Fish boss Alaska's new - 'Mayday, vessel Masonic going down' - Pacific Fishing
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‘Mayday, vessel Masonic going down’
www.pacificfishing.com THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR FISHERMEN n JUNE 2019
Alaska’s new
fish boss
US $2.95/CAN. $3.95
06
• Salmon season preview
63126
• What’s eating Chinook?
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IN THIS ISSUE
®
THE BUSINESS MAGAZINE FOR FISHERMEN
Cooke Aquaculture penalty • Page 8
Q&A with Alaska’s new fish boss • Page 10
Salmon season preview• Page 9
What’s eating Chinook? • Page 16 Oregon capsizing investigation • Page 19
VOLUME XL, NO. 6 • JUNE 2019
Pacific Fishing (ISSN 0195-6515) is published 12 times a year (monthly) by Pacific Fishing Magazine. Editorial, Circulation,
and Advertising offices at 14240 Interurban Ave S, Ste. 190, Tukwila, WA 98168, U.S.A. Telephone (206) 324-5644.
ON THE COVER: Doug Vincent-Lang, Alaska’s fish
Subscriptions: One-year rate for U.S., $18.75, two-year $30.75, three-year $39.75; Canadian subscriptions paid in U.S. and game commissioner, at Aurora Harbor in
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KEEPING UP
PREFERRED PUBLICATION OF:
BRISTOL BAY
FISHERMEN’S ASSOCIATION
Fish Wrap It’s FREE!*
It’s the best commercial fishing news digest
available in the North Pacific. Here’s some of
what you missed by not reading Fish Wrap.
CORDOVA DISTRICT
FISHERMEN UNITED Southeast Alaska Chinook quota: The 2019 West Coast salmon seasons set: The Pacific
OREGON DUNGENESS treaty Chinook salmon allocation for the troll Fishery Management Council has adopted
CRAB COMMISSION sector is 101,300 fish, a nearly 6 percent increase ocean salmon season recommendations.
UNITED FISHERMEN from last year. – adfg.alaska.gov – scribd.com
OF ALASKA Fish board picks: Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy California salmon outlook: Commercial
WASHINGTON DUNGENESS appoints four people to the state Board of fishermen can expect a longer season but
CRAB FISHERMEN’S ASSOC. Fisheries. – deckboss.blogspot.com possibly lower prices. – sfchronicle.com
WASHINGTON REEF NET Alaska fish politics: Upper Cook Inlet fishermen Juneau watch: Alaska legislators confirm
OWNERS ASSOC. take issue with one of Gov. Mike Dunleavy's Board Douglas Vincent-Lang as the state's fish and game
WESTERN FISHBOAT of Fisheries appointees. – kbbi.org commissioner, but reject Karl Johnstone for the
OWNERS ASSOC. Board of Fisheries. – deckboss.blogspot.com
Seattle suit: Two environmental groups
are suing to restrict salmon fishing and help UFA leadership news: United Fishermen
Northwest orcas. – seattletimes.com of Alaska announces board and executive
To subscribe: committee changes. – scribd.com
www.pacificfishing.com
BBRSDA sued: A group of commercial
fishermen has filed suit over the Bristol Bay Hauling in the herring: The industry has
Ph: (206) 324-5644
Regional Seafood Development Association's taken 13,835 tons thus far in the Togiak, Alaska,
circulation@pacificfishing.com
activism against the proposed Pebble mine. herring fishery. – adfg.alaska.gov
Main Office
14240 INTERURBAN AVE S. SUITE 190
– deckboss.blogspot.com Gov. Dunleavy's budget directive: The
TUKWILA, WA 98168 BBRSDA suit: Pebble confirms it's financing Alaska Department of Fish and Game
PH: (206) 324-5644
a fishermen lawsuit against the Bristol Bay considered selling state-owned salmon
Regional Seafood Development Association. hatchery facilities. – kbbi.org
Chairman/CEO/Publisher
MIKE DAIGLE
– kdlg.org Alaska fish politics: Declined for the state
miked@nwpublishingcenter.com
Tanner tally: The Southeast Alaska Tanner Board of Fisheries, Karl Johnstone says the
Associate Publisher crab harvest generates a value of $4.2 million. Legislature made a mistake. – adn.com
CHRISTIE DAIGLE
christied@nwpublishingcenter.com
– kfsk.org Key trends: Participation in Alaska's fisheries
Sitka's herring bust: It's now apparent we'll has dropped and specialization has increased
EDITORIAL CONTENT: see no sac roe herring harvest this season in during the past 30 years, according to a new
Editor
Sitka Sound. – deckboss.blogspot.com study. – news.uaf.edu
WESLEY LOY
wloy61@gmail.com Alaska fish politics: United Fishermen of Togiak herring update: The purse seine
Ph: (907) 351-1881
Alaska is urging legislators to reject Karl fishery, having tallied a big harvest, closes for
West Coast Field Editor Johnstone for state Board of Fisheries. the season. – adfg.alaska.gov
DANIEL MINTZ
– deckboss.blogspot.com How does pollock compare to other
Cook Inlet cutback: The state is likely to proteins? Alaska pollock producers look to
PRODUCTION OPERATIONS:
implement setnet restrictions due to the determine “our carbon footprint.” – scribd.com
Art Director, Design & Layout
PATRICIA WOODS weak Kenai River king salmon forecast. Paying up: Cooke Aquaculture will pay a
patriciaw@nwpublishingcenter.com
– adfg.alaska.gov $332,000 penalty for the 2017 fish pen collapse
False Pass fire: Trident Seafoods reports a in Puget Sound. – ecology.wa.gov
SALES & MARKETING:
JOHN NORDAHL 'minor fire' at a processing plant in False Pass, Herring haul: The Togiak purse seine fishery could
Ph: (206) 775-6286 Alaska. – scribd.com break the harvest record for the gear type. – kdlg.org
johnn@pacificfishing.com
* You can subscribe to Fish Wrap by sending an email to circulation@nwpublishingcenter.com. Write your first
Ad Support
CANDICE EGAN
Ph: (206) 324-5644
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COMMENTARY by ROBERT E. DOOLEY
We’re seeing positive results, but challenges loom
Editor’s note: The following is adapted from the written testimony of Fast forward to last fall. NOAA announced that many of the
Robert E. Dooley to the House Subcommittee on Water, Oceans, and West Coast groundfish complex species had recovered ahead of
Wildlife for its May 1 hearing on “The State of Fisheries.” their rebuilding timelines and as a result, the agency proposed
increased catch limits for a number of species (these went into effect
T hank you for the opportunity to testify before you today
regarding the state of U.S. fisheries. My name is Bob Dooley. I
am here in my capacity as a lifelong commercial fisherman along
at the beginning of this year). NOAA originally proposed a 45-plus-
year rebuilding timeline for the long-lived rockfish species in this
complex, but in less than 10 years, many of these species have been
the West Coast and in Alaska, and as a board member of Seafood
declared recovered. The last two species left on the rebuilding list
Harvesters of America. I was recently appointed by the secretary
will likely be taken off next year after the next stock assessment.
