Bringing Salmon home to the Columbia River

The Tyee

By: Mark Thomas, Chief Keith Crow, and Jason Andrew

August 15th, 2024

An Indigenous-led, cross-border approach has seen great successes. But it needs BC and Canada’s ongoing financial support.

The Columbia River was once the source of the greatest salmon runs in the world. Millions of life-giving sockeye and giant chinook swam upriver to spawn each year.

The beloved performing arts showcase is back this September on Granville Island.

The Columbia’s headwaters are in British Columbia. The upper 40 per cent of the river winds through the province before entering the U.S. in Washington state and emptying into the Pacific in Oregon.

An epic 2,000-kilometre journey.

But massive dams, beginning with Grand Coulee in Washington, have blocked salmon from returning to the headwaters of the Columbia River for almost a century. In the 1960s, under the Columbia River Treaty, more dams were built without consultation with our Indigenous nations on our unceded territories in B.C.

Read more here

Dream of Crewing an Alaskan Fishing Boat? Start Here

The Tyee

By Brendan Jones

June 28th, 2024

As a student at Vermont’s Middlebury College, Lea LeGardeur loved being on the water. Her diminutive size, booming voice and natural ability with the rudder made her a fit for the coxswain position with the Middlebury men’s rowing team. She spent 2 1/2 years steering the group.

“I got accustomed to spending time with guys twice my size.”

Which proved an asset for LeGardeur, who, after teaching geography at Middlebury, decided to commercial fish in Alaska.

LeGardeur’s break came when she discovered the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, or ALFA, based in the small fishing town of Sitka, Alaska. The organization had an extensive record of fighting foreign fishing, trawling and depletion of resources. ALFA had recently secured a grant to fund its Crew Training Program, or CTP.

READ FULL ARTICLE HERE

Progress Report: Update on the Sitka Community Boatyard at GPIP

July 19, 2024

The City of Sitka is moving toward the construction phase of a haul out and boatyard at the Gary Paxton Industrial Park.  Below is an update from the July 18, 2024 GPIP meeting provided by Jeremy Serka of Sitka Custom Marine.  Jeremy is under contract with ALFA to assist with boatyard development and fleet outreach.

Michael Harmon, the cities engineer working on the haulout project, described how the City settled on the final scope of work to be completed by the contractors. The final price is $9,281,000 and is set as a “do not exceed” limit for the contractors: Western Marine, K and E Sitka, and Sitka Electric.

PND- preconstruction, permitting and design services = $1,347,537 or 14% of the project,

Western Marine- piers = $6,279.362 or 68% of the project

Travel Hoist purchase = $1,377,800 or 15% of the project

Construction management and CBS indirect costs = $276,341 or 3% of the project.

The scope of the project was reduced due to unexpected pile depths. The following was cut from the project: Total cost around one million dollars.

·      Concrete and hydronic heater coils for wash pad ($500,000). The sump and filtration will be installed but a temporary liner (tarp) will need to be use when washing boats. There is currently no funding for this item but some talk of maybe a potential operator supplying the liner.

·      Electrical hook up and lighting at wash pad ($165,000) – the engineers designed a light pedestal that had some large outlets for plugging in spider boxes to provide power to adjacent vessels near the wash pad.

·      Special investigations and testing: ( $80,000) – there are a handful of potential environmental inspections that could be required ; such as concerns with sea stars and bubble curtain mitigation.

·      Civil / storm drains and expansion of yard around piers to accommodate parking and access to floating dock. ( $310,000)  The engineers had two more storm drains in the uplands to aid in the filtration of any runoff from the yard. Now they will need to grade the yard into one primary storm drain. The overall footprint of the waterside fill was shortened. The extended fill would have extended towards the creek side of the piers to give more room for parking and loading ramp for people exiting their vessel onto a dock.

Possible sources of money to finish phase 1 or contingency .

·      GPIP funds that were never allocated, or money left over for certain projects, may include $100,000 that was allocated towards wash pad in the early days of the project.

·      Interest that has accrued on the 8.1 million hospital money. The money has been earning 4% interest over the last two years, which equates to $648,000. Thor Christianson suggested that these funds should go towards the project; the city administrator appeared to disagree.

Permitting

Permitting is set to be finished in October and is currently in the public comment process. There is some worry that Sitka Tribe may have some opposition to the project as this has happened in the past. Objections could delay the start of construction.

