Joe Upton, author of the award-winning book Alaska Blues, an account of a season commercial fishing in Southeast Alaska, has produced a new volume, Bering Sea Blues – A Crabber’s Tale of Fear in the Icy North, just out from Epicenter Press in Kenmore, Washington.
Upton was just 25 years old when he boarded the 104-foot Flood Tide pulling out of Seattle in March 1971, headed for Dutch Harbor with 700-pound crab pots stacked three deep on the deck. Every time the vessel iced up, which was often, the crew would have to beat the ice off with hammers and baseball bats, literally fighting for their lives in the howling winds in 30 foot seas.
This is Upton’s white-knuckle memoir of a winter of fishing for king crab in the Bering Sea, of 12-to-14 hour days in search of elusive pockets on the ocean floor that could yield tons of the precious king crab.
The mood of the book, a sense of foreboding, is set in Upton’s prologue: “The Bering Sea is a bad place, the meanest sea that washes any shore,” he wrote. “To the west is Siberia, to the north the Arctic, to the south the North Pacific, and to the east the vast tundra coast of Alaska. All are weather breeders. Calm days are rare.”
Upton, who got his start in fisheries as a fleet mechanic for a Chilean fishing company at $50 a month, was befriended by a fellow American who suggested he head north to Alaska, where he could make big bucks and walking the docks in Seattle, he found a job aboard a vessel heading for Southeast Alaska to buy fish.
Later Upton moved to crab boats and describes in vivid detail that drama and hair raising adventures of life aboard a crab vessel.
Upton’s epilogue too will keep readers on edge as he describes some of the tragic losses of life in the Bering Sea crab fishery. “For myself, if there was a single event that epitomized the vicious conditions of the Bering Sea, always probing the defenses of any boat, it was what happened to the big 120 footer Vestfjord on an October evening in 1981 and shocked the entire Bering Sea crab fleet,” he wrote.
“Apparently the wave that hit the Vestfjord blew her pilothouse windows inward with enough force that the brass motor of the spinner drove directly into (Skipper Jens) Jensen’s head, killing him instantly. The water also shorted out most of the radios, the automatic pilot, and all the electronic navigation equipment.”
Only after a fierce struggle with the wind howling through the shattered pilothouse windows was the crew able to get the manual steering operating, the crabber turned away from the wind, a radio operating, and start back to Dutch Harbor.
“It was a tragic reminder to the whole crab fleet that even in the apparent security of the pilothouse, the Bering Sea is capable of striking a fatal blow,” he wrote.
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Endangered Coho Salmon Return to Russian River
Field biologists are reporting the largest number of endangered coho salmon returning to spawn in tributaries of Northern California’s Russian River in more than a decade.
Most of these fish were released as fingerlings into the river system, as part of a captive broodstock program at Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery on Lake Sonoma that began 10 years ago, when wild coho salmon were rapidly vanishing from the region.
"We were very excited to observe so many adult coho return and spawn this winter," said Mariska Obedzinski, lead biologist and monitoring program manager with California Sea Grant. "A lot of people are working hard to improve conditions for coho in the Russian, and this is a hopeful sign that our efforts are starting to pay off."
Since the launch of the recovery program in 2001, returning adult coho salmon averaged less than four per year. These low numbers were the catalyst for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program, a recovery effort in which offspring from hatchery-reared adults are released into the river system.
This year, biologists estimate that more than 190 adult coho have returned to the Russian River watershed, beginning with early storms in October and peaking in December. Promisingly, a few coho are being sighted in unstocked creeks, utilizing habitat beyond those tributaries in which coho are released.
“We are hopeful this trend will continue and the Russian River coho salmon population will establish self-sustaining runs,” said Paul Olin, an advisor with California Sea Grant Extension, who oversees monitoring of juvenile and adult salmon in the river system. “This program might help guide recovery efforts for many other remnant populations of coho salmon in California.”
Coho salmon abundance has declined dramatically statewide in the past few decades. Biologists believe that additional captive breeding efforts and other focused recovery measures will likely have to be instituted to prevent widespread extinction of coho salmon in Central California.
The Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program is a broad coalition of government agencies, scientists and private landowners dedicated to bringing back productive salmon runs. Its members include the California Department of Fish and Game, which manages the hatchery component at the Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery, National Marine Fisheries Service, Sonoma County Water Agency, California Sea Grant Extension, UC Cooperative Extension, and US Army Corps of Engineers, along with hundreds of cooperating landowners.