of commerce to serve as a California representative on the Pacific
Significantly higher quotas for a number of groundfish species
Fishery Management Council.
means an estimated $60 million increase in fishing income for
I have lived in Half Moon Bay, California, my entire life and was
a commercial fisherman for more than 40 years before recently commercial fishermen across the three West Coast states and an
retiring. Over the course of my fishing career, I have owned and increase in the variety of fish available to consumers in grocery
operated several fishing vessels with my brother, John, including stores and restaurants throughout the region.
vessels in the Bering Sea pollock and Pacific cod fisheries, the West This recovery was the result of following the letter and the spirit
Coast Pacific whiting fishery, and the Dungeness crab fishery. of the MSA. Commercial fishermen, processors, and coastal com-
In the past 40 years, we as a fishing industry have made enor- munities made sacrifices, but we knew it was the right thing to do.
mous strides in the management of our fisheries resources for their There are some who want to argue for reauthorizing Magnuson
long-term sustainability, thanks in large part to the Magnuson- to better address the differences in the commercial and recreational
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). fishing industries, and we agree there are important differences.
Through its successive reauthorizations, industry-supported So, let’s have that conversation about how to better manage recre-
changes were made to ensure that not only are the fish stocks ational fisheries. But that conversation does not mean we need to
responsibly managed, but that our businesses are profitable and we change the core principles of MSA. We should be looking towards
are able to provide consumers access to one of the greatest sources improving the science and the catch accounting in the recreational
of renewable protein: wild-caught seafood. sector rather than removing accountability measures and regard for
As we look to the future of our U.S. fisheries, we must be mindful the health of our stocks.
of our history of overfishing and prevent a return to those days. We I hope that if you take away one thing from my testimony today,
must recognize the current success of our fisheries. And we must it’s that we’re seeing results.
prepare for the changes in our marine environment as the climate Rising observer program costs
continues to change. To that end, I’d like to focus my testimony on For the commercial fishing industry across the country, the rising
the following issues. cost of observers is a big concern. And it’s a concern for NOAA,
The success of the MSA as well, because they are still paying for human observers in
The Magnuson-Stevens Act is an excellent piece of legislation. some regions.
We don’t need massive changes to the law. Rather, we need to work Commercial fishermen are committed to getting NOAA the
on the interpretation and implementation of the existing law. observer data they require and need in order to manage our fisher-
I grew up fishing for West Coast groundfish. My family was ies. However, as costs continue to rise, upwards of $500 a day in
a fishing family, so it was the natural path for me. Before I was some regions and fisheries, carrying these observers becomes an
allowed to work on boats, I worked with my older brother, John, economic hardship, especially for small boats.
in my mom’s restaurant and crab stand while my dad went out We think there’s a better way and we have been working tire-
to fish. My uncle was a commercial fish buyer and a recreational lessly with NOAA and industry partners over the past decade to
charter boat operator – we all worked the restaurant, the docks, develop and implement electronic technologies for monitoring
and the boats in support of the family business. and reporting our catch data. Employing electronic monitoring
The summer I turned 11, I got my first fishing job on the back and reporting systems on our commercial vessels has the potential
deck of the Monterey Clipper and I never looked back. After that to significantly reduce costs for vessel owners and improve data
summer, my brother and I started a lifelong partnership, starting transmission to NOAA.
off trawling in the West Coast groundfish fishery in the “Wild The prevalence and scale of pilot projects is indicative of the
West” days of fishing. There wasn’t a lot of fisheries management commitment from the industry, from NOAA, and from the private
back then. This was before catch limits were even contemplated; sector to help these electronic technologies succeed. Indeed,
we had no sense of how much fish we were taking out of the water. there are electronic monitoring pilot projects around the country,
Even in the late ’70s, we could sense the declining catch rates in including several on the West Coast. Specifically, United Catcher
the groundfish fishery. But it wasn’t until the 1990s that we put the Boats and the Midwater Trawlers Cooperative have received an
pieces together: the groundfish complex (includes many rockfish exempted fishing permit, or EFP, from NOAA that allows for
species, flounder, sablefish, and sole) was so overfished that the use of EM systems onboard midwater trawl boats fishing
we knew we had to nearly halt fishing. In 2000, the fishery was for whiting to monitor and estimate the number and amount
declared a disaster and the Pacific Council implemented severe of discards in the whiting fishery. This program has benefited
catch restrictions. Catch limits were so low it wasn’t even worth fishermen in the whiting fishery by reducing costs ($576,956 in
going out for these fish. savings in 2015) and eliminating the problems that accompany
6 £ PACIFICFISHING £ JUNE 2019 £ WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COM
human observers, including scheduling an observer and having to ice edge that normally forms on the Bering Sea shelf as a result of
house and feed them aboard vessels with limited space. the frigid wind from the north has not formed the last two years.
