Upcoming

Here are a couple of significant Outside events to watch.

• On June 4 in Washington, D.C., the House Natural Resources Subcommittee on Water, Wildlife and Fisheries will hold a hearing on "Restoring American Seafood Competitiveness." More details here.

• The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet June 5-10 in Newport, Oregon. The council, based in Anchorage, manages fisheries off Alaska and includes voting members from Alaska, Washington and Oregon.

NMFS Alaska loses nearly a quarter of its staff

The National Marine Fisheries Service, Alaska Region, had 115 federal employees on Jan. 1. Now, the count is 87, down 24 percent.

The staff losses are "due to a combination of probationary terminations, the Deferred Resignation Program, Voluntary Early Retirement, and voluntary separations in anticipation of a Reduction in Force," NMFS says in this report to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The agency names many of the departed folks, saying something nice about each.

Hannah heads to the bay

Northline Seafoods says its 400-foot processing barge, the Hannah, is on its way to Bristol Bay for its second salmon season.

The barge was cleared to depart Bellingham after its owner posted a special bond to free the vessel from arrest in a court case involving a nearly $1.3 million debt claim.

Copper River closure

The Copper River District is closing to commercial driftnetting because "the Chinook salmon return may be weak and conservative management at this time is warranted," the state says in this advisory announcement.

It's a start

The Copper River salmon fishery kicked off a new season on Thursday, with the district producing a modest 27,368 sockeye and 1,083 Chinook on 353 deliveries during a 12-hour opener.

The fishery opened six days later than last season, which saw a surprisingly large opening day haul of around 43,000 sockeye.

The Copper River District will open tomorrow for another 12-hour driftnet fishing period, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced.

Mark your calendar

Organizers of the Pacific Marine Expo trade show have announced the dates for this year's event: Thursday, Nov. 20, through Saturday, Nov. 22, at Lumen Field Event Center in downtown Seattle.

What the Legislature did

The first session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature came to a close on May 20, with legislators managing a modest slate of actions important to the fishing industry.

This could be disappointing in many minds, as the industry has been mired in an economic crisis and a special legislative task force had made numerous recommendations ahead of the session.

The Legislature operates on a two-year cycle, so bills that didn't pass this session will remain alive in the second session next year.

Here's a rundown of what happened during the session that just adjourned.

• Legislators included $10 million in the budget for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to boost domestic marketing. This might have been the session's most significant fishery action. Now, we wait to see if the sum survives the governor's veto pen.

• Legislators passed House Bill 116 to help commercial fishermen form insurance cooperatives to reduce costs.

• House Bill 31 passed to eliminate the need for state Division of Motor Vehicles registration of commercial fishing vessels already tracked by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

• Senate Bill 156 provides for a temporary state investment of $3,693,500 in the struggling Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank. United Fishermen of Alaska explained the situation in this letter of support for SB 156.

All the bills now await the governor's signature.

More from Juneau

The House today voted 22-17 in favor of House Bill 125, which specifies membership on the Board of Fisheries. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration with only a few days remaining in the session.

"HB 125 balances the Board of Fisheries by putting into state law equal representation on the board," said a press release from bill sponsor Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay. "The bill delineates two seats for subsistence fishing, two for commercial, two for sport, and one for a fisheries scientist."

"My family has subsisted for generations, and many of us fish commercially," Jimmie added. "This bill brings balance across all user groups so that we can protect what is ours."

Juneau watch

The Alaska Legislature yesterday confirmed the governor's picks for the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The vote was 40 yeas to 20 nays to confirm Tom Carpenter for a second term on the board.

Legislators voted 50 to 10 to confirm newcomer Olivia Irwin.

Legislators also confirmed Rick Green for continued service on the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Full details on the confirmations are available here.

A buyer for Peter Pan's King Cove plant?

Oregon-based processing giant Pacific Seafood is showing interest in acquiring Peter Pan's idled King Cove processing plant.

That's according to this KUCB report.

Crabber gets prison in illegal transport scheme

Here's a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.

A sharp exchange between commissioner, trollers

Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang, in this three-page letter, takes the Alaska Trollers Association to task for public statements the organization made regarding Chinook salmon.

Much bigger salmon harvest expected this year

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting a statewide commercial harvest of 214.6 million salmon this year.

That would be more than double the 103.5 million fish taken last year.

Not giving up

Two tribal organizations — the Association of Village Council Presidents and Tanana Chiefs Conference — are appealing their recent defeat in a case challenging the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries.

Conservancy takes its ESA campaign to court

Making good on a threat, the Wild Fish Conservancy has sued the National Marine Fisheries Service, saying the agency has missed the deadline to decide whether Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon should be listed under the Endangered Species Act.

Recommended reading

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has sent Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick a three-page letter stressing the importance of maintaining NOAA marine surveys and the council process.

"Without these surveys, scientists would be required to account for substantially increased uncertainty by lowering catch limits for U.S. fishermen," the letter says.

An update on the Northline barge

It appears the two sides in a lawsuit that resulted in the arrest of the Northline Seafoods processing barge over a debt obligation have reached a deal that could see the vessel's release.

The parties in a joint status report say they've reached an agreement whereby the owners of the vessel would file a special bond of $1,378,000.

The court has entered an order canceling a planned Friday hearing and directing the parties to file papers for the posting of the bond and the release of the vessel from arrest.

'I'm starting to get really upset'

Alaska's junior U.S. senator, Dan Sullivan, kinda went off in a hearing this week, saying the Trump administration — which has been busy cutting budget and staff — needs to make sure fisheries stock surveys get done.

"When you don't do stock assessment surveys, you know what happens? My fishermen can't fish," Sullivan said.

Lots more in this press release from Sullivan's office.

Fishermen's News is done

Fishermen's News has posted a sad announcement on its website:

"After 80 incredible years of service to the commercial fishing community, Fishermen's News is officially closing its pages."

The San Diego publisher late last year announced the journal was ending its print edition and would be "presented in digital format only." He cited cost pressures for the move.

Now, it appears, Fishermen's News will no longer be available in any form.

Continuity on the council

Two Alaska members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council — the chair, Angel Drobnica, and Nicole Kimball — will see their three-year terms end in August.

After that, who will occupy the two seats?

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy is good with Drobnica and Kimball continuing on the council. Here's his letter to the U.S. commerce secretary nominating them for new terms.

Drobnica is director of fisheries and government relations for the Juneau-based Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association.

Kimball, of Anchorage, is vice president, Alaska operations, for the Pacific Seafood Processors Association.