Thursday, May 12, 2022

Alaska Drone surveys provide fresh data on Unalaska’s fluctuating salmon stocks KUCB by Maggie Nelson - May 11, 2022 For the past four years, Fish and Game has been analyzing data from drone surveys on the salmon populations in three of Unalaska's road-system lakes. Local Andy Dietrick operates the drones and also started surveying McLees Lake in 2020. https://www.kucb.org/science-environment/2022-05-11/drone-surveys-provide-fresh-data-on-unalaskas-fluctuating-salmon-stocks West Coast US West Coast lawmakers want USDA to buy more seafood from their states Seafood Source by Steve Bittenbender - May 11, 2022 A group of Democratic U.S. senators and representatives from West Coast states have written a letter to U.S. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack calling on his agency to spend more on seafood purchases from producers in their states. https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/supply-trade/us-west-coast-lawmakers-want-usda-to-buy-more-seafood-from-their-states NMFS Aims to Rebuild Pacific Sardine Stocks Fishermen's News by Sarah Spangler - May 11, 2022 The National Marine Fisheries Service is seeking comments by May 24 on a proposal to implement annual harvest specifications and management measures for the northern subpopulation of Pacific sardine for the fishing year from July 1, 2022 through June 30, 2023. https://fishermensnews.com/nmfs-aims-to-rebuild-pacific-sardine-stocks/ West Coast Fishermen, Processors Go All in on Pro-fishing Rally Message: #ProtectUSfishermen Seafood News - May 11, 2022 The cold northwest wind blowing in Coos Bay was the perfect atmosphere for a rally celebrating the contributions of the Oregon and West Coast seafood industries while facing potential displacement from offshore wind farms. Tuesday’s rally in Coos Bay, Ore., carried one clear message: #ProtecteUSfishermen. The rally was designed to show the public and offshore wind developers, in town for a different event, how proud fishermen and processors are of the fishing industry and the seafood provided to the public. The recent announcement of two “call areas” off Oregon have many fishermen and processors concerned they may be left behind in the rush to develop offshore wind. Rallygoers wore red shirts with the message, "Save Oregon Seafood" on the front and "We grew here, you flew here - You can't solve energy issues by creating food shortages." Supporters on the main Highway 101 thoroughfare honked in support against the backdrop of the almost 200 fishermen, processors, sport fishermen, scientists and conservationists supporting the seafood industry. Two local boats, the F/Vs Coho and Cape Foulweather, remained tied up at the dock next to the boardwalk. Fishing families arrived with children -- some young kids, some older, many of whom are or will be the next generation of fishermen. The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s call areas consist of one 1,364-square-mile area off Coos Bay and one 448-square-mile area off Brookings. BOEM removed one call area, off Bandon, which was previously proposed in February. BOEM’s process of establishing call areas in well-known and established fishing grounds has happened already on the East Coast and off California. Similarly, the two Oregon call areas are some of the most productive fishing grounds off the Oregon Coast. “We stand with our East Coast and Gulf Coast colleagues in urging BOEM to slow down the process and do the research, do the due diligence to protect our coastal ecosystems and our fisheries,” Midwater Trawlers Cooperative Executive Director Heather Mann said. “Fishermen are facing more than a dozen offshore wind developments or new call areas in the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic. The Oregon areas are smaller, but no less significant to our West Coast fisheries.” The rush to “clean energy” could have a detrimental effect on not only fishermen, but the shoreside businesses and coastal communities. BOEM leaders frequently tout the number of jobs offshore wind will create but they never include the numbers of fishing and processing jobs that will be lost. Several speakers addressed the audience of almost 200 people. Kurt Englund, with Englund Marine Supply, noted the coastwide impacts of offshore wind farms. "Little things that happen here affect the whole region," he said. Mann said the U.S. shouldn't be in such a rush to develop offshore wind energy, which is more expensive than terrestrial wind or other forms of renewable energy. Upgrading those energy systems may be more efficient. "Why aren't terrestrial wind farms operating at full capacity?" she said. Local retired scientist and sport fisherman Mike Graybill simplified the concept of how wind relates to the fishing industry: "Wind equals fish," he told the crowd. "The California Current is one of the most productive places on earth … [it's] a wind-powered ecosystem." Graybill referred to the current that stretches along the West Coast and the springtime winds -- like those on Tuesday -- that create upwelling and mix the ocean layers, bringing nutrient-rich waters from the depths to the surface. Studies in other areas have shown “wind wakes” behind wind farms could disrupt that upwelling system that is necessary for fisheries and supports most of the Pacific Ocean animals off the West Coast. “There are too, too many questions about offshore wind and its effects on the California Current Large Marine Ecosystem,” Southern Oregon Ocean Resources Coalition Chair Susan Chambers said in a press release. “We need answers. You can’t place hundreds of 600- to 800-foot-tall turbines in the ocean without expecting some kind of detrimental effect to ocean currents, habitats and migration patterns, not to mention the displacement of fishermen who have fished here for generations.” The rally was followed by a parade down Front Street, next to bay, to the Coos History Museum, where the seafood industry put on a seafood barbecue. The events were organized by the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative, West Coast Seafood Processors Association, Oregon Trawl Commission, Shrimp Producers Marketing Cooperative, West Coast Pelagic Conservation Group and several independent vessel owners, fishermen and seafood processors. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225456/West-Coast-Fishermen-Processors-Go-All-in-on-Pro-fishing-Rally-Message-ProtectUSfishermen National USDA Eyeing Salmon, Walleye in Latest Purchase Requests Urner Barry by Ryan Doyle - May 11, 2022 The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) has invited offers to sell walleye and salmon products for use in the National School Lunch Program and other Federal Food and Nutrition Assistance Programs. According to the USDA, acceptances will be announced by midnight, on May 19, and deliveries will be made between September 1, 2022 and February 28, 2023. In total, the USDA wants to buy 72,000 pounds of frozen walleye fillets. When it comes to salmon products, the USDA wants to purchase canned pink salmon and wild-caught frozen salmon fillets. Altogether, the USDA wants 66,880 cases of canned pink salmon and 290,480 pounds of frozen salmon fillets for use in the nutrition programs. Around the same time, the USDA was looking to buy pollock products, as SeafoodNews reported. The USDA wanted 3.2 million pounds of frozen Alaska pollock products including frozen fillets, frozen sticks, bulk containers and breaded frozen sticks. A quick breakdown showed the USDA looking for 1.14 million pounds of frozen breaded pollock sticks, about 1.47 million pounds of bulk frozen pollock in 49.5 lb. lots, 304K pounds of frozen pollock sticks and 304K pounds of frozen fillets. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1225482/USDA-Eyeing-Salmon-Walleye-in-Latest-Purchase-Requests Environment/Science NOAA Releases Two Key Reports, Status of Stocks and Fisheries of the United States U.S. fisheries held steady in 2021, with more than 90 percent of stocks not subject to overfishing and 80 percent not overfished. NOAA Fisheries - May 12, 2022 Today, NOAA Fisheries released two flagship reports—the 2021 Status of Stocks report and the 2020 Fisheries of the United States report. “These reports help capture our shared and continued commitment to sustainable fisheries management in the U.S. as we continue to make progress in rebuilding and ending overfishing on stocks and work to increase the economic impact of our fisheries,” said Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries and NOAA’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Oceans and Atmosphere, Janet Coit. “They also reflect the responsibility we have to understand and mitigate the impacts of climate change on our coastal and marine resources, all while trying to build healthier and more resilient ecosystems.” https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/feature-story/noaa-releases-two-key-reports-status-stocks-and-fisheries-united-states 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. 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