Veteran longliner Linda Behnken of Sitka, Alaska, and Brad Pettinger, director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, were among a dozen people recognized by the White House on Oct. 5 as Champions of Change in Sustainable Seafood.
Behnken is the executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, and was recently named as an interim commissioner to the International Pacific Halibut Commission.
As director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, a state commodity commission operating under the Oregon Department of Agriculture’s Commodity Commission program, Pettinger works collaboratively in the Pacific Fishery Management Council to improve management of West Coast groundfish fisheries.
Behnken shared the honors on her Facebook page, saying it is “really an honor that has been earned by the incredible people I work with at ALFA, staff, board and members, and the individuals and foundations who have supported our work-first and foremost Anne Hensaw at the Oak Foundation.” Behnken also thanked the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, Central Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, North Pacific Research Board and the city of Sitka.
As a leader of ALFA, a member of the Halibut Coalition and in her years on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, Behnken has been an outspoken advocate for all participants in Alaska’s fisheries protecting the health of the resource.
A commercial harvester for 34 years, she has also served as an industry advisor to the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, the National Academy of Science Individual Fishing Quota Review Panel, and co-chaired the council’s essential fish habitat committee.
Behnken participated in the last two-reauthorizations of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, and was an active advocate for the Sustainable Fisheries Act amendments. She is also a founding member of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, a cutting-edge financing tool to help new and young harvesters break into Alaska fisheries and connect communities with their renewable natural resources.
The White House noted that under Pettinger’s leadership all three Oregon trawl fisheries have been certified by the Marine Stewardship Council as well managed and sustainable fisheries.
Pettinger owns a trawler that participates in the West Coast trawl groundfish catch share program off the coast of northern California and Southern Oregon. His work has been instrumental to recovery of many rockfish species, which provide sustainable, healthy, delicious seafood for local communities, the White House said.
Wednesday, October 12, 2016
Wednesday, October 5, 2016
Bristol Bay Red King Crab Quota Set
State fishery managers in Alaska have set the Bristol Bay red king crab quota for the season opening Oct. 15 at 8,469,000 pounds, with 7,622,100 pounds for individual fishing quota holders and 846,900 pounds in community development quota.
That’s down by about 15 percent from the 9,974,000 allocation last year, which was slightly again lower than the 2014-2015 quota of 9,986,000 pounds.
The fishery will run through Jan. 15.
The Pribilof District red and blue king crab fisheries will remain closed through the 2016-2017 season.
State fisheries biologists said that the Bristol Bay red king crab nature female abundance is over the harvest strategy threshold of 8.4 million crab and the 2016 effective spawning biomass of 42.21 million pounds is over the threshold of 14.5 million pounds. Since the 2016 effective spawning biomass is less than 55 million pounds but greater than 34.75 million pounds, a 12.5 percent exploitation rate is applied to the estimated mature male abundance of 10.18 million crab.
Despite a higher than average number of discarded legal males observed in the 2015-2016 season, the 2016-2017 total allowable catch was not discounted for the added mortality.
State officials warned however that discards of legal-sized male red king crab in the new season will be closely monitored and could result in a lower TAC for the 2017-2018 season.
That’s down by about 15 percent from the 9,974,000 allocation last year, which was slightly again lower than the 2014-2015 quota of 9,986,000 pounds.
The fishery will run through Jan. 15.
The Pribilof District red and blue king crab fisheries will remain closed through the 2016-2017 season.
State fisheries biologists said that the Bristol Bay red king crab nature female abundance is over the harvest strategy threshold of 8.4 million crab and the 2016 effective spawning biomass of 42.21 million pounds is over the threshold of 14.5 million pounds. Since the 2016 effective spawning biomass is less than 55 million pounds but greater than 34.75 million pounds, a 12.5 percent exploitation rate is applied to the estimated mature male abundance of 10.18 million crab.
Despite a higher than average number of discarded legal males observed in the 2015-2016 season, the 2016-2017 total allowable catch was not discounted for the added mortality.
State officials warned however that discards of legal-sized male red king crab in the new season will be closely monitored and could result in a lower TAC for the 2017-2018 season.
Togiak Herring Allocation Declines
Harvest allocations for Alaska’s 2017 Togiak herring fishery total 22,943 tons, down from 28,782 tons in 2016, with state biologists, erring on the side of caution for lack of funds, collecting information on estimated biomass and age composition.
The allocation includes 16,060 tons, or 70 percent, for the purse seine fleet, and 6,883 tons, or 30 percent, for the gillnet harvesters.
