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Which tastes better:
Farm pen product or wild salmon?
We find out
A simple question occurred to us last summer: Why should someone buy wild salmon? Obviously, because it tastes better.
But we couldn’t find much information to back up the claim. So, we decided to test the thesis ourselves.
In August, we held a taste test in a restaurant in New York City’s Theater District. As tasters, we invited folks who dine out often in New York. That was the only criteria.
The test was fair. When sourcing the wild fish, we bought salmon sight-unseen and had it shipped from the fish market directly to Manhattan. There was no high-grading.
We bought the farmed Atlantic salmon in a seafood market in New York.
Here’s what our participants tasted:
- Farmed Atlantic salmon
- Fresh wild Pacific king salmon
- Fresh wild Pacific sockeye salmon
- Frozen wild Pacific king salmon
- Frozen wild Pacific sockeye salmon
The results are simple: All of our tasters rated the wild fish far, far better than the Atlantic salmon.
That means that, even in winter, when very little fresh wild salmon is available, the frozen wild fish tasted far, far better than the “fresh” farmed product.
Download the complete results here. [PDF approx. 6MB]
Enjoy!
Maryland: Hatchery workers spread fish disease
CUMBERLAND, MD - State fishery workers accidentally spread a deadly fish disease by moving sick fish from one facility to another, officials said.Maryland’s Department of Natural Resources said the parasite that causes whirling disease, fatal to some trout, might have been spread by mud on the feet of birds or bears.
The agency's discovery of the parasite at rearing stations in Garrett County in January 2007 prompted the destruction of more than 80,000 rainbow and brown trout that were to be stocked this spring in Maryland lakes and streams.
The DNR has replaced those fish with trout purchased from private hatcheries.
"We view this as a very serious situation in Maryland," DNR Fisheries Director Howard King said Monday. "Rest assured that we will remain vigilant."
– EcoNews
Oregon: Trawlers tied up on strike in March
ASTORIA, OR. – Nearly two dozen trawl fishermen who operate boats out of Astoria and Warrenton went on strike since March 1 in an effort led by the Fisherman's Marketing Association to negotiate for more reliable prices from processors coastwide.Tim Horgan, chief operating officer for Pacific Seafoods, which owns multiple plants up and down the West Coast, said there were still a few boats fishing for his company toward the end of March.
The majority of fishermen, though, were reacting to confusion over the price of Dover sole earlier this year.
Since 2003, fishermen have moved away from collective bargaining through the FMA, and membership in the organization has declined. Most fishermen were conducting their own price negotiations with individual processors. But when a change in the allowable limit of Dover sole catch destabilized the market for groundfish, fishermen came back together to demand consistent prices. Local membership in the FMA has doubled since February 2007, according to district leader Bob Williams.
Local fishermen say they see the FMA as the only way to communicate their needs to processors. Horgan said the situation has left Pacific Seafoods customers “high and dry.”
– The Daily Astorian
International: ‘Dry’ Shipping of Live/Fresh Seafood
Seafood companies in Australia and Japan are partnering with the inventor of a method that allows live or fresh fish to be shipped without water or ice.The process involves shipping the fishes upright after putting them in a state of hibernation. That is triggered by bathing the fish in a very proprietary material.
Marine scientist Bonifacio Comandante of the Philippines is inventor of the waterless transport technology. It has won several international awards, and attracted investors from Australia and Japan. The method has been used in 12 species of fish, some hibernating for more than 12 hours.
Besides live shipping, Comandante says the waterless method can also be used as a timing tool for fish processing. Its biggest money saver comes with shipping fresh fish without the need for ice. He said that saves between 20-25 percent.
Comandante's company - Buhi International Group - is awaiting an international patent before fully commercializing the technology in selected countries. He would like to network with Alaska producers.
Get more info or contact Boni Comandante.
– Laine Welch
Grouper Being Eaten to Extinction
HONG KONG – Twenty of the world’s 162 species of grouper will soon be extinct without better management or conservation measures, according to the first in depth assessment of these important commercial fish.Groupers are the key to the multimillion dollar live reef food fish trade based in Hong Kong, and around the world. Consumers pay up to $50 per kilogram (2.2 pounds) for grouper.