Most of these fish were released as fingerlings into the river system, as part of a captive broodstock program at Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery on Lake Sonoma that began 10 years ago, when wild coho salmon were rapidly vanishing from the region.
"We were very excited to observe so many adult coho return and spawn this winter," said Mariska Obedzinski, lead biologist and monitoring program manager with California Sea Grant. "A lot of people are working hard to improve conditions for coho in the Russian, and this is a hopeful sign that our efforts are starting to pay off."
Since the launch of the recovery program in 2001, returning adult coho salmon averaged less than four per year. These low numbers were the catalyst for the Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program, a recovery effort in which offspring from hatchery-reared adults are released into the river system.
This year, biologists estimate that more than 190 adult coho have returned to the Russian River watershed, beginning with early storms in October and peaking in December. Promisingly, a few coho are being sighted in unstocked creeks, utilizing habitat beyond those tributaries in which coho are released.
“We are hopeful this trend will continue and the Russian River coho salmon population will establish self-sustaining runs,” said Paul Olin, an advisor with California Sea Grant Extension, who oversees monitoring of juvenile and adult salmon in the river system. “This program might help guide recovery efforts for many other remnant populations of coho salmon in California.”
Coho salmon abundance has declined dramatically statewide in the past few decades. Biologists believe that additional captive breeding efforts and other focused recovery measures will likely have to be instituted to prevent widespread extinction of coho salmon in Central California.
The Russian River Coho Salmon Captive Broodstock Program is a broad coalition of government agencies, scientists and private landowners dedicated to bringing back productive salmon runs. Its members include the California Department of Fish and Game, which manages the hatchery component at the Don Clausen Warm Springs Hatchery, National Marine Fisheries Service, Sonoma County Water Agency, California Sea Grant Extension, UC Cooperative Extension, and US Army Corps of Engineers, along with hundreds of cooperating landowners.
Maritime Lien Reform Act Introduced
Alaska’s congressional delegation is taking another try at legislation to protect fishermen holding Alaska commercial fishing permits from getting slapped with liens on those permits, thereby endangering their economic livelihood.
The measure was introduced into the Senate Commerce Committee as S608 by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska introduced the legislation as HR1210 into the House subcommittee on transportation and infrastructure.
The good news, said Bob King, a fisheries aide to Begich, is that in the Senate it will get referred to the oceans subcommittee, which Begich chairs.
Similar legislation was introduced in Congress in 2006 and 2008, but failed to pass.
The current measure would benefit some `3,000 individuals who hold Alaska commercial entry permits, about 75 percent of them Alaska residents. There are permit holders in all 50 states.
“I don’t think anybody is opposed to it,” King said. “The question is whether it is going to be taken up.”
There is hope that this and other relatively small, non-controversial fisheries issues, with no major fiscal impact, may be wrapped into a single piece of legislation before this session ends, he said.
In the past the legislation failed because it was linked with some more contentious issues, he said.
Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission has fought for years to protect limited entry permits as a use privilege, rather than a piece of property. The CFEC also is working to protect the status of these permits as a use privilege, he said.
Murkowski, Begich and Young issued a joint statement on the measure on March 18, noting that Alaska state law already prohibits liens on Alaska limited entry permits, but that a court decision threw that into doubt by determining that a fishing license was subject to a maritime lien under Federal Admiralty Law. That decision, they said, has become the rationale for attempts to take Alaska fishing permits in federal bankruptcy court. The federal measure is the best way to protect these permits and the fish harvesters, they said.
The measure was introduced into the Senate Commerce Committee as S608 by Senators Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, and Mark Begich, D-Alaska. Rep. Don Young, R-Alaska introduced the legislation as HR1210 into the House subcommittee on transportation and infrastructure.
The good news, said Bob King, a fisheries aide to Begich, is that in the Senate it will get referred to the oceans subcommittee, which Begich chairs.
Similar legislation was introduced in Congress in 2006 and 2008, but failed to pass.
The current measure would benefit some `3,000 individuals who hold Alaska commercial entry permits, about 75 percent of them Alaska residents. There are permit holders in all 50 states.
“I don’t think anybody is opposed to it,” King said. “The question is whether it is going to be taken up.”
