A sunflower sea star. Photo: Janna Nichols/NOAA. NOAA Fisheries officials on March 15 proposed listing the sunflower sea star, once common along the Pacific coast of North America, as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), due to its sharp decline and the threat of a lethal pathogen. More than 90% of sunflower sea stars […]
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Image: ComFish Alaska. Participants in ComFish Alaska 2023, undeterred by a spring snowstorm that halted jet traffic in and out of Kodiak for a day, tackled climate challenges to fisheries, including plastics pollution and prospective economic and environmental benefits of the mushrooming kelp mariculture efforts. The state’s biggest and longest-running commercial fisheries trade show, which […]
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The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Steadfast. Photo: USCG. The Coast Guard cutter Steadfast returned to its Astoria, Oregon homeport on March 14, following a 69-day counternarcotics patrol in the Eastern Pacific Ocean, during which they confiscated over 7,500 pounds of cocaine valued at $85.6 million. The Steadfast had deployed with a Helicopter Interdiction Tactical Squadron […]
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Image: Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission. An umbrella entity for 15 Southeast Alaska Native tribes seeking better protection of transboundary watersheds of the Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers is asking for a seat at the table whenever British Columbia processes permits for new mines. The request from the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) on […]
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Image: North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Ryuichi ‘Rudy’ Tsukada, chief operating officer for the Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF), one of six Western Alaska Community Development Quota Program groups, has been nominated to fill the obligatory state of Alaska seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC). Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy nominated Tsukada on […]
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Image: Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Board of Fisheries in mid-March approved a Nushagak District king salmon stock of concern management plan to provide management tools and guidelines that aim for sustained yield of king salmon stocks large enough to meet sustainable escapement goals. The substitute language included in record copy (RC) […]
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Image: Pacific Fishery Management Council. The Pacific Fishery Management Council last week adopted three alternatives for 2023 ocean salmon fisheries off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California, all in advance of its plan to make a final decision on salmon seasons during its April 1-7 meeting. Detailed information about season starting dates, areas open […]
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Image: Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. Commercial ocean troll salmon fishery seasons that were scheduled to open between March 15 and May 15 in all areas from Cape Falcon to the Oregon-California border have been cancelled for 2023, officials with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) announced March 9. They said the […]
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Two Oregon call areas totaling 1.1 million acres. Image via Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. The Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC) on March 9 joined commercial fisheries entities in recommending that the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) rescind the current Oregon call areas designated for floating offshore wind energy management and restart the siting […]
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David Turner. Photo: Elliott Bay Design Group. Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) project manager David Turner has been appointed to the National Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee to represent the viewpoints of naval architects and marine engineers, EBDG announced March 13. Turner, who has 20 years’ experience in naval architecture and vessel design, is responsible […]
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Image: ComFish Alaska. ComFish Alaska, billed as the state’s premier commercial fisheries trade show, opens for its 44th year in Kodiak on March 16, with forums ranging from federal and state fisheries issues to bycatch harvests, vessel safety, marine debris and the future of kelp mariculture in the state. Forty-five vendors, ranging from gear vendors to […]
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Wild salmon. File photo. A report in the online publication Politico contends that while nearly 250 trawl boats continue to have banner seasons, harvesting between 3-4 billion pounds of fish annually, the Alaska fisheries overall are collapsing. The report, produced in partnership with Type Investigations – where the article’s author, Adam Federman, is a reporting […]
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Image: Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Board of Fisheries is scheduled to take up statewide finfish issues, including an amended plan for managing Chinook salmon in the Nushagak-Mulchatna rivers of Southwest Alaska, when the board meets in Anchorage from March 10-14. Statewide declines in salmon stocks in several area, including the Nushagak […]
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North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Final action on an amended fishery management plan for Cook Inlet salmon is on the agenda when the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets at the Hilton Hotel in Anchorage April 6-11. Final action is also scheduled for Greenland turbot in longline pots. The U.S. Navy is scheduled to present […]
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Image: Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. Wild Alaska sockeye salmon with ribbon kelp chimichurri by Peter Pan Seafoods claimed the grand prize at the 2023 Alaska Symphony of Seafoods, an annual competition promoting new products made with wild Alaska seafood. Peter Pan’s entry also claimed first place in retail competition with this recipe, which was the […]
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A Bering Sea king crab. File photo. Harvesters in the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery are partnering with federal and state agencies to collect critical winter data in a month-long project that was slated to start in March to help inform management decisions. The research goal is to collect data sought by the North […]
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The first-ever cancellation of Alaska’s Bering Sea snow crab harvest due to population declines was a shock to the state’s fishing industry last fall, but in the decades to come, the ocean conditions that triggered the snow crab crash and harvest closure are expected to become common. This is according to according to several scientists […]
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Image: Washington Recreation and Conservation Office. Salmon at every phase of their lives are continuing to struggle from the impact of climate change and other challenges, including habitat loss, according to the latest biennial report of the Washington state Salmon Recovery Office. “We can’t wait to save them – we have to invest in their […]
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Image: Bellingham SeaFeast. Bellingham SeaFeast’s dockside program, which takes place on the first and third Saturdays of the month, plans to feature Louisiana-born chef Matthew Boudousquie at Fishermen’s Pavilion during its Dockside Market event on March 18. Boudousquie, who’s scheduled to offer a lesson in cooing seafood gumbo, is the executive chef at The Bistro […]
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Image: Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Alaska’s Board of Fisheries has voted against a proposal to reduce significantly commercial fishing times and areas in the South Alaska Peninsula region known as Area M. Instead, the board this past weekend approved another measure to reduce fishing times in early June for salmon also sought by […]
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