A new NOAA Fisheries analysis of the economic impact of the global pandemic says that protective measures instituted as the novel coronavirus spread across the world had an almost immediate impact on seafood sector sales.
After a 3 percent increase in commercial fish landings revenue in January and February, revenues declined each month from a 19 percent decrease in March to a 45 percent decrease by July. That translates to a 29 percent decrease across those seven months, as compared to five-year averages and adjusted for inflation, the report said.
Restaurant closures social distancing requirements and other safety measures also contributed to losses in other areas of the seafood economy, so by the end of the second quarter of 2020, 78 percent of aquaculture, aquaponics and allied businesses reported pandemic impacts with 74 percent seeing lost sales.
Protective measures that closed restaurants also impacted charter fishing operations, which saw phased re-openings in some parts of the country, but in Alaska and Hawaii, which rely heavily on out of state tourism, depressed sales continued.
NOAA Fisheries Assistant Administrator Chris Oliver said that in coming months and years scientists and economists will try to get a more complete picture of the pandemic’s impact on U.S. seafood and the Blue Economy. Meanwhile, Oliver said, NOAA hopes the initial analysis will provide a foundation for industry researchers and planners to plan for the future.
The NOAA study found that international markets were negatively impacted by pandemic related disruptions in harvesting, processing and shipping, with U.S. seafood exports down 18 percent in value from January through June, compared to the past five years. Fresh product exports saw steeper declines when compared to frozen product exports, and the value of seafood imports into the U.S. declined 4 percent in value for the same period. These declines were offset by domestic consumer demand for tuna imports both canned and in pouches, which rose 25 percent for this six-month period, peaking at 49 percent in June.
In May NOAA Fisheries allocated $300 million in fisheries aid to states, territories and tribes under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. In September another $530 million came to the Seafood Trade Relief Program to support fishermen and industries hard hit by retaliatory tariffs from foreign governments.
Oliver said his agency’s goal is to help those in the seafood supply chain rebound in 2021.
Wednesday, January 20, 2021
Major Shipping Entity Urges Vaccine Priority
for Seafarers
A major international trade association is calling for governments to give priority for vaccinations against the novel coronavirus pandemic to seafarers and frontline maritime shore workers, to protect the vital global supply chain.
The International Chamber of Shipping, based in London, said in a statement issued on Tuesday, Jan. 19, that seafarers need to be designated as key workers to avoid a repeat of the crew change crisis that occurred in 2020 when the novel coronavirus spread worldwide. Healthy, vaccinated seafarers are critical to keeping nations supplied with vital goods, which will increasingly in 2021 include medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, ICS said.
Pandemic related restrictions have already forced hundreds of thousands of workers to overrun their contracts raising concerns over ship safety, crew fatigue and access to healthcare, ICS said.
Seafarers are currently severely impacted by crew change crisis, with some now approaching two years stuck at sea. Under new restrictions imposed by various governments these numbers of impacted crew will rapidly increase rather than reduce, they said.
With the spread of new variants of COVID-19 some governments are putting crew change bans on a number of countries. This is part of a wider global retrenchment around ease of travel, which the shipping industry fears could result in hundreds of thousands of seafarers becoming the collateral damage of government inaction, they said.
The average ship has a mix of at least three nationalities on board and sometimes as many as 30. Priority access to vaccines for all seafarers and clear “vaccine passport” protocols in line with World Health Organization recommendations, is vital to the maintenance of global trade, they said.
The ICS is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80 percent of the world merchant fleet.
The International Chamber of Shipping, based in London, said in a statement issued on Tuesday, Jan. 19, that seafarers need to be designated as key workers to avoid a repeat of the crew change crisis that occurred in 2020 when the novel coronavirus spread worldwide. Healthy, vaccinated seafarers are critical to keeping nations supplied with vital goods, which will increasingly in 2021 include medical supplies, including personal protective equipment, ICS said.