Marine travel lift purchase

A final price of $1,377,800 was settled on for the 150 ton lift from Kendrick Equipment. The machine is set to be built but the contract is still not signed because Kendrick Equipment must provide proof of a bond before the city can sign. We are waiting on them but they say it won’t hold up production.

RFQ ( Request for Qualifications) for haul out operations

·      The GPIP board approved sending the RFQ to the assembly for approval and then solicitation. The RFQ is simply looking for qualified individuals to develop the scope of work to be incorporated into an RFP that will eventually select an operator based on the lowest bid.

·      The administration suggested that there may be some out-of-town interest in running the yard. Bidders who meet the requirements of the RFQ will work with a city group to determine what should be included in the RFP.   The scope of work will include such things as:  pricing for the haul out, storage, electricity and washdown services, lease of available workspace, management of workspaces, maintenance of equipment and property, liability insurance. environmental reporting, billing, etc.

Farm Bill Progress to Support Fishing and Seafood Industries

National Fishermen

June 12th, 2024

NF staff

On Tuesday, June 11, Senate Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry Committee Ranking Member John Boozman released a Farm Bill framework that includes several provisions advancing significant and meaningful benefits to fishing and seafood businesses and communities.

Read here

OPINION: Peltola pulls for Alaska fishermen

Anchorage Daily News

By Linda Behnken

June 9, 2024

Fish news out recently shows us once again that Alaska’s fishermen have a rare champion in Rep. Mary Peltola. Mary introduced two bills that focus on funding NOAA’s bycatch reduction program and advancing critical regulations on trawl gear.

Wild seafood provides food security and livelihoods across the country, but nowhere is that more true than in Alaska. We are fortunate to have a leader who not only has her own boots in fisheries but is bold enough to drive hard conversations around our biggest challenges.

In the North Pacific, that includes bycatch management and habitat protection — not only as a foundation for sustainable management, but as a critical part of climate resilience. We’ve seen the complete collapse of two iconic Alaska crab species, and elimination of subsistence fishing on major rivers with communities highly dependent upon that food resource. We’ve witnessed the abrupt crash of Gulf of Alaska cod following the 2014-2016 marine heat wave. As fish stocks and ocean conditions change more quickly and more substantially than ever before, we need conservation tools that match the pace with that change to safeguard ocean health.

For years, subsistence, commercial, and recreational fishermen in Alaska have asked for meaningful action by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council to protect fish stocks and fish habitat. Countless constituents have voiced concern about the impacts of large-scale trawling on an ecosystem made increasingly vulnerable by climate change. And while the federal fisheries management process is slow and deliberate by design — and the nature of these issues has made it even more so — the hard truth is that the impacts are quickly out-pacing action, and we cannot afford to wait.

Along with most of Alaska’s fishermen, Rep. Peltola recognizes the need for action. She also recognizes the importance of management being ultimately driven by the regional management councils and their stakeholder processes. This is why her bills focus on empowering progressive regional change — by funding the Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program already championed by North Pacific fleets, and by calling on the councils to do the important work of clearly defining the functions and limitations of trawl gear.

The latter has been a particular point of concern for Alaskans over the past several years. Trawl fisheries make up 97% of the fishing footprint in the North Pacific. That means that if trawling has unassessed negative impacts on habitat or fish stocks, then the potential for harm is significant. This has become the most concerning in the regulation of trawl gear in contact with the ocean floor.

Pelagic trawl is often described as a “mid-water” trawl, operating off the seabed and away from the fragile habitats and organisms living there. This is theoretically why pelagic trawls are allowed to fish in areas and at times when bottom trawling is banned. The pelagic trawl fleet in the North Pacific primarily fishes for pollock, the largest food fishery on the planet. It turns out their nets also spend a great deal of time in contact with the ocean floor. In fact, Council analysis estimates as much as 60% of the time for catcher vessels, and as much as 100% of the time deployed for catcher processors.

North Pacific regulations do not limit the time that pelagic trawls may be in contact with the seabed, nor do they define pelagic trawl operations in the context of proximity to the seafloor. This is a critical gap in our sustainability matrix and Mary is trying to correct it.

As an Alaskan and a commercial fisherman, I’m grateful to have a Representative who sees the value and potential of our fisheries and takes meaningful steps to protect them. These dialogues push us to be leaders in sustainable fisheries, to learn from our challenges and innovate. This is the kind of work that will get fishing communities through unprecedented times, and it is what good stewardship looks like — hard conversations about how to adapt and improve today, so that we can all go fishing tomorrow.

