Tag Archives: salmon
Navigating Alaska’s stormy seas
Norwegian fishermen settled in Petersburg in the 1800s, drawn to its ideal location for pursuing salmon, crab and halibut. Today, hundreds of vessels dock there, selling their catch to the town’s two major processors. These processors head and gut the fish before canning or freezing them for the journey to dinner tables across the world. One of these plants, built over a century ago, is the town’s largest private employer. Few know the industry better than Glorianne Wollen, a fisherman’s daughter who operates a large crab boat and serves as harbourmaster. From her small office, she has witnessed significant change over the years. “In the good old days, the town was alive with discussion,” Wollen recalls. “Everybody had a stake, everybody knew what was going on, and things happened in real-time.” That energy faded as boats grew larger and more efficient, requiring fewer crew members and leading to a more detached industry. Last year, however, the industry faced a crisis that even seasoned veterans struggled to recall. Photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16;20
Bristol Bay floating fish processor back at full capacity after fire
The Hannah, operated by startup Northline Seafoods, arrived in the region earlier this year. It uses super-cold spiral freezers to quickly freeze fish and then store them on board until the end of the season. But just before Bristol Bay’s salmon season hit its peak, one of those spiral freezers had an electrical fire. Because of the June 30 blaze, the Hannah has operated at reduced capacity for the last two weeks. On Wednesday, Northline announced that the freezer had been repaired. With that fix, the startup’s floating processing vessel is back to full capacity. “We definitely missed a few days of the peak, which we can’t get back. But we intend to continue to buy hopefully into the fall here,” said Northline CEO Ben Blakey. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:17
Local fishermen report mixed results in commercial season so far
Nearly a dozen commercial fishing boats queued for gas and ice at the fuel dock on a foggy Saturday morning. The low tide set the pace slow enough for fishermen to talk to one another about the season even though they were eager to get underway. Boats bobbed up and down with names like Easy Street, Rustler, High Surf, Crown Haines, and Minnie A. Then the sun made its way through the morning clouds and the salty breeze carried the sounds of ice and fuel rolling through large plastic hoses hanging from the dock. It’s the third week since the season opener and fishermen like Matt Davis reflected on how the winds have shifted. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:30
Electrical fire aboard the Hannah reduces Northline Seafood’s processing capacity
A steady stream of frozen, whole fish emerges from a large spiral freezer. Each fish landing on a conveyor belt gets whisked away to the next stage in the production line. These frozen fish are some of the first sockeye salmon deliveries of the season from Bristol Bay fishing vessels to the Hannah — Northline Seafood’s brand-new floating freezer barge in the region. But on Sunday, June 30, an electrical fire under one of the Hannah’s freezers threw a wrench in that plan. According to Northline, the vessel’s team of marine firefighters were the first to respond to the incident and extinguish the fire. No one was injured. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 08:45
Bacher: CDFW salmon info webinar to discuss 2023 returns, 2024 ocean abundance estimates
Will there be salmon seasons this year on the ocean waters off the California Coast and on the Sacramento and Klamath rivers? We will get an idea of the potential for recreational and commercial salmon seasons this year when the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) holds its annual Salmon Information Meeting via webinar at 10 a.m. March 1. The meeting will provide informational presentations on topics including last year’s spawning escapement, estimates of forecasted ocean abundance and management goals for 2024 ocean salmon season. Last year all ocean recreational and commercial fishing and river recreational fishing for salmon was closed in California. more, >>click to read<< 07:58
Bellingham’s shoreline history: A boom, bust of resource extraction
By 1890, the U.S. Census estimated approximately 18,500 people lived in Whatcom County. In the years that followed, additional lumber mills popped up. These included the Puget Sound Mill at the mouth of Padden Creek, the E.K. Wood Mill at Boulevard Park, and the Whatcom Falls Company (Loggie Mill) off Whatcom Creek. Pacific American Fisheries (PAF) first appeared in 1899 to process local salmon, eventually establishing the largest canning operation in the world. Both industries attracted large numbers of Asian immigrant workers, leading later to a significant shift in culture — along with significant racist worker backlash — in the region. The rich salmon runs also attracted canners and fishermen from Croatia, Finland and Ireland. Photos, >>click to read<< 09:20