Pandemic related restrictions have already forced hundreds of thousands of workers to overrun their contracts raising concerns over ship safety, crew fatigue and access to healthcare, ICS said.
Seafarers are currently severely impacted by crew change crisis, with some now approaching two years stuck at sea. Under new restrictions imposed by various governments these numbers of impacted crew will rapidly increase rather than reduce, they said.
With the spread of new variants of COVID-19 some governments are putting crew change bans on a number of countries. This is part of a wider global retrenchment around ease of travel, which the shipping industry fears could result in hundreds of thousands of seafarers becoming the collateral damage of government inaction, they said.
The average ship has a mix of at least three nationalities on board and sometimes as many as 30. Priority access to vaccines for all seafarers and clear “vaccine passport” protocols in line with World Health Organization recommendations, is vital to the maintenance of global trade, they said.
The ICS is the principal international trade association for merchant shipowners and operators, representing all sectors and trades and over 80 percent of the world merchant fleet.
Navy Holds Virtual Public Meetings Regarding Future Military Training in Alaska Waters
U.S. Navy officials are holding virtual public meetings in Alaska to inform the public and also to respond to questions regarding their proposed action to continue periodic military training activities in the Gulf of Alaska, events of major concern to commercial fish harvesters.
The first session was held on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and another is set for Feb. 3.
Navy officials said the proposed training activities are similar to those that have occurred in the study area for decades. Their plan is to continue to implement mitigation measures to avoid or reduce potential impacts on marine species and the environment, they said in a public announcement.
The Navy has prepared a draft supplement to their 2011 Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Final EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2011-Gulf-of-Alaska-EIS-OEIS-Documents) and 2016 Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2016-Gulf-of-Alaska-Supplemental-EIS-OEIS-Documents).
The 2020 Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2020-Gulf-of-Alaska-Draft-Supplemental-EIS-OEIS-Documents) is available for public review and comment.
Information about the upcoming Zoom meeting is online at https://goaeis.com/Public-Involvement/Virtual-Public-Meeting
Information on how to submit questions in advance and also during the virtual meeting is included at its website.
The first session was held on Tuesday, Jan. 19 and another is set for Feb. 3.
Navy officials said the proposed training activities are similar to those that have occurred in the study area for decades. Their plan is to continue to implement mitigation measures to avoid or reduce potential impacts on marine species and the environment, they said in a public announcement.
The Navy has prepared a draft supplement to their 2011 Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Final EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2011-Gulf-of-Alaska-EIS-OEIS-Documents) and 2016 Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Final Supplemental EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2016-Gulf-of-Alaska-Supplemental-EIS-OEIS-Documents).
The 2020 Draft Supplemental EIS/OEIS (https://goaeis.com/Documents/2020-Gulf-of-Alaska-Draft-Supplemental-EIS-OEIS-Documents) is available for public review and comment.
Information about the upcoming Zoom meeting is online at https://goaeis.com/Public-Involvement/Virtual-Public-Meeting
Information on how to submit questions in advance and also during the virtual meeting is included at its website.
Wednesday, January 13, 2021
Two Alaska Cdqs, 30 Alaska Communities Acquire New Opilio, King Crab Quotas
Two community development quota entities in Alaska, along with 30 western Alaska communities, have purchased opilio and king crab quota valued at $35 million from Seattle-based Mariner Companies.
The buy-out was announced by Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. in Dillingham and the Coastal Villages Region Fund, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. They are two of six CDQs established by the state of Alaska to boost the economies of 65 villages through the allocation of annual federal groundfish and shellfish quotas.
The deal will allow participating communities to more directly boost their revenues to develop more programs and benefits for residents, and additional revenue for the CDQ groups.
BBEDC has been a long-time partner in the Mariner Companies, whose majority owners are Kevin Kaldestad and Gordon Kristianson. Kaldestad said his company is happy to be passing the future of their company to local communities, their long-time partner BBEDC and CVRF. “We know they will all be excellent stewards of this resource and hope that the enterprise we’ve built will serve their residents for many years to come, he said.
