fishing communities, support economic opportunities, and build and maintain resilient and sustainable fisheries. The goal of the Saltonstall-Kennedy program is to fund projects that: - Address the needs of fishing communities at all scales (local, regional, national) - Optimize economic benefits by building and maintaining sustainable fisheries - Increase other opportunities to keep working waterfronts viable Currently, the application approval and funding are not yet final. Divisions of NOAA and the Department of Commerce must still give final approval before funding is received. The full list of FY2023 recommended projects can be found here. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1252950/NOAA-Dishes-Out-11-Million-for-2023-Saltonstall-Kennedy-Grants NMFS Wants Changes on National Standards for Fish Management; Public Comment Opens Today SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - May 15, 2023 The United States bases management of its marine resources on ten National Standards (NS) found in the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Three of those standards are up for changes in their guidelines issues by the agency in applying the standards. Today’s announcement in the Federal Register sets a deadline for comments on September 12, 2023, four months after the advance notice was released last Friday. The ten National Standards reflect the principles on which Fishery Management Plans are based, such as managing for the highest catch without jeopardizing sustainability of the stock (NS1), using the best science available to design harvest policies (NS2), and minimize costs and avoid duplication (N7), among others. Guidelines for implementing these standards are critical for fisheries managers. They help regional management councils, their advisory bodies, and the biological, legal, and operations staff that support them know that they are in compliance with MSA. The three standards that the agency is considering updating guidelines for are NS4 (allocations), NS8 (communities) and NS9 (bycatch). NS4 requires that "conservation and management measures shall not discriminate between residents of different states. If it becomes necessary to allocate or assign fishing privileges among various United States fishermen, such allocation shall be (a) fair and equitable to all such fishermen; (b) reasonably calculated to promote conservation; and (c) carried out in such manner that no particular individual, corporation, or other entity acquires an excessive share of such privilege." More details on current Guidelines for NS4 can be found here. NS8 says that "conservation and management measures shall, consistent with the conservation requirements of this Act (including the prevention of overfishing and rebuilding of overfished stocks), take into account the importance of fishery resources to fishing communities by utilizing economic and social data that meet the requirement of paragraph (2) [i.e., National Standard 2], in order to (a) provide for the sustained participation of such communities, and (b) to the extent practicable, minimize adverse economic impacts on such communities." Current Guidelines for NS8 are here. Perhaps the most hotly contested issue in recent years is bycatch. That is the subject of NS9, which requires that "conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, (a) minimize bycatch and (b) to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such bycatch." Current Guidelines for NS9 are here. The guidelines have not been updated for 15 years. In that time, changes in environmental conditions, shifting distributions of fish stocks, and equity and environmental justice concerns have emerged. The agency said these and other events “suggest a need to revisit the guidelines to ensure they remain appropriate for current U.S. fisheries management,” in a statement over the weekend. NOAA Fisheries is also responding to White House Executive Orders, such as EO 14008 on Tackling the Climate Crisis at Home and Abroad, and EO 13985 on Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government, as well as relevant policy documents such as NOAA’s FY 2022 - 2026 Strategic Plan. In their Strategic Plan, the agency’s commitment to plan for climate change impacts and to serve stakeholders equitably by engaging underserved communities in the science, conservation, and management of the nation’s fisheries, helped to underline potential changes in the guidelines. “NOAA Fisheries strongly supports the need to improve adaptability of our management processes in the context of changing environmental conditions and ensure equity and environmental justice (that is, equity applied to environmental laws, policies, and practices) within the fishery management process,” their statement noted. The public comment period is 120 days in order to allow for overlap with meetings of each Regional Fishery Management Council. NOAA Fisheries will provide a presentation (virtual or in-person) at upcoming Council meetings to answer questions and hear feedback on the advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR). The agency will also host a national webinar on changes to the Guidelines on June 12th at 1:00-2:30 ET. The webinar can be accessed using this link (password AppQPS OR 3277777) or by using this call-in number: 1-415-527-5035 (access code: 276 204 65970). https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1252764/NMFS-Wants-Changes-on-National-Standards-for-Fish-Management-Public-Comment-Opens-Today Environment/Science Researchers Discover New Information Regarding Atmospheric Dust Nourishing Oceans Fishermen's News - May 17, 2023 Research led by Oregon State University (OSU) scientists has identified new information on the role that dust plays in nourishing global ocean ecosystems while helping regulate atmospheric carbon dioxide levels. https://fishermensnews.com/researchers-discover-new-information-regarding-atmospheric-dust-nourishing-oceans/ 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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