For 2016, the Togiak District sac roe fishery allocation of 28,782 tons included 20,148 tons for the purse seine fleet and 8,635 tons for the gillnetters.
Traditionally the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has used an age structured assessment model to forecast the spawning biomass of Togiak herring, but with the state in a budget crisis due to a drop in oil prices, no funds were allocated to gather this information for the Togiak herring fishery.
The age structured assessment model requires estimates of the spawning biomass as well as estimates of the age composition of the spawning biomass and the harvest. Because that data is not available, fisheries biologists opted to forecast the 2017 biomass as the average spawning biomass for all years for which they did have data, from 1978 through 2015, less 10 percent in order to be conservative.
Because they do not have the age structured assessment model for the 2017 forecast, biologists issued no predictions regarding age composition or individual size of herring for 2017.
As the department ceased estimating the spawning biomass of Togiak herring in 2015, the historical average used in the 2017 forecast is a static number and unless the budget situation changes, ADF&G will not be able to estimate spawning biomass or age composition in the future, said Greg Buck, area research biologist. This forecast strategy should be viewed as a temporary measure until a more long-term strategy for this fishery can be developed, Buck said in an announcement Oct. 3.
The Togiak herring fishery is the largest in Alaska. From 1995 to 2014, sac roe harvests averaged 21,672 short tons, worth an average of $4.94 million annually, according to the ADF&G 2015 Bristol Bay area annual management report released in April 2016. Given the volatile nature of the herring sac roe market, historic harvests and value are of limited utility when contemplating future harvest or value, biologists noted in the management report.
In 2015, sac roe harvests brought $1.08 million to permit holders, well below the 10-year average of $2.86 million. This value represents the grounds price and doesn’t necessarily include postseason adjustments. No spawn-on-kelp fishery has occurred since 2003. Final harvest values for the 2016 were not yet available.
The allocation includes 16,060 tons, or 70 percent, for the purse seine fleet, and 6,883 tons, or 30 percent, for the gillnet harvesters.
For 2016, the Togiak District sac roe fishery allocation of 28,782 tons included 20,148 tons for the purse seine fleet and 8,635 tons for the gillnetters.
Traditionally the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has used an age structured assessment model to forecast the spawning biomass of Togiak herring, but with the state in a budget crisis due to a drop in oil prices, no funds were allocated to gather this information for the Togiak herring fishery.
The age structured assessment model requires estimates of the spawning biomass as well as estimates of the age composition of the spawning biomass and the harvest. Because that data is not available, fisheries biologists opted to forecast the 2017 biomass as the average spawning biomass for all years for which they did have data, from 1978 through 2015, less 10 percent in order to be conservative.
Because they do not have the age structured assessment model for the 2017 forecast, biologists issued no predictions regarding age composition or individual size of herring for 2017.
As the department ceased estimating the spawning biomass of Togiak herring in 2015, the historical average used in the 2017 forecast is a static number and unless the budget situation changes, ADF&G will not be able to estimate spawning biomass or age composition in the future, said Greg Buck, area research biologist. This forecast strategy should be viewed as a temporary measure until a more long-term strategy for this fishery can be developed, Buck said in an announcement Oct. 3.
The Togiak herring fishery is the largest in Alaska. From 1995 to 2014, sac roe harvests averaged 21,672 short tons, worth an average of $4.94 million annually, according to the ADF&G 2015 Bristol Bay area annual management report released in April 2016. Given the volatile nature of the herring sac roe market, historic harvests and value are of limited utility when contemplating future harvest or value, biologists noted in the management report.
In 2015, sac roe harvests brought $1.08 million to permit holders, well below the 10-year average of $2.86 million. This value represents the grounds price and doesn’t necessarily include postseason adjustments. No spawn-on-kelp fishery has occurred since 2003. Final harvest values for the 2016 were not yet available.
BSAI Crab, Groundfish Harvests on NPFMC Agenda
Bering Sea/Aleutian Island crab and groundfish harvest specifications are on the agenda this week as the North Pacific Fishery Management Council opens its October meeting in Anchorage. Also on tap is an initial review of the electronic monitoring integration and the 2017 observer program annual deployment plan.
The council is considering a proposed management change to establish electric monitoring as part of the North Pacific Observer Program. The observer program collects data needed for the conservation, management and scientific understanding of groundfish and halibut fisheries. The document before the council analyzes alternatives to allow an electronic monitoring system, developed with input from the council’s fixed gear electronic monitoring work group. To date program development has focused primarily on an electronic monitoring program where data would be used for catch estimation.
The work group has also recommended that the council add an additional option to the analysis, to allow vessel operators fishing individual fishing quota in multiple areas to retain harvest in excess of the amount of quota available in a single area, if they have onboard either an observer or electronic monitoring equipment.