‘Freaked out’: Big money industry crippling salmon population in Alaska, natives say
There is no more salmon. That’s what native Alaskan Ricko DeWilde is most concerned with these days. Once flowing with abundance, native tribes have been sounding the alarm about the overfishing of Alaskan Ricko DeWilde and other native fish by international fishing companies, essentially wiping out natives’ main source of food as well as a cultural touchstone. “That’s a way of life that we’re losing right there,” DeWilde said. “Any of the fishing along the Yukon River has been prohibited,” DeWilde said. “The commercial fishing industry is just running rampant out here and it’s big money. They take over to board of fish, they take over to politicians, they have them in their pocket and it becomes like a fish mafia out here.” photos, >>click to read<< 08:08
With salmon at risk of extinction, California begins urgent rescue effort
Typically, now is the time when creeks along the Sacramento River are filled with young spring-run Chinook salmon preparing to make their journey downstream to the Pacific Ocean, where they will mature, and eventually make their return to California spawning sites. This year, however, the salmon population has plummeted alarmingly—what officials call a “cohort collapse”—and biologists are taking urgent measures to save them from extinction. For the first time, biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have begun capturing the juvenile spring-run salmon so that they can breed them in captivity, and hopefully prevent them from disappearing from the wild. For the first time, biologists with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration have begun capturing the juvenile spring-run salmon so that they can breed them in captivity, and hopefully prevent them from disappearing from the wild. >>click to read<< 13:25
Know-nothing journalism
Credibility dies in a field of little mistakes. This is why it is painful to read what passes for news today: “Pink salmon get their nickname from their propensity to bite on anything pink.” Or so reported Gregory Scruggs of The Seattle Times after visiting West Seattle’s Lincoln Park on Aug. 22 for a story on Life/Outdoors in the Emerald City. Yes, and red salmon got their nickname for their propensity to bite on anything red and silvers on silver. And don’t forget those dog salmon. Note to the unwary: Leave Fido at home if you decide to pursue the latter. They have a propensity to bite on dogs. This is the reason there are so many three-legged dogs in villages along the Yukon River. All of this would be funny if, of course, it was funny. >>click to read<< 10:18
Fit for a king: First Copper River king salmon of season arrives in Anchorage
It all started with a kiss and, well, kind of ended with a kiss: The first fish were alive just 24 hours before it arrived at Ted Stevens Anchorage International Airport. “First fresh salmon coming out of the state ahead of Bristol Bay,” said Jeff Munro, a cargo operations manager. “The Copper River salmon is a real special salmon. It’s a special breed and species. It has a higher oil content.” Box after box of fresh fish came off the jet in Anchorage Tuesday afternoon. The first one got a special trip down a red carpet laid out for all to see. “Copper River salmon really marks the beginning of Alaska’s summer salmon season,” said Cassandra Squibb with Copper River Seafoods. Video, >click to read< 07:59
Alaska tribal groups sue federal fisheries managers, seeking action on salmon crisis
Two of Alaska’s largest tribal groups have sued the federal government, alleging federal regulators are mismanaging Alaska’s billion-dollar pollock and cod fishery amid an ongoing salmon crisis in central and southwestern Alaska. The Association of Village Council Presidents, which includes 56 tribes in the Yukon-Kuskokwim delta, and the Tanana Chiefs Conference, which includes 42 tribes in Interior Alaska, filed suit Friday in U.S. District Court against the National Marine Fisheries Service and Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo. The two tribal groups are asking a federal judge to require the agency to update the assessments used to set catch limits for federally managed groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands. >click to read< 14:57
In Depth: Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