Eight grouper species are currently listed by IUCN-The World Conservation Union as being in danger of extinction, and the new assessment proposes adding 12 more. A panel of 20 experts from 10 nations determined the extinction threat facing groupers at a recent workshop in Hong Kong.
The threatened groupers include two species of coral trout grouper, which are mainstays of the live reef food fish trade in Hong Kong. Both face heavy and unmanaged fishing pressure that is rapidly reducing their populations.
In North and South America, too, heavy fishing of grouper for the chilled fish markets poses a threat to their survival.
Some species of grouper live more than 50 years. Several species only reach reproductive maturity later in life, making them particularly vulnerable to fishing before they mature.
Commercial fishing that targets reproductive gatherings of adults further hinders replenishment of unmanaged populations, the workshop concluded.
– Environmental News Service
International: How do you thaw a frozen monster squid?
NEW ZEALAND – How do you thaw a frozen monster squid?Scientists say an industrial-scale microwave may need to be used to defrost a colossal squid caught in the Antarctic last month.
The squid has been frozen since caught by New Zealand fisherman in deep Antarctic waters in February.
Scientists believe it is by far the largest specimen of the colossal squid ever caught and want to preserve the unique specimen for study.
Squid expert Steve O'Shea of Auckland University of Technology said the Mesonychoteuthis hamiltoni measured 10 meters (33ft) in length and weighed 495kgs (1,089lbs).
O'Shea said because it would take days for the colossal squid to defrost at room temperature, its outer flesh could rot by the time the center thawed. He said it could probably fit into a microwave used by industry, like those used for treating lumber.
It took fishermen two hours to reel in the squid, which they caught while fishing for Patagonian toothfish in deep Antarctic waters in mid-February.
The squid is currently being kept at New Zealand's national museum, Te Papa Tongarewa, in Wellington, where officials hope to embalm and display it.
- BBC
Australia: Shark Fishing Hurts Sea lions
Research in South Australia has found gill net shark fishing and lobster fishing could be threatening the endangered Australian sea lion.Marine biologist Simon Goldsworthy, of the South Australian Research and Development Institute, says while New Zealand fur seals survive in South Australian waters, sea lions are floundering.
"The Australian sea lion has a very small population relative to the New Zealand fur seals, only about 10 to 12,000 seals in the state," Goldsworthy said.
"It is strange that we have these two species, one's doing well and the other species appears to be struggling.
"We suspect that the reason is the lack of recovery and low population size, [it] may well be issues to do with interactions with fisheries and this has clearly been identified as part of the Commonwealth Government's species recovery plan."
– Australian Broadcasting Corp.
North Carolina: Mackerel Catch to be Limited
HATTERAS -- The door to another fishery could close on North Carolina commercial fishermen.The South Atlantic Fishery Management Council (SAFMC) has proposed a reduction in the coastwide total allowable catches for king and Spanish mackerel under Amendment 18 of the Coastal Migratory Pelagics Fishery Management Plan.
Under the council's preferred action, the total allowable catch for king mackerel would drop from 10 million to 7.1 million pounds.
The total allowable catch for Spanish mackerel would drop from 7.04 to 6.7 million pounds. The limits include both a commercial and recreational fishing.
Gregg Waugh, SAFMC executive director, said the reductions are based on stock assessments warning that over-fishing might occur.
He said the council is also concerned that new, lower quotas for snapper-grouper species and resulting closures of those fisheries could result in more fishing pressure on king mackerel stocks.
– Outer Banks Sentinel
Alaska: Alaska Science Improves Chinook Catch
SAUKE BAY, Alaska – Fisheries scientists at Little Port Walter Marine Station in Southeast Alaska are discovering ways to enhance salmon populations without harming wild stocks, adding salmon to local catches.Commercial and sport fishery catches in 2006 in Southeast Alaska included 3,600 Chinook salmon that originated from NOAA Fisheries research at Little Port Walter, according to tags returned to scientists by both sport and commercial fishermen.