Linda Behnken is a commercial fisherman from Sitka, and the Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association.

https://www.adn.com/opinions/2024/06/09/opinion-peltola-pulls-for-alaska-fishermen/

NMFS issues Positive 90-day finding on wild fish conservancy petition to list alaska chinook populations under the endangered species act

On Friday, May 24, the National Marine Fisheries Service issued a positive 90-day finding on the Wild Fish Conservancy’s petition to list Chinook stocks that spawn in rivers that flow into the Gulf of Alaska as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Act. These stocks include Chinook populations that range from Kodiak Island, Cook Inlet and Prince William Sound to Southeast Alaska. The Wild Fish Conservancy, an anti-small boat commercial fishing group from Washington State, claims that Alaska is degrading Chinook habitat, overharvesting Chinook, and failing to implement measures that provide protections for Alaska’s Chinook stocks. 

NMFS’ 90 day finding begins a 60-day public comment period seeking information about Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon from the public, government agencies, Alaska Native organizations, scientists, conservation groups, fishing groups, and other interested parties. The agency seeks information on Chinook ecology and abundance trends, fishery impacts, threats, habitat conditions, and the effectiveness of ADF&G management measures. The comment deadline July 23, 2024. Fishermen can submit comments to Gulf of Alaska Chinook Salmon Petition, docket# NOAA-NMFS-2024-0042 at the regulations website: https://www.regulations.gov The Wild Fish Conservancy’s petition is available at: https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/endangeredspecies-conservation/candidate-speciesunder-endangered-species-act .

Peltola Introduces Pair of Fish Bills to Restrict Bottom Trawling, Reduce Bycatch

Representative Mary Peltola (AK-AL) introduced a pair of bills to restrict bottom trawling and reduce bycatch – the bipartisan Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act and the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act.

“Since coming to Congress, I’ve worked to make fish and fishing policy the issue of national importance it deserves to be,” said Rep. Peltola. “I know fish, I know Alaska, and I know how to work with people in both parties to get stuff done.”

The Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act supports Alaskan fishermen working to reduce bycatch by:

• Authorizing the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)’s Bycatch Reduction and Engineering Program (BREP) at $10 million for five years.

• Establishing the Bycatch Mitigation Assistance Fund, to be administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, and used to help fishermen and vessel owners purchase new gear or technology to reduce bycatch – such as camera systems, lights, and salmon excluders.

View full bill text HERE. Read a one pager on the legislation HERE. The bipartisan bill is cosponsored by Rep. Garrett Graves (R-LA-06) and Rep. Jared Huffman (D-CA-02). 

The Best Fish Is Also the Most Local. Why Is It So Hard to Find?

New York Times

By Melissa Clark

April 25, 2024

Seafood caught in nearby waters has long been left out of the farm-to-table movement. But these people have set out to get it into stores and restaurants.

“Every year, we lose more fishing families because of economics,” Mr. Boyle said. “The

kids feel like they have to leave because they can’t make a living.”

Some 65 percent to 80 percent of the seafood consumed in the United States is imported,

while the country exports much of its seafood (worth about $5 billion in 2023), said

Joshua Stoll, an associate professor of marine policy at the University of Maine and a

founder of the Local Catch Network. Sending seafood overseas shifts a significant portion

of profits away from fishing communities that desperately need it.

Read full article here

After overshadowing climate talks, the myth of ‘circularity’ looms over the UN plastics treaty

Fortune

BY Judith Enck and Pamela Miller

April 24, 2024 at 3:44 AM MDT

Delegates from 191 countries meet once again this month for the UN plastics treaty talks in Ottawa, and they need to avoid falling into industry traps that will hinder real progress. Dowchair and CEO Jim Fitterling’s recent Commentary in Fortune is a perfect example of how to ensure failure in Ottawa. If delegates commit to the priorities he outlined, they will fail to implement real solutions to the growing problem caused by his company and companies like it.

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A first step toward a global price on carbon

New York Times

By Manuela Andreoni and Max Bearak

March 28th, 2024

It didn’t make many headlines, but last week, at a meeting of the International Maritime Organization, something potentially world-changing happened.

The United Nations agency, which regulates the shipping industry, essentially committed to creating the world’s first global carbon price.

Read it here.