Saving Seafood

NOAA to trollers: A revised environmental analysis could allow king fishing by August

June 13, 2023 — The National Marine Fisheries Service hasn’t ruled out the possibility of opening the summer troll season for king salmon in Southeast Alaska, despite a federal judge’s recent ruling to the contrary.

During a meeting held Wednesday (6-8-23) in Sitka, NOAA Fisheries Alaska regional administrator, Jon Kurland, told a roomful of trollers that the agency was working hard to correct the problems identified in a federal lawsuit brought by a conservation group in Washington state. If successful, Southeast trollers might be able to harvest king salmon this summer – if not on the traditional date of July 1, then possibly in August.

To get a feel for the impact of the Wild Fish Conservancy lawsuit on Southeast trollers, try sitting in a room filled with them: Grizzled oldsters, seasoned men and women hardened by life on the ocean, well-known fisheries advocates,  young families, and a baby or two.

John Kurland is the regional administrator for fisheries in the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, which – among other agencies – oversees the National Marine Fisheries Service.

That’s a lengthy title, but Kurland said that he is a neighbor, and he gets it.

“So first off, I know that there’s been just a huge amount of concern about the implications of this suit and the potential for the troll fishery not to be able to open,” Kurland told the room. “I live in Juneau, I have a sense of how important this fishery is for Southeast Alaska for a lot of small businesses, a lot of families, a lot of communities. It’s a big deal.”

Read the full article at Raven Radio

ALASKA: ‘It’ll be a disaster’: Southeast Alaska fishermen fear looming closure of king salmon fishery

June 10, 2023 — More than 100 salmon trollers packed a Sitka meeting Wednesday night with sharp questions about the future of an iconic Southeast Alaska fishery, facing what could be an unprecedented full shutdown of this year’s chinook trolling season.

“I’m optimistic, but I’m also scared as heck,” said Eric Jordan, a lifelong fisherman and resident of trolling stronghold Sitka at the standing room-only meeting with federal National Marine Fisheries Service officials.

The closure of the king salmon fishery in Southeast Alaska would be economically devastating, according to many in the region who rely on the valuable fish for their annual income.

A federal judge in Washington state effectively shut down the fishery in May in response to a lawsuit brought by Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington organization. The suit contends that the fishery should be closed to protect endangered killer whales in Puget Sound that feed on chinook salmon.

Southeast Alaska’s summer troll fishery would typically open July 1. The state has requested that a federal appeals court decide whether the fishery will open by June 23 to give fishermen time to get ready for the season. But some in the industry say that will already be too late.

The National Marine Fisheries Service is doing “everything we can” to respond to the lawsuit, including work on a new biological opinion that could address some of the Seattle judge’s concerns, said Jon Kurland, the Juneau-based regional administrator for NOAA Fisheries Alaska, at a Wednesday night meeting meant to give trollers a chance to ask questions.

Read the full article at Anchorage Daily News

Southeast Alaska king salmon fishery is in limbo after orca lawsuit rulings and appeals

May 8, 2023 — A federal judge in Washington state issued a ruling this week that threatens to shut down trolling for king salmon in Southeast Alaska this summer.

The ruling comes in a lawsuit filed three years ago by a Washington-based conservation group called Wild Fish Conservancy that aims to protect a small population of orcas.

The lawsuit centers ons whether Alaska fishermen should be allowed to harvest king salmon, which are considered essential prey for the Southern Resident killer whales.

KCAW’s Robert Woolsey has been following the lawsuit from Sitka, in the heart of the Southeast salmon troll fishing region, and says whether the king fishery will be closed this summer remains uncertain.

Read the full article at KTOO

Federal court orders new NMFS review of king salmon

May 7, 2023 — The Southeast Alaska chinook troll fishery is under renewed threat of potential suspension, after a federal judge in Seattle ruled the National Marine Fisheries Service must remake its plan for king salmon that allows the fishery to continue employing some 1,500 fishermen.

The long-anticipated May 2 ruling from U.S. District Court Judge Richard Jones requires that NMFS come up with a new “biological opinion” that analyzes the impact of the king salmon fishery on Washington state’s Southern Resident Killer Whale population.

The endangered orca whale population is down to 73 animals. The Wild Fish Conservancy sued over NMFS’ last plan, arguing the agency’s proposed mitigation measures to boost salmon stocks are insufficient to ensure the  orcas have enough food to slow their population decline.

A summer salmon season opener July 1 could be in jeopardy from the ruling. NMFS and Alaska state fisheries officials have been preparing for the possibility since an earlier judgement in August 2022 faulted NMFS for failing to meet requirements under the Endangered Species Act. Commercial fishing industry groups said they are looking to appeal the decision.