The late 1990s and early 2000s were boomtimes for halibut fishermen in Alaska. Over 80 million pounds of the flatfish were being harvested annually. Deckhands could earn $250,000 a season. The small boat harbor in the southcentral city of Homer, known as the “halibut capital of the world,” was bustling. Erik Velsko, 39, was one of those fishermen. He started buying annual shares in 2001 when the halibut population was at near historic highs. But within a few years, the stock plummeted by more than half and the quotas for commercial fishermen were slashed accordingly. Halibut wasn’t the only so-called directed fishery to experience such a catastrophic drop. The crab fleet — made famous in the reality show “Deadliest Catch” — has been mostly stuck in port for two years after the near total collapse of the snow crab population and the decades long decline of red king crab. Photos, >click to read< 11:42
US regulators to vote on removal of four dams on lower Klamath River
The largest dam demolition and river restoration plan in the world could be close to reality Thursday as U.S. regulators vote on a plan to remove four aging hydro-electric structures, reopening hundreds of miles of California river habitat to imperiled salmon. The vote by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission on the lower Klamath River dams is the last major regulatory hurdle and the biggest milestone facing a $500 million demolition proposal championed by Native American tribes and environmentalists for years. But plans to remove the dams have been controversial. “The whole question is, will this add to the increased production of salmon? It has everything to do with what’s going on in the ocean (and) we think this will turn out to be a futile effort,” >click to read< 11:10
‘A healthy ocean means a healthy fleet’: salmon, crab, kelp, and climate the focus of annual fisheries forum
Dispatches on the state of California’s fisheries this year have brought “a mix of some glimmers of better news, while still struggling with difficult issues,” California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) Director Chuck Bonham summarized at the 49th Annual Zeke Grader Fisheries Forum on Wednesday afternoon. The forum was moderated by State Senator Mike McGuire as part of the Joint Committee on Fisheries and Aquaculture. In addition to a detailed report from Bonham, the afternoon featured panels on drought and salmon, the dungeness crab season, the state of California’s kelp forests, and aquaculture — as well as a brief public comment period. >click to read< 19:16
A rare summer-long chinook opener was not enough to lure SE trollers away from Chumageddon
Chinook trollers in Southeast may have left a sizeable portion of their allocation in the water when the summer season wrapped up on September 20 – but that doesn’t mean it was a bad year. Instead, it was a rather unusual year. “Being able to retain chinook for the entire summer is not something that they’re used to,” said Grant Hagerman, troll management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish & Game in Sitka. Commercial trolling for king salmon was open all summer, with only three days off to allow silver salmon – or coho – time to escape into their natal streams, lakes, and rivers. Hagerman says the long summer season wasn’t due to a lack of king salmon; rather, it was an abundance of choice. Commercial trolling has changed. >click to read/listen< 12:37
The Untold Truth Of Bumble Bee Tuna
If you’re curious about the history of this thoroughly American product, grab your life vests and Dramamine pills, and set sail with us to discover the untold truth of Bumble Bee Tuna. Have you ever considered the origins of a seemingly always-available product, like Bumble Bee Tuna? Well, if you’ve ever wondered about this tuna industry giant’s history, you may be surprised to learn that when a group of commercial fishing companies joined forces to form the original company, it wasn’t under the name Bumble Bee Tuna, it was known as the Columbia River Packers Association. Founded in Astoria, Oregon in 1899, where its headquarters remained for the next 81 years, the CRPA was a collective formed by A.B. Hammond, who hoped this conglomeration of seven commercial fishing companies would boost the group’s business prowess. >click to read< 13:19
Sustainable fishing off the coast of SoCal
For Ben Hyman, fishing along the California coast is a way of life. He’s been a commercial fisherman for 25 years. “I’ve always been addicted to fishing and loved fishing and grew up surfing, and for a lot of us, it’s just a natural evolution to start wanting to be on the boat and start fishing more,” Hyman said. He opened his own business, the Wild Local Seafood Co., 25 years ago and focuses on selling locally caught seafood such as salmon, halibut, ahi, crab and much more. Video, >click to watch/read< 16:57
Despite Ukraine invasion, the U.S. and Russia are still working together to solve salmon mysteries
