Despite relief funds, Alaska fishermen still hurting from trade imbalances
Published onAlaska fishermen can increase their federal trade relief funds by adding higher poundage prices for 15 fish and shellfish species. While its welcomed, the payouts are a Band-Aid on a bigger and ongoing problem. Through Dec. 14, fishermen can apply to the U.S. Department of Agriculture Seafood Trade Relief Program (STRP) if their bottom line has been hurt by the Trump administrations ongoing trade standoffs, primarily with China. STRP is part of a federal relief strategy to support fishermen and other producers while the administration continues to work on free, fair and reciprocal trade deals to open more markets to help American producers compete globally, according to a USDA fact sheet. The damages to fishermen are calculated as the difference with a trade tariff and the baseline without it based on 2019 catches. For cod, for example, that adds up to an extra $0.14 a pound. So ...
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USDA to pay $530 million to fishermen hit by trade wars
Published onThe U.S. Department of Agriculture will provide $530 million in relief payments for fishermen taking a hit from retaliatory foreign trade tariffs during 2019, using economic modeling to calculate how much trade wars have cost the industry. The Seafood Trade Relief Program ensures fishermen and other U.S. producers will not stand alone in facing unjustified retaliatory tariffs while President Trump continues working to solidify better and stronger trade deals around the globe, USDA Secretary Sonny Perdue said in announcing the program. Promised by Trump after a June 5 roundtable meeting with Maine fishermen, the STRP comes out of a June 24 presidential memorandum directing the same tariff relief for marine fisheries as for farming. USDA experts use economic modeling to calculate how much tariffs reduced the value of each species, and how much per pound fishermen should be reimbursed. For example, lobster exports were hit hard by China ...
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Why everything you’ve heard about ‘ropeless’ crab fishing gear is false
Published onIs the so-called ropeless fishing gear the silver bullet for solving the perceived problem of marine mammal interactions in Californias crab fisheries? Several profit-driven environmental groups, including Oceana, would like the public and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife to believe these baseless claims. Yet these groups are ramping up efforts to force Californias historic and economically most important fishery which creates hundreds of millions of dollars annually for working families to adopt expensive, impractical, and unworkable new fishing gear, which would force most crab fishermen out of business. But the problem is that neither the science, nor any other reliable data, support their false claims. Ropeless gear is not a silver bullet in fact, its actually dangerous and ironically, it still has ropes. Nor are marine mammal populations currently at any significant risk. Francine Kershaw, staff scientist with the Natural Resources Defense Council, has misleadingly asserted ...
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Alaska update: Salmon landings at 13.6 million, but the fish are small; longliners have taken a third of TAC
Published onAlaskas salmon catch was nearing14 million fish as of July 7; more thantwo-thirds were sockeyes, mostly from Bristol Bay, where catches continued to build. The year-to-date "statewide harvest of about 9.7 million sockeye is 56 percent and 62 percent behind the 2019 and 5-year average pace, respectively," said Garrett Evridge of the McDowell Group, in a weekly report for the state. "The deficit is improving though, due primarily to Bristol Bay which exceeded daily harvest of1 million fish for the first time this season on Friday," July 3. Evridge also noted that the second week of July is typically the peak for Bristol Bay production, but that the data so far "indicates a late salmon return. Most other sockeye-producing regions have improved from last week but generally lag historical levels."Anecdotal reports said the average sizes of sockeye are down at Bristol Bay and ...
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California crabbing changes draw fire from both sides
Published onProposed rule changes for commercial Dungeness crab fishing in California are being criticized by both fishermen and environmental activists, with captains saying the plan overreacts to the hazard of whale and sea turtle entanglements in gear. On the other side, the Center for Biological Diversity whose 2017 lawsuit against the state Department of Fish and Wildlife pressured the agency to make changes says the changes dont go far enough and should mandate a conversion to so-called ropeless gear. The consensus among industry is the proposed regulations constitute an existential threat to our livelihoods, and in fact the continuation of the entire West Coast commercial fishing industry, said Ben Platt, president of the California Coastal Crab Association, during a June 29 online public hearing on the states Risk Assessment and Mitigation Program. Humpback whales, the only species listed under ESA (Endangered Species Act) which has any actual co-occurrence with ...
