Jack Schultheis crosses the bar

Jack Schultheis, a longtime Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board member, died at home on Dec. 22, ASMI announced today.

Need a cannery?

Trident Seafoods is asking $1 million for its defunct South Naknek cannery at Bristol Bay. Here's the listing.

OBI pulls back a bit

Seattle-based OBI Seafoods just issued the following:

After careful consideration, OBI Seafoods announced today the company's decision not to operate its Larsen Bay plant, located on Kodiak Island, for the 2024 salmon season.

Salmon caught on Kodiak Island by the OBI Seafoods fleet will be processed at its facility in Kodiak town. Capacity should not be an issue, with OBI's Seward and Cordova facilities able to support Kodiak during the peak of the season in August.

The decision to not operate the Larsen Bay plant is due to the poor pink salmon forecast issued by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and tough market conditions for salmon products in general, according to OBI Seafoods CEO John Hanrahan.

"The Kodiak town plant operates year-round and has the ability to process salmon in a greater diversity of product forms making it better suited to respond to salmon markets in 2024 as we navigate this challenging time for the industry," Hanrahan said.

The Larsen Bay facility, ideally situated close to the island's westside fishing grounds, will remain open with a small team fully dedicated to providing services to its fleet. This team will include OBI's fleet manager, office manager, chief engineer, port engineer, welder, general maintenance, fishermen's services, laundry and beach gang.

OBI has every intention to operate its Larsen Bay facility again in the 2025 salmon season.

About OBI Seafoods:

OBI Seafoods was formed in 2020 through a merger with Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Icicle Seafoods, two of the oldest and most successful seafood companies in Alaska. The company operates 10 processing plants throughout the state and is a leading producer of fresh, frozen and canned Alaska seafood.

More disaster relief

The U.S. commerce secretary today announced the allocation of more than $42 million to address fishery disasters nationally, including nearly $1.6 million for the 2022 Yukon River salmon fisheries.

Halibut dips again

Halibut quotas will be down again this year.

The International Pacific Halibut Commission, meeting in Anchorage, today announced a coastwide catch limit of 35.3 million pounds, a 4.6 percent decline from last year.

The IPHC recommended a fishing season beginning at 6 a.m. local time March 15 to midnight Dec. 7 for all directed commercial Pacific halibut fisheries in Canada and the United States.

Here's a press release with catch limits by regulatory area. For comparison, here's last year's press release.

The Wild Alaska Sole Association

Alaska flatfish producers have formed a new nonprofit marketing organization.

Addressing the court's concerns

The National Marine Fisheries Service is grinding through a tedious process that, once complete, could form a bulwark against the lawsuit aiming to shut down the Southeast Alaska salmon troll fishery.