There is hope that this and other relatively small, non-controversial fisheries issues, with no major fiscal impact, may be wrapped into a single piece of legislation before this session ends, he said.
In the past the legislation failed because it was linked with some more contentious issues, he said.
Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission has fought for years to protect limited entry permits as a use privilege, rather than a piece of property. The CFEC also is working to protect the status of these permits as a use privilege, he said.
Murkowski, Begich and Young issued a joint statement on the measure on March 18, noting that Alaska state law already prohibits liens on Alaska limited entry permits, but that a court decision threw that into doubt by determining that a fishing license was subject to a maritime lien under Federal Admiralty Law. That decision, they said, has become the rationale for attempts to take Alaska fishing permits in federal bankruptcy court. The federal measure is the best way to protect these permits and the fish harvesters, they said.
North Pacific Fishery Management Council Spring Meeting in Anchorage
Final action on crab management issues in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, and hired skipper restrictions for halibut/ sablefish are on the agenda for the March 30- April 5 meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in Anchorage.
The council will conduct a preliminary review of changes proposed in the salmon fishery management plan and an initial review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon bycatch control measures.
The council has scheduled eight hours each for halibut/sablefish, salmon and BSAI crab issues.
Also on tap is final action on the essential fish habitat omnibus amendment, which were identified during the 2010 EFH 5-year-review, and an initial review, followed by final action to revise Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod jig fishery management.
The bulk of the public testimony is expected to come on the Gulf king salmon bycatch control measures, and action to amend hired skipper privileges granted to individual and corporate initial recipients of catcher vessel quota shares during implementation of the halibut and sablefish Individual Fishing Quota program in 1995, council staff opined.
During its February meeting in Seattle, the federal panel reviewed two staff discussion papers concerning measures to address Chinook salmon bycatch by Pollock trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska.
The council’s action is rooted in the record high bycatch of 54,000 king salmon catch in the Gulf groundfish trawl fishery in 2010. This occurred at the same time as many of the Gulf king salmon runs were suffering from historic low returns., outraging commercial sport and subsistence users of the succulent fish.
The proposed action includes alternatives to implement Chinook salmon bycatch caps in the central and western Gulf Pollock fisheries and/or a cooperative program to address Chinook bycatch in those fisheries. After reviewing the papers, the council modified its alternatives by clarifying the options for apportioning the proposed caps between the two regulatory areas, and more fully specifying the cooperative program alternative.
The council clarified that the cap would be apportioned between the western and central Gulf, rather than a Gulf-wide cap, and that apportionment would be based either on the relative historic Pollock catch in each regulatory area, or relative historic bycatch amounts in each area, or a weighted ratio of catch and bycatch.
A second discussion paper, on the cooperative program reviewed at the February meeting led the council to add substantial detail to its bycatch control cooperative alternative.
The complete agenda is at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/Agendas/311Agenda.pdf
The council will conduct a preliminary review of changes proposed in the salmon fishery management plan and an initial review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon bycatch control measures.
The council has scheduled eight hours each for halibut/sablefish, salmon and BSAI crab issues.
Also on tap is final action on the essential fish habitat omnibus amendment, which were identified during the 2010 EFH 5-year-review, and an initial review, followed by final action to revise Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod jig fishery management.
The bulk of the public testimony is expected to come on the Gulf king salmon bycatch control measures, and action to amend hired skipper privileges granted to individual and corporate initial recipients of catcher vessel quota shares during implementation of the halibut and sablefish Individual Fishing Quota program in 1995, council staff opined.
During its February meeting in Seattle, the federal panel reviewed two staff discussion papers concerning measures to address Chinook salmon bycatch by Pollock trawl fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska.
The council’s action is rooted in the record high bycatch of 54,000 king salmon catch in the Gulf groundfish trawl fishery in 2010. This occurred at the same time as many of the Gulf king salmon runs were suffering from historic low returns., outraging commercial sport and subsistence users of the succulent fish.
The proposed action includes alternatives to implement Chinook salmon bycatch caps in the central and western Gulf Pollock fisheries and/or a cooperative program to address Chinook bycatch in those fisheries. After reviewing the papers, the council modified its alternatives by clarifying the options for apportioning the proposed caps between the two regulatory areas, and more fully specifying the cooperative program alternative.