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Oregon fishing couple lost in crab boat sinking with lone survivor
Published onA fishing couple was lost at sea when their boat the F/V Aquarius sank off the coast of Florence, Ore., in the early morning hours of June 29. Amber and Kyle Novelli were reportedly the only active commercial crabbers in Florence, where they were known for an award-winning chowder. Their deckhand reportedly was found ashore by rescue crews. Just before 2 a.m., Coast Guard Sector North Bend received a distress call from the captain of the Aquarius, saying that all crew members were abandoning ship. The vessel had struck the south jetty in the Siuslaw River Bar and was beginning to take on water, according to a Coast Guard bulletin. A Coast Guard helicopter and rescue crews from Station Siuslaw River and Station Umpqua River got underway to assist with the search. Conditions were reported as 6 to 8-foot seas with occasional 10-foot waves, breaking ...
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On the Homefront: Pay it forward
Published onI woke up on Saturday looking forward to a great three-day weekend. That is, until I learned that San Franciscos historic Pier 45 (Fishermans Wharf) was on fire. Thankfully, through the efforts of the San Francisco Fire Department the fire, was contained to one building on the Pier. That only one firefighter was injured (a hand injury) is a blessing. Then my thoughts shifted to my friends (fishermen and processors, alike) and a very horrible feeling took form in the pit of my stomach. My next thought was to reach out and offer to help in any way I could because weve been there, and we commercial fishermen are family. You see, back in November 1987, our boat the Langosta II capsized at the harbor entrance of Morro Bay. That was one of the blackest days of our lives. Just the morning before, we had been at the top ...
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Wharf fire in San Francisco causes millions in damages, gear losses
Published onA fire broke out on Pier 45 at Fishermans Wharf in San Francisco early Saturday morning, May 23, destroying a warehouse and as much as $4 million worth of commercial fishing gear inside. The 4-alarm blaze shot flames more than 100 feet into the air with plumes of smoke rising high above the San Francisco Bay before being contained by the afternoon. At least 150 firefighters responded and were able to keep the flames from spreading to other commercial fishing facilities on the wharf, said San Francisco fire spokesman Lt. Jon Baxter. The World War II-era SS Jeremiah O'Brien ship tied up alongside the warehouse was also saved. Around 15 buyers and processors are located on the wharf, said Larry Collins, president of the San Francisco Community Fishing Association, but none of the businesses sustained damage to offices, freezers and production facilities. The facilities did not lose ...
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Three rescued in Oregon from overturned crab boat
Published onFirefighters cut through the hull of an overturned crab boat to rescue three crew members Tuesday night at the entrance to Coos Bay, Ore. A Coast Guard MH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew on a routine training flight spotted the 38-foot Pacific Miner struggling in heavy seas, before its halogen deck lights suddenly disappeared. Shortly after getting a radio message from the air crew, the Sector North Bend command center got notification that the Pacific Miner’s EPIRB was activated and transmitting from the submerged boat. Two 47-foot motor lifeboats were launched to search for the crew, and the Hauser Fire Department mounted a search along with the North Bend Fire Department, Coos County Sheriff’s Office and state police. More than three hours later the boat was located upside down near the tip of the north jetty at the bay entrance. Firefighters used a reciprocating saw to hack ...
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Dungeness fleet thankful for Nov. 22 start
For the last several years California's Dungeness fleet has been trapped between domoic acid delays, slow meat fill, and accusations of whale entanglements that shortened their season on one end or the other (or both, as was the case last year). Negotiations last week had the start set for Saturday, Nov. 23. That would mean the fleet could drop pots on the 22nd. But it would also put a serious crunch on the Thanksgiving market, which is the most lucrative time of year for the fleet. Fleet representatives voiced those concerns to Charlton Bonham, director of California's Department of Fish and Wildlife, and won a one-day reprieve to drop pots on the 21st and start the season officially on Nov. 22 for Bodega Bay and points south. "Losing a week means losing millions of dollars at a key time for the market," said Noah Oppenheim, executive director ...
