- 17 inch Nordic convertible longline hauler
- Includes a bronze idler wheel with extra heavy duty galvanized steel collar to mount to the mast or other mounting stand and two cookie cutter wheels.
- $5,000 or best offer
- Call Ken 907-738-2682
Web-based business tools designed specifically for commercial fishermen
Dana Morse (ME Sea Grant), Sunny Rice (AK Sea Grant) and Curtis Mahnken from University of Minnesota will provide a tour of two new web-based business tools designed specifically for commercial fishermen on Friday, April 22 @ 3:00pm ET.
You can Join the webinar at https://connect.extension.iastate.edu/marine
Sign in as a “guest” (no password needed).
Let Erik know if you have questions:
Erik Chapman, PhD Extension Faculty/Specialist, Fisheries University of New Hampshire NH Sea Grant/Cooperative Extension 164B Morse Hall Durham, NH 03824 Tel: 603-862-1935
The Economist features an article on ALFA's bycatch and habitat mapping work
Click here to read the article "How Alaska's smaller boats compete with vast trawlers."
ALFA attended the International Whale Depredation Workshop in Chile
International Whale Depredation Workshop COLTO (Coalition of Legal Toothfish Operators) Jeff Farvour (ALFA) and Jan Straley (UAS) represented SEASWAP 15-18 March 2016, Punta Arenas, Chile
SEASWAP was invited to participate in a whale depredation workshop and to present our understanding of depredation in Alaskan waters at an international whale depredation workshop in Punta Arenas, Chile hosted by COLTO http://colto.wpdeployment.com in mid-March. The workshop was attended by about 40 people. Attendees included vessel owners, two fisherman (Jeff and John Bennett, a vessel captain from NZ), fisheries managers, whale biologist (Jan Straley, Paul Tixier) and other scientists, government representatives, processors, buyers and fishing gear manufacturers from Chile, Australia, New Zealand, Falkland Islands, South Africa, France, UK, Japan, Norway, Uruguay and USA.
“COLTO was founded in 2003 by legal industry members to eliminate IUU (illegal, unregulated and unreported) fishing for toothfish, and improve sustainability of toothfish stocks. At that time, estimates of IUU catches had been double the legal catches of toothfish – mainly being illegally taken from within national waters (Exclusive Economic Zones – EEZs). Through the combined efforts of CCAMLR https://www.ccamlr.org/en., Flag States, Port States, conservation NGOs and industry, those levels of IUU fishing inside national EEZs have been virtually zero since 2005.”
Aims of the COLTO Working Group (WG) on Depredation and the COLTO Depredation Workshop were:
“Investigate Sperm whale (SW) and Killer whale (KW) depredation on Toothfish longline fisheries, including assessment of the socio-economic and conservation impacts of depredation; the impacts on depredated Toothfish in a fisheries management context; and the development of mitigation solutions. The WG also aims to develop management strategies to prevent depredation from starting, and subsequently spreading, in fishing areas where it has not yet been reported.”
The workshop, which was sponsored by COLTO, AOBAC (Association of Operators of Magellan Sea Bass), Kendall Seafoods and WWF, lasted three days with 25 presentations in 9 sessions and 5 facilitated open discussions. SEASWAP presented 7 presentations. NOAA was represented by Megan Peterson (a contractor for NOAA on a post doc) and she gave three presentations.
The group was very welcoming and extremely appreciative of our ability to participate. Immediately apparent was that, although there were some obvious operational differences between the COLTO toothfish longline fisheries and Alaska’s sablefish longline fleet, it is clear that whale depredation in the COLTO fisheries is very similar to what we are experiencing in Alaska. In some cases, depredation in toothfish fisheries was even more dynamic because of significant mixing of sperm and killer whale activity within certain sub areas. The COLTO toothfish fishery occurs in the southern oceans between 60° S up to 45° S in some areas and is fished with demersal longlines in depths of 300 to over 1000 fathoms on about 39 CP longliners, 155-175 ft in length. Longline sets are soaked for up to 2 days and fishing trips can last up to 3 months.
During the workshop, it was pointed out that like sablefish, toothfish are a natural part of a SWs diet. Giant squid and sharks are common depredators of toothfish, and occasionally pinnipeds, as well. SWs observed in toothfish fishing areas by some vessels may be immature (need to check with Dirk). Presenters on the overall SO problem with catch removals by whales also stressed the desire to understand if whales are migrating or not, historical sightings- are more whales showing up to fishing grounds for opportunistic depredation, if toothfish are also natural prey for KWs, does skipper behavior affect depredation avoidance, (see workshop findings). These were concepts discussed by multiple attendees.
COLTO WG members presented various deterrent and avoidance measures undertaken by COLTO members including: gear switch to pots, which proved unsuccessful, also concerns with lost pots, dropping gear back down and waiting until whales move on, moving to other fishing grounds, faster hauling speed, Mustads OrcaSaver which may have some undocumented effectiveness amongst one workshop participant.
(V 2.0 of OrcaSaver is now available through Mustad); and “Cachaloteras” (gear modification devices) which are being used by some toothfish vessels as an effective but labor intensive method that reduces SWs depredation but not KWs.