"Research projects at Little Port Walter are having significant positive impacts on Chinook salmon fisheries in Southeast Alaska," said Bill Heard, who leads the Marine Salmon Interactions studies at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center's Auke Bay Laboratory in Juneau.
Each year tagged juvenile Chinook salmon from various studies are released at Little Port Walter. They spend from two to five years in the ocean before maturing and returning to the station.
"While some of these fish are caught in fisheries every year, 2006 was an exceptional year with much larger than normal contributions to regional fisheries," said Heard.
NOAA scientists are now analyzing tags from released groups to determine overall marine survival rates.
– NOAA Fisheries in Alaska
Fishermen’s Group at Highest Membership
The United Fishermen of Alaska group membership has reached an all-time high of 36 member groups, with the addition of the Alaska Trollers Association, the United Cook Inlet Drift Association and the Alaska Shellfish Association."This marks a milestone for UFA and points to the strength and breadth of UFA as the statewide commercial fishing umbrella association," said UFA President Bob Thorstenson Jr.
UFA President Thorstenson, who is stepping down after seven years service in the volunteer position, will be replaced by Joe Childers. Childers, who currently trolls for salmon from Juneau, represents Western Gulf of Alaska Fishermen on the UFA board and was elected to serve as its next president at UFA's January meeting.
Deborah Lyons of Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association was elected as Vice President, formerly held by Childers. Duncan Fields will continue in his position as Secretary. The new officer positions take effect on June15.
UFA's board of directors includes the 36 member groups and four at-large representatives elected by individual members.
Elections for UFA's four at-large board seats will be conducted this spring.
– UFA
Washington D.C.: Groups Oppose ‘Organic’ Tag for Farmed Fish
WASHINGTON - The National Organic Standards Board (NOSB) Livestock Committee is recommending that fish raised in open net-cages and those using wild caught fish in their diet be excluded from forthcoming (USDA) organic aquaculture standards.The Pure Salmon Campaign and the Coastal Alliance for Aquaculture Reform are commending the committee for upholding the principles of organic production and are urging the NOSB to follow their lead when they meet in Washington, D.C. to discuss the committee's organic aquaculture recommendations.
The groups have offered support for organic certification of non-carnivorous fish farmed in closed systems, but stress that farming carnivorous fish in open net-cage systems violates core organic principles.
Consumers are increasingly seeing imported seafood products labeled as "organic" in U.S. supermarkets. These products originate in countries that allow certain practices, such as the use of open net-cages and the administration of chemicals to control parasites and diseases, to be considered organic.
"Under U.S. law there is no such thing as organic seafood right now," stated Joseph Mendelson, Legal Director for the Center for Food Safety.
– PR News Wire
Oregon: Sea Lions Hurt Fish
PORTLAND – California sea lions have returned to the Bonneville Dam to feast on spring Chinook salmon as they swim up the Columbia River to spawn.Government employees dragged out the usual arsenal of large firecrackers, obnoxious noises and rubber bullets to fend off Steller sea lions, which prefer sturgeon, and reported some success.
But the same tactics have famously flopped in the past against the Californians, who, like the Stellers, are federally protected and seem to know it. They prey on salmon that school up at the base of the dam waiting to go up the fish ladders toward spawning grounds.
For some reason, the Stellars have been easier to scare off.
'What's very impressive is the fact that the Steller sea lions are fundamentally gone,' said Charles Corrarino of the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife in a newsletter report on the hazing. 'They skedaddled.'
California sea lions are protected under the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act, and the Stellers are listed under the stricter Endangered Species Act.
Oregon, Washington and Idaho applied last year for federal permission to kill some of the more troublesome California sea lions, saying they have exhausted their options. Approval, if it comes, could take years.
Animal protection groups say agricultural runoff, the dams themselves and damage to spawning grounds are far-greater threats than the sea lions to the fragile salmon runs, which have shrunk to a small fraction of their historic highs.
