Canada's halibut

The International Pacific Halibut Commission is holding its interim meeting this week in Seattle. As always, the panel is weighing a great deal of information such as the 2017 stock assessment and various regulatory proposals.

Here's a little item, taken from a staff report, that certainly caught our attention:

"The IPHC Secretariat continues to hear concern from Canadian representatives regarding the IPHC's current understanding of Pacific halibut biological distribution. Commentary indicates that the current methodology is underrepresenting the amount of the coastwide Pacific halibut stock that is within Canadian waters. Reports of large Pacific halibut and high catch rates are thought to further support this claim. The IPHC is expanding the fisheries-independent setline survey (FISS) in Canadian waters in the summer of 2018. We are confident that this expansion will increase our collective knowledge of Pacific halibut biological distribution, as it will cover a greater range (deeper and shallower depths) than the current setline survey design."

The interim meeting wraps up today.

The commission won't set 2018 catch limits until its Jan. 22-26 annual meeting in Portland.

Juneau man appointed to entry commission

Here's the press release.

Change at the top

Seattle-based North Pacific Seafoods, a major Alaska processor, is getting new leadership.

Here's the press release.

North Pacific Seafoods is part of Marubeni, a Japanese conglomerate.

Silver Bay confirms John Lowrance report

Here's the press release.

Upper Cook Inlet salmon forecast released

The state is forecasting a commercial harvest of 1.9 million sockeye salmon next year in Upper Cook Inlet.

This past season tallied 1.8 million sockeye.

Silver Bay's new man

Deckboss just returned from Seattle, where he attended Pacific Marine Expo. It was a vibrant show this year with plenty of industry buzz.

One especially interesting note: John Lowrance is joining Silver Bay Seafoods to help smooth out problems at the company's Bristol Bay plant at Naknek.

Fishermen familiar with the move say Lowrance is taking an ownership stake in Silver Bay.

Lowrance is a respected name in Alaska's salmon industry, having founded Leader Creek Fisheries, a small but innovative Bristol Bay processor. He sold his interest in Leader Creek in 2010.

Trident's warning

A recent federal summary of enforcement actions for the first half of 2017 said a written warning was issued to Trident Seafoods.

Deckboss obtained a copy of the written warning through a Freedom of Information Act request. Read it here.

U.S. Seafoods penalized $135,000

Details in this press release from the Environmental Protection Agency.

Trident invests in APICDA subsidiaries

Here's the press release.

Southeast pink salmon outlook

Southeast Alaska can expect an "average" harvest of 23 million pink salmon in 2018, says this forecast just out from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Another big year forecast for Bristol Bay

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a huge harvest of 37.6 million sockeye salmon next year at Bristol Bay.

That would basically match this year's catch of 37.7 million sockeye.

Big fish

National Fisherman magazine, in the December issue, features its 2017 Highliners:

Bob Dooley, of Half Moon Bay, Calif.
George Eliason, of Sitka, Alaska
Bruce Schactler, of Kodiak, Alaska

UFA's new skipper

United Fishermen of Alaska has hired Frances Leach as its executive director, effective Jan. 5.

Leach, a Juneau resident, was raised in a commercial fishing family in Ketchikan, says this UFA press release.

CFEC upheaval

The Alaska Dispatch News yesterday published an important story regarding the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Bering Sea medevac

A crewman was "struck in the head by a 37-pound block of frozen fish," the U.S. Coast Guard said.

Here's a news release.

Pebble enlists a general

Here's the announcement.

EPA and the seafood industry

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has been on a tear lately, wrapping up enforcement cases against three companies:

Kloosterboer
North Pacific Seafoods
Norton Sound Economic Development Corp.