Saving Seafood

News for the Pacific Region

West Coast whale entanglements up in 2024

December 20, 2024 — Whale entanglements in fishing gear off the Pacific Coast rose in 2024 despite state and federal measures to reduce such incidents, including efforts to deploy “ropeless“ fishing gear that could eliminate risk of entanglements.

Preliminary data from NOAA Fisheries shows 34 whales became entangled in 2024, the highest number since 2018. Another entangled whale was reported off Orange County, California, earlier this month but has not been seen since last week, NOAA said.

NOAA spokesperson Nick Rahaim confirmed the latest entanglement numbers for California, Oregon and Washington state, which were released to the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group on Wednesday and will be publicly released next year.

Read the full article at E&E News

CALIFORNIA: ‘No way, not possible’: California has a plan for new water rules. Will it save salmon from extinction?

December 19, 2024 —  The Newsom administration is refining a contentious set of proposed rules, years in the making, that would reshape how farms and cities draw water from the Central Valley’s Delta and its rivers. Backed by more than $1 billion in state funds, the rules, if adopted, would require water users to help restore rivers and rebuild depleted Chinook salmon runs.

The administration touts its proposed rules as the starting point of a long-term effort to double Central Valley Chinook populations from historical levels, reaching numbers not seen in at least 75 years. But environmental groups have almost unanimously rejected it, saying it promises environmental gains that will never materialize and jeopardizes the existence of California’s iconic salmon and other fish.

“There is no way the assets they’ve put on the table, water and habitat combined, are going to achieve the doubling goal — no way, not possible,” said Jon Rosenfield, science director with San Francisco Baykeeper.

Dubbed Healthy Rivers and Landscapes but better known as “the voluntary agreements,” the proposal is one of two pathways for state officials as they update a keystone regulatory document called the Bay-Delta Water Quality Control Plan, which was last overhauled in 1995.

Read the full article at Cal Matters

ESA protections will continue for Pacific salmon, steelhead

December 17, 2024 — Federal protections for four West Coast salmon and steelhead species will remain in place for at least another five years, even as some populations have made progress toward recovery, according to NOAA.

The decision, based on formal status reviews, means restoration of salmon runs will continue for California coastal chinook salmon, central California coast steelhead, California Central Valley steelhead and Southern Oregon/Northern California coast coho salmon.

The combined fishery, which extends from the San Francisco Bay to the southern Oregon coast, includes key river runs from California’s Central Valley and the Sierra Nevada. Those habitat areas continue to “suffer from habitat loss as development and other threats compromise spawning and rearing habitat [that are] particularly important in preparing young salmon for a life at sea,” NOAA Fisheries said last week.

Read the full article at E&E News

First-of-its-kind crew welfare measure adopted at Pacific fisheries summit

December 11, 2024 — Working on fishing vessels has for centuries been one of the most dangerous jobs in the world. To this day, forced labor and other human rights abuses remain relatively common, with workers from low-income countries especially at risk. But new regulations in the Western Pacific Ocean could make it harder for ship operators to get away with abuses, and could catalyze change in other regions.

The Western and Central Pacific Fisheries Commission (WCPFC), a multilateral body that sets fishing rules for an area that covers nearly 20% of Earth’s surface and produces half the world’s tuna catch, adopted a landmark crew welfare measure at its recent annual meeting, which took place in Fiji from Nov. 28 to Dec. 3. It’s the first binding labor rights measure adopted by any of the world’s 17 regional fisheries management organizations (RFMOs).

The measure is a “step forward for human rights at sea,” Bubba Cook, a program manager at WWF-New Zealand who has advocated for the measure for years, told Mongabay.

“There is no question this is a … mast light for other RFMOs as we chart a course into the future,” Cook said at the meeting’s final plenary, according to a statement he shared with Mongabay. “With this important step, we have acknowledged the humanity of those crew working in challenging conditions around the world to bring seafood to our tables.”

On a personal level, Cook said the measure’s adoption was a “hugely emotional moment” that brought him to tears because a friend of his who disappeared while working in the fishing industry had advocated for human rights at sea and because of the positive impact he said he expects the new rules will have.

The annual meeting otherwise produced what NGO observers described as mixed results. The WCPFC parties adopted a voluntary measure to implement electronic monitoring of catches. This could help with data collection and rule enforcement, particularly on longliner fishing vessels, which have very low rates of catch monitoring by human observers in the Western Pacific.

