Northline Seafoods’ New Freezer Barge At Reduced Capacity Following Electrical Fire

In late May Northline Seafoods’ new freezer barge, Hannah, departed Bellingham’s Fairhaven Shipyard for its maiden voyage to Bristol Bay. The one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art vessel was entering the 2024 salmon season in Bristol Bay with the capacity to freeze up to 1 million pounds of salmon per day, with cold storage on board the vessel able to hold over 10 million pounds of frozen fish, and 2.3 million pounds of fresh.

“This is a dream come true,” Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey...

It's Early: Alaska Wild Salmon Landings on Par With ADF&G Forecasts So Far

With 10.6 million wild salmon caught in Alaska this year so far, landings are on par with ADF&G forecasts of 135.7 million salmon rather than last year’s actual landings of 232.4 million salmon, a 41.6% drop that is due to lower projected catches of pink salmon in Southeast and sockeyes in Bristol Bay. It is still too early in the season to make statements on timing: the latest numbers are as of July 1 when the peak of the Bristol Bay Run is still at ...

Commerce Approves More Than $12M for Alaska, Washington Salmon Disasters in 2021-2022

Last Friday U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina M. Raimondo announced that $12.2 million will be allocated to Alaska’s 2022 Kuskokwim River salmon fishery, 2021 and 2022 Upper Cook Inlet East Side Setnet salmon fishery, and the Port Gamble S’Klallam Tribe’s 2021 Puget Sound fall chum and coho salmon fisheries.

In the past twelve months, Commerce has approved as many fisheries disaster just in the west coast states of Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and California. The fishery disasters, most of them salmon and of those many...

Japan: 2023 Sockeye Salmon Imports Surged by 41% to Over 10,000 Tons

EPA: Revised Water Quality Standards In Alaska Needed To Meet Clean Water Act Requirements

Last week the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) sent a letter to the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) to warn that new and revised water quality standards are “necessary” to meet the requirements of the Clean Water Act. According to the EPA, “new and revised human health criteria, or HHC, are needed to protect against adverse human health effects related to pollutants in Alaska’s surface waters.”

Alaska’s DEC defines HHC as “the maximum concentration of a pollutant in a waterbody considered to be...

Northline Seafoods Launches New Seafood Platform To Operate In Bristol Bay During 2024 Salmon Season

Meet “Hannah,” a new, one-of-a-kind, state-of-the-art seafood platform from Northline Seafoods that is ready for the 2024 salmon season in Bristol Bay.

Northline announced late last week that its newest vessel officially departed Bellingham’s Fairhaven Shipyard for its maiden voyage to Bristol Bay, where it will operate during the 2024 salmon fishing season.

“This is a dream come true,” said Northline Seafoods CEO Ben Blakey. “Seeing our vessel leave the Fairhaven Shipyard is a...

Copper River Sockeye Salmon Roe Record Wholesale Prices in Sendai at JPY 6800/kg for No. 1 Grade

On May 31, this season's first shipment of salted salmon roe (sujiko) from Copper River, Alaska, arrived at the Sendai Central Wholesale Market. One hundred three pails were planned, but arrival was delayed due to an air freight problem. The remaining 40 pails will be auctioned on June 7.

The entire shipment was delivered to Sento Gyoryu, a wholesaler at the market. The traditional lottery was held on the sales floor. The wholesale price was...

High Liner Foods and Trident Win USDA Alaska Pollock Purchase Request

On Thursday the USDA announced the purchase award winners for the May 3 invitation for Alaska pollock products. Both High Liner Foods and Trident Seafoods were awarded the contracts, which combined are worth $3,756.021.68.

High Liner was awarded a contract for 76,000 lbs of frozen Alaska pollock fillets (pkg 20/2 lb), 76,000 lbs of frozen Alaska pollock sticks (pkg 20/2 lb), and 836,000 lbs of frozen and breaded Alaska pollock sticks (40 lb carton). The contract total of 988,000 lbs is worth...

Murkowski, Sullivan, Peltola Denounce NMFS Move to Study Gulf of Alaska Chinook for ESA Listing

All three of Alaska’s representatives in the U.S. Senate strongly denounced last week’s decision by NOAA Fisheries to begin a robust scientific study to determine if Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon should be added to the Environmental Protection Agency's endangered species list. 

NOAA Fisheries’ move was prompted by an 87-page petition filed last December by the Wild Fish Conservancy to list Chinook salmon throughout the Gulf of Alaska as endangered. The petition, described as containing “numerous factual errors, omissions, incomplete references, and...