When working to implement EM, we’ve seen some great Researchers are working to better understand if this ice edge, not
successes, but we’ve also run into a few problems. We’ve seen just the upwelling that happens in these waters, helps to fuel the
NOAA put off implemen- primary productivity that feeds the system and aggregates these
We must recognize that tation of EM technologies huge schools of fish. Researchers are asking: Will the fish aggrega-
because they are trying to tions move to find more productive waters? Does pollock recruit-
fisheries are part of the build the Cadillac of elec- ment suffer? What tools are necessary to prepare for such changes?
ecosystem. We can’t turn tronic systems when all The West Coast isn’t alone in managing fishing gear interactions,
we really need is a Chevy disease outbreaks, and changing ocean temperatures and chemis-
fisheries on and off and workhorse. try. Fishermen across the country are witnessing changes on and
expect them, and the At the Pacific Coun- in the water. What we’d like to see across the country isn’t law-
communities that rely on cil, we are working with
NOAA to determine how
suits and their resulting fishery closures, but collaborative research
and partnerships to help add to the growing body of science and
them, to remain viable. to pay for the costs associ- research that will help the fishing industry better respond to the
ated with EM. Tradition- changes we’re witnessing.
ally, the industry in this region has covered the costs of observers We must recognize that fisheries are part of the ecosystem. We
and we’re willing to continue covering these costs, but we are con- can’t turn fisheries on and off and expect them, and the communities
cerned that if NOAA has a blank check from the industry, they will that rely on them, to remain viable.
add zeros to the cost and we’ll end up with a Cadillac system in 10
NOAA funding
years instead of the Chevy in 12 months. We should be working to
NOAA funding is at the heart of the success of our nation’s fish-
develop and implement fishery-specific systems that get NOAA
eries management system. Put simply, without adjusting NOAA’s
the data they need, not necessarily that they want.
budget to keep up with facilities, labor, and program costs,
Tied into the cost of these systems are the issues of data storage
the agency is hamstrung and cannot carry out its core mission
and data review. Industry has been working with NOAA to try to
and functions.
determine a workable solution for both sides so that NOAA has
The budget proposed by the president last month represents
access to the data they need for a reasonable amount of time, while
a nearly 18 percent cut across NOAA’s discretionary budget. A
the industry doesn’t end up paying for years’ worth of unnecessary
similar percentage cut is proposed for NMFS.
storage. Additionally, the issue of data review, particularly who
Tightening budgets at NMFS have real impacts on the agency’s
reviews the data and who pays for the review, must still be
ability to carry out parts of its core mission. Look at the North
addressed. On the West Coast, industry will likely pay for data
Pacific region, for example. Here, surveys for targeted species
review, but NOAA is concerned that because industry is paying for
have historically occurred annually. These surveys significantly
the review, it may be biased. Our concern is that NOAA will then
contribute to some of the most well-managed fisheries in our
require industry to pay for a third-party audit of the review, adding
country. However, at recent council meetings, there have been
an additional financial burden on the industry.
discussions examining how to prioritize which stocks are surveyed
Climate change impacts on fisheries each year because NOAA may not have the funding to keep up
Commercial fishermen are some of the first to tell you about the with the number of bottom trawl and midwater acoustic trawl
changes on the water in recent years as our oceans respond to a surveys necessary to cover each targeted species annually. NOAA
changing climate. On the West Coast, we’ve seen whales move typically uses four vessels to complete these surveys, but one of
closer to shore as their food source migrates landward, shellfish their ships, the Oscar Dyson, has been out of commission and
farms are having to adjust the pH of the water in which they’re unable to conduct surveys. To make matters worse, survey tracts
growing, and we’ve seen a rise in levels of domoic acid in our have historically been 10 nautical miles apart, but because NMFS
Dungeness crab fishery. can’t afford the ship time, the tracts are being widened to 20 miles –
To help the industry respond and adapt to some of these meaning we’re halving the data NOAA receives from these critical
changes, the Pacific Fishery Management Council recently formed surveys. We’re shortchanging science.
the Climate and Communities Core Team to help our region more We’re seeing a similar trend on the West Coast. At the last Pacific
readily respond to the changes we’re seeing on the water. I am Council meeting, we were informed that two out of our four survey
hopeful that the committee’s report this September will prove vessels will be eliminated for the next two years. Again, we’re seeing
fruitful and productive. the research capacity of NMFS cut in half. At this same council
Earlier this year, the California Dungeness crab fishery was meeting, the Scientific and Statistical Committee announced that
forced to shut down due to interactions with whales. Changes in the sigma value, the scientific uncertainty buffer built into catch
the ocean brought the bait closer to shore, which also brought the limits, will increase because our surveys are outdated. In the past,
whales closer to shore where crab pots are set. This combined with we’ve been able to deal with the buffer built into our catch limits
season delays due to domoic acid present in certain areas created because we had the vessels and the resources to conduct timely
the perfect storm for whale interactions with crab pots. The industry stock assessments. But as NOAA’s budget flatlines or shrinks, and
recognized the problem and sat down at the table with regulators they are unable to repair damaged vessels or update their technolo-
and NGOs to come up with a solution. But before we were able to gies, our ability to fish takes a hit. The council will have to add up
come to a workable solution, a lawsuit shut the fishery down. to a 20 percent buffer to catch limits for stocks with assessments
In the Bering Sea, changes in the ice edge formation may have older than 10 years.
impacts on the productivity of the system and pollock stocks. The It is critical to fully fund NOAA.
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NEWS NET
Salmon farmer Cooke penalized $332,000 for net pen breach
Cooke Aquaculture agreed to
pay the full fine for what the com-
pany described as “the unfortunate
collapse” of its floating fish farm
net pen near Washington state’s
Cypress Island.
A settlement with the Wash-
ington Department of Ecology,
announced in late April, directed
full payment of a $332,000 pen-
alty for the company based in New
Brunswick, Canada.