The council clarified that the cap would be apportioned between the western and central Gulf, rather than a Gulf-wide cap, and that apportionment would be based either on the relative historic Pollock catch in each regulatory area, or relative historic bycatch amounts in each area, or a weighted ratio of catch and bycatch.
A second discussion paper, on the cooperative program reviewed at the February meeting led the council to add substantial detail to its bycatch control cooperative alternative.
The complete agenda is at http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/Agendas/311Agenda.pdf
Bristol Bay Watershed Fight Goes Back to Juneau
A contingent of commercial and sport fishermen, and other stakeholders, including a Kodiak chef renowned for his seafood dishes, gave Alaska legislators and state officials an earful in Juneau last week on the importance of the Clean Water Act.
They made a point of explaining to each legislator and state employee they met with that the Environmental Protection Agency has taken up its study on potential impacts to the Bristol Bay watershed of large-scale resource development at the request of area stakeholders, rather than its own impetus.
The EPA is acting through its authority under section 404(C) of the Clean Water Act, to determine how the world-class copper, gold and molybdenum prospect at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed could affect that watershed and its world famous sockeye salmon fishery.
According to Lindsey Bloom, representing the Alaska Independent Fishermen’s Marketing Association, the group had more than two-dozen meetings with state agency officials, as well as legislators.
The meetings were cordial, and those in attendance thankful to have positions clarified by the group, which opposes the mine, Bloom said.
The Pebble mine, a divisive issue, has resulted in an ongoing run of advertisements from proponents and opponents of the mine. One side sees the massive mine as an economic prospect worth millions which can co-exist comfortably with the fisheries. The other points to the environmental devastation that large scale mining has inflicted on third world countries as well as regions of the United States, saying the risk to the multi-million dollar fishery is too great. Kodiak chef Joel Chenet said he had seen with his own eyes the devastation in Madagascar caused by mining.
The EPA, said the group, is not trying to tell Alaska what to do. The EPA is responding to a request for help from Alaskans who live and work in Bristol Bay, where people as well as wildlife are reliant on the fisheries, they said.
They made a point of explaining to each legislator and state employee they met with that the Environmental Protection Agency has taken up its study on potential impacts to the Bristol Bay watershed of large-scale resource development at the request of area stakeholders, rather than its own impetus.
The EPA is acting through its authority under section 404(C) of the Clean Water Act, to determine how the world-class copper, gold and molybdenum prospect at the headwaters of the Bristol Bay watershed could affect that watershed and its world famous sockeye salmon fishery.
According to Lindsey Bloom, representing the Alaska Independent Fishermen’s Marketing Association, the group had more than two-dozen meetings with state agency officials, as well as legislators.
The meetings were cordial, and those in attendance thankful to have positions clarified by the group, which opposes the mine, Bloom said.
The Pebble mine, a divisive issue, has resulted in an ongoing run of advertisements from proponents and opponents of the mine. One side sees the massive mine as an economic prospect worth millions which can co-exist comfortably with the fisheries. The other points to the environmental devastation that large scale mining has inflicted on third world countries as well as regions of the United States, saying the risk to the multi-million dollar fishery is too great. Kodiak chef Joel Chenet said he had seen with his own eyes the devastation in Madagascar caused by mining.
The EPA, said the group, is not trying to tell Alaska what to do. The EPA is responding to a request for help from Alaskans who live and work in Bristol Bay, where people as well as wildlife are reliant on the fisheries, they said.
Management Measures Tightened in Southeast Alaska Halibut Fishery
NOAA’s Fisheries Service has begun implementing the regulatory recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission because of concerns over declining halibut stocks. The new regulations include a 37-inch limit on the size of a halibut hooked by clients aboard charter vessels in Southeast Alaska, and retaining the one-fish-per-person-a-day rule implemented in 2009.
NOAA officials said the halibut stocks are declining due to reduced numbers of fish reaching a catchable size range, lower growth rates, and higher than target harvest rates, and that meanwhile stocks continue to be at risk of further decline.
“The declining halibut stock is impacting both charter and commercial halibut fishers all along the west coast from Washington State to Alaska, “said James Balsiger, Alaska Fisheries regional administrator for the federal agency. “NOAA’s Fisheries Service is committed to working cooperatively with our international partners in Canada to jointly manage this important stock for the long-term benefit of both our countries.”
