No fish farming, says Bristol Bay group

The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association has issued a policy statement on finfish farming in Alaska.

The statement comes in apparent reaction to Gov. Mike Dunleavy's legislation to legalize farming some fish species, though not salmon.

Juneau watch

Rep. Nellie Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay, today introduced House Bill 125 to reform how the governor appoints members of the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The bill specifies, among other things, that the governor shall appoint "two members who represent subsistence fishing, from a list of four names submitted by the Alaska Federation of Natives."

Sen. Cantwell rips reported NOAA purge

Here's her statement.

Commissioner outlines king rebuilding efforts

Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang has a piece on the Anchorage Daily News site headlined Here's what the state is doing to rebuild king salmon stocks in the Gulf of Alaska.

Fix those buoys!

State Sen. Forrest Dunbar, D-Anchorage, has introduced a resolution urging Congress and NOAA to address outages of key weather and wave buoys including the Seal Rocks Buoy at Hinchinbrook Entrance, where oil tankers pass.

Dive boat, one aboard, reported lost in Southeast

Here's the story from KRBD in Ketchikan.

More from Juneau

Two interesting bills dropped today in the Alaska Legislature. They're by request of the legislative task force evaluating the state's troubled seafood industry.

House Bill 116 — Commercial fishing insurance co-ops

House Bill 117 — Set gillnet co-ops

We'll update this post if and when further task force legislation is filed.

Juneau watch

The House Special Committee on Fisheries tomorrow will consider the governor's appointment of Rick Green to the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Here's his resume.

'Creating a new fish farming industry'

Gov. Mike Dunleavy is offering legislation to allow limited finfish farming in Alaska.

The bill would authorize "the cultivation and sale of certain finfish in natural or artificial inland, closed-system bodies of water," said a letter from the governor to House Speaker Bryce Edgmon.

It would prohibit farming pink, chum, sockeye, coho, Chinook and Atlantic salmon.

Juneau watch

Rookie Congressman Nick Begich, R-Alaska, had a good bit to say about fisheries during his Thursday address to the Legislature.

Lutnick confirmed as commerce secretary

Here's a news account.

Hatcheries not a problem for wild salmon, MSC says

A Marine Stewardship Council audit found that "hatchery enhancement activities are highly unlikely to have significant negative impacts on wild pink and chum salmon in Southeast Alaska, Prince William Sound and Lower Cook Inlet."

Here's an MSC news release on the audit.

No PWS shrimp pot fishery this year

"The Prince William Sound Area commercial shrimp pot fishing season will not open in 2025," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said today in an advisory announcement.

The department cited declining abundance of spot shrimp.

Another lost season for Cook Inlet setnetters?

The Upper Cook Inlet eastside setnet fishery, which targets sockeye, was closed for the entire 2024 season to protect a poor run of Kenai River king salmon.

Now, setnetters might be facing another shutdown season, per this advisory announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Public asked for help in Wind Walker case

U.S. Coast Guard investigators are appealing for further information regarding the fishing vessel Wind Walker, which sank on Dec. 1.

The bodies of two crewmembers were recovered, but three others remain missing.

USDA to buy 21M pounds of Alaska pollock products

Here's the announcement.

Board sinks hatchery proposal

The Alaska Board of Fisheries, meeting in Ketchikan, voted 5-2 against Proposal 156, which would have reduced pink and chum salmon production capacity by 25 percent at Southeast Alaska hatcheries.

The proposal, from Virgil Umphenour, drew widespread opposition from hatchery supporters including this group of legislators.

Limit set for Cook Inlet EEZ sockeye

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is recommending a total allowable catch of 800,126 sockeye this year in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone.

That's well above last year's TAC of 492,100 sockeye, which seems to make sense with forecasters calling for an excellent Cook Inlet sockeye run this year.

A threat to sue

The Wild Fish Conservancy says it will sue the National Marine Fisheries Service for missing the deadline to determine whether Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Here's a press release the organization issued today.