– Associated Press
Australia: Fishing Hurts Sea Lions
Research in South Australia has found gill net shark fishing and lobster fishing could be threatening the endangered Australian sea lion.Marine biologist Dr. Simon Goldsworthy, from the South Australian Research and Development Institute, says while New Zealand fur seals survive in South Australian waters, sea lions are floundering.
"The Australian sea lion has a very small population relative to the New Zealand fur seals, only about 10 to 12,000 seals in the state," Dr. Goldsworthy said.
"It is strange that we have these two species, one's doing well and the other species appears to be struggling.
"We suspect that the reason is the lack of recovery and low population size, [it] may well be issues to do with interactions with fisheries and this has clearly been identified as part of the Commonwealth Government's species recovery plan."
– Australian Broadcasting Corp.
Maine: Regulations Killing Portland Fishing Port
PORTLAND -- There aren't as many boats unloading their fish here as a few years ago. There's not much fish, either. In fact, times are so tough that the port's commercial fish auction is letting go its longtime auctioneer to save money.And now that Maine lawmakers have scrapped a proposal to let trawler fishermen sell lobsters they inadvertently catch in their nets, the Portland Fish Exchange's future is even more uncertain.
As the New England fishing fleet struggles, Maine fishermen are at a decided disadvantage to their counterparts in Massachusetts, said Bill Gerencer, a seafood buyer for M.F. Foley Co., based in Boston and New Bedford, Mass.
Maine doesn't let fishermen sell lobsters; instead, they have to toss the lobsters back or go to Massachusetts where they can be sold.
Maine fishermen also have to use more of their precious allotment of fishing days to travel to bountiful fishing grounds to the south.
When the Portland Fish Exchange opened in 1986, it was said to be the first wholesale fresh fish display auction in the U.S. Here, buyers for seafood processors and wholesalers bid on cod, haddock, pollock, flounder and other fish hauled from the North Atlantic.
In its heyday in the early 1990s, the auction handled more than 30 million pounds of product a year. In 2006, just 9.5 million pounds crossed the auction floor, down from 17.1 million pounds in 2005. This year, about 5 million pounds is projected.
– Associated Press
Alaska: Judge Upholds By-Catch Reduction
A federal district court ruled recently that a group of Alaska bottom trawl fishing vessels must reduce the amount of fish they throw overboard as waste in the process of targeting other more valuable fish.The court order blocked efforts by bottom trawlers who sought to overturn a federal regulation scheduled to take effect in 2008.
The new federal regulation, known as Amendment 79, requires certain Bering Sea and Aleutian Island bottom trawl catcher-processor vessels more then 125 feet long to retain an increasing portion of their overall catch. It requires boats to start retaining 65 percent of their catch in 2008, increasing to 85 percent by 2011.
The regulation was aimed at a specific group of boats with the highest levels of by-catch. It applies to about 18 vessels that catch a disproportionate amount of by-catch, conservation officials said.
Conservation groups intervened in the lawsuit filed by the bottom trawlers to defend the federal by-catch regulation.
The groups told the court the federal government is right to mandate a decrease in the amount of fish bottom trawlers throw overboard.
The Fishing Company of Alaska was contacted, but declined to comment on the lawsuit. Other trawlers were unavailable for comment.
The boats are discarding fish deemed uneconomic due to wrong sex, size, or species. Hundreds of millions of pounds of wasted fish and other marine life are thrown over the side of bottom trawl vessels every year.
On May 5, 2006, two commercial fishing companies, the Legacy Fishing Co. and the Fishing Co. of Alaska filed the suit in the District of Columbia District Court to overturn Amendment 79 and its implementing regulations.
The companies are based in Washington state but fish in federal waters off Alaska. They claim the by-catch reduction measures would be too costly.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
California: West Coast Trawler Strike Continues
EUREKA – About 50 West Coast trawlers continued to refuse to fish Wednesday, demanding that distributors sign a contract.The trawlers tied up their boats on March 1 because large buyers refused to sign a marketing order – essentially a contract – setting a price for their catches.
The largest processor-distributor on the coast – Pacific Seafood Group – has refused to sign, said Pete Leipzig of the Fishermen’s Marketing Association, based in Eureka. Other distributors have declined to sign, “because they’re afraid of retaliation” from Pacific Group, Leipzig said.