Numerous restrictions have been implemented on Area 2C charter boats in an effort to more closely align charter harvest with the limit, but those measures have been insufficient, NOAA officials said. Even with the one fish bag limit last year, the charter halibut fleet exceeded its harvest limit by 491,000 pounds, or 62 percent. Each year that the charter fleet exceeds its harvest limit it leads to a lower fixed quota for the commercial fishery the following year. The commercial catch limit in area 2C is now 73 percent lower than it was in 2003.
According to NOA, the idea behind the rule is to let charter halibut vessels continue to stay in business while staying within the harvest limit, and minimizing adverse effects on the charter fishery, its clients and coastal communities that serve as home port for that fishery. Allowing halibut stocks to rebuild will best serve the economic interests of both the charter and commercial fisheries over the long term, NOAA officials said.
The harvest limit was adopted by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and implemented by NOAA Fisheries in 2003. Under a treaty in place since 1923, between the U.S. and Canada the IPHC has governed the harvest of Pacific halibut by all users. A critical element in maintaining the health of the resource is that catch limits not be exceeded. The commercial halibut fishery has not exceeded the Area specific catch limit recommended by IPHC Commissioners in any year since the IFQ plan was implemented in 1995.
NOAA officials said the halibut stocks are declining due to reduced numbers of fish reaching a catchable size range, lower growth rates, and higher than target harvest rates, and that meanwhile stocks continue to be at risk of further decline.
“The declining halibut stock is impacting both charter and commercial halibut fishers all along the west coast from Washington State to Alaska, “said James Balsiger, Alaska Fisheries regional administrator for the federal agency. “NOAA’s Fisheries Service is committed to working cooperatively with our international partners in Canada to jointly manage this important stock for the long-term benefit of both our countries.”
Numerous restrictions have been implemented on Area 2C charter boats in an effort to more closely align charter harvest with the limit, but those measures have been insufficient, NOAA officials said. Even with the one fish bag limit last year, the charter halibut fleet exceeded its harvest limit by 491,000 pounds, or 62 percent. Each year that the charter fleet exceeds its harvest limit it leads to a lower fixed quota for the commercial fishery the following year. The commercial catch limit in area 2C is now 73 percent lower than it was in 2003.
According to NOA, the idea behind the rule is to let charter halibut vessels continue to stay in business while staying within the harvest limit, and minimizing adverse effects on the charter fishery, its clients and coastal communities that serve as home port for that fishery. Allowing halibut stocks to rebuild will best serve the economic interests of both the charter and commercial fisheries over the long term, NOAA officials said.
The harvest limit was adopted by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and implemented by NOAA Fisheries in 2003. Under a treaty in place since 1923, between the U.S. and Canada the IPHC has governed the harvest of Pacific halibut by all users. A critical element in maintaining the health of the resource is that catch limits not be exceeded. The commercial halibut fishery has not exceeded the Area specific catch limit recommended by IPHC Commissioners in any year since the IFQ plan was implemented in 1995.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Fresh Fish and Tin Ears
As we go to press, we’re wrapping up this year’s successful Wild Seafood Exchange, produced by Fishermen’s News in partnership with Washington Sea Grant.
The 2011 conference, sponsored by Nichols Bros. Boat Builders, the Port of Seattle and Trace Register, consisted of four panels, made up of panelists whose field of expertise included restaurant management, direct marketing, processing and distribution and vessel construction financing.
After a continental breakfast and networking opportunity, the first panel, moderated by Fishermen’s News Publisher Peter Philips and made up of Robert Spaulding, Executive Chef of Elliott’s Oyster House and Peter Birk, Executive Chef of Ray’s Boathouse, addressed issues such as sustainability and pricing.
The chefs described what they look for in wild seafood products and vendors, including which species are desirable, how much they use and how they like to work with suppliers.
Both chefs work with four or five suppliers of fish, increasing to as many as eight different suppliers during the summer months.
Peter Birk stressed that quality was paramount and noted that during the summer months Ray’s Boathouse returned 30 to 40 percent of fish delivered.
The second panel, Successful Direct Marketing Operations, was moderated by Pete Granger of Washington Sea Grant, and addressed setting up a successful direct marketing operation, effective sales techniques, and how to manage harvesting and delivery of a wild seafood product.
Panelists included Andy Furner, of Trace Register, Joe Malley, of the F/V St. Jude and Karen Edwards of Island Wild Seafoods.