BBEDC and CVRF provided and facilitated structural support for the communities to purchase crab quota and will support the harvest via their fishing operations.
BBEDC is acquiring 100 percent ownership of four crab vessels: the Aleutian Mariner, Bristol Mariner, Nordic Mariner and Pacific Mariner. CVRF is purchasing the crab vessels Arctic Mariner, Cascade Mariner and Western Mariner.
According to Norm Van Vactor, CEO of BBEDC, the deal offers a great opportunity to collaborate with CVRF in a unique way that benefits all the communities they serve.
“After 30 years, this is a prime example of how to successfully evolve the CDQ program, providing significant economic growth opportunities for rural Alaska communities,” he said.
Eric Deakin, CEO of CVRF, noted that with rural Alaska continuing to face high poverty rates, there is a growing need for services in both the YK Delta and Bristol Bay regions which this deal will help address. “We welcome a new generation of Alaskan owners and operators fishing the Bering sea and improving livelihoods here,” he said.
The buy-out was announced by Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. in Dillingham and the Coastal Villages Region Fund, in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. They are two of six CDQs established by the state of Alaska to boost the economies of 65 villages through the allocation of annual federal groundfish and shellfish quotas.
The deal will allow participating communities to more directly boost their revenues to develop more programs and benefits for residents, and additional revenue for the CDQ groups.
BBEDC has been a long-time partner in the Mariner Companies, whose majority owners are Kevin Kaldestad and Gordon Kristianson. Kaldestad said his company is happy to be passing the future of their company to local communities, their long-time partner BBEDC and CVRF. “We know they will all be excellent stewards of this resource and hope that the enterprise we’ve built will serve their residents for many years to come, he said.
BBEDC and CVRF provided and facilitated structural support for the communities to purchase crab quota and will support the harvest via their fishing operations.
BBEDC is acquiring 100 percent ownership of four crab vessels: the Aleutian Mariner, Bristol Mariner, Nordic Mariner and Pacific Mariner. CVRF is purchasing the crab vessels Arctic Mariner, Cascade Mariner and Western Mariner.
According to Norm Van Vactor, CEO of BBEDC, the deal offers a great opportunity to collaborate with CVRF in a unique way that benefits all the communities they serve.
“After 30 years, this is a prime example of how to successfully evolve the CDQ program, providing significant economic growth opportunities for rural Alaska communities,” he said.
Eric Deakin, CEO of CVRF, noted that with rural Alaska continuing to face high poverty rates, there is a growing need for services in both the YK Delta and Bristol Bay regions which this deal will help address. “We welcome a new generation of Alaskan owners and operators fishing the Bering sea and improving livelihoods here,” he said.
Alaska Governor Appeals USACE Decision on Pebble
Alaska Gov Mike Dunleavy says the state will appeal a U.S. Army Corps of Engineers decision to deny a Clean Water Act permit critical to the Canadian firm proposing to build a massive copper, gold and molybdenum mine at the headwaters to Bristol Bay.
Dunleavy contends that the USACE decision is flawed and creates a dangerous precedent. He said that the state has to prevent federal agencies “from using the regulatory process to effectively prevent the state from fulfilling a constitutional mandate to develop its natural resources.”
According to Corri Feige, the state’s commissioner of natural resources, the state constitution directs the state to develop its resources in the public interest and when a federal agency tries to deprive the state of that right, it must be challenged.
The governor’s announcement drew a quick response from mine opponents, who contend that Pebble mine poses a serious threat to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, where millions of wild red salmon from five major river systems return every year, resulting in a catch of millions of fish in a multi-million-dollar fishery.
The Army Corps found in its decision that Pebble’s mitigation plan failed to overcome the significant potential impacts of the mine and that the mine was not in the public interest. The public interest review included an assessment of factors including environmental, economic and social impacts associated with destruction of the headwaters of the Koktuli watershed, as well as mine operations that would produce huge amounts of toxic waste that would have to be managed in perpetuity.