Leipzig estimated that about 50 boats – out of the 100-boat West Coast fleet – remained tied up Wednesday. The strike began on March 1.
“What brought it on was that the guys came back from a trip and found Pacific had dropped the price on them,” Leipzig said.
There is some fresh product coming from British Columbia, but those fishermen traditionally deliver rockfish, rather than the flat fish the U.S. West Coast trawl fishery targets, according to Leipzig.
The strike hasn’t had much influence on the retail market, said Kevin Yoshimura of Mutual Fish in Seattle. The supply was a little tight, especially in bad weather, but he hasn’t seen much change in the price, he said.
Pacific Group chose to not respond to a request for an interview with Pacific Fishing magazine.
“Basically, Pacific has said it doesn’t want to talk (with fishermen),” Leipzig said.
Much of the West Coast fleet worked under signed marketing agreements until 2003, when Pacific declined to sign on, Leipzig said.
– Pacific Fishing
Alaska: Wolf bounty raises ire in Lower 48
The recent announcement that Alaska would pay a $150 bounty on wolves can be expected to inspire a consumer backlash against Alaska seafood.It’s already started with tourism, as indicated by a newspaper opinion piece written by Patricia Grames Pollock, who lives in West Virginia.
Here are portions:
For some time, Defenders of Wildlife has been trying to save wolves in Alaska from the barbaric aerial slighter that most Alaska voters have asked to be stopped.
Former anti-wolf governor Frank Murkowski (R) was bad enough, but even he would balk at offering a $150 bounty on slaughtered wolves provided the hunter presented the animal's dismembered limbs for proof.
It is a puzzle how present Governor Sarah Palin (R), who is involved in the famous Iditerod race, and whose husband participates in the Iron Dog race could justify the senseless and inhumane hunting of magnificent, sentient, intelligent animals that are progenitors of those very huskies and Malamutes (and yes, wolf hybrids) who inherited Wolf's endurance, fidelity, independence, and other fine qualities.
Letters sent to the governor will no doubt be deep-sixed, but one way to get to those barbarians is to boycott tourism until the aerial hunting of wolves and all wildlife is banned.
– Pacific Fishing
Alaska: North Pacific Council tackled halibut – again
ANCHORAGE – The North Pacific Fishery Management Council meets through April 3, at the Hilton Hotel, in Anchorage, with halibut and crab rationalization on the agenda.Final action on the charter boat moratorium analysis is planned.
Action on Gulf of Alaska groundfish rationalization is on hold until October at the request of Gov. Sarah Palin.
The council will receive the crab rationalization 18-month review from council staff.
It is unlikely the council will take definitive action on the Pacific cod sector split or the 18-month review at this meeting, because there are no formal council documents for either issue on which to comment.
Council staff senior economist Mark Fina put the 18-month review document on the council Web site, under items for the March meeting.
The council is scheduled to review the Gulf Pacific cod sector-split problem statement and develop alternatives.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
London: Don’t Cut Tuna Near the Dumpster
LONDON – The owner of a Golders Green restaurant admitted his staff had made a very big mistake' after a chef was photographed preparing sushi in an alleyway last week.Tatsuo Tanabe, who owns Eat Tokyo in North End Road, said it was the first time food had been prepared outside and the fish had been taken outside the building because of its size and weight — around 100 kilos.
Tanabe said the tuna was too big to prepare inside in the kitchen and that in Japan it is not a problem to prepare food outside. He said they made a mistake because they didn't realize it was different in England.
The incident came to light after a passing photographer spotted the chef by the bins. In the picture, the large carcass can clearly be seen balanced on cardboard and polystyrene packaging.
Environmental health officers from Barnet Council visited the restaurant to investigate and remind staff of the necessary requirements for food preparation.
Yesterday, the council carried out a full inspection of the Japanese restaurant, which has been open for a year.
A council spokesman said that given they have received credible assurances that outdoor preparation would not happen again, the council would not prosecute.