The future of net pen farming
in Washington evaporated after
Cooke’s Cypress Island pen col-
lapsed in August of 2017. Investi-
gators concluded that nets in the
pen’s 10 cages were overburdened
with mussels and seaweed, with
lack of net maintenance amount-
ing to negligence which caused
the failure.
Cooke also was accused of
underreporting the number of
Atlantic salmon that escaped. The
company’s estimate of the scale Cypress Island net pen after collapse in 2017. Washington State Department of Natural Resources photo
of the escape was 160,000 fish, but
investigators found that the actual number was between 243,000 “insufficient attention to structural engineering.”
and 263,000 fish. The financial penalty was one of several legal and governmental
Permit violations: The state’s fine punishes Cooke for water pushbacks after Cooke’s Atlantic salmon escapees were pulled from
quality permit violations related to the inadequate maintenance waters as far north as the Vancouver Island area and, alarmingly,
and repairs, and what the Department of Ecology described as 40 miles up the Skagit River.
The penalty was initially appealed, but in an April 29 press
release, Joel Richardson, Cooke’s vice president of public relations,
On the horizon
said that the company “was not interested in going through the
(appeal) hearing, putting additional stress on our employees, and
reliving the regretful events of August 2017.”
Richardson noted that much of the penalty – $265,600 – is dedicated
Pacific Fishing magazine’s monthly digest of upcoming to salmon fishery enhancement in the north Puget Sound region.
management meetings and other notable events. The rest will be paid into the state’s Coastal Protection Fund, which
supports habitat protection and restoration.
Farming phaseout: The fine is actually the least of the
• North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting, consequences Cooke is dealing with. The net pen fiasco led to the
June 3-10, Sitka. state Legislature’s approval of a bill that phases out nonnative
• Capitol Hill Ocean Week, June 4-6, Washington, D.C. marine fish farming.
More information at capitolhilloceanweek.org. Under the provisions of the bill, HB 2597, Cooke can continue its
Washington state Atlantic salmon farming operations until 2022,
• Bristol Bay Fish Expo, June 9-10, Naknek. More information on this
according to a Department of Ecology press release. The agency
trade show at bristolbayfishexpo.com.
is adding new controls to its permitting, including more frequent
• Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting, June 19-25, net pen inspections, increasing video monitoring of pens, and
San Diego. requiring maintenance improvements.
• Pacific Marine Expo, Nov. 21-23, Seattle. A major trade show In Cooke’s press release, Richardson said the company is invest-
for commercial fishermen and mariners. More information at ing in facility and equipment upgrades.
pacificmarineexpo.com. “We view this as a significant component of our corporate social
responsibility and we are committed to farming sustainably in
• International Pacific Halibut Commission annual meeting, Washington state as we do in other locations globally,” he said.
Feb. 3-7, Anchorage.
– Daniel Mintz
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SALMON PREVIEW
Alaska aims for big haul, while West Coast eyes rebound
Here’s the outlook for salmon fisheries this year around fishing opportunity. But as of mid-May, the West Coast action was
Alaska and along the West Coast states of Washington, Oregon, in California. Fishing there began on May 1 from the Monterey
and California. area south.
Alaska Oregon fishermen who have commercial fishing vessel permits
in both states chose to go to California.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is projecting a strong
Fishing in Oregon was “pretty slow” in April, said Mark Newell,
commercial harvest of more than 213 million salmon, compared to
an Oregon-based fisherman and buyer, with catches of only two
last year’s 115.7 million.
or three fish per day for most boats and an average price of about
The big difference this year is the outlook for pink salmon, with
$14 a pound.
the harvest projected at 137.8 million fish, more than triple last
After a five-day closure, fishermen dealt with wind and swells in
year’s tally.
early May. The slow fishing and challenging conditions redirected
The projected catch of nearly 29 million chum salmon “would be
Oregon’s effort to California.
the largest on record for Alaska,” the department says.
Newell shifted his buying activities from the Newport and Coos
As for sockeye, the most valuable of Alaska’s commercially
Bay areas to Morro Bay. California prices started out at $7 a pound,
harvested salmon species, a catch of 41.7 million fish is projected,
he said, but rose as high as $9 per pound, with Newell paying $8.50.
down from last year’s 50.5 million.
“It’s been pretty decent, but not red hot,” he said of California’s
Here are some notes by region:
early phase, with fish weight averaging about 10 pounds off Morro
Southeast Alaska: The chum salmon harvest is projected at
Bay and 8.5 pounds elsewhere.
20.6 million fish, topping the weak pink salmon forecast of
California’s fishing continues through August in most areas, and
19.4 million fish.
through September in the San Francisco Bay area.
Prince William Sound: A harvest of 64.8 million pink salmon is
Fishing is continuous through October from Cape Falcon to
projected, with 42.4 million coming from hatchery production. The
Humbug Mountain, Oregon, with weekly landing limits in the
famed Copper River salmon fishery opened May 16 and early sock-
fall months.
eye catches were good, suggesting a rebound from last year’s bust.
Washington Chinook trolling began on May 1 in the Neah Bay
Cook Inlet: A commercial harvest of 3 million sockeye is forecast
area, where wind and rough seas discouraged activity. When boats
in Upper Cook Inlet. That’s 200,000 more than the 20-year average
were able to get out, they didn’t bring much back.
harvest, the department says.
Continued on Page 17
Kodiak: A harvest of 27 million pink salmon is projected.
Bristol Bay: The sockeye catch is projected at 26.1 million fish.
That’s a healthy number, but it’d be a big retreat from last year’s
blockbuster haul of 41.9 million. Despite the enormous catch, last
season’s sockeye paid a strong average ex-vessel price of $1.26 per PORT TOWNSEND SHIPWRIGHTS
pound. Will the price hold up this year? Something else to watch is Servicing the NW fishing fleet for over three decades.
size – last year’s fish were small, averaging 5.3 pounds each.
Yukon River: The outlook for Chinook salmon is “below
average,” and no directed commercial fishery is expected. But up Inside Repair Facility Up to 140 Feet
to 1.2 million summer chum salmon may be available.