Andy Furner described how his service, Trace Register, a web-based application that producers, buyers, marketers, and regulators use to track products through the supply chain, could be used by fishermen and restaurants to “attach” data about a product, via barcode or other identifying number, to provide information on that product to the end user- in this case a customer at a restaurant.
Furner demonstrated how a diner could scan a barcode on his menu with his smart phone and discover where the fish on the menu was caught, by whom, the name of the vessel and other significant information.
Joe Malley and Karen Edwards described some of their successful direct marketing campaigns, including a powerful web presence.
After a buffet luncheon, which included roundtable discussions on selling to restaurants, financing a new vessel, design and construction questions and marketing via the internet, Pete Granger moderated a panel on Processing and Distributing.
Panelists Flip Sturdivant of Select Fish/Whole Foods, Tom Hassenauer of Food Services of America and Johnpaul Davies of Port Townsend-based Key City Fish addressed issues related to getting the product from the net to the customer.
The final panel of the day addressed Vessel Construction Financing. Banks are again interested in lending to independent fishermen, and the panel, moderated by Bruce King, of Garvey Shubert Barer, looked at different public funding sources available to the independent fisherman. Panelists included Matt Nichols, of Nichols Bros. Boatbuilders, Chris Eckels, of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Roy Wallace, from Banner Bank and Erik Houser, with the Northwest Business Development Association (NWBDA).
Panelists addressed issues such as how to determine what financing solution is best for you, and how to prepare a plan that is attractive to the lender.
Matt Nichols told the attendees that the best thing a prospective boatbuilding client can do is have a complete set of well-defined plans at the start of construction. He noted that change orders are costly not only for the client, but for the yard as well, creating delays that potentially affect the yard’s future projects.
Other interesting topics in the final discussion included a Federal government-backed loan program that offers up to 40 percent of the financing to build a new vessel, along with up to 50 percent conventional financing, allowing a fisherman to put only 10 percent toward a new vessel.
The one-day conference opened with keynote speaker and natural resource economist Dr. Hans Radtke, Ph.D., who discussed the economic benefits of commercial fishing to Washington State. His paper was excerpted in this space last month, and our readers already understand the benefits of commercial fishing to the Washington State economy.
Those benefits are, sadly, lost on at least one Port of Seattle commissioner.
Last month, the Port held a “media roundtable” in which only five media representatives were present, handpicked by the Port of Seattle. Those present included two representatives from one local television station, a representative of the Seattle Times, a university radio station and a neighborhood blogger.
The commercial fishing industry was not invited, nor were any representatives of the maritime media.
During the roundtable, Seattle Port commissioner John Creighton made the following statement:
“You look at Fishermen’s Terminal- We’re gonna have to invest millions of dollars in the next few years. I’m sure you know we have fishing net sheds that basically have been, not quite condemned by the Seattle Fire Department but, um, you know we’ve been told we have to rebuild those. Well that’s going to cost millions of dollars, and yet you look at the fishing industry for the next decade, um, you know the fish stocks are dwindling, so how can we make that big investment important to our community, important to our culture and our history and also remain nimble enough to be able to generate revenue and jobs out of it well into the future if things change.”
No one present corrected Commissioner Creighton, who seemed to be setting the terminal up for some future, non-fishing development. No one, including three other port commissioners or the five media representatives in the room knew enough about the West Coast fishing industry to contradict Mr. Creighton’s false assertion that the fishing industry was doomed. Instead, the Seattle Times reported the false assertion, and Commissioner Creighton is “…very pleased at the thought provoking input we received…”
Rather than correct the assertion, Commissioner Creighton wonders whether Philips Publishing Group would be interested in sponsoring the Port of Seattle’s centennial party.
The 2011 conference, sponsored by Nichols Bros. Boat Builders, the Port of Seattle and Trace Register, consisted of four panels, made up of panelists whose field of expertise included restaurant management, direct marketing, processing and distribution and vessel construction financing.
After a continental breakfast and networking opportunity, the first panel, moderated by Fishermen’s News Publisher Peter Philips and made up of Robert Spaulding, Executive Chef of Elliott’s Oyster House and Peter Birk, Executive Chef of Ray’s Boathouse, addressed issues such as sustainability and pricing.
The chefs described what they look for in wild seafood products and vendors, including which species are desirable, how much they use and how they like to work with suppliers.
