Personnel file

Here are a few notes about people making moves recently.

• Mark Fina, a former North Pacific Fishery Management Council economist who later worked for trawl operator United States Seafoods, is the new executive director of the California Wetfish Producers Association.

• Jerry McCune has retired as Cordova District Fishermen United board chairman, and Jess Rude has come aboard as executive director.

• Luke Peterson is now the Bristol Bay Fishermen's Association board president, taking over for longtime skipper David Harsila.

Some interesting observer observations

The North Pacific Observer Program 2021 Annual Report is loaded with details on fishery observer deployment rates, costs, and compliance.

It also includes the following paragraphs under the heading "Observer Safety and Professionalism." OLE refers to NOAA's Office of Law Enforcement.

In 2021, there were 14 individual observers who reported other observers for different forms of harassment. Many of these complaints occurred at shoreside processing facilities. Observer-on-observer harassment is a disturbing trend as it is important for observers to support one another and work together. This is a topic of discussion during observer training.

During the course of different investigations, OLE received several reports that observers were engaging in sexual relations with crewmembers. Observer providers are required to have a policy in place that addresses sexual relations with crew. Sexual relations with crew can be viewed as a conflict of interest and may negatively impact data collection. OLE did not receive any reports of observers coming back to the vessels intoxicated, which has been a complaint in previous years.

Freezer barge proposal to BBRSDA fizzles

Details in this update.

State hammers Silver Bay Seafoods

Silver Bay Seafoods has been penalized $467,469 for water quality violations at Bristol Bay, the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation says.

Trawl operator sued

A Tokyo insurer has filed a lawsuit against United States Seafoods, claiming the Seattle-based factory trawl operator shipped frozen fish to Japan that lacked "proper freshness."

A big week

This is a big week in Alaska fisheries.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is meeting in Sitka. Janet Coit, head of the National Marine Fisheries Service, is expected to be there.

And the board of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association is meeting tomorrow in Dillingham on a proposed $15 million processing venture (the Circle Seafoods freezer barge proposal).

The revolving door, again

Glenn Merrill, a high-ranking official in the Alaska office of the National Marine Fisheries Service, has "separated from federal service" and "accepted a position in the private sector," this agency memo says.

Deckboss hears reliably that Merrill is going to work for Glacier Fish Co., a top trawl operator.

Merrill was assistant regional administrator in the Sustainable Fisheries Division.

His transition to the private sector means Merrill will vacate his seat as the U.S. government representative on the International Pacific Halibut Commission.

This certainly isn't the first time we've seen a regulator jump ship to join the ranks of the regulated. It happened last year.