Alaska/Pacific Coast
Proposals to limit hatchery operations go before Board of Fish KBBI by Elizabeth Earl - October 28, 2019 A suite of proposals set to go before the Board of Fisheries want to limit hatchery operations in Lower Cook Inlet. Seven proposals for the upcoming Lower Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meeting in Seward in December address hatchery operations, with six looking to limit the number of fish they can raise or harvest and where they can operate. https://www.kbbi.org/post/proposals-limit-hatchery-operations-go-board-fish Deadline Approaches to Comment on Gulf of Alaska Oil and Gas Proposal Fishermen's News - October 30, 2019 With less than a week until the Nov. 4 deadline for comment on the Alaska Division of Oil and Gas’ preliminary findings on a proposal for oil and gas exploration along the Gulf of Alaska, the state agency says they can’t say how many and who has commented to date. http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2019/10/deadline-approaches-to-comment-on-gulf.html Big Boost Anticipated in Arctic Vessel Traffic Fishermen's News - October 30, 2019 Drivers of Arctic vessel activity, from natural resources to geopolitics and changing weather patterns, are expected to boost maritime vessel traffic in the US Arctic to an estimated 377 vessels annually by 2030, a new government report predicts. http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2019/10/big-boost-anticipated-in-arctic-vessel.html GAPP Annual Meeting Focuses on Sustainability Strategy SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - October 30, 2019 The first annual meeting of the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) focused on getting the sustainability message out to consumers using science-based information, high-tech, and industry brands to convey the story. The Alaska pollock fishery is the largest sustainable fishery in the world, one of the top twenty most nutritious foods on the planet, and traceable from boat to plate. Alaska’s Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands has produced over 1 million metric tons of pollock each year for decades. Pair that with innovative product forms and presentations, pollock is poised to take a seat at the big protein table alongside beef, pork, and chicken. “We need to put ourselves out there more—we need to start talking about seafood, and Wild Alaska Pollock in particular, with pride and gusto, every chance we get,” Morris said prior to yesterday’s meeting. The event drew a large crowd that filled the ballroom on the top floor of Seattle’s WTO West Tower. Part of the way the group intends to get the message out is from a newly revamped website. GAPP’s Wild Alaska Pollock website went live at the meeting, as industry members followed along on their devices. The site showcases the story of the fishery, the fish, current industry partnerships, scientific reports, and GAPP-led projects. “You’ll notice compelling story-telling that provides insights into Wild Alaska Pollock as a fish, a fishery and an industry,” said Greg Oberst, head content writer for the Garrigan Lyman Group, GAPP’s website design firm. “You’ll also notice big, bold imagery and animation which is meant to be ‘sticky’ keeping visitors on the site longer to really dive into all the content available.” The website includes recipes provided by GAPP partners including Martha Stewart, Antoni Porowski and Gortons and American Seafoods. The site also showcases the North American Partnership and European Partnership Programs as well as the organization’s new schools strategy. A comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) is another way the industry intends to underscore the sustainability message. Piggybacking on the GAPP research indicating that sustainability drives current and future consumers, GAPP contracted with Quantis to conduct a life cycle assessment, looking at energy usage, packaging, carbon creation or sequestering, and other environmental impacts that occur throughout the life cycle of a pollock product. One metric of LCA is how many kilograms of carbon are produced to produce one kilogram of processed pollock, compared to a kilogram of processed beef or pork or other protein. Bryan Sheehan of Quantas said pollock will compare favorably, producing on the order of 15 times less carbon for a kilo of pollock compared to a kilo of beef. “Sales of more sustainable products have grown 20% since 2014,” said Sheehan. “Sustainable products are currently 22% of the total grocery store and that figure is projected to jump to 25% by 2021. Fifty percent of consumers (75% of Millennials) will change their behavior to buy more sustainable products and are demanding increased transparency.” “An LCA [life cycle assessment] is the best tool that the Wild Alaska Pollock industry has to communicate that direct, strong science in a very actionable way for consumers,” added Melissa Zgola, also of Quantis. “LCA is the gold-standard for doing this kind of work. It’s science-based and defendable and it helps us to avoid unintended consequences and burden shifting.” The afternoon panel, moderated by Matt Tinning of the At-Sea Processors Association picked up strongly on this theme. “There’s been a lot of talk about sustainability, that’s a big part of this fishery now,” said Karl Bratvold of Starboats. “In the 1980’s when I was a captain, we were all cowboys back then…we didn’t do the best job of getting all that we needed out of that fish. After AFA [American Fisheries Act] we saw the recovery rates go up and safety increase. We have observers on board the science has gotten better. It’s profitable and sustainable.” “We’ve been having this conversation [about sustainability] with customers for more than ten years now,” said Jason Driskill of H-E-B. “Our first conversation with customers around sustainability was through the lens of Alaska because Alaska does a great job balancing thriving communities with thriving fisheries.” Driskill explained that sustainability helps align people with what they’re putting in their bodies from a values standpoint and that it’s critical to H-E-B’s business, so much so that Wild Alaska Pollock has become a significant part of their seafood offerings. “Wild Alaska Pollock is a big thing for us, we’re going after it in more ways as we head into 2020. We’re doing surimi, we have made in store ceviche’s and other items that feature Wild Alaska Pollock,” said Driskill. “Most significantly, we’re looking to make a major shift in 2020 for all of our 230 sushi locations to feature Wild Alaska Pollock. We’re going to take it to the next level and we’re excited to flip the switch in our operations.” While for some consumers, sustainability is top of mind, for more than 80% of consumers, sustainability still ranks lower than taste, convenience and price. “For many consumers, sustainability still isn’t their one deciding factor about what to purchase. What we’re doing to help them find the answers and the easy solutions about sustainability isn’t getting through to those busy consumers who are so bombarded with information,” said Sharon Ripps of R3 Consulting. “It’s not that they don’t care, it’s not that they don’t have the vision to look for it, it’s that they have so many other things on their plate…we have to make it easy for them care.” Sustainability is also a growing movement among investors and businesses writ large with companies committing to reductions and signing on to third-party evaluations to rate their business practices as they relate to sustainability indicators. “The landscape is shifting, we’re talking on sustainable business not just sustainable products. There’s opportunity for companies that go down that road,” said George Chmael of Council Fire. “It’s an incredible fishery, it’s an incredible organization [GAPP] that you have behind you and you have the opportunity to really take advantage of this evolving landscape.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1155873/GAPP-Annual-Meeting-Focuses-on-Sustainability-Strategy Labeling and Marketing New logo for Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Fis.com - October 31, 2019 The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) is pleased to announce the release of a new modern logo for the Alaska Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification Program. The development of a new logo is a testimony to the commitment of the RFM program to help all end-user companies confidently demonstrate responsible sourcing to their customers https://fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=31&id=105172&l=e&country=0&special=&ndb=1&df=0 FYI’s November 14-20, 2019 PFMC meeting “Fast Facts” Pacific Fishery Management Council - October 29, 2019 The following was released by the Pacific Fishery Management Council: The November 14-20, 2019 Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting “Fast Facts” are available. Fast Facts are answers to FAQs that can help you get oriented for the upcoming meeting. https://www.savingseafood.org/news/council-actions/november-14-20-2019-pfmc-meeting-fast-facts/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SavingSeafoodRss+%28Saving+Seafood%29
Ann Owens Pacific Seafood Processors Association Office Manager 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. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.