Tensions continue to simmer between Moscow and Washington in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. In many respects, the divide between East and West is deepening: Oil companies are canceling partnerships with Russian firms. State legislators are calling for the state’s sovereign wealth fund to dump Russian investments. President Joe Biden announced Tuesday the U.S. would close its airspace to Russian aircraft. But the United States and Russia are continuing to work together on at least one issue: salmon. >click to read< 10:10
Inslee issues emergency order for green crab infestation, a danger to clams, Dungeness crabs, and salmon
Gov. Jay Inslee has issued an emergency order urging immediate action and legislative funding to address the population growth of the invasive European green crab after the Lummi Nation reported 70,000 counted in its sea pond in 2021 and the Makah reported a count higher than any since 2017. The emergency order issued Wednesday is aimed at eradicating the invasive species, which competes with native life and preys on juvenile clams, to prevent its permanent establishment in the state. >click to read< 10:54
50-Year Sitka Troller ‘Friend of the Fleet’
Longtime Sitka troller James Moore has won formal recognition for his work in developing salmon hatcheries in Southeast, promoting a troll fleet logbook program, and many other activities supporting Southeast fisheries. After five decades as a salmon troller in Southeast waters, advocating for the fishery all the while, Moore has been honored by the Alaska Trollers Association as a Friend of the Fleet. Moore, skipper of the F/V Aljac, received his award from the trollers association on Oct. 11. He’s particularly proud of his efforts to increase the take of chum salmon. “If you have an opportunity to do some good then you do it… But what is the best thing I’ve done? It’s difficult to say, and it’s hard for me to take credit for it too,” >click to read< 07:29
Federal Liberals continue to destroy BC fisheries… it’s starting to look like the NFLD fishing moratorium
There are about 2,000 licensed commercial fishing licenses held by BC fishermen (pc governments now call them harvesters). Using that figure and adding in 2 crewmen (many fishing boats have more) means over 2,500 harvesters will lose their jobs… The sad part is that reducing the wild salmon fishery has its precedence on the east coast. Some might remember back in 1992, the federal government of the day established the Newfoundland 
cod fishery moratorium. It was a cruel and duplicitous statement to call it a moratorium as 30 years later, and the commercial cod fishery remains closed. Cod have considerably recovered but are being caught by fisherman from Iceland, Greenland, Denmark, and a swarm of foreign-flagged fish factory trawlers just outside the 200-mile nautical limit. Codfish are also being consumed by a 5 million strong seal herd, which has quadrupled in size since the collapse of the seal fishery. >click to read< 18:38
Locally sourced seafood attracting crowds to the fishing boats in Half Moon Bay
Commercial trawlers pan for bottom-feeders at least three miles from shore. Purse-seiners use nets closer to the surface, while traditionalists fish the way the Egyptians did with hooks and lines. Nothing causes a bigger commotion than Dungeness crab in late fall, when eager customers line the docks like going to the DMV. The crustacean has joined turkeys as a Bay Area staple of the holiday dinner table. “All the crab pots are like little money banks that you just pull up and dump out the money,” Hassan said. Weekend dock sales have become integral to survival for anglers like Hassan. Smaller boats don’t catch enough to supply wholesalers, so they bypass the supply chain for direct sales. >click to read< 13:31
Prince William Sound harvests exceed 69M salmon
Late season harvesters were still pulling in coho salmon in in mid-September, with the preliminary Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s estimated harvest rising to 224,000 silvers, up from 199,000 a week ago. The Copper River district has been the biggest contributor to the coho catch to date, with 132,462 fish caught in drift gillnets, followed by 33,607 fish brought in Eastern Prince William Sound purse seiners and 16,436 fish from Prince William Sound Southwestern purse seiners, according to ADF&G updates. The average weight of Copper River,,, >click to read< 07:48
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 18, 2021
We’re on the edge of a record year – 61.3 million salmon have returned to Bristol Bay waters. The previous record was set in 2018 with a whopping 62.9 million salmon. Will 2021 be the year we break records once more? Messages to the Fleet – To: Capt. Brent Cathey on the F/V Independence. Hey Fluffy Buns. Please tell Matt Hakela that I still can’t find the pumpkin spice beard oil he wanted, so I’m sending some of your extra Rosewater Mustache Wax. Such a good thing you order it by the case! Finished up the bedazzling on all your work clothes. I’m cleaning closets next. Do you mind if I donate your Barbra Streisand and Spice Girls CDs? I need to make room for my Waylon and Cash collection. Miss you like crazy! From Montana Chick, audio, >click to listen or read< 10:12