– Newsquest Media Group
Oregon: Columbia Gillnetting Resumes
Commercial fishing for spring chinook salmon resumed this week in the lower Columbia River after a two-week hiatus.The Columbia River Compact on Monday approved 10 hours of gillnetting beginning at 8 p.m. from the mouth of the Willamette River at Kelley Point downstream to the ocean.
The net fleet was expected to catch about 700 Chinook on the first night of the opening. That would bring its season total to about 1,300 salmon and 69% of the commercial allowance of upper Columbia wild spring Chinook, protected by the federal Endangered Species Act.
Jim Wells of Salmon For All, an Astoria-based commercial group, said the price paid for spring chinook is $8.50 per pound, which will drop once ocean trollers start adding their catch to the market.
Bill Tweit of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife said spring chinook numbers in the lower Columbia build rapidly in late March. By next week, there might be too many salmon to allow the netters to fish without exceeding the allocation.
- The Columbian
Crab boats caught in ice off St. Paul Island
| Photo not available |
| Trapped! Reportedly trapped in the ice in the Bering Sea this week, crabber Jennifer A is shown in Dutch Harbor a few months ago. The men are Chad Parker, Skipper Ian Pitzman, Kirby Mitchell, Michael Pereira, and Cole Wasson. |
ANCHORAGE -- Three Bering Sea crab boats and two ships were stuck in sea ice late Wednesday, and nervous crews were hoping the wind and tide would soon shift the ice pack and free the vessels.
'It's an uncomfortable feeling,' said Ian Pitzman, captain of the Jennifer A, one of the three crab boats hung in the ice near the village port of St. Paul, on St. Paul Island.
Speaking from the boat via satellite telephone, Pitzman said the problem began when drifting ice began closing in on St. Paul. His boat and others headed for open water, hoping to escape. Some boats made it out but others bogged down and got stuck in the ice about a mile offshore, unable to move, he said.
There was no real crisis Wednesday night, Pitzman said.
But the vessels do face some measure of danger, depending on how the ice moves.
'The ice can grind you into the beach,' he said.
One of the greatest dramas in the harrowing history of Bering Sea crab fishing happened just a mile or so from the Jennifer A's position, when the crab boat Alaskan Monarch got hung in the ice in March 1990. The ice damaged the boat's rudder and a storm drove the boat against the rocky beach. A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter lifted the crewmen to safety, including two who were swept overboard by crashing waves.
A famous video of that rescue has been widely viewed in the crab fleet, and Pitzman's wife, Stephanie Pitzman, of Homer, has seen it too.
So she was a little concerned to receive word Wednesday that her husband was aboard an icebound boat at St. Paul, where the Jennifer A had delivered its last load of snow crab for the season and was just trying to head for Homer.
Stephanie Pitzman said someone from the Discovery Channel, which is filming a new season of its highly rated crab-fishing cable series Deadliest Catch, called to see if she knew how to reach the Jennifer A. The caller wanted to make sure the crew was shooting footage of the ice using the camera the Discovery Channel had provided the crew for the season.
'I couldn't believe it,' she said. 'I was like, uh, excuse me? I hadn't heard anything about the ice. I got on the radio right quick to find out what was going on, and all was well -- but they're trapped.'
The Pitzmans have five kids, ages 11, 9, 7, 5 and 2.
Ian Pitzman said boats getting hung in the ice outside St. Paul harbor, which often ices up in winter, is hardly unprecedented. However, the veteran skipper said it had never happened to him before.
Aside from the 103-foot Jennifer A, two other crab boats, the Tempo Sea and the Nordic Viking, also were hung in the ice.
Another crabber, the Time Bandit, had left St. Paul only about half an hour earlier, and it managed to get through the ice and reach open water, Pitzman said.
He said the ice was a foot to 18 inches thick, but floes were stacked up, making the ice much thicker in places.
The Jennifer A has a four-man crew, plus a state observer who rides aboard the boat to document the catch, Pitzman said.
Two ships, the 356-foot crab processor Independence and a freighter called the Eastern Wind, also are hung in the ice, Pitzman said.