Both chefs work with four or five suppliers of fish, increasing to as many as eight different suppliers during the summer months.
Peter Birk stressed that quality was paramount and noted that during the summer months Ray’s Boathouse returned 30 to 40 percent of fish delivered.
The second panel, Successful Direct Marketing Operations, was moderated by Pete Granger of Washington Sea Grant, and addressed setting up a successful direct marketing operation, effective sales techniques, and how to manage harvesting and delivery of a wild seafood product.
Panelists included Andy Furner, of Trace Register, Joe Malley, of the F/V St. Jude and Karen Edwards of Island Wild Seafoods.
Andy Furner described how his service, Trace Register, a web-based application that producers, buyers, marketers, and regulators use to track products through the supply chain, could be used by fishermen and restaurants to “attach” data about a product, via barcode or other identifying number, to provide information on that product to the end user- in this case a customer at a restaurant.
Furner demonstrated how a diner could scan a barcode on his menu with his smart phone and discover where the fish on the menu was caught, by whom, the name of the vessel and other significant information.
Joe Malley and Karen Edwards described some of their successful direct marketing campaigns, including a powerful web presence.
After a buffet luncheon, which included roundtable discussions on selling to restaurants, financing a new vessel, design and construction questions and marketing via the internet, Pete Granger moderated a panel on Processing and Distributing.
Panelists Flip Sturdivant of Select Fish/Whole Foods, Tom Hassenauer of Food Services of America and Johnpaul Davies of Port Townsend-based Key City Fish addressed issues related to getting the product from the net to the customer.
The final panel of the day addressed Vessel Construction Financing. Banks are again interested in lending to independent fishermen, and the panel, moderated by Bruce King, of Garvey Shubert Barer, looked at different public funding sources available to the independent fisherman. Panelists included Matt Nichols, of Nichols Bros. Boatbuilders, Chris Eckels, of the National Marine Fisheries Service, Roy Wallace, from Banner Bank and Erik Houser, with the Northwest Business Development Association (NWBDA).
Panelists addressed issues such as how to determine what financing solution is best for you, and how to prepare a plan that is attractive to the lender.
Matt Nichols told the attendees that the best thing a prospective boatbuilding client can do is have a complete set of well-defined plans at the start of construction. He noted that change orders are costly not only for the client, but for the yard as well, creating delays that potentially affect the yard’s future projects.
Other interesting topics in the final discussion included a Federal government-backed loan program that offers up to 40 percent of the financing to build a new vessel, along with up to 50 percent conventional financing, allowing a fisherman to put only 10 percent toward a new vessel.
The one-day conference opened with keynote speaker and natural resource economist Dr. Hans Radtke, Ph.D., who discussed the economic benefits of commercial fishing to Washington State. His paper was excerpted in this space last month, and our readers already understand the benefits of commercial fishing to the Washington State economy.
Those benefits are, sadly, lost on at least one Port of Seattle commissioner.
Last month, the Port held a “media roundtable” in which only five media representatives were present, handpicked by the Port of Seattle. Those present included two representatives from one local television station, a representative of the Seattle Times, a university radio station and a neighborhood blogger.
The commercial fishing industry was not invited, nor were any representatives of the maritime media.
During the roundtable, Seattle Port commissioner John Creighton made the following statement:
“You look at Fishermen’s Terminal- We’re gonna have to invest millions of dollars in the next few years. I’m sure you know we have fishing net sheds that basically have been, not quite condemned by the Seattle Fire Department but, um, you know we’ve been told we have to rebuild those. Well that’s going to cost millions of dollars, and yet you look at the fishing industry for the next decade, um, you know the fish stocks are dwindling, so how can we make that big investment important to our community, important to our culture and our history and also remain nimble enough to be able to generate revenue and jobs out of it well into the future if things change.”
No one present corrected Commissioner Creighton, who seemed to be setting the terminal up for some future, non-fishing development. No one, including three other port commissioners or the five media representatives in the room knew enough about the West Coast fishing industry to contradict Mr. Creighton’s false assertion that the fishing industry was doomed. Instead, the Seattle Times reported the false assertion, and Commissioner Creighton is “…very pleased at the thought provoking input we received…”
Rather than correct the assertion, Commissioner Creighton wonders whether Philips Publishing Group would be interested in sponsoring the Port of Seattle’s centennial party.
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