Wednesday, May 28, 2025

Alaska Kodiak's legislators pass several fisheries' related bills before 2025 session ends KMXT by Davis Hovey - May 27, 2025  The Alaska Legislature’s session ended Tuesday afternoon, May 20, after lawmakers passed the capital and operating budgets. Before those final hours, Kodiak’s legislators pushed forward bills on topics ranging from a world trade committee to commercial boat registration. https://www.kmxt.org/news/2025-05-27/kodiaks-legislators-pass-several-fisheries-related-bills-before-2025-session-ends Commercial crewmember training in Kodiak hopes to curb challenge of aging fishing fleet KMXT by Terry Haines - May 22, 2025  A broad-based coalition is offering training for prospective commercial fishing crew in Alaska. Courses have already been taught in Sitka and Petersburg, but the next session with be held in Kodiak, June 2-4. Organizers tag the AK On Board Crew Training Program as an attempt to provide a connection between a greying fleet and the new blood needed for the future. https://www.kmxt.org/news/2025-05-22/commercial-fishermen-crew-training-in-kodiak-hopes-to-curb-trend-of-aging-fleet With contracts locked in, Alaska pollock producers hopeful about where market is headed 'There seems to be no uncommitted inventories lingering anywhere regardless of origin,' said Rasmus Soerensen, chief commercial officer with American Seafoods. Intrafish by Rachel Sapin - May 23, 2025  Alaska pollock producers are riding the highs of a strong "A" season with contracts secured and a global market that appears to have an appetite for the product heading into the "B" fishing season. https://www.intrafish.com/whitefish/with-contracts-locked-in-alaska-pollock-producers-hopeful-about-where-market-is-headed/2-1-1822990 Over 27,000 Sockeye and 1,000 Chinook Salmon Netted in Copper River’s First Opener on May 22 SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - May 27, 2025 For the first time in recent history, the iconic Copper River salmon season opened about a week late for the fleet based in nearby Cordova.Rather than May 15, state salmon managers delayed the first opener until the 22nd to allow more Chinook salmon through to their spawning grounds in the Copper River watershed. In 353 deliveries during a 12-hour opener, drift netters delivered 27,368 sockeye, 1,083 Chinook, 189 chum salmon, and one pink salmon. The fishery began at 7 a.m. local time.Yesterday the second opener started at 10 a.m. for another 12 hours. Harvest numbers from that opener will be available tomorrow, when the next announcement for fishing will be made from the fisheries management biologists at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) office in Cordova.The forecast for the Copper River’s wild sockeye salmon return is “excellent” at 2.6 million fish, 55% above the ten-year average. This size run means a redacted harvest of 1.9 million sockeye.  The Chinook salmon forecast for the Copper River, however, is 25% below the 10-year average this year, with only 36,000 Chinook expected to return. Of that, managers will do what they can to get 21,000 - 31,000 Chinook salmon up the river to spawn. So far, ADF&G managers have expanded closed waters along the Copper River delta for Chinook to pass though the fishing grounds, and they delayed yesterday’s opener due to an extremely low tide (minus 3.2) when Chinook salmon are more vulnerable to harvest.  The fleet and scientists are keeping a close eye on the underwater sonar count of salmon passing into the Copper River, a monitoring device that was deployed on May 16 this year. They have reason to celebrate with the recent surge of salmon since the 23rd: a daily count of 6,500 exceeded the expected 4,100 for a cumulative count of 16,300, besting the expected total of 15,500. That cumulative total was higher than the amount forecasted for every day over the next three days, resulting in yesterday’s total of 35,400 salmon just edging out the expected cumulative of 35,200.Along with the Copper and Bering River season opening yesterday, the Coghill District in Prince William Sound (PWS) also opened on Monday for a 36-hour fishing period starting at 8:00 a.m. for both chum and sockeye salmon. A total run of 1.45 million WNH chum salmon is projected to return to the hatchery and a total of 301,000 Coghill Lake sockeye salmon are projected to be available for common property harvest.The 2025 Coghill Lake sockeye salmon total run forecast point estimate is “excellent” at 331,000 fish, 57% above the 10-year average total run of 211,000 fish.  