Rep. Peltola Introduces Bottom Trawl Clarity Act to Mixed Reviews, Also Bill on Bycatch Reduction

Two bills were introduced earlier this week by Alaska’s lone U.S. Congressional Representative Mary Peltola. One of them, which addresses the definition of trawl gear, drew strong reactions from the fishing industry that ranged from gratitude to disappointment.

The two bills are The Bottom Trawl Clarity Act and the Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act.

The Alaska Pollock Fishery Alliance issued a statement yesterday about the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act and their disappointment with Peltola's bill. 

“While we share Congresswoman Peltola's strong interest in ocean habitat ...

Catches Are Up in the Copper River; Cordova’s Fleet Gets A Second 12-Hour Opener Today

Updated at 1:10 PDT.

Alaska’s first wild Chinook and sockeye salmon began showing up at the mouth of the Copper River last week, and catches were nearly three times the forecast for the season’s first opener, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

ADF&G’s harvest forecast for the commercial fleet in 2024 is 1.3 million sockeye and 47,350 Chinook. Their preliminary catch estimate for the May 16 opener was 14,900 sockeye. Instead, 43,000 sockeye were landed, and 1,000 Chinook.

The fleet is fishing a...

Alaska Legislature Rejects Dunleavy Appointee to Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission

In a tie vote on Tuesday, Alaska lawmakers rejected Mike Pocaro, who has been serving as one of two commissioners on Alaska’s Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) since he was appointed last summer. 

The vote was one of three other rejections among approvals for many other state board and commission appointments, by wide margins.

Pocaro, a conservative talk radio host and owner of an advertising company, was a strong supporter of Govenor Mike Dunleavy as a candidate and became part of the team running the campaign in...

American Seafoods Releases Annual Sustainability Report 

Seattle-based American Seafoods Group is the first of the pollock fleet to release its 2024 annual sustainability report. The report details the company’s  continued advancement of its environmental and social responsibility efforts as it innovates and sustainably harvests the world’s best-managed fisheries.

The 2023 Sustainability Report highlights the different ways American Seafoods practices sustainability operating and harvesting techniques throughout the year 2023, including:

- Maintained 100% third-party eco-certification for all American Seafoods catch
- Achieved a 99% target catch rate in the Alaska pollock fishery, which is nearly a...

High Numbers in Egegik But Overnight Ugashik Nearly Tripled Catch to 112,000 Sockeye

If you can’t wait to track the performance stats on display at the Paris Olympics in a month, turn your focus to Bristol Bay, Alaska for a worthwhile diversion before the Games begin.  

Seafood aficionados can track the daily run of what could be 45 million sockeye salmon returning to the Bay’s nine river systems, compare those rivers performances with two forecasts this year, and even get an early DNA peek at what’s to come. A little over a week out and 100 miles distant scientists at ...

Holland America Line’s McKinley Chalet Resort in Alaska Receives MSC Certificate

Holland America Line is ensuring that its guests have access to the highest quality and sustainably sourced seafood through not only their cruises, but also their land-based properties. The company announced on Monday that its McKinley Chalet Resort, located in the heart of the Denali Canyon in Alaska, has recently received Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification. 

"We are proud to extend our promise of fresh, sustainable fish beyond our ships to our guests on cruise tours visiting Denali," said...

Move Over, Grasshoppers. Wild Alaska Pollock Is Coming To T-Mobile Park

Move over, grasshoppers. There’s a new must-have food at T-Mobile Park.

A new partnership between the Association of Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers (GAPP) and the Seattle Mariners will bring Wild Alaska pollock fish tacos to Major League Baseball. Beginning June 28, baseball fans will be able to find the fish at Edgar’s Cantina, as well as in other locations and clubs throughout the stadium.

“It’s a big deal to have a menu item at a major MLB stadium — not only for the sheer number of...

Silver Bay Seafoods to Buy Trident Seafoods' False Pass Facilities

On Friday Trident Seafoods and Silver Bay Seafoods announced an agreement for Silver Bay to purchase Trident’s False Pass processing facility and fuel business on the Alaska Peninsula. It is the second purchase by Silver Bay in an area where they already own a plant and process salmon.With this purchase, Silver Bay will be processing salmon at plants in Southeast Alaska (Craig, Sitka, Ketchikan); south-central Alaska (Valdez), Kodiak, Bristol Bay (Naknek), and the Alaska Peninsula (False Pass) this season.