Read the full article at the National Fisherman

CALIFORNIA: Closure of king salmon fishing season a concern for local businesses, fishermen

April 13, 2023 — Whether you consume salmon or fish for it, you won’t be able to enjoy a local catch this season.

The Pacific Fishery Management Council shut down the 2023 recreational and commercial king salmon fishing seasons for most of the West Coast due to near-record low numbers of fish returning to their spawning grounds.

It’s a blow to fishermen, restaurants, and consumers.

Morro Bay resident Ilene French says she always looks forward to salmon season.

“I look forward to it. In fact, I was taking a trip up to Oregon to consume some more fish and salmon and evidently, even in Oregon and Washington the season will be late or maybe even closed,” French said.

Read the full article at KSBY

ALASKA: Board of Fisheries votes on Bristol Bay king salmon management plan

March 14, 2023 — The Alaska Department of Fish & Game Board of Fisheries voted on a final version of the King Salmon Management Plan that will take effect in the Bristol Bay area.

The Board unanimously voted on a plan via an amended version of Proposal 11 written by the Nushagak Advisory Committee, which limits bag counts for king salmon when fishing.

“There were some proposals that were maybe less collaborative that would have had, I believe, unintended consequences on other user groups,” Bristol Bay set netter Jamie O’Connor said.

Read the full article at Alaska News Source

CALIFORNIA: California Fishermen Bracing For A Complete Closure of Salmon Season

March 11, 2023 — The sight of his charter boat, Salty Lady, propped up on blocks in a Richmond boat repair seemed the perfect metaphor for Captain Jared Davis’ upcoming salmon fishing season — up in the air.

With the biologists in California projecting a record low return of Fall chinook – or King salmon – Davis’ prospects of getting to fish this year were about as empty as his nets.

“The numbers are pretty clear,” said Davis who operates out of Sausalito, “I don’t see how there could be any other options aside from having a completely closed season this year.”

Fishing regulators are likely to come to the same conclusion. On Friday, the Pacific Fisheries Management Council is set to release its fishing options for the upcoming commercial and recreational salmon seasons which normally begin in May. But most in the industry expect the council to recommend closing the entire salmon fishing season for the first time since 2008, and only the second time in history.

Read the full article at NBC Bay Area

Juneau joins Southeast communities in backing king salmon troll fishery

March 1, 2023 — The Juneau Assembly has joined Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka and Ketchikan in supporting Southeast Alaska’s king salmon troll fishery against a lawsuit that could threaten its future.

A resolution passed by the Assembly on Monday night opposes a lawsuit filed by the Wild Fish Conservancy, a Washington-based environmental group. The group says the federal government hasn’t adequately addressed the fishery’s impacts on the food supply of Southern Resident killer whales in Puget Sound.

Assembly member Carole Triem drafted the resolution. At a committee meeting earlier this month, she said it’s important for Juneau to support the trollers.

“It’s a lot less visible in Juneau than it is in Petersburg, Wrangell, Sitka or Ketchikan – the size, and the impact of the commercial fishing industry – but it’s still a pretty big part of our economy,” she said.

Read the full article at KTOO

ALASKA: Board of Fisheries to consider 15 options to protect Bristol Bay’s Nushagak king salmon runs

December 1, 2022 — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game published a draft plan last week to address the struggling Nushagak king salmon run.

At the statewide Bristol Bay finfish meeting this week, the Board of Fisheries will decide which of those tools to put into an action plan. There could be significant restrictions to fishing in the Nushagak District, and that could have widespread impacts on the entire fishery.

The Nushagak River is on the west side of the commercial fishery. It’s the last place in Bristol Bay where the state still counts king salmon. In recent years, sockeye runs have boomed while king runs have dropped. That’s created a problem for managers, who are tasked with providing fishing opportunity for sockeye and controlling that escapement while also preserving the kings.

The plan organizes potential actions into three sections: commercial, sport and subsistence.

The actions range from continuing management under the status quo to closing the fishery until a certain date. The department lists the benefits and downsides of each action. The commercial fishing division says several of its recommendations could protect kings but that fishermen would lose out economically. It also says some actions could push fishermen into other districts in the fishery.

In October, the state designated Nushagak king salmon as a stock of concern because it has failed to meet the in-river goal of 95,000 fish for five of the last six years. This action plan is the result of that listing. If the king salmon run meets its minimum escapement goal for three years in a row and is expected to continue, the department can remove the designation.

The public will have the chance to weigh in on the plan during the Board of Fish meeting, which started Tuesday at the Dena’ina Center in Anchorage. The meeting is also livestreamed.

Read the full article at Alaska Public Media