What is pelagic trawl gear?

State Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, weighs in with a letter to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting this week in Anchorage.

Another big day in court

As previously reported, a Bering Sea bottom trawl fleet, operating under the banner Groundfish Forum, is suing in an effort to kill new regulations to tighten halibut bycatch limits.

The fleet argues it's being unfairly singled out and faces potential financial ruin.

The National Marine Fisheries Service — as well as several fishing, processing and conservation players in the halibut sector — are defending the regulations.

The case has been cooking for several months and is now set for an important round of oral argument beginning at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday in federal court in Anchorage.

To listen, dial (571) 353-2301 and use call ID 275666327.

Trident proposes trawl experiment

According to this agency letter, Trident Seafoods is applying to test trawl gear designs that "aim to minimize seafloor contact when targeting pollock."

A Kodiak trawl Chinook bycatch blowout

Here's the story from Nathaniel Herz and his Northern Journal.

Interesting reading

Here are a couple of notable items in print.

The New York Times published a big story on Red Lobster's descent into bankruptcy. It's rollicking, rapacious, revolting read.

Also, Doug Vincent-Lang, Alaska's fish and game commissioner, has a piece on the Anchorage Daily News site headlined Safeguarding Alaska offshore habitat and providing a path forward for trawling.

Big day in court

As previously reported here on Deckboss, two tribal organizations are suing the National Marine Fisheries Service in federal court, challenging the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries.

At 9 a.m. tomorrow in federal court in Anchorage, lawyers will square off for oral arguments, each side seeking summary judgment — a knockout victory.

The tribal organizations — the Association of Village Council Presidents and Tanana Chiefs Conference — are represented by Earthjustice, a nonprofit environmental law firm.

The public may listen to the hearing by dialing (571) 353-2301 and using call ID 275666327.

Third snow crab season to receive disaster aid

Federal officials have allocated another large sum of money as disaster relief for the troubled Bering Sea snow crab fishery.

This latest sum of $39.5 million covers the 2023-24 season.

Previously, officials allocated much larger amounts for Alaska crab fisheries, including:

• $96.6 million for the 2022-23 Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fishery disasters

• $94.5 million for the 2021-22 Bering Sea snow crab and Bristol Bay red king crab fishery disasters.

The snow crab fishery has been closed the past two seasons due to weak stocks, and we're expecting word soon on whether the closure will extend to a third season.

Cook Inlet court battle

For those interested in following the never-ending legal conflict over Cook Inlet salmon management, here's a litigation update provided to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Federal disaster dollars reportedly inch closer

Here's a press release from Alaska's congressional delegation.

Reviewing an industry in distress

Here's a summary of this week's meeting of the legislative task force on Alaska's struggling seafood business.

Factory trawler charged with salmon violation

NOAA's Office of General Counsel reports this case charged in August:

• C/P Northern Eagle — Owners American Seafoods Co. LLC and Northern Eagle LLC were charged jointly and severally under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act with failing to ensure no salmon of any species passed the observer collection point. A $15,000 NOVA (notice of violation and assessment) was issued.

Deckboss invites readers to visit our companion blog The Brig for more fisheries enforcement news.

The Peter Pan fire sale

Rodger May, half owner of the collapsed processor Peter Pan Seafood, has won an auction for an assortment of the company's remaining assets, edging out a competing bid from Silver Bay Seafoods.

A notice filed in King County Superior Court in Seattle, where Peter Pan is being liquidated through receivership proceedings, indicates May bid $37,324,000 to Silver Bay's $37,067,320.

Results of the bid are subject to court approval.

May's bid consists of a $25,324,000 cash component and a $12 million credit bid, court papers show.

Here's a table designating the purchase price for individual assets.

Some of the prices seem shockingly low for properties once regarded as crown jewels in Alaska's seafood industry. For example, the price for the huge King Cove processing plant is $200,000 cash ($1 for the real property and fixtures, and $199,999 for the equipment and machinery).

The Dillingham processing plant has a purchase price of $11 million, but only $3 million of that in cash.

The most expensive sale item appears to be equipment and machinery in the Port Moller processing plant, priced at $8.75 million cash. This makes sense, as the Port Moller plant was rebuilt in 2018 following a fire.

Will these Peter Pan assets function again as they once did? That remains to be seen.

Halibut dinner for orcas?

A four-page paper posted on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council website looks at the practice of halibut deck sorting on certain trawl vessels operating off Alaska.

The idea with deck sorting is to quickly collect halibut hauled aboard as bycatch and return them to the sea, hopefully to swim away alive and uninjured.

There's concern, however, that these halibut don't swim away, but instead are chomped by feeding orcas hanging around the vessel.

With the paper, regulators are looking to better account for marine mammal feeding on halibut discards.

Here's a slideshow on how halibut deck sorting works.

This year's Permanent Fund dividend $1,702

Here's the official announcement.

Legislature to the rescue?