“The Army Corps made the only defensible decision it could when denying the permit for the proposed Pebble mine,” said Katie Strong, senior staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, a public interest law firm in Anchorage “The state of Alaska's decision to administratively appeal that decision blatantly disregards the science and puts the pocketbook of a Canadian mining company above those of its own citizens. The Corps should deny the appeal immediately.”
“In announcing the state will appeal, the governor has chose to ignore scientific fat and the large majority of Alaskans,” said Tim Bristol, executive director of SalmonState, a nonprofit that works to project salmon habitat and the people who depend on the salmon. The only way to stop this toxic project for good is with an EPA veto.”
“Bristol Bay residents and Alaskans have been clear that we will not trade one of the world’s last robust salmon fisheries for a gold mine and the Army Corps decision affirmed that this toxic project is too risky for our home and does not serve the public interest,” said Lindsay Layland, deputy director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, in Dillingham. Layland said it is outrageous that the Dunleavy administration would go against the will of Alaskans to benefit a foreign mining company that has no value to the state.
Dunleavy contends that the USACE decision is flawed and creates a dangerous precedent. He said that the state has to prevent federal agencies “from using the regulatory process to effectively prevent the state from fulfilling a constitutional mandate to develop its natural resources.”
According to Corri Feige, the state’s commissioner of natural resources, the state constitution directs the state to develop its resources in the public interest and when a federal agency tries to deprive the state of that right, it must be challenged.
The governor’s announcement drew a quick response from mine opponents, who contend that Pebble mine poses a serious threat to the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery, where millions of wild red salmon from five major river systems return every year, resulting in a catch of millions of fish in a multi-million-dollar fishery.
The Army Corps found in its decision that Pebble’s mitigation plan failed to overcome the significant potential impacts of the mine and that the mine was not in the public interest. The public interest review included an assessment of factors including environmental, economic and social impacts associated with destruction of the headwaters of the Koktuli watershed, as well as mine operations that would produce huge amounts of toxic waste that would have to be managed in perpetuity.
“The Army Corps made the only defensible decision it could when denying the permit for the proposed Pebble mine,” said Katie Strong, senior staff attorney with Trustees for Alaska, a public interest law firm in Anchorage “The state of Alaska's decision to administratively appeal that decision blatantly disregards the science and puts the pocketbook of a Canadian mining company above those of its own citizens. The Corps should deny the appeal immediately.”
“In announcing the state will appeal, the governor has chose to ignore scientific fat and the large majority of Alaskans,” said Tim Bristol, executive director of SalmonState, a nonprofit that works to project salmon habitat and the people who depend on the salmon. The only way to stop this toxic project for good is with an EPA veto.”
“Bristol Bay residents and Alaskans have been clear that we will not trade one of the world’s last robust salmon fisheries for a gold mine and the Army Corps decision affirmed that this toxic project is too risky for our home and does not serve the public interest,” said Lindsay Layland, deputy director of United Tribes of Bristol Bay, in Dillingham. Layland said it is outrageous that the Dunleavy administration would go against the will of Alaskans to benefit a foreign mining company that has no value to the state.
Pacific Maritime Magazine and Fishermen’s News
to Resume Print Editions
Fishermen’s News and Pacific Maritime Magazine will resume publication this spring following the purchase of the publications by San Diego-based Training Resources Limited Inc. (TRLMI).
“We are in the business of providing mariners with knowledge through education,” said Dave Abrams, chief executive officer of TRLMI. “Fishermen’s News and Pacific Maritime Magazine have been providing knowledge through current industry news for decades, so they are a natural extension of our existing business,” he said. “The titles give us the ability to provide mariners and commercial fishermen with advocacy and news about the industries we train them for.”
Peter Philips, president of Philips Publishing Group, said that he and his brother Chris are delighted that TRLMI will continue publishing the two magazines, which have been widely circulated and highly regarded industry titles on the Pacific Coast. “I can’t think of a better successor to Philips Publishing than a business involved in the education of mariners,” he said.