The council will also review the draft 2017 annual deployment plan and offer its recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service for the final 2017 plan.
The meeting is open to the public. Download the complete agenda and schedule at www.npfmc.org. To listen online, log in to https://npfmc.adobeconnect.com/october2016 and enter your name.
The council is considering a proposed management change to establish electric monitoring as part of the North Pacific Observer Program. The observer program collects data needed for the conservation, management and scientific understanding of groundfish and halibut fisheries. The document before the council analyzes alternatives to allow an electronic monitoring system, developed with input from the council’s fixed gear electronic monitoring work group. To date program development has focused primarily on an electronic monitoring program where data would be used for catch estimation.
The work group has also recommended that the council add an additional option to the analysis, to allow vessel operators fishing individual fishing quota in multiple areas to retain harvest in excess of the amount of quota available in a single area, if they have onboard either an observer or electronic monitoring equipment.
The council will also review the draft 2017 annual deployment plan and offer its recommendations to the National Marine Fisheries Service for the final 2017 plan.
The meeting is open to the public. Download the complete agenda and schedule at www.npfmc.org. To listen online, log in to https://npfmc.adobeconnect.com/october2016 and enter your name.
Hydrocarbon Spill Prompts Charges Against PWSAC
The general manager of the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp., a hatchery manager and maintenance supervisor have been ordered to show up for arraignment in Cordova, Alaska, regarding a fuel leak at a state hatchery managed by PWSAC.
Documents filed the state attorney general’s office this week charge general manager David Reggiani Jr., chief maintenance supervisor Dale Lords, and Christine Mitchell, acting manager of the Cannery Creek Hatchery, with a class A misdemeanor in the oil spill beneath staff housing back in December 2013. All are charged with proving false information, failure to report hazardous substance discharge and oil pollution.
Based on a review by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the state found that Jason Vinyard, then a maintenance supervisor at the hatchery, did report a fuel oil spill of 350 to 400 gallons to the US Forest Service in December 2013, that he also reported the incident to PWSAC officials and told on-site employees to leave the area.
Mitchell told officials that Vinyard had reported a fuel spill but that she had discounted his reporting because she did not trust him. A review of a fuel log provided by Reggiani disclosed fuel transfers from a bulk storage tank were consistent with statements made by Vinyard in his incident report, according to assistant attorney general Carole Holley.
A telephone request to PWSAC regarding the incident was not returned.
Documents filed the state attorney general’s office this week charge general manager David Reggiani Jr., chief maintenance supervisor Dale Lords, and Christine Mitchell, acting manager of the Cannery Creek Hatchery, with a class A misdemeanor in the oil spill beneath staff housing back in December 2013. All are charged with proving false information, failure to report hazardous substance discharge and oil pollution.
Based on a review by the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation, the state found that Jason Vinyard, then a maintenance supervisor at the hatchery, did report a fuel oil spill of 350 to 400 gallons to the US Forest Service in December 2013, that he also reported the incident to PWSAC officials and told on-site employees to leave the area.
Mitchell told officials that Vinyard had reported a fuel spill but that she had discounted his reporting because she did not trust him. A review of a fuel log provided by Reggiani disclosed fuel transfers from a bulk storage tank were consistent with statements made by Vinyard in his incident report, according to assistant attorney general Carole Holley.
A telephone request to PWSAC regarding the incident was not returned.
Wednesday, September 28, 2016
New Funds for Electronic Monitoring Project
The North Pacific Fisheries Association, in Homer, Alaska, has received a $595,047 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation grant to support pre-implementation of electronic monitoring on up to 30 vessels in the Alaska Pacific cod fixed gear fishery.
The project will be administered by Saltwater Inc.
The project also includes $1,050,000 in matching funds, including in-kind contributions and potential funds from the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to a spokesperson for NPFA.
The project, beginning in 2017, will build on successful pilot efforts to implement a cost-effective data collection and management infrastructure to provide timely and accurate catch accounting data for fishery managers, and support implementation of electronic monitoring.
The North Pacific Fisheries Association was incorporated in 1955 as a marketing entity, negotiating salmon prices for Cook Inlet seine and gillnet harvester, and later became active also on halibut and groundfish topics.
With the development of electronic monitoring technology for use in fisheries observation and compliance, NPFA was awarded grants for 2012-2013 to develop electronic monitoring systems on under 60 foot halibut boats and 2013-2015 to develop electronic monitoring systems for under 60 foot fixed gear cod boats.
