Tuesday, November 29, 2022

Alaska The Board of Fish Bristol Bay meeting starts today. Here's the agenda KDLG by Isabelle Ross - November 29, 2022 Board members listen to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff reports during the last Bristol Bay meeting in 2018. https://www.kdlg.org/fisheries/2022-11-29/the-board-of-fish-bristol-bay-meeting-starts-today-heres-the-agenda National USDA’s WIC Program Proposes Increased Access to Seafood, Public Comments Open SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - November 28, 2022 Updating food packages to include more seafood may finally be happening at the US Department of Agriculture’s Women, Infants and Children’s Supplemental Nutrition Program (WIC). A proposed rule was released last week, outlining the updates — the first in the WIC program since 2009. These science-based revisions come from recommendations made by the National Academies of Science, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) and the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2020-2025. “USDA is committed to advancing maternal and child health through WIC, helping mothers, babies and young kids thrive,” said Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack. “These proposed changes will strengthen WIC – already an incredibly powerful program – by ensuring it provides foods that reflect the latest nutrition science to support healthy eating and bright futures.” The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) applauded the release in a statement last week noting that the change strengthens the USDA’s efforts to align its nutrition program with the lates U.S. dietary and health guidelines. “Including more seafood in the update and expanding its availability in WIC packages for children, pregnant and postpartum women in addition to breastfeeding mothers will be great for their health,” said Bruce Schactler, director of ASMI’s Global Food Aid Program. “It also is a sound investment that will support the U.S. seafood and retail industries, including many small businesses.” The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020-2025 recommend two 8-oz servings of healthy seafood a week starting at 6 months of age. Nearly all Americans fall below this recommended amount and miss out on the healthy fats and nutrient-dense, lean protein found in seafood. These proposed changes will improve equitable access to nutritious and accessible canned seafood, including Alaska salmon, for the more than six million underserved mothers and children under 5 years of age currently participating in WIC, ASMI said in a statement released last Wednesday. “While this is an important step in the right direction to improve access to seafood,” Schactler explained, “we believe additional seafood options are needed in the WIC food basket, especially cost-effective frozen wild Alaska seafood, in addition to shelf stable canned products.” ASMI encouraged interested parties to provide input on the proposed rule during the public comment period at www.regulations.gov, which will be open from November 21, 2022 – February 21, 2023. Draft language in the proposed rule includes the type and amount of canned fish that would be included in the guidelines. For example, “….this proposed rule would add 5 ounces of canned fish per month to the food packages for children ages 2 through 4 years. The only types of canned fish allowed for children would be salmon, sardines, and Atlantic mackerel. …” In the same section further down: “…The Department also requests public comment on the marketplace availability of canned light tuna in package sizes safe for consumption by young children (i.e., 2 oz.).” Another reference to type of seafood and serving sizes was also in the same section: “The Department will use any updated FDA–EPA guidance on fish, as appropriate, when developing a final rule as it relates to fish types and serving sizes safe for consumption based on estimated methylmercury exposure.” https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1240435/USDAs-WIC-Program-Proposes-Increased-Access-to-Seafood-Public-Comments-Open Environment/Science Five Aleutian volcanoes show signs of unrest KUCB by Theo Greenly - November 28, 2022 Four Aleutian volcanoes have been under elevated alert levels for about a year — and now, they’re joined by a fifth. https://www.kucb.org/science-environment/2022-11-28/five-aleutian-volcanoes-show-signs-of-unrest Federal Register Fisheries of the Exclusive Economic Zone Off Alaska; Pacific Ocean Perch in the Bering Sea Subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area A Rule by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on 11/29/2022 NMFS is prohibiting directed fishing for Pacific ocean perch in the Bering Sea subarea of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands management area (BSAI). This action is necessary to prevent exceeding the 2022 Pacific ocean perch total allowable catch (TAC) in the Bering Sea subarea of the BSAI. https://www.federalregister.gov/documents/2022/11/29/2022-26029/fisheries-of-the-exclusive-economic-zone-off-alaska-pacific-ocean-perch-in-the-bering-sea-subarea-of 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. 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.