West Coast
West Coast salmon seasons are expected to rebound in California
and Oregon, where more fishing time is charted, but Washington’s
Chinook season is limited by low abundance of Columbia River
and Puget Sound stocks.
California’s season is particularly important for fishermen
seeking to regain income flow following the early closure of
the state’s Dungeness crab season due to a whale entanglement
lawsuit settlement.
The state’s salmon fishing began in May and is continuous
through the crucial summer months, which were partially or fully
closed in the recent past.
“The opportunity is going to help,” said Harrison Ibach,
president of the Eureka-based Humboldt Fishermen’s Marketing
Association. “The fact that there’s a very long season and a lot of
opportunity for fishermen helps immensely.” wood ~ aluminum ~ steel ~ systems
He added that there will be “a very large effort shift into the
salmon fishery because of the crab closure,” and participation will 360-385-6138 www.ptshipwrights.com
include “a lot of fishermen who have not fished for salmon in a
very long time – or have never fished for salmon.”
/PortTownsendShipwrightsCoop
Oregon’s season began on April 20 and also features expanded
WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COM £ JUNE 2019 £ PACIFICFISHING £ 9
MANAGEMENT
Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang at Aurora Harbor in Juneau. Chris Miller photos
Q&A Alaska’s new fish and game boss talks trust, salmon
challenges, food security, and federal fishery issues
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has a new man at the Fishing Editor Wesley Loy. Our interview covers a lot of ground,
helm – Doug Vincent-Lang. including management costs, the status of disaster relief, fishery
Newly elected Gov. Mike Dunleavy, a Republican, appointed buybacks, the Pacific Salmon Treaty, subsistence, and much more.
Vincent-Lang as acting fish and game commissioner in Dec-
ember, and legislators on April 17 voted 58-1 to confirm him to
Q: Coming in as the new fish and game commissioner,
the post. what was your message to department employees?
Vincent-Lang has more than three decades of experience with A : My most important message was to have staff routinely
the department, much of it in the Division of Sport Fish, where he engage with the public to build trust. I believe our fish and wildlife
would become assistant director. are trust resources belonging to all Alaskans and if we are to have
In 2012, he was named director of the Division of Wildlife. their trust in managing them for their benefit, we must have an
He holds a biology degree from the University of Wisconsin- open dialogue with them. We may not always agree on any partic-
Green Bay and a master’s in biological oceanography from the ular outcome, but it is critical that we understand their issues and
University of Alaska Fairbanks. concerns. The leadership team I hired is focused on public outreach
Vincent-Lang recently agreed to take a few questions from Pacific and communication.
10 £ PACIFICFISHING £ JUNE 2019 £ WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COMSecond, we are going to ensure that our resources are actively date and as such, should be treated as a basic service provided by
managed for the benefit of Alaska, from economic to food security. state government like public safety.
Third, we will protect our state authorities to manage our
Q: Congress has appropriated $56.3 million in disaster
resources. These rights were hard-fought and won at statehood and
relief for the 2016 Gulf of Alaska pink salmon fishery
subsequently protected during ANILCA (Alaska National Interest
failure. Could you update us on how and when this aid will
Lands Conservation Act), and we should not shy away from
continuing to protect and expand them. be distributed?
Finally, we need to focus on ensuring there is a next generationA: A plan for distribution of these funds has been sent to the
federal government for their approval. We are hopeful that we will
of fishers, hunters, and trappers. Our hunters, fishers, and trap-
pers are graying, and we need to focus on getting young people get their approval soon, within the next month. Depending upon the
involved. On the commercial side, we need to examine how we decision, funds will be distributed similar to how previous disaster
funds were distributed, through the Pacific States Marine Fisheries
can get young people experience and help in financing their entry
Commission. In the future, it is my hope that if new disaster funds
into fisheries. The cost of entry into fisheries used to be determined
are requested, we will beef up the research component of the
by the permit. In many cases, it is now limited by the cost of gear.
disaster spending plan. We must ensure we understand the root
Q: Gov. Dunleavy has emphasized cutting the cost of state cause of the disaster to ensure against it repeating.
government. What’s the budget situation for the Department
of Fish and Game? Will the department have the funding and Q: The previous governor established a Cook Inlet Salmon
people it needs to manage fully functioning fisheries? Task Force for discussions among the various user groups
A: Gov. Dunleavy and the Legislature understand the return in this notoriously fractious fishing region. Will the task
on their investment for the department. The department has an force continue? If not, what are your thoughts for how to
annual budget of $200 million, of which $60 million are general deal with the Cook Inlet conflict?
funds. We have information that shows this investment translates A: The task force has been dissolved. That said, the public will
into a return of more than $10 billion annually. This performance have ample opportunity to weigh in on this issue. There is a Board
is reflected in our proposed budget in which we remain largely of Fisheries meeting in Cook Inlet next year. I have done a quick
intact. This said, there are some proposed reductions that will read of the proposals submitted, and there are many proposals that
require some cutbacks, notably in our ability
to travel. But I am optimistic that we will be
able to continue to manage our fisheries for
sustained yield and their benefits.
Q: Could the fishing industry see new put your best
fleet forward
fees to pay for management? Might we
also see more cost recovery fisheries?
A: The reality is that management costs
money and that reductions in stock assess-
ment will lead to more conservative manage-
ment and less benefits. We will work with
industry to look for ways to partner to ensure
we can continue to maximize benefits. This
will include developing new partnerships
such as the one we have with the Bristol Foss Maritime’s full-service shipyard is
Bay Fisheries Collaborative. We will also equipped to take on any project from cost-
work with industry to examine cost recovery effective repairs and maintenance to major
options including cost recovery fisheries. conversions and new construction. With
Finally, we will examine in consultation multiple dry docks, cranes up to 90-tons,
with industry the current fee and license experienced teams of ABS- and DNV-certified
structures. Working with affected users, engineers and highly skilled craftspeople, we
sport fishing license fees were increased keep your fleet moving forward.
several years ago and those fees are now
being used to replace lost general funds to
ensure we can continue important programs. always safe. always ready.