Jeff presented the salient historical events and structure of Alaska’s sablefish fishery, sperm whale depredation trends in the Gulf of Alaska and next steps for SEASWAP.
Jan gave presentations which involved the history of SEASWAP, cultural transmission of depredation in the Gulf of Alaska, use of acoustics in depredation and movements and associations of sperm whales. Also she gave a presentation on real time monitoring and the communication avoidance network.
We heard from the industry biologists and vessel skippers (toothfish vessels that were also engaged in research), about toothfish surveys and whale identification, tagging and biological sampling.
WG members were especially eager to learn of SEASWAPs collaborative structure and how to cultivate a strong collaborative working environment with progressive outcomes. Of particular interest to the WG was SEASWAPs acoustic research, playback devices, camera work, and towed array. Our communication network, bubblers, pods and exploring efficacy of jammers generated discussion as well. Essentially they were interested in what worked and has not worked for SEASWAP. It was interesting to learn that none of these methods of research (except some minor camera work) have been explored by COLTO members, however, much enthusiasm was expressed in further research. Of particular interest were the assumptions made on whale behavior vs. what was learned after tagging and camera work by both SEASWAP and COLTO members: killer whales diver much deeper and stay down much longer than previously thought, sperm whales will navigate narrow relatively shallow areas in transit to other areas, sperm whales do not always opt for fish from longlines even within “dinner bell” range, elephant seals dive much deeper than previously thought, not all killer whales depredate when around a vessel.
Immediately after the workshop convened, we started an email thread with interested COLTO members and SEASWAP discussing our GoPro work and other questionsregarding hydrophones. After sharing (thanks to Lauren Wild) specs of our cameras, housings and lights the discussion immediately turned to refinements such as finding timers that work with our light housings and methods to improve orientation of the cameras to achieve a higher success of useful footage. The Falkland fishing industry representatives were especially engaged on this concept and other aspects of tracking sperm whales behavior around their vessel.
The COLTO WG is very motivated to address depredation as it was COLTOs next priority after eliminating illegal toothfish fishing. Immediate benefits for SEASWAP to collaborate with COLTO (SEASWAP International or IWAP-International Whale Avoidance Project, or WAPI ??) as we can only gain from sharing in our efforts. Short term projects might include: setting up a network (website) for sharing camera and whale behavioral knowledge and ID, securing funding for a joint post doc position for Paul Tixier; Midterm: efficacy of deterrents/avoidance, SW and KW tagging and sampling; Long term: identifying successful measures for deterrent/avoidance suited to a variety of fishing operations, vessel sizes and spatial conditions. We should also consider collaborating with gear manufacturers Mustad (focused mostly on OrcaSaver) andFiskevegn (Catcheloteras, Catch Protection Devices, quieter gear, tornado trolling). Both companies were in attendance and presented their companies perspective on devices for mitigating whale depredation (although efficacy untested). Mustad is very interested in testing their new device with robust study design. They do not want to sell a deterrent that is ineffective. Mustad supports Research and Development of their products.
We will provide PDFs of our presentations and files with film footage from workshop participants. COLTO will have findings/minutes available soon.
Overall, it was a great opportunity that opened robust dialogue between two longline fisheries on opposite ends of the hemisphere to collaborate on whale depredation solutions.
Victory on GMO fish
Costco joins a host of retailers refusing to sell GMO salmon:
"Costco said Friday it does not intend to sell genetically modified salmon at this time, joining a list of retailers who say they will not sell genetically modified salmon, despite the approval Thursday by the Federal Food and Drug Administration of the sale of such fish."
You can read the article here.
ALFA thanks Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski for her effective leadership on this issue.
A RESOLUTION URGING THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE AND WALKER ADMINISTRATION TO ANALYZE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS PRIOR TO IMPOSING NEW TAXES ON THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY
A RESOLUTION URGING THE ALASKA LEGISLATURE AND WALKER ADMINISTRATION TO ANALYZE CUMULATIVE IMPACTS PRIOR TO IMPOSING NEW TAXES ON THE SEAFOOD INDUSTRY.