The crab boats deliver their catches to the Independence for processing. The ship is owned by Seattle-based Trident Seafoods Corp. and can carry a crew of 235, although it wasn't known Wednesday how many people were aboard.
A spokesman with the Coast Guard in Juneau said Wednesday the Guard hadn't received any calls for help from St. Paul.
That's because there's not really a crisis at the moment, said Pitzman, speaking from the Jennifer A.
'It's quite likely to resolve itself tonight uneventfully,' he said.
- Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in the Anchorage Daily News
NOAA recognizes Sen. Ted Stevens’ fisheries efforts
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) recognized the efforts of Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) to protect our nation’s fisheries and promote coastal awareness and conservation.Vice Admiral Conrad C. Lautenbacher, the head of NOAA, praised Stevens for his leadership and support of important oceans and coastal legislation as chairman of the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee last year.
Lautenbacher specifically recognized the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act, and the passage of bills to establish tsunami warning centers and clean up marine debris that passed last Congress. Stevens commented on the important role NOAA plays in Alaska and promised to continue the fight against illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) foreign fishing.
- NOAA
Bobby T. makes big bucks lobbying
JUNEAU – The 2006 state lobbying reports indicate that, although Big Fish isn’t in the same league as Big Oil in Alaska politics, it does draw some deep water.Here are some nuggets:
- Bob Thorstenson Jr., who seines for salmon when he’s not chatting up the capitol, reported making $139,000 for lobbying. That’s tops among fish lobbyists. Thorstenson’s main gig, Southeast Alaska Seiners Association, paid him $66,000. Other clients included Armstrong-Keta Inc., Bristol Bay Reserve, Stikine Holdings and Wrangell Seafoods Inc.
- Among fish companies, the biggest spender was Seattle-based Trident Seafoods Corp. Trident paid Jerry Mackie, a former legislator, $60,000. A Trident subsidiary, NorQuest Seafoods, paid Kent Dawson $40,000.
- Two of Alaska’s biggest salmon processors, Ocean Beauty Seafoods Inc. and Icicle Seafoods Inc., both had a man in Juneau. Ocean Beauty paid Reed Stoops $45,000, and shelled out about $28,000 more in expenses. Icicle paid Sam Kito $30,000.
- The Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. paid Kate Tesar $38,000.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy (Highlinger) writing in the Anchorage Daily News
Good news: Not many trollers attend salmon meeting
COOS BAY - If participation in a federal hearing is any measure of what the salmon season is going to be, 2007 is sure to be a good year.It was this time last year that more than 100 sport and commercial fishermen from Brookings to Newport packed the South Umpqua Room of the Red Lion Hotel in Coos Bay, arguing for the most lenient season option that would allow for fishing opportunity.
This year, the picture was much different.
Only about 50 fishermen arrived to comment on a slate of three options, one of which the Pacific Fishery Management Council must choose when it meets next week in Seattle.
Hearing officer and council member Rod Moore said the good news is that the Klamath River fall Chinook - the salmon population with the most direct impact on northern California and southern Oregon fishing - shows a higher abundance than in recent years, but that other river systems in Washington and a couple in central California aren't so fortunate.
But for local commercial trollers, the Klamath River's improvement was welcome news.
Of the three options available for commercial fishing, all include a season that opens April 10; wide-open fishing with no limits during the open days in May, June, July and August; and some fishing days, with limits, in September and October. In addition, one option includes the opportunity, for the first time in several years, a 10,000-fish commercial coho quota in August and September.
“Ten thousand coho coastwide - that used to be a season for one vessel, a good season,” Charleston troller Paul Merz said.
“We need that.”
Other fishermen asked if the coho option could be used in conjunction with any of the Chinook options.
Yes, said salmon technical team adviser and ODFW biologist Craig Foster. “There is some flexibility.”
Like last year, most fishermen opted for the most lenient option that includes the most fishing days. Most too, wanted to add the coho option to the Chinook plan.
Still, South Coast fishermen banded together to support one other idea - an idea not on the list of federal options.