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Feature: Dungie deal
In a settlement over whale entanglement, California’s Dungeness crab fishermen lose the spring season The worst-case scenario has been averted — no multiyear closure of California’s Dungeness crab fishery. But fishermen will feel the sting for years to come after a settlement in a lawsuit over whale and sea turtle entanglements has closed spring crabbing in the state for the foreseeable future. And the fishermen are not happy. This story was first published in the July issue of National Fisherman. Subscribe today for digital and print access. “The settlement is going to be extremely painful and extremely difficult to deal with,” said Noah Oppenheim, executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations, noting that millions of dollars in product will be left in the water this year. “But this was the best possible deal that was acceptable to all parties.” At issue is a 2017 ...
Read MoreFish Wife on a tear
Four years of California crabbers’ work on the whale entanglement committee has been thrown out the window. The Center for Biological Diversity sued the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (in my opinion, legalized harassment), and a “settlement” was reached. The lawsuit was based on the fact that the Department of Fish and Wildlife had failed to obtain a whale incidental take permit. The judge in the case indicated that she would side with the Center for Biological Diversity if this case went to court. That means pretty much all the good work toward solutions to whale entanglements by commercial fishermen was wasted. The crabbers spent a lot of time away from their boats and families, while taking a lot of crap from other fishermen. Time that was spent in good faith was wasted; we were cut off at our knees by CBD and Fish and Wildlife. This “settlement” has ...
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Oregon marks banner Dungie season despite light harvest along the coast
Though a few factors ganged up to threaten the traditional opener of the Oregon Dungeness crab fishery, the fleet of more than 400 vessels went on to put in a banner year. “Everything that could possibly line up against us did,” said Hugh Link, executive director with the Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission. Domoic acid, that toxic villain of recent seasons past, was present in some areas. But those areas weren’t likely to see pots splashed anyway, as the crab were “light,” meaning their shells hadn’t filled with enough meat to make them favorable in the market. But that’s not all. “On Jan. 15, we still hadn’t settled on a price, the weather was bad, and the crab were light,” said Tim Novotny, communications manager for the commission. Novotny notes that the prices settled on Jan. 22, and the fleet left to set gear under a rule ...
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Dungeness crab season delayed up the West Coast
State regulators in California, Oregon and Washington have announced that the commercial Dungeness crab seasons will be delayed until at least Dec. 16. On Monday, the California Department of Fish and Game announced the opener would be delayed in Mendocino, Humboldt and Del Norte counties as a result of poor meat quality test results. Officials said an additional round of testing could be scheduled before Dec. 7 to determine whether the fishery can open Dec. 16 or will need to be further delayed. Tests along the coast of Washington also revealed inadequate meat levels in most crabs, and officials announced the opener would be delayed until at least Dec. 16 to allow more time for crabs to fill with more meat. "It's not unusual for crabs to need more time to fatten up," said Dan Ayres, coastal shellfish manager for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, on Nov ...
Read MoreDomoic acid shuts down Oregon Dungies
Late on Thursday, Feb. 2, Oregon fisheries officials announced the closure of the commercial crab fishery from the north jetty of Coos Bay to Heceta Head as a result of elevated levels of domoic acid in crab samples tested by the state. All crab that has been landed from the closed area since Jan. 25 and currently being harvested will have the viscera removed by Oregon Department of Agriculture-licensed processors to protect consumers from the biotoxin. Crab fishermen will be allowed in the closed area over the next week to clear out their fishing operations, after which a full fishing prohibition goes into place in the closed area. Crab meat remains safe for consumption. Domoic acid levels are elevated only in the viscera of crab sampled and tested from the closed area. The area is also closed to recreational harvest. Grounds south of Coos Bay and north of Heceta ...
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