NMFS this week provided an update to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Here it is:

Chinook Salmon Endangered Species Act Listing Petition Update

On May 24, 2024, NMFS announced a positive 90-day finding on a petition to list Chinook salmon in the GOA as threatened or endangered under the ESA, concluding that it presented substantial information indicating that the petitioned actions may be warranted. We convened a team of federal scientists to review the species’ status and extinction risk, and we invited experts from ADF&G and a tribal member to participate as advisors to the team. The Status Review Team (SRT) is making progress on the analysis and incorporating information from public comments, including an extensive letter from ADF&G and formal tribal consultations. The SRT has preliminarily identified Evolutionarily Significant Units (ESUs) in the GOA and conducted demographic trend analyses at the ESU level. The SRT is compiling information about threats to the species in the region. The SRT will then synthesize the results of the demographic and threats analyses and assign an extinction risk category (low, medium, high) to each ESU. The SRT's analyses and conclusions of the risk assessment workshop will be summarized in a status review report to inform the 12-month finding.

Transition at NMFS

The National Marine Fisheries Service has a new boss — Emily Menashes.

She's filling the position on an "acting" basis, and is likely to be replaced as President Trump continues to build out his second administration.

Janet Coit previously headed NMFS, and departed with the end of the Biden administration.

Crewman found dead on trawler near Dutch Harbor

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Unimak

Type: Deceased person

On 1/27/25 Alaska State Troopers received a report of a death. Kien Au, 66, a crewmember onboard a large trawler about 110 miles from Dutch Harbor, was found deceased in his room. Next of kin has been notified. The state medical examiner's office has received the remains and conducted an autopsy. It was determined that Au passed away from natural causes. No foul play has been suspected.

Squid game

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is meeting in Ketchikan. Among the many proposals under consideration are a couple to create a directed jig fishery for magister armhook squid in Southeast Alaska waters.

"Magister squid is an underutilized species that not only could provide a source of revenue for dwindling commercial fishermen, but also provide a mechanism to control their predation on other economically important commercial species such as all species of salmon, cod fish, and herring," say the proposals from Richard Yamada and the Juneau-Douglas Advisory Committee.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is opposed to the proposals.

The Gulf of Mexico

We don't often have occasion to mention the Gulf of Mexico here on Deckboss.

When we do, going forward, we will follow AP style guidance and continue to refer to that body of water as the Gulf of Mexico rather than the "Gulf of America," as President Trump renamed it in a recent executive order.

PWS herring fishery wraps with 440-ton take

Here's the announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Halibut takes another hit

The International Pacific Halibut Commission today announced a coastwide catch limit of 29.7 million pounds for this year.

That's down 15.8 percent from 2024. It's the third consecutive year for a substantial cut in the coastwide limit.

Notably for the upcoming season, the catch limit in Area 3A (Southcentral Alaska) is 9.1 million pounds, down more than 20 percent, while Area 2B (British Columbia) is down 15.8 percent to just under 5.5 million pounds.

The commission recommended season dates of 6 a.m. local time March 20 to midnight Dec. 7.

Juneau watch

The legislative task force examining the economic crisis gripping the Alaska seafood industry has posted its final report, which makes quite a few recommendations.

Will any of these recommendations ever be implemented? Would they make a difference?

Don't be shy! Read the 21-page report and post your opinion here on Deckboss.

Washington watch

Howard Lutnick, President Trump's pick for commerce secretary, today sat for his confirmation hearing in Congress.

Part of the secretary's job is managing fisheries via the National Marine Fisheries Service, a Commerce Department agency.

Here's an NPR report on the hearing.

And here are press releases from Washington Sen. Maria Cantwell and Alaska Sen. Dan Sullivan.

Bright outlook for Cook Inlet sockeye

The state is forecasting an "excellent" sockeye salmon run of 6.93 million fish this year for Upper Cook Inlet.

