Alaska 2024 salmon season tanks in both total catch and value
Published onAlaskas 2024 salmon fishery saw double-digit declines in both catches and value.Just over 101 million salmon were harvested across Alaska, a 56% decrease from the more than 232 million fish caught in 2023. Fishermens paydays also took a big hit, with the total salmon value at $304 million. Thats down nearly 24% from $398 million last year. Those numbers are from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) preliminary harvest and value figures for the 2024 Alaska Commercial Salmon Fishery. It gets worse. Alaskas 2024 all-species catch of 101 million fish weighed in at 450 million poundsthe third lowest on record for total fish harvested and the lowest on record for total pounds harvested since 1985. For ex-vessel value (dockside), adjusted for inflation, the estimate of $304 million was the third lowest since 1975. Market conditions significantly impacted the pricing of salmon statewide and, consequently ...
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Commentary: Bad to worse- salmon numbers, dollars down
Published onThe Alaska Department of Fish and Game has finally released its summary of the 2024 commercial salmon fishing season in the 49th state, and the only good news is that the total, all-species catch crept over the 100 million fish number that defines a wholly disastrous season. Read more
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Nantucket ups limit for commercial scallopers
Published onThere are more adult scallops in Nantucket Harbor than at any time since 2012, according to the town's Natural Resources Department. That year, the island's commercial fleet harvested more than 18,000 bushels, far beyond what fishermen have caught in recent years. Read more
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2024 a tough year for Kodiak salmon fleet
Published onHundreds of commercial salmon fishermen around Kodiak Island opted not to fish this past summer. Thats according to data released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game earlier this month on Nov. 5. Read more
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Trade commission to impose tariffs on shrimp from 4 countries
Published onPort Arthur Southeast Texas fishermen are claiming victory in a battle against what they call shrimp dumping by four foreign countries that now face duties ranging from 2.84% to 221.82%, according to information provided to KFDM/Fox 4 News by the American Shrimp Processors Association. Read more
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Wash. crabbers gearing up for Dungies
Published onILWACO Crab pots are beginning to fill area ports, a sign that the states most lucrative commercial fishery is preparing for the season ahead. "We already have 200 staged down at the dock, said commercial fisherman Florian Mumford, who will fish 600 pots this season total from theF/V Vengeance. Read more
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Bristol Bay sockeye gets a boost with new PicoICE tech
Published onSince it began in 1884, the Bristol Bay sockeye fishery has transformed from a cannery fishery to a fresh frozen fishery that competes with farmed salmon in the global market. Improving the quality of the catch has become a top priority for fishermen and processors looking to fetch higher prices. But when the fish come fast and furious, as they did in the record breaking 2023 season, quality is usually the first casualty. A Norwegian company, Green Iceberg, believes it has a solution: PicoICE extremely small ice crystals that form a slurry around the fish, which chills them faster, slows bacteria growth, and holds product at 29 degrees Fahrenheit for extended periods of time. Our machines are designed to generate ultra-small ice particles that form a silky, gel-like, pumpable solution directly from fresh seawater, says Snaebjrn Gudnason, Green Icebergs chief technology officer and the inventor of the PicoICE ...
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Study reveals mislabeling of farmed salmon
Published onResearchers conducted a study on salmon samples from 67 grocery stores and 52 local sushi shops, revealing that 32.3% of sushi restaurant samples contained farmed salmon instead of the wild salmon that vendors claimed. Read more
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Prince William Sound herring opens to limited market
Published onJust two of seven vessels registered for the Prince William Sound herring fishery expected to begin harvesting when the fishery opened on Nov. 12, due to limited market conditions. Read more
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DFO: 30% of Atlantic Canada lobster catch goes unreported
Published onThe federal Department of Fisheries and Oceans suspects hundreds of millions of dollars worth of lobster is caught in Atlantic Canadian waters each year but never reported to authorities, raising both tax evasion and conservation implications in the country's largest fishery. Read more
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Red king crab sales brighten wharf in Kodiak
Published onA horde of red king crabs crawled around two black totes filled with seawater as customers picked which ones theyd take home for dinner. The first day of sales had plenty of stock. Read more
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Asian carp may be on decline in Tennessee; fishing a factor
Published onCHATTANOOGA, Tenn. Eyeballing his Garmin LiveScope screen, my guide for the day, Jason Sealock, pointed and said, The brush pile is about 20 feet that way. I dropped a jig exactly where he said, let it fall to a 10-count and began a slow retrieve. I hadnt turned the reel handle five cranks when I felt the tell-tale Thump, and quickly brought the 11-inch Kentucky Lake crappie to the boat. Read more
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Low price dampens Nantucket scallop opening
Published onNantuckets commercial scalloping season opened Friday morning as nearly 20 boats returned to the water with temperatures hovering in the 60s and sunny skies overhead. Read more
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Designer seafood poised to transform U.S. markets
Published onIt may take some time, but cell-cultured seafood is on its way to U.S. restaurants and markets. Several startups worldwide are getting into the business of growing animal cells in bioreactors on land, and a handful of those are focused on fish. Among the companies in the U.S., BlueNalu, based in San Diego, appears to be ahead of the pack. Were the first to be accepted into the National Fisheries Institute, says BlueNalu CEO Lou Cooperhouse. According to Mia Montanile, associate director of corporate communications marketing, the idea of joining NFI is to position the companys products as complementary to wild seafood rather than competitive. Thats why were working on cultured bluefin tuna, says Montanile. Its more of a niche market, and we can help reduce pressure on wild stocks. Cooperhouse adds that the company experimented with eight different species of fin fish. Were looking for the ...
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Scientists warn pink salmon boom threatens other species
Published onAlaskan scientists believe that abundant pink salmon are hurting other species, but fishery managers want more proof before cutting hatchery production. In the 2024 season, gillnetters in Bristol Bay picked more fish for less weight than ever. The sockeye returning to Bristol Bay in 2024 were, on average, the smallest the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) has ever seen. The smaller size continues a 10-year trend that could be caused by long-term changes in the environment and ecosystem, including an abundance of pink salmon. Scientists attribute the pinks population explosion to the adaptability to global warming and hatchery programs in the U.S., Russia, and Japan. Fishermen like Thomas Lopez, who recently launched a new jet-powered seiner, the Waymaker, echo the states view that cutting hatchery releases will deliver positive outcomes for other salmon stocks. Thomas Lopez photo. The pinks have a longer thermal leash ...
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2024 Highliner of the year: Leonard Leach
Published onLeonard Leach knew hed found his calling when he landed a job as a greenhorn on an Alaskan seiner in 1962. The 82-year-old fisherman has been working the waters within the Gulf of Alaska ever since, in a career spanning more than six decades as a longliner, troller, gillnetter, seiner and crabber, and is known as a mentor and leading voice in the industry. Leachs long involvement in the fishing community has earned him a place this year on the list of National Fisherman Highliners. With the knowledge hes gleaned from 62 years on the water, Leach has been a leading voice at countless meetings that have shaped the industry as we know it. But if you press him on his greatest accomplishments, the conversation quickly changes to his quest to pass on his knowledge and empower young entrants to the fisheries. Ive got 50 years of halibut ...
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