Gold Beach fisherman and seafood buyer Scott Boley noted that last year, fishermen didn't have much faith in the computer model federal managers used to determine ocean fishing's impacts on Klamath River fall Chinook. The data set was too small and fishermen believed the model was unfairly restricting fishing opportunity. This year, trollers fear the model - still using a small data set - is underestimating the ocean fishery's impacts on Klamath River salmon.
The 2007 fishery will provide more fishing time for trollers than in either 2005 or 2006.
“It does not do a good job of predicting impacts on Klamath stocks,” Boley said.
A conservation option could be added, Boley said.
Fishing in August yields the greatest impacts on Klamath River fish, he said, and if the August harvests in the Coos Bay area - an area that stretches roughly from Humbug Mountain to the south jetty of the Siuslaw in Florence - reaches 15,000 Chinook, the favored fishing area called the Bandon High Spot should be closed for the rest of the month.
The Bandon High Spot is below Bandon and more than 6 miles offshore, but it's prime fishing ground for salmon and other species of fish and shellfish.
Boley said in written comments that, “based on experience, trollers feel the proposed closure area, if the trigger is met, offers the best option for achieving 2007 management goals.”
Most trollers agreed, even if they didn't like the idea of a closed area.
“That's the front porch for us down there,” Port Orford troller Aaron Longton said.
Moore said Boley's suggestion and all the other comments will be forwarded to the council prior to next week's meeting.
The council will vote late in the week on an option for the rest of the summer salmon season.
- Coos Bay World
North Pacific Council
Meeting for the first time since the International Pacific Halibut Commission voted to cut the Homer area’s charter halibut bag limit to one fish a day for half of June, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council was expected to discuss how to manage the growing halibut charter fleet this week.Charter operators say while they are pleased that the federal government did not accept and implement the proposal to cut the number of fish charter fishermen can bring home this summer, concerns about what the North Council will do instead continue to haunt the charter industry.
Commercial fishermen, however, counter that the growth of the charter fleet take has come out of their pockets, since the charter fleet has exceeded its harvest limits.
Homer’s charter fleet, one of the largest in the state, has been under the eye of the North Council for years as commercial fishermen have lobbied for some method of enforcing limits on the charter industry’s catch. A guideline harvest limit was put in place years ago, but the 3A fleet exceeded that harvest limit by 8.5 percent last year, and as yet, there are few methods in place for controlling the charter fleet’s take.
Earlier this winter, the Halibut Commission took the unusual move of imposing a one-fish bag limit for half of June in area 3A, and longer in Southeast Alaska, where the guideline harvest limit was exceeded by some 40 percent last year.
The secretary of commerce, however, did not approve the bag limit reduction.
Now the issue is volleyed back to the North Council, though given its lengthy public process for implementing regulations in the fishing industry, it would likely be several years from the date a decision was made before restrictions made it on the books.
The state of Alaska, which has little say in halibut regulation given that it is a federally managed fish, has restricted the number of fish captain and crew can take in both Southcentral and Southeast Alaska.
In addition, a laundry list of possible restrictions are at the council’s disposal, including the recently rejected one-fish-a-day limit. The council could also restrict the charter season, or the days in the week a charter could fish. An Individual Fish Quota Share program is still on the table, though a previous plan to get the charter fleet to join the IFQ program was rejected just prior to becoming law after a decade-long review process.
The North Council was likely to vote this week on a proposed moratorium on new charter boats until a decision is made.
The moratorium, as it is currently written, would allow only those boats that were operating as of Dec. 9, 2005.
While charter fleet operators haven’t expressed much opposition to the moratorium, they have fought any restrictions on the charter industry that aren’t based on the total number of fish allowable for catch in any given year. While the commercial fleet’s allowable take rises and falls with the number of fish available for catch, the charter’s fleet’s allowable catch is capped. It can decrease if halibut stocks fall, but it can’t rise. This year, for example, the area 3A stocks expanded significantly, and the charter fleet’s allowable catch rose as a result. The charter fleet’s did not, and operators argue that if their allowable catch rose and fell with abundance at the same level the commercial sector’s did, the fleet would not have exceeded its limits in recent years.
– Homer Tribune