Monday, October 25, 2021

*********************************** In Memoriam (memorial service details) A memorial service to honor Chuck Bundrant, his servant leadership, and his devotion to God and family, will be held Wednesday, November 3, 11:00 am, in Everett, Washington, at New Life Church, 6830 Highland Drive. Arrangements have been made to live-stream and record the service. Virtual attendance will be supported - this link can be used to access LIVE STREAM instructions the day of the service: www.tridentseafoods.com/chuck-bundrant. Communications of condolences to the family can also be made through this link; donations in lieu of flowers are encouraged to the organizations that are listed via this same link. Chuck’s obituary: https://www.scribd.com/document/533334728/Chuck-Bundrant-obituary-101721 To learn more about this amazing man and the life that he lived, download the podcast, Catching a Deckload of Dreams: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/catching-a-deckload-of-dreams-chuck-bundrant/id1483630898. *********************************** Alaska Alaska’s BOF Puts Kenai River Chinook and South Alaska Pen Sockeye Proposals on March Agenda SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - October 22, 2021 The Board of Fish condensed a two-day meeting into one on Wednesday, clearing the decks for an expanded meeting in March 2022 to cover statewide issues, including two newly fast-tracked ones: Upper Cook Inlet set-net management and South Alaska Peninsula salmon seasons. There were ten stakeholder-generated proposals that were submitted to be scheduled sooner than the seven-member panel’s multi-year cycle requires. All but one of those Agenda Change Requests (ACRs) were declined. ACR 7, submitted by Chignik fisherman Don Bumpus would “Modify commercial salmon fisheries opening dates and times in the South Unimak and Shumagin Islands June Salmon Management Plan, and the Post-June Salmon Management Plan for the South Alaska Peninsula.” In essence, the ACR calls for fleets in the South Peninsula area to share in the “conservation requirement/burden for Chignik’s early and late sockeye runs escapements” to prevent “a stock-of-concern classification or disaster.” After four consecutive years of the Chignik sockeye run not meeting its escapement goals, despite the Chignik management region being closed, interception of these Chignik-bound sockeye continues in the Shumagins Islands Section and Dolgoi Islands Area. “Conservative action is urgently needed in the Shumagin Islands and Dolgoi Islands fisheries to prevent Chignik’s early sockeye salmon run from further faltering from an escapement shortage and future stock- of-concern management,” Bumpus wrote. His proposal will be added to the March 11-16, 2022 statewide BOF meeting to be held in Anchorage. The Board vote to address the issue earlier was 4-2. The five ACRs addressing the set drift net fleet’s management under the Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan were not fast-tracked and will be addressed in early 2023, but the Board generated their own proposal to offer some relief for the Kenai set-netters in RC015 in a 5-2 vote. RC015 will “Amend the Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan to allow fishing with set gillnet gear within 600 feet of the mean high tide mark in the Upper Subdistrict when sonar passage of large late-run Kenai River king salmon exceeds 13,500 fish, and Kenai and Kasilof river sockeye salmon escapement objectives are being met,” the proposal states. Board member McKenzie Mitchell included her justification in the motion. “Recent efforts to conserve Kenai River late-run king salmon and meet the Kenai River late-run king salmon optimal escapement goal of 15,000 large fish have resulted in foregone yield of Kenai River late-run and Kasilof River sockeye salmon. “This proposal provides [ADF&G] an additional tool to harvest surplus sockeye salmon with set gillnet gear when Kenai River late-run large king salmon sonar passage exceeds 13,500 fish, which is the sustainable escapement goal for Kenai River large late-run king salmon established by the department … while providing additional sockeye salmon harvest opportunity beyond what is currently allowed,” Mitchell wrote. “In considering these emergency order openings the department will evaluate the number and size of king salmon harvested in the set gillnet fishery and manage conservatively to minimize king salmon harvest as well as the need to ensure provisions of other related management plans are being met. This will require careful coordination between the department, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, and fishery stakeholders.” The issue will be added to the March meeting of the BOF in Anchorage. Board Executive Director Glenn Haight was asked to add a few days to that meeting agenda to handle to three new items now scheduled. For the ACRs submitted by ADF&G’s staff and approved for fast-tracking by the board, ACR 1 (allowing halibut to be caught in pots), ACR 3 (extending Kuskokwin River subsistence salmon permit sunset date by one year), and ACR 4 (extending the Bristol Bay Herring Management Plan sunset date by one year) will be included in the Nov. 30- Dec. 6, 2021 in Cordova. ACR 2, allowing the importation of live Pacific Coast oysters to Alaska for research, is scheduled for the March 2022 meeting in Anchorage. The Board of Fish is made up on McKenzie Mitchell, Marit Carlson-Van Dort (Chair), Gerad Godfrey, John Jensen (Vice-Chair), Indy Walton, Israel Payton, and John Wood. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1210855/Alaskas-BOF-Puts-Kenai-River-Chinook-and-South-Alaska-Pen-Sockeye-Proposals-on-March-Agenda Environment/Science Scientists are still following whales that swam through the Exxon Valdez oil spill KTOO by Sabine Poux, KDLL - October 22, 2021 Scientists in Homer and Seward have spent the last several decades tracking a population of mammal-eating killer whales called the Chugach Transients in the Gulf of Alaska. https://www.ktoo.org/2021/10/22/scientists-are-still-following-whales-that-swam-through-the-exxon-valdez-oil-spill/ Labeling and Marketing 3MMI - Fall Chum Salmon: Russia, Japan, Puget Sound, BC TradexFoods - October 25, 2021 Russia’s Chum Salmon run is performing a little better than expected, but is still below the preseason forecast. Japan’s Fall Hokkaido Chum Salmon fishery is performing at a pace similar to last year sitting at just over 107 percent compared to the same time in 2020 but is still well below total catch of previous years. The Puget Sound Chum Salmon fishery in Washington state is looking like another bad year as Wild Pacific Salmon stocks from British Columbia Canada to Washington continue to be in dire straits. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=k5mRISve9W0 Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/22/2021 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the Gulf of Alaska (GOA). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2021 total allowable catch of Pacific ocean perch in the Western Regulatory Area of the GOA. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/22/2021-23102/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-ocean-perch-in-the-western-regulatory Fisheries Off West Coast States; Pacific Coast Groundfish Fishery; Extension of Emergency Action To Temporarily Remove 2021 Seasonal Processing Limitations for Pacific Whiting Motherships and Catcher-Processors A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 10/25/2021 This temporary rule extends emergency measures that allow at-sea Pacific whiting processing vessels to operate as both a mothership and a catcher-processor during the 2021 Pacific whiting fishery. These emergency measures were originally authorized until November 10, 2021. This temporary rule extends the emergency measures through December 31, 2021. This action is necessary to ensure catcher vessels in the at-sea whiting sector are able to fully harvest sector allocations. Emergency measures under this extended temporary rule will allow catcher-processors to operate as motherships and replace mothership processing vessels that are unable to operate in the at-sea whiting sector during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and resulting high economic uncertainty in 2021. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2021/10/25/2021-23165/fisheries-off-west-coast-states-pacific-coast-groundfish-fishery-extension-of-emergency-action-to 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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