I think it is reasonable to work with commer- www.foss.com
cial users to review commercial license fees. 800.426.2885
Having said that, it is important to recognize
that sustained yield management of our fish
and game resources is a constitutional man-
WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COM £ JUNE 2019 £ PACIFICFISHING £ 11MANAGEMENT
offer potential solutions. There are also bills in the Legislature such escapements will result in a return that can support previous levels
as the setnet buyback legislation that offer potential solutions. of harvest. We will use the new tools the Board of Fisheries gave us
I have been meeting with various user groups throughout to manage this fishery and to provide for harvest opportunity as
Cook Inlet to discuss their issues and concerns as well as potential runs strength allows.
solutions. What I have been hearing is that nearly everyone wants
Q: Weak Chinook salmon runs remain a worry across
predictability, whether it be a commercial fisherman, sport or
much of the state. Research has been ongoing for several
personal use angler, sport fishing guide, or subsistence user. I am
years now. What have we learned?
not that naïve, and understand that it will be difficult to find the
sweet spot that makes everyone happy. However, just because it’s A : We have learned that the problem appears to be marine-
hard doesn’t mean we should not try. I believe there are solutions related in that we are seeing poor adult returns from spawning
to be found that will lessen the conflict. escapements and smolt production levels that should produce
healthy adult returns. There are many factors that have been
Q : Southeast Alaska salmon purse seiners recently identified as influencing the poor survival rates including warm
voted to shoulder a federal loan to retire another 36 permits Gulf of Alaska temperatures (the Blob), food competition, and
from the fishery. The state has, in the past, objected to the food scarcity, among others. It is probably a combination of these
buyback. What’s your stance? factors. But it is currently unknown how much each of these factors
A: When this buyback was first proposed, we were concerned is influencing survival. Given we have limited ability to control
about two possible negative outcomes. The first was that so many marine survival, our focus will continue to be to ensure we meet
permits would be removed from the fishery that our ability to man- our escapement objectives.
age for established salmon escapement goals would be diminished. Q : U.S. and Canadian negotiators last year reached a
We thought it was possible that in years when runs are particu-
new 10-year agreement under the Pacific Salmon Treaty.
larly large, the fleet would not have adequate capacity to harvest
The deal left many Alaska fishermen grumbling. Have the
enough surplus fish and escapement goals would be exceeded.
two governments ratified the agreement? How does it figure
The second concern was that if too many permits were removed
to affect Alaska catches of king salmon? And is there any
from the fishery, it would become exceedingly difficult for new
entrants in the fishery and the fishery would become too exclusive, opportunity to improve the deal from Alaska’s perspective?
either through lack of permits available for sale or excessively high A: The treaty was ratified and is in effect for a 10-year period
asking prices for permits. and as such we are bound to its terms. It calls for coastwide reduc-
Thus far, neither concern has manifested itself and that is why you tions in response to the reduced productivity of Chinook salmon
did not see the state comment on the latest buyback referendum. stocks. Alaska took reductions, but so did the other jurisdictions.
Within the limited entry system, a tension exists between the need The negotiation was completed before my appointment,
to meet a fishery management objective by controlling the number and I am left with its implementation. What concerns me is the
of permits available yet still allowing fair access to the fishery. treaty was negotiated and agreed upon with an understanding
With any future proposed fishery limitation or permit reduction that there would be new federal money to: 1) implement the
initiative, the state will closely evaluate this balance. new treaty management obligations (of which there are many),
2) provide increased funds for hatchery production to offset lost
Q : Alaska’s salmon hatcheries have come under fire wild stock harvest opportunities, and 3) provide funds to mitigate
lately from critics who oppose expansion of hatchery impacts to orcas in Puget Sound to ensure we get a no-jeopardy
production. They contend hatchery fish pose a threat to biological opinion.
wild salmon. What’s your take on hatcheries? Unfortunately, this money was not part of the agreement, and I
A: I believe hatcheries play a critical role in providing harvest am now having to advocate for its inclusion in the federal budget.
opportunities for both commercial and sport harvesters. This said, I have already made one trip to Washington, D.C., to advocate for
we need to ensure that our hatchery operations are conducted in this funding and will continue to work with our congressional
a manner that protects our wild stocks, which are the foundation delegation. In the event adequate funding is not realized, I
for our fisheries. This includes assessment of straying and food will demand that the Pacific Salmon Commission evaluate the
competition. We are investing into research to help answer the impact that insufficient funding has on our ability to meet our
straying question regarding pink salmon in Prince William Sound. treaty obligations.
This will require a multiyear effort. Until this research is completed,
Q : On the department’s website, you list one of your
I don’t support increases in hatchery releases in PWS.
priorities as “putting food – both fish and wildlife – on the
Q: At Chignik, seiners are accustomed to catching 1 million plates of Alaskans.” Can you elaborate?
sockeye or more annually, but a run failure resulted in A: We will actively manage our resources to maximize human
practically no harvest last year. Can the department do benefits rather than managing them for their “natural diversity.”
anything this season to help Chignik? That is, we will actively manage for both economic value and food
A: It is hard to manage for harvest in the face of a run failure security. This means ensuring we are meeting our subsistence obli-
that occurred at Chignik last year. Our focus was, and will continue gations as a priority. It also means that in nonsubsistence areas, we
to be, on ensuring escapement as a priority with the hope that these will manage to ensure that Alaskans have a reasonable opportunity
12 £ PACIFICFISHING £ JUNE 2019 £ WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COMCommissioner Doug Vincent-Lang, center, meets with senior staff at department headquarters in Juneau. Pictured from left, commercial fisheries
Director Sam Rabung, federal fisheries coordinator Karla Bush, and Deputy Commissioner Rachel Baker.
to put food on their tables through personal use and sport fishing Fishery Management Council, and the International Pacific
opportunities. This said, I understand that how fish are allocated in Halibut Commission?