However, the parties didn’t adopt another measure largely aimed at longliners: a tightening of rules meant to curb potentially dodgy ship-to-ship transfers known as transshipments. Nor did they adopt substantive new protections for sharks and seabirds, and they took no action to open up a key compliance meeting to NGO observers or improve governance more generally, drawing criticism from transparency advocates.

Read the full article at Mongabay

Dungeness crab season cancelled for remainder of 2024 in California, Washington

December 10, 2024 — Fisheries regulators on the West Coast are further delaying the opening of their states’ respective commercial Dungeness crab seasons due to the presence of humpback whales and low meat quality, with all but a small portion of Oregon’s coast unlikely to open before the end of the year.

On 6 December, the state of California announced it was delaying the start of the commercial crab season for a third time this year, citing the continued presence of blue and humpback whales in the area. The season was initially slated to open on 15 November.

Read the full story at Seafood Source

Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab season opening date set

December 9, 2024 — Oregon’s commercial Dungeness crab fishery will open on Dec. 16 from Cape Falcon south to the California border.

The commercial fleet can begin setting baited crab pots in the water in this area on Dec. 13.

Areas north of Cape Falcon will remain closed until at least Dec. 31 due to low meat yields. The season will open in coordination with southern Washington state.

On Friday, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife ordered another delay in that state’s commercial Dungeness crab fishing season — the third so far this year.

Read the full story at The Oregonian

Washington state bolsters support for salmon recovery in Columbia Basin

December 6, 2024 — Washington Gov. Jay Inslee (D) has directed state agencies to take immediate actions aimed at safeguarding the region’s dwindling salmon population, while warning the incoming Trump administration to refrain from backtracking on federal commitments.

In an executive order signed this week, Inslee asked state officials and organizations to strengthen their work on restoring the Columbia River Basin’s salmon population, advance science-based solutions, revive habitats and bring together diverse interest groups.

“Salmon have inhabited Washington for millions of years, but their time is running out,” Inslee said in a statement. “We cannot waver for a moment, now or in the future, in our work to restore these runs.”

The order emphasizes the state of Washington’s commitment to collaborating with other stakeholders, referencing a December 2023 partnership with Oregon and the Confederated Tribes and Bands of the Yakama Nation, the Confederated Tribes of the Umatilla Indian Reservation, the Nez Perce Tribe and the Confederated Tribes of the Warm Springs — collectively known as the “Six Sovereigns.”

Read the full story at The Hill

 

Biden-Harris Administration, NOAA makes $99 million available for Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund

December 4, 2024 — Today, the Department of Commerce and NOAA Fisheries announced up to $99 million in funding through the Pacific Coastal Salmon Recovery Fund (PCSRF) for conservation and recovery projects focusing on Pacific salmon and steelhead. This funding — which includes $34.4 million from the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law (BIL) — will advance state and tribal efforts to restore salmon populations and habitats, and bolster climate and economic resilience in surrounding communities.

“Since day one, the Biden-Harris Administration has been committed to salmon recovery along the West Coast and this new funding will help NOAA boost efforts to aid Pacific salmon survival and recovery,” said U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. “This investment, made possible thanks to President Biden’s commitment to investing in America, will help get Pacific salmon populations closer to the healthy and abundant levels our West Coast ecosystems and communities need, and help create new jobs that enhance climate resilience along our coasts.”

Read the full story at NOAA Fisheries

Marin’s early-season salmon activity raises hopes of rebound

December 2, 2024 — Marin biologists say an early abundance of salmon returning to nesting grounds in local creeks is signaling that this year’s spawning season could be one for the record books.

“We saw more chinook salmon in a single day than we’ve ever seen before,” said Eric Ettlinger, aquatic ecologist for the Marin Municipal Water District. Ettlinger and his team monitor activity at the county’s main salmon stronghold at Lagunitas Creek.

As of Tuesday, biologists had already discovered 169 live adult chinook salmon in the creek and its tributaries, breaking a previous record of 134 in a single season. There were also 60 chinook redds, or nests, also surpassing the previous record of 49 in a season. The salmon are listed as a threatened species under the federal Endangered Species Act.

What’s more, the team observed 37 adults of the endangered coho salmon, and six of their redds. Chum salmon, which are rare for Marin, are also spawning: Five adults and two redds were discovered.

Read the full story at the Marin Independent Journal