TRLMI is the largest privately held provider of maritime training in the Western U.S. The company’s main campus in San Diego is an 18,000 square foot facility with 14 classrooms, bridge and engine room simulators and many “hands on” training aids. The company also offers a new program for recreational mariners through “BoaterU.”
TRLMI has over 80 U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy approved courses providing certification in deck engineering, weapons and safety requirements.
More information is online at www.maritimepublishing.com.
“We are in the business of providing mariners with knowledge through education,” said Dave Abrams, chief executive officer of TRLMI. “Fishermen’s News and Pacific Maritime Magazine have been providing knowledge through current industry news for decades, so they are a natural extension of our existing business,” he said. “The titles give us the ability to provide mariners and commercial fishermen with advocacy and news about the industries we train them for.”
Peter Philips, president of Philips Publishing Group, said that he and his brother Chris are delighted that TRLMI will continue publishing the two magazines, which have been widely circulated and highly regarded industry titles on the Pacific Coast. “I can’t think of a better successor to Philips Publishing than a business involved in the education of mariners,” he said.
TRLMI is the largest privately held provider of maritime training in the Western U.S. The company’s main campus in San Diego is an 18,000 square foot facility with 14 classrooms, bridge and engine room simulators and many “hands on” training aids. The company also offers a new program for recreational mariners through “BoaterU.”
TRLMI has over 80 U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Navy approved courses providing certification in deck engineering, weapons and safety requirements.
More information is online at www.maritimepublishing.com.
Sitka Sound Herring GHL is Unusually Large, Likely Will Exceed Harvest
Fisheries managers in Alaska have set the guideline harvest level for the 2021 Sitka Sound sac roe herring at 33,304 tons of mature herring, but say based on input from processors the commercial harvest is not expected to exceed 20,000 tons.
The size of this year’s forecast of mature herring biomass is 210,453 tons of mature herring.
It is the second largest for Sitka Sound herring and is 16 percent smaller than the 2020 mature biomass estimate of 250,468 tons.
Because there was no commercial harvest in 2019 or 2020, the forecast used an average of the spring commercial purse seine weights at age from the 2017 and 2018 fisheries harvest: age-3, 79 grams; age-4, 92 grams; age-5, 109 grams; age-6, 126 grams; age-7, 144 grams; and age-8+, 165 grams. The forecasted average weight across all age classes is 112 grams.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game the size of the forecasted age-5 herring cohort is unusually large. Still it is more uncertain than other year classes due in part to the magnitude of estimated abundance and the impact of uncertainty is estimated maturity and survival. Because the department has observed the 2016-year class of herring as age-3 fish in 2019 and as age-4 fish in 2020, the overall uncertainty with the 2021 forecast is less than that of the 2020 forecast. This same extremely large year class has been observed in other herring populations throughout the Gulf of Alaska in 2019 and 2020.
It is the second largest for Sitka Sound herring and is 16 percent smaller than the 2020 mature biomass estimate of 250,468 tons.
Because there was no commercial harvest in 2019 or 2020, the forecast used an average of the spring commercial purse seine weights at age from the 2017 and 2018 fisheries harvest: age-3, 79 grams; age-4, 92 grams; age-5, 109 grams; age-6, 126 grams; age-7, 144 grams; and age-8+, 165 grams. The forecasted average weight across all age classes is 112 grams.
According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game the size of the forecasted age-5 herring cohort is unusually large. Still it is more uncertain than other year classes due in part to the magnitude of estimated abundance and the impact of uncertainty is estimated maturity and survival. Because the department has observed the 2016-year class of herring as age-3 fish in 2019 and as age-4 fish in 2020, the overall uncertainty with the 2021 forecast is less than that of the 2020 forecast. This same extremely large year class has been observed in other herring populations throughout the Gulf of Alaska in 2019 and 2020.
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