nonsubsistence areas is a Board of Fisheries decision. A: Appointments to the Alaska Board of Fisheries and the North
Q : What’s your general philosophy with respect to Pacific Fishery Management Council are through the governor’s
Alaska’s subsistence fisheries? office and the president makes appointments to the International
A: Subsistence is a priority and the department will do its best Pacific Halibut Commission. I will work with the governor to
to ensure we are providing reasonable opportunity to attain estab- ensure we have capable people appointed to these regulatory
lished amounts necessary for subsistence. We will also continue entities. The key is to have capable people who are willing to
our efforts to update our research on subsistence uses. put the effort forth to make informed decisions based on their
Under state management, all Alaskans have a subsistence experience and the input they receive as part of the public process.
priority. I believe that is preferred to the federal system which I believe that the current membership of these entities has people
provides for a rural-only preference. There are many displaced with these skills, and I look forward to working with them to
rural Alaskans in urban areas who are provided a subsistence resolve issues important to Alaska.
priority under the state management system. Under the federal Q: Historically, Alaska’s fish and game commissioner has
system, they don’t have that priority. These displaced rural personally occupied the state’s seat on the North Pacific
residents should have access to subsistence fisheries. Council during its marathon meetings. But you have chosen
Q : Do you believe we have the proper balance of to designate a member of your staff, Rachel Baker, for the
interests on the Alaska Board of Fisheries, the North Pacific seat. Why?
WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COM £ JUNE 2019 £ PACIFICFISHING £ 13MANAGEMENT
“We need to examine how we can get young people experience and help in financing their entry into fisheries,” says Alaska Fish and Game
Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang.
A : The commissioner has a wide range of responsibilities – harvesters, processors, and communities that participate in the
from management of fisheries to management of game to Title 16 federal fisheries off Alaska. It also reflects that the North Pacific
permitting. All these issues are important, and I wanted to focus Council is the only regional fishery management council in the
my efforts more equally across this wide range of duties and United States with jurisdiction over fisheries that occur entirely off
responsibilities. As such, I looked for a person who could occupy the coast of one state.
the council seat who had the skills to represent the state on council
Q: One difficult issue that’s been in the council’s sights
issues. I believe Rachel has these skills, and I look forward to
forever is Gulf of Alaska groundfish rationalization. This
having her represent our interests at the council table.
would involve establishing catch shares for trawlers and
Q : The North Pacific Council includes members from maybe other fleets. Should this happen?
three states. In recent years, certain voices in Washington
A: This is a controversial issue. We are currently talking with
and Oregon have complained that Alaska has used its a wide range of stakeholder groups about this and other issues
council majority to unfair advantage. They advocate more to develop the state’s council priorities for the next four years.
seats for Washington and Oregon to counter what they If we proceed down this path, we need to develop a problem
perceive is an effort to “Alaskanize” fisheries that belong to statement that clearly articulates the issue and potential benefits of
the nation, not just Alaska. What’s your view? any implemented program. This needs to include the potential to
A: I support the current structure as established by the Magnuson- reduce bycatch and protect state water fisheries as well as measures
Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. It ensures to improve groundfish utilization and increase the value of
that North Pacific Council members are knowledgeable about the the fisheries.
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www.lynden.com | 1-888-596-3361SCIENCE
Michael Courtney with a salmon tagged near Homer. Photo courtesy of Andy Seitz
Satellite tags reveal what’s eating older Chinook salmon
S ometimes being a scientist requires a bit of detective work.
Andy Seitz, a researcher at the University of Alaska Fairbanks
College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, needed his detective hat
Fahrenheit). But in many of the prematurely transmitted datasets,
the researchers noticed a sudden spike in temperatures days before
the data was transmitted.
when an alarming number of his fish tags started popping up to “The depth records of these tags were still moving up and down,
the surface of the ocean early. sometimes down to 400 meters, and remaining at this 25-degree
“At first, we speculated an equipment malfunction,” Seitz said. (77 degrees F) temperature,” Seitz said. “The only place that can
Seitz and CFOS researcher Michael Courtney have been using happen is in the stomach of a warm-blooded salmon shark.”
pop-up satellite tags to study Chinook salmon since 2013. A satellite After exiting a shark’s digestive system, the tag would pop to the
tag is attached to a fish, where it collects data on temperature, surface and remain inactive, triggering data transmission.
depth, and ambient light intensity. On a preprogrammed date, the Not so safe: The researchers tagged 43 late-stage Chinook
tag releases from the fish, pops up to the surface of the ocean, and salmon between 2013 and 2017, and 35 of the tags transmitted
transmits its stored data to satellites that researchers can access data back to satellites. Marine predators, including warm-blooded
from a computer. salmon sharks, cold-blooded fish, and marine mammals, consumed
Seitz and Courtney were testing whether the tags are an effective 19 of the 35 tagged fish.
tool for studying Chinook salmon ecology and behavior. They “These results do show that pop-up satellite tags are an effective
focused on understudied late-stage marine salmon that have spent tool for learning about Chinook salmon ecology and behavior –
more than a couple of years at sea. and mortality, too,” Courtney said. “There aren’t any other research
“It has been assumed that the early stage in the ocean is more methods that allow you to continue to collect data after a fish has
dangerous,” Seitz said, “and that fish become safer as they grow.” been consumed.”
The Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Sustainable Salmon Initiative These results also suggest that late-stage marine salmon may not
and the Pollock Conservation Cooperative Research Center funded be as safe as originally suspected.
the project. This study was recently selected as an editor’s choice in the
Abort mission! Early in this project, a number of the tags were Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences because it
transmitting data sooner than expected. Each tag is programmed provides new information on a previously understudied salmon
with an “abort mission!” sensor that is triggered when the tag is life stage. Seitz and Courtney are working on proposals to continue
inactive for three days, telling the tag to automatically transmit their studies. With additional years of tagging, the team can
data to satellites even if it’s before the programmed release date. consider how predation rates change annually and regionally, and
Seitz and Courtney had tagged big Chinook salmon off the what this means for Chinook salmon populations.
coast of Dutch Harbor in December, when temperatures in the
– University of Alaska Fairbanks
Bering Sea are about 4 to 6 degrees Celsius (about 39 to 43 degrees
16 £ PACIFICFISHING £ JUNE 2019 £ WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COMSeven reasons why
size matters for halibut
Alaska halibut are remarkable fish. They can grow to be very
large. Read on to find out why bigger is better!