The legislative task force evaluating the economic troubles facing Alaska's seafood industry is meeting this week, with the second and final session set for tomorrow. Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang and others are scheduled to make presentations.

For more information, check out the task force website.

Please help?

As expected, this season's pink salmon bust is beginning to spawn calls for assistance.

State Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer, chair of the House Special Committee on Fisheries, has sent a letter asking the governor to seek federal fishery disaster relief for Prince William Sound and other areas.

Bigger price, smaller fish at Bristol Bay

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has posted its summary of the 2024 Bristol Bay salmon season, and the numbers certainly are interesting.

• The average ex-vessel price for sockeye was 89 cents per pound, way better than the 52 cents indicated in the 2023 season summary.

• The high proportion of younger fish in this year's run resulted in the smallest average sockeye weight on record at 4.53 pounds. Last year's sockeye averaged 5.54 pounds.

• The year's harvest tallied 31.6 million sockeye, well below the more than 40.5 million last year.

• Despite the smaller fish and reduced harvest, this year's sockeye fishery was worth more at a preliminary value of $127.4 million, compared to last year's $116.8 million.

Those sneaky Russians

Writing in the Anchorage Daily News, Einar Gustafsson, CEO of American Seafoods, which operates a fleet of Bering Sea pollock factory trawlers, complains about market competition from Russia.

Russian submarines, frigate spotted

Details in this U.S. Coast Guard press release.

Embattled Alaska

National Fisherman today published an article examining the many legal and administrative challenges currently facing Alaska and its fisheries.

The article includes an insightful Q&A with Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang.

Is industry behind Peltola?

Rep. Mary Peltola, a Democrat, holds the lone Alaska congressional seat and is righting for reelection with a "pro-fish" campaign slogan.

But how does Alaska's commercial fishing industry feel about her?

To find out, Deckboss followed the money — that is, the campaign contributions to Peltola and her main challenger, Republican Nick Begich.

We searched recent filings with the Federal Election Commission, specifically the July 15 quarterly reports for each candidate.

We're sure we didn't catch everything, but we found several significant fisheries contributions from processors, fishermen and others in the Mary Peltola for Alaska committee report. We compiled this list of Peltola contributions.

The Alaskans for Nick Begich committee, by contrast, showed only a handful of minor contributions from fishermen.

Salmon notes

Here's an update on the 2024 season, which is all but done.

• This will finish as a poor season, at least in terms of harvest volume. The statewide, all-species catch stands at 96.2 million fish. The season likely will finish with a harvest under 100 million for the first time in 37 years, since 1987, when the tally was 96.5 million.

• The Prince William Sound purse seine fishery closes today, perhaps appropriately on Friday the 13th. It's been a nightmare year for seiners with a catch of less than 5 million pink salmon, far below forecast. Expect pleas for disaster relief coming out of Cordova.

• Alaska never has produced many salmon north of the Arctic Circle, but this season's production was particularly paltry at Kotzebue. "The 2024 commercial harvest of 5,392 chum salmon was below the 1962-2023 average harvest of 231,196 chum salmon and the poorest harvest since the state started managing the Kotzebue District in 1962," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

• It wasn't gloomy everywhere this season. On Aug. 12, OBI Seafoods blew the cannery steam whistle in Petersburg to mark 100,000 cases of canned salmon produced.

'Challenging times'

Here's an interesting letter from Janet Coit, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, to Angel Drobnica, chair of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Trident names Microsoft man as COO

Here's the press release.

The salmon situation

The latest weekly harvest update from the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute offers a concise summary of the waning salmon season.

More Russian naval activity possible

Details in this U.S. Coast Guard advisory sent to the fishing industry.

Endangered Chinook?

Public comments are rolling in on a National Marine Fisheries Service finding that listing Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon as threatened or endangered "may be warranted."

The finding was in response to a petition from the Wild Fish Conservancy, a nonprofit organization headquartered in Washington state.

The idea of listing Chinook has raised considerable alarm across Alaska's fishing industry, with many organizations and individuals warning of serious economic damage were such an action actually taken.

NMFS is taking public comment until Sept. 6. You can read all the comments here.

We'll update this post periodically with links to select comments.

Alaska legislators

Alaska Department of Fish and Game

United Fishermen of Alaska

Kenai River Sportfishing Association

Central Council of the Tlingit & Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska

Wild Fish Conservancy

Alaska resource associations

Alaska Trollers Association

Purse Seine Vessel Owners' Association

Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association

Southeast Alaska Guides Organization

Petersburg Borough

Alaska Marine Conservation Council

Pacific Seafood Processors Association

Mayors stick up for embattled pollock industry

Here's their column in the Anchorage Daily News.

311 brilliant ideas

The Alaska Board of Fisheries has posted its proposal book for the 2024-25 meeting cycle.

The board will hold meetings in Cordova, Ketchikan and Anchorage, and has accepted 311 proposals for review.

Blotter

Catch our companion blog The Brig for interesting enforcement news.