Acquiring the Valdez plant in Prince William Sound and the ...

NFI President Lisa Wallenda Picard Responds to Peltola’s Bottom Trawl Clarity Act

On May 22 Alaska Representative Mary Peltola introduced a pair of bills designed to restrict bottom trawling and reduce bycatch. And one of them has garnered a response from National Fisheries Institute (NFI) President and CEO Lisa Wallenda Picard.

The first bill — the Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act — would authorize NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction and Engineering Program (BREP) to provide $10 million in funding for five years. The bill would also establish the Bycatch Mitigation Assistance Fund, administered by the National Fish and...

NOAA Updates Response to Court Order on Wild Fish Conservancy Suit

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration released an update last Friday on its response to the District Court’s order to complete analyses required by the decision on a suit brought against NOAA Fisheries by the Wild Fish Conservancy.

The Wild Fish Conservancy v. Quan — also known as the Southeast Alaska salmon fishery — brought into question a NOAA Fisheries 2019 biological opinion that analyzes two actions related to salmon fishing in Southeast Alaska. It also involved a third action on a conservation program for habitat improvement and hatchery production... 

Trident Seafoods Will Operate Kodiak Plants Through ‘B’ Season

In a series of events that define the phrase “Timing is everything,” Trident Seafoods has announced it will continue to operate its Kodiak plant through the pollock “B” season. The news comes on the same day that Kodiak’s City Council and the Borough prepared a request for a federal emergency rule to allow a mothership processor to buy and process fish from Trident’s pollock fleet of 15-25 vessels this fall. 

Kodiak’s Hail Mary was well planned, not to mention well timed, for the North Pacific Fishery...

NMFS Opens Year-Long Review: Is “Southern Alaska” Chinook an Endangered Species?

With a positive 90-day finding on a petition filed last January by the Wild Fish conservancy, National Marine Fisheries Service has begun the second phase of a series of steps required to list Alaska Chinook salmon as an endangered species. Yesterday the agency launched a 12-month review to determine whether the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing is warranted. 

The Wild Fish Conservancy is a Seattle-base nonprofit that has launched lawsuits, media campaigns, and other efforts, raising money and awareness to save the...

Legal Sea Foods Heralds First Wild Copper River Salmon For Boston-Area Restaurants

“Available in Boston for the First Time Exclusively at Legal Seafoods While Supplies Last!” boasts the headline on a Legal Sea Foods’ press release yesterday celebrating the first wild salmon of Alaska’s annual season reaching the market.

This is the first year in recent memory that the annual and much-anticipated return of Alaska’s annual Chinook (also known as king) salmon to the Copper River grabbed headlines from Boston rather than Seattle. The two cities are on opposite ends of Interstate 90 and enjoy friendly competition in ...

Legislative Task Force Created to Evaluate Alaska's Seafood Industry

On Sunday the Alaska Legislature signed off on a resolution to create a task force for the next 9 months that will, in partnership with the industry, find solutions to the problems faced by the state’s commercial fishing industry.

Only one state legislator voted against the legislation in the House; the Senate approved it unanimously. 

The resolution will be sent to Governor Mike Dunleavy for his signature this week. Unless Dunleavy calls a special session, the Alaska Legislature will adjourn the session this Wednesday, May 15. 

“The depth of the crisis ...

Peltola Introduces Bristol Bay Protection Act, Permanently Protecting the Area from Pebble Mine

Alaska’s sole representative in the U.S. House of Representatives Mary Peltola introduced the Bristol Bay Protection Act yesterday to codify last year’s Environmental Protection Agency’s decision to veto the Pebble Mine, into law.

The proposed open-pit copper-gold-molybdenum mine, EPA said, would harm a fragile ecosystem that includes more than 8 miles of documented salmon streams, more than 90 miles of additional streams that support the salmon habitat, and more than 2,000 acres of wetlands in the Bristol Bay region of...

Peter Pan Halts Operations For Summer And Winter Production Cycles For The “Foreseeable Future”

Peter Pan Seafood’s fate has been up in the air since the company announced in January that it would be closing its King Cove plant for the winter fisheries of cod, whitefish and crab. Now, the company has confirmed that it will be “halting operations at its processing plants, leading to the discontinuation of both summer and winter production cycles for the foreseeable future.”

The decision to halt operations comes just a few weeks after Peter Pan...