Last year, the commercial harvest of Upper Cook Inlet sockeye was 1.87 million fish on a run of 6.64 million.

Lots more number in this advisory announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

A new cutter for Kodiak

Here's a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Another strong Sitka herring forecast

The state today announced a 2025 Sitka Sound sac roe herring quota of 36,720 tons.

That's a big number, though not nearly as large as the record 81,246-ton quota set for the 2024 season. Industry ended up taking only a fraction of that quota, about 12,700 tons.

Big sockeye catch predicted at Copper River

The state is forecasting a terrific harvest of 1.92 million sockeye salmon this year at the Copper River.

Gunnar Knapp: Trump's Greenland talk isn't serious

Here's his letter posted on the Anchorage Daily News website.

Trump administration fires Coast Guard chief

The administration of Donald Trump, who was sworn in yesterday for his second term as president, has relieved Adm. Linda Fagan as commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard.

Here's a memo to all hands across the service.

And here's a news story from The New York Times.

EPIRB saves two in Kodiak capsizing

Details and a video in this press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Cutter of the year, and a Storis redux

Here are a couple of interesting notes from the U.S. Coast Guard.

• The Kodiak-based Alex Haley has again earned cutter of the year honors.

• The Storis, decommissioned in 2007, was a legendary Alaska cutter. Now, the Coast Guard is bringing the name Storis back to life, applying it to a newly acquired icebreaker to be homeported in Juneau.

Togiak herring forecast

Once again, a huge volume of herring will be up for grabs this year at Togiak, with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game setting a harvest quota of 41,163 tons for the sac roe fishery.

It's unclear, however, whether the industry has any taste for Togiak herring. The fishery was dormant in 2023 and 2024, and processors, purse seiners and gillnetters may stay home this year as well.

Huge government pollock buy coming, ASMI says

The U.S. Department of Agriculture plans to purchase up to $50 million of Alaska pollock, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute said in a press release.

"These USDA purchases provide food insecure Americans with high-quality, healthy and sustainable seafood protein," ASMI said. "They also support American fishermen, companies and communities currently struggling with low pollock prices due to reductions in demand and increased competition, mostly from Russia."

Legislative task force to meet again this week

Details in this press release.

Good news for our best crab

Scientists report that new research has "revealed more genetic diversity across Alaska's red king crab populations than originally documented."

This could make the species more resilient to climate change.

Circle salmon sales

Fledgling processor Circle Seafoods announced its frozen salmon fillets "have officially made their debut" in H-E-B stores across Texas and Sprouts Farmers Market stores nationwide.

Here's a picture of the pouched product.

'We are fishing on a depleted stock'

Homer commercial fisherman Michael "Buck" Laukitis is proposing a Pacific halibut rebuilding plan.

Five things to watch

As we enter the new year, we're looking for big news on multiple fronts. Here's a handful of items worth tracking.

• The National Marine Fisheries Service has a Jan. 11 deadline for completing a status review of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon. NMFS began the review after the Wild Fish Conservancy petitioned for listing under the Endangered Species Act.

• The halibut stock is struggling, and we'll get a new read on the situation when the International Pacific Halibut Commission convenes its annual meeting Jan. 27-31 in Vancouver, B.C. "Harvest limits in Alaska will all likely be reduced in 2025," the Fishing Vessel Owners' Association reports in its most recent newsletter. Bob Alverson is association's manager and an IPHC commissioner.

• What will become of the huge King Cove processing plant? The facility was idled with the financial collapse of Peter Pan. Last we heard, a working group was considering the plant's future.

• The legislative task force evaluating the Alaska seafood industry's economic troubles has been meeting since summer. Will anything substantive come of this effort? The Alaska Legislature begins a new session on Jan. 21.

• Inauguration day for Donald Trump is Jan. 20, and a new president is always consequential for the fishing industry. We're eager to see who the administration names to lead NMFS. And Trump's vow to impose sweeping tariffs could have a major impact on the seafood business.