WHEREAS the seafood industry is the largest private sector employer in Alaska and provides approximately 60,000 jobs each year and directly employed 26,700 Alaskans in 2013-2014; and
WHEREAS, the seafood industry averaged $5.9 billion in economic activity statewide in those years, with an associated labor income of $2.1 billion; and
WHEREAS, over 31,500 commercial fishermen operating 8,600 vessel delivered 5.7 billion pounds of seafood in 2014 with a first wholesale value of $4.2 billion, and the processing sector employed more than 25,000 workers who were paid $460 million; and
WHEREAS, the seafood industry paid $138.6 million in fishing related taxes and fees that was distributed to Alaska’s general fund (55%), local governments (38%), and federal agencies (7%), and over $100 million in royalties to Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups in western Alaska, salmon hatchery cost recovery programs, and Regional Seafood Development Associations (RSDAs) assessments, in addition to various local taxes and fees; and
WHEREAS, 65 Alaskan cities, boroughs, and municipalities receive half of the fisheries business and landing taxes paid by the seafood industry each year, which greatly reduces reliance on the capitol budget and provides infrastructure they could not otherwise afford; and
WHEREAS, the seafood industry is managed under a Constitutional mandate to ensure sustainability and has provided a consistent source of jobs and revenue to the state of Alaska and Southeast region for over 100 years and will continue to contribute indefinitely ; and
WHEREAS, 291 million pounds ofseafood, valued at $260 million, was harvested in 2014 by fishermen in Southeast Alaska, where nine communities typically number among the nation’s top ranked fishing ports for volume and/or value – three (Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg) consistently in the Top 20; and
WHEREAS, 54 shorebased operations in Southeast Alaska processed 235 million pounds of seafood in 2014, with a first wholesale value of $520 million; and
WHEREAS, seafood is responsible for 20% of the average annual monthly employment in Southeast Alaska and provided nearly 10,000 full time equivalent jobs to the region in 2013 and 2014; and
WHEREAS, more than 12,000 people in were directly employed harvesting, processing, or working at hatchery facilities Southeast Alaska during 2013 and 2014; and
WHEREAS, the seafood industry has expressed concern about the cumulative effects of a wide range of proposed taxes and fees on small businesses that already carry a heavy tax burden, which could cause a decline in growth or recession within the industry; and
WHEREAS, the Alaska Legislature and Walker Administration are considering options to impose new and increased taxes and fees on such things as: seafood landings, motor fuel, permit and vessel licenses, and individual income tax; the combined effect of which could have far reaching ramifications to the health of the seafood industry in the State and Southeast Alaska; and
WHEREAS, the seafood industry is currently facing significant challenges, due to the worldwide economic downturn, fluctuating currency rates, and a Russian embargo; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that our businesses specifically oppose the 12.5% royalty proposed through Senate Bill 198, and views the measure as an unreasonable tax burden on an industry composed of small businesses that provide more jobs than any other and currently pays the second highest combined tax rate in the State; and
THEREFORE BE IT RESOLVED that our businesses urge the Alaska Legislature and Walker Administration to carefully analyze the cumulative impact of any additional taxes and fees levied on the seafood industry, so as not to create an unfair tax burden and disincentive for investment, or otherwise lead to destabilization and job loss in the seafood industry and our communities.
The following organizations and businesses operating in Southeast Alaska issued support for this resolution on February 29, 2016:
Fishing Organizations
Linda Behnken, Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association
Dale Kelley, Alaska Trollers Association
Megan O’Neil, Petersburg Vessel Owner’s Association
Kathy Hansen, Southeast Alaska Fishermen's Association
Cynthia Wallesz, United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters
Robert Thorstenson, Southeast Alaska Seiners
Phil Doherty, Southeast Alaska Dive Fishermen’s Association
Processors
Tom McLaughlin, Seafood Producers Cooperative
Mike Erickson, Alaska Glacier Seafoods
Greg Indreland, Yakutat Seafoods
Terry Barry, Hoonah Cold Storage
John Garner, North Pacific Seafoods
Vern Phillips, Pacific Seafood
Eric Norman, Taku Fisheries
Sandy Souter, Alaska General Seafoods
Aquaculture Associations
Dave Landis, Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Assn
Steve Reifenstuhl, Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Assn
Eric Prestegard, Douglas Island Pink and Chum
Jeff Lundberg, Prince of Wales Hatchery Association
Ian Fisk, Armstrong-Keta, Inc.
Individual Seafood Businesses
Mark Tupper, Triad Fisheries
George Eliason, Owner Tammy Lin Fisheries
Sources
The Economic Value of Alaska's Seafood Industry, McDowell Group, December 2015.
http://www.tax.alaska.gov/programs/documentviewer/viewer.aspx?1107r
Top Major Ports by Pounds ; Top Major Ports by Value
by-year-and-ranked-by-poundage/index
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/commercial-fisheries/commercial-landings/other-specialized-programs/total-commercial-fishery-landings-at-major-u-s-ports-summarized- by-year-and-ranked-by-dollar-value/index
Alternate Safety Compliance Program from the USCG Reauthorization Act of 2010
Attached here is a letter to our Congressional Delegates from 8 North Pacific fisheries associations concerned with the Alternate Safety Compliance Program from the USCG Reauthorization Act of 2010.
AO Article in National Fisherman
Stand Against a 12.5% Fisheries Royalty Tax
Sign a petition to State Senator Bert Stedman, State Representative Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins and State Senator Michael Dunleavy to reject Senate Bill No. 198, which would establish a 12.5 percent Alaska fisheries royalty on seafood caught commercially in the state (text of the bill here http://www.akleg.gov/basis/Bill/Text/29?Hsid=SB0198A).
ALFA's comments in opposition to SB 198 can be found here.
2016 Sablefish Summit Presentations
This year's Sablefish summit took place on February 19. Couldn't make it?
Click here for an overview of the Alaska Federal Sablefish stock, whale depredation, and other topics.
Click here for presentation slides on the status of Northern Southeast Inside (NSEI) sablefish.
Click here for presentation slides from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Stock assessment methods for the Chatham Strait sablefish population.