Finally, the pink and chum salmon fisheries in PWS are both listed as “strong” at 8% and 18%, respectively, higher than the ten-year average.  The wild pink return forecast of 18.2 million fish means that 16.8 million will be available to harvest this season.  https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1307593/Over-27000-Sockeye-and-1000-Chinook-Salmon-Netted-in-Copper-Rivers-First-Opener-on-May-22 International 'A big concern': Warning lights are blinking on salmon demand A seasoned seafood executive and a top industry analyst are both warning that demand for salmon may be softer than the industry would like to believe. Intrafish by Drew Cherry - May 28, 2025 With salmon prices showing a sharp decline over the last year, farmers, processors and retailers are pinning their hopes on continued demand growth in key markets such as the United States, Europe, China and Brazil. https://www.intrafish.com/markets/a-big-concern-warning-lights-are-blinking-on-salmon-demand/2-1-1825423 Pollock giant launches construction of $68 million processing facility The new plant will focus on fillet production and is scheduled to begin operating at the end of 2025. Intrafish by Evgeny Vovchenko - May 27, 2025 Gidrostroy, one of Russia’s largest pollock producers, is investing RUB 5.4 billion (€60 million/$68 million) in construction of a new processing plant on the far eastern island of Sakhalin to produce fillets and other products. https://www.intrafish.com/whitefish/pollock-giant-launches-construction-of-68-million-processing-facility/2-1-1825106 US retailers, seafood restaurants raising prices, rearranging menus due to tariffs Seafood Source by Christine Blank - May 27, 2025 Some U.S. restaurants and retailers are already passing along the costs of tariffs to customers and have warned that future price increases on their products may occur should higher tariffs go into effect, such as proposed 46 percent tariffs on products like shrimp from Vietnam and 50 percent duties on E.U. imports. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/foodservice-retail/us-retailers-seafood-restaurants-raising-prices-rearranging-menus-due-to-tariffs *Requires Subscription Trump threatens 50 percent tariff on EU, potentially impacting billions in seafood imports Seafood Source by Chris Chase - May 23, 2025U.S. President Donald Trump has reignited threats to tariff the European Union at a higher rate as early as 1 June, which would undo a 90-day pause he announced in early April. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/trump-threatens-50-percent-tariff-on-eu-potentially-impacting-billions-in-seafood-imports *Requires Subscription Environment/Science Near Real-time Temperatures from the 2025 Bering Sea Bottom Trawl Survey Water temperature affects many species' spawning times, access to food, growth rates, and overall range. Collecting temperature data helps better understand species’ habitats and the larger ecosystem. This page will update 3x/week throughout the survey. NOAA Fisheries - May 27, 2025 NOAA Fisheries Alaska Fisheries Science Center Groundfish Assessment Program last conducted the eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey in 2024, and the northern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey in 2023. Both were conducted aboard the F/V Northwest Explorer and F/V Alaska Knight. The 2025 survey has not yet started. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/alaska/science-data/near-real-time-temperatures-2025-bering-sea-bottom-trawl-survey Who will benefit from melting glaciers? In a remote corner of North America, salmon and mining companies are vying for new territory Alaska Beacon by Max Graham, Grist - May 24, 2025  The Tulsequah Glacier meanders down a broad valley in northwest British Columbia, 7 miles from the Alaska border. At the foot of the glacier sits a silty, gray lake, a reservoir of glacial runoff. The lake is vast, deeper than Seattle’s Space Needle is tall. But it didn’t exist a few decades ago, before 2 miles of ice had melted. https://alaskabeacon.com/2025/05/24/who-will-benefit-from-melting-glaciers/

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