It was another million-fish-day in the Nushagak! – Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 8, 2021
The Nushagak’s harvests are unprecedented. Fishermen here have caught more than a million fish for seven of the last eight days. “In 2018 we had six days over a million harvests, but that’s the only thing that’s come close,” said Sands. “Up until 2017 I don’t think there was ever a day in Nushagak Bay that caught over one million sockeye in a day.” Sands says the catch numbers aren’t just brushing the million fish mark — they’re blowing past it. Messages to the fleet A shout out to the crew of the Vega! We are rooting for all you guys: John, Ryan (Da-da) and the Flagstaff boys (Quinn, Tad & Roomi)!! From all of us in Salt Lake City & Flagstaff! audio report, >click to read<11:17
On the Brink of Extinction: DFO salmon closures sink dreams of Pacific fishermen
Geoff Millar’s livelihood is on the brink of extinction after DFO closed roughly 60 per cent of B.C.’s commercial salmon fisheries. The closures, DFO stated, will last “multiple generations” of fish to save tumbling salmon populations. The decision leaves Millar, along with hundreds of other commercial fish harvesters on the B.C. coast, in despair and in difficult financial straits. “These closures have absolutely devastated us,” affirmed James Lawson, a Heiltsuk fish harvester based in Campbell River, B.C.,, “We’ve been forced into a corner, and the only option is retirement, that seems to be DFO’s goal.” >click to read< 07:35
Balance The Pain Of Drought On Farmers And Fishermen Equitably
In the first week of May a young salmon boat captain struggled to keep his boat stable and fishing while getting bashed by an unruly spring wind storm near the San Mateo-Santa Cruz county line. Far offshore, where the continental shelf drops off and a huge volume of marine nutrients circulate from the ocean bottom to the surface, salmon gathered. So did borderline gale force winds on top of a 10-foot swell. It looked like the scene at the end of the movie, “The Perfect Storm.” You’re risking life and limb fishing in those conditions, and you wouldn’t in more normal times. But these aren’t normal times. >click to read< 11:08
Choppy Weather and Fishing Limits gets California salmon season off to slow, expensive start
Commercial fishing boats may only fish south from Pigeon Point on the San Mateo coast, instead of in the typical area open all the way to Mendocino County this time of year. Strict limits on this year’s salmon season were set by the Pacific Fisheries Management Council in consideration of what’s expected to be a smaller population of adult king, or chinook, salmon in the ocean this year. The geographic limitations and conditions are keeping local fishing boats in Monterey Bay for now, but some of the fish are making their way to the Bay Area. Sarah Bates came down to Monterey Bay from San Francisco with a crew member on her boat, F/V Bounty. “Everybody is in the bay because it’s the only place to hide from the afternoon wind,” The limited season means they don’t have much of a choice, Bates said. “We feel pressure to fish in bad weather where there’s so few days,” she said. “We’re pretty much going to go fishing no matter what.” photos, >click to read< 21:09
SB 29: Setnet permit buyback bill moves from Senate committee
Without objection, the Senate Resources Committee advanced Sen. Peter Micciche’s Senate Bill 29 to the Finance Committee March 8; the bill authorizes the state to buy back nearly half of the upper Cook Inlet setnet permits on the Kenai Peninsula from any members. “We’re finally at the end of our rope. Fishing families that have been fishing the East Side of Cook Inlet for generations are at the end of their rope,” Micciche said to the committee. “We want some of those fishing families to remain viable and give those that choose to be bought out an opportunity to move to other fisheries or to retrain for another line of work.” >click to read< 09:59
“What if the dams came out?” – Snake River dams proposal draws accolades, criticism – It will take an Act of Congress
It’s a “pinch me, this is real” moment, said Amy Grondin. So when she heard Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Simpson of Idaho announce a proposal to breach all four Lower Snake River dams, infamous for blocking salmon passage, she saw a ray of hope. Titled the Columbia Basin Fund, the plan calls for replacing the dams’ hydroelectric energy production with other sources. The fund also would ensure that flood control, farm irrigation and grain transportation are addressed, all to the tune of $33 billion. >click to read< 09:24