Based on findings of those pilot projects, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended the pot cod fishery for pre-implementation beginning in 2017.
The project will also use and expand capabilities of an open-source data review software previously developed by Saltwater Inc. to provide a sustainable, cost effective data review infrastructure for electronic monitoring programs.
The overall effort is designed to implement electronic monitoring on a large scale to support full implementation of electronic monitoring in the Alaska pot cod fishery by 2018 or 2019, said Abigail Turner-Franke, program coordinator for NPFA.
The project fits with the Alaska Region Electronic Technologies Implementation Plan’s priority focus on electronic monitoring for small, fixed gear vessels, she said.
While the Sept. 20 deadline for the National Marine Fisheries Service electronic monitoring selection pool registration has passed, the project may be able to accept more pot cod vessels on a case-by-case basis depending on funds and available space within the program, she said. Priority is being given to smaller vessels that may have difficulties accommodating an observer on board, but otherwise acceptance has been first come, first serve, she said.
The project will be administered by Saltwater Inc.
The project also includes $1,050,000 in matching funds, including in-kind contributions and potential funds from the National Marine Fisheries Service, according to a spokesperson for NPFA.
The project, beginning in 2017, will build on successful pilot efforts to implement a cost-effective data collection and management infrastructure to provide timely and accurate catch accounting data for fishery managers, and support implementation of electronic monitoring.
The North Pacific Fisheries Association was incorporated in 1955 as a marketing entity, negotiating salmon prices for Cook Inlet seine and gillnet harvester, and later became active also on halibut and groundfish topics.
With the development of electronic monitoring technology for use in fisheries observation and compliance, NPFA was awarded grants for 2012-2013 to develop electronic monitoring systems on under 60 foot halibut boats and 2013-2015 to develop electronic monitoring systems for under 60 foot fixed gear cod boats.
Based on findings of those pilot projects, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recommended the pot cod fishery for pre-implementation beginning in 2017.
The project will also use and expand capabilities of an open-source data review software previously developed by Saltwater Inc. to provide a sustainable, cost effective data review infrastructure for electronic monitoring programs.
The overall effort is designed to implement electronic monitoring on a large scale to support full implementation of electronic monitoring in the Alaska pot cod fishery by 2018 or 2019, said Abigail Turner-Franke, program coordinator for NPFA.
The project fits with the Alaska Region Electronic Technologies Implementation Plan’s priority focus on electronic monitoring for small, fixed gear vessels, she said.
While the Sept. 20 deadline for the National Marine Fisheries Service electronic monitoring selection pool registration has passed, the project may be able to accept more pot cod vessels on a case-by-case basis depending on funds and available space within the program, she said. Priority is being given to smaller vessels that may have difficulties accommodating an observer on board, but otherwise acceptance has been first come, first serve, she said.
New Cod Fillets Debut in Washington, Oregon
Packages of wild Alaska cod fillets marinated with lemon, herbs and butter from Alaska Leader Fisheries have debuted in nine Costco stores in Washington State and Oregon, and company officials say there are more marinated flavors to come.
The product is also set to debut soon in Costco stores in Alaska, said Keith Singleton, a spokesman for Alaska Leader Fisheries.
Singleton and Norm Van Vactor, president and executive director of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., in Dillingham, Alaska, were on hand for the occasion Sept. 27 at one of the Seattle area Costco stores. The BBEDC is a partner in Alaska Leader.
What’s key to the taste of the fillets, said Van Vacctor, is that this cod is harvested in some of the most modern hook and line vessels in the industry.
The cod are hooked one fish at a time, processed immediately and frozen quickly, vacuum packed to retain the fresh flavor and texture.
And from the trimmings of cod left after filleting, Alaska Leader has produced a canine pet treat. The dried cod chips packaged as Wild Alaskan Cod Crunchies, already in retail markets.
The product is also set to debut soon in Costco stores in Alaska, said Keith Singleton, a spokesman for Alaska Leader Fisheries.
Singleton and Norm Van Vactor, president and executive director of the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp., in Dillingham, Alaska, were on hand for the occasion Sept. 27 at one of the Seattle area Costco stores. The BBEDC is a partner in Alaska Leader.
What’s key to the taste of the fillets, said Van Vacctor, is that this cod is harvested in some of the most modern hook and line vessels in the industry.
The cod are hooked one fish at a time, processed immediately and frozen quickly, vacuum packed to retain the fresh flavor and texture.
And from the trimmings of cod left after filleting, Alaska Leader has produced a canine pet treat. The dried cod chips packaged as Wild Alaskan Cod Crunchies, already in retail markets.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
FN Online Advertising
.gif)