• An Alaska halibut can grow to be 8 feet long and 5 feet wide,
and weigh 500 pounds.
• Because of their size, adult halibut have few predators – mainly
sharks, marine mammals, and humans.
• Their large size and delectable white meat make halibut a
prized target for both commercial and sport fishermen, as well as
an important subsistence resource. Halibut is one of Alaska’s most
valuable fisheries.
• Huge halibut are called “barn doors.” Small halibut are “chickens.”
• Barn door halibut are typically females. Females grow much
larger than males, which rarely reach a length of 3 feet.
• Mother halibut get more prolific as they get bigger. A 50-pound
female produces about 500,000 eggs. A 250-pound female can pro-
duce 4 million eggs!
• Halibut have been getting smaller for their age since the
1970s. By the 2000s, an average 12-year-old halibut weighed half
as much as one in the 1980s. The reasons for the decrease in size
are unknown, but competition for food, climate effects, and fishing
effects are possible causes.
An Alaska Fisheries Science Center researcher next to a big halibut.
– NOAA Fisheries NOAA Fisheries photo
Salmon preview continued from Page 9
“Nobody’s finding much,” said Greg
Mueller, executive director of the Wash-
ington Trollers Association and a member
of the Pacific Fishery Management Coun-
cil’s Salmon Advisory Subpanel. “The
high boat that I know of had five fish.”
Interviewed on May 9, Mueller report-
ed that the per-pound price in Westport
was $14.
Fishing in the northern Oregon/Wash-
ington area is limited, largely due to low
to moderate Columbia River and Puget
Sound Chinook abundance forecasts.
The overall Chinook quota for the
spring and summer months is 26,250 fish,
down from last year’s 27,500-fish quota.
But hatchery coho abundance is expect-
ed to be robust and the marked coho
quota is much improved from last year’s
5,600-fish limit, at 30,400 fish. Washing-
ton’s coho fishing begins in July.
“So, it’s a meager year for our bread
and butter, which is Chinook, and hope-
fully the coho price will be good enough,”
Mueller said. “But the coho price in Wash-
ington all depends on sockeye out of
Alaska – if they really get the sockeye up
there, it drives the coho price down.”
– Wesley Loy and Daniel Mintz Kenny Nakazawa, of the F/V Ikura, lands Chinook in Half Moon Bay. Mark Newell photo
WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COM £ JUNE 2019 £ PACIFICFISHING £ 17ALASKA NOTEBOOK by WESLEY LOY
‘Mayday, vessel Masonic going down’
Schooner grounding: An old and familiar vessel, the halibut MSC salmon update: Alaska’s salmon
schooner Masonic, met with disaster on May 7. fishery recently won Marine Stewardship
The 70-foot wooden boat, built in 1930, ran hard aground in the Council recertification.
Spanish Islands southeast of Sitka. A certificate declaring that the fishery is
“well-managed and sustainable” was issued
on April 23, and is good until Nov. 11, 2023.
MSC certification is considered important for selling Alaska
salmon into certain markets such as Europe. Certification allows
the use of the MSC’s blue ecolabel.
Alaska salmon was first certified in 2000.
Cannery sale: A shuttered Bristol Bay cannery is up for sale.
The former Wards Cove cannery property includes 29 acres with
various buildings. The asking price is $3.5 million.
“We have had this valuable piece of property on the Egegik River
in Alaska for some years now, and it’s time to move on,” Rudy
The halibut schooner Masonic aground in Southeast Alaska. USCG Air De La Garza, CEO of FD Financial Corp., said in a May 22 press
Station Sitka photo release. “This was once one of the biggest salmon canneries in
A U.S. Coast Guard helicopter rescued the five crewmen from a Alaska. The dream was to rebuild and open the cannery but, as
life raft and took them to Sitka, uninjured. The rescue came after many financial ventures end, this was just not in the stars for my
the Coast Guard’s Juneau command center, monitoring Channel 16, partners and me. We all had too many other commitments and not
heard “Mayday, vessel Masonic going down.” near the time necessary to make this a reality.”
As of press time, chances looked slim that the Masonic could be
salvaged. Responders saw “significant structural deterioration” of Sitka herring update: The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery
the vessel in the days after the grounding. One photo showed the was a complete bust this season – no commercial harvest occurred
lower stern had been smashed out. as the fish didn’t meet market requirements.
State records list William C. Lewis, of Sitka, as the Masonic’s owner. But plenty of herring were around. And they left lots of
spawn behind.
“The estimate of 55.8 nautical miles of herring spawn is slightly
less than the long-term (1999-2018) average spawn mileage of
59.6 nautical miles,” state fishery managers said. “While the 2019
spawn mileage estimate was below average, preliminary results
of the spawn deposition survey revealed that the offshore width
and density of herring spawn were greater than average. This was
especially true of the spawn on the Kruzof Island shoreline.”
Personnel file: Scott Kelley, former director of commercial
fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is going to
work for the state’s flagship commercial fishing trade association.
United Fishermen of Alaska on May 21 announced the hiring of
Kelley as its executive administrator. UFA is based in Juneau, and
Kelley lives there.
Kelley replaces retiring UFA employee Mark Vinsel.
“Scott’s immense knowledge of commercial fisheries in Alaska
is well-respected and his relationship with commercial fishermen
is extremely valuable,” said UFA Executive Director Frances Leach.
Washington watch: Congressman Don Young, R-Alaska,
on May 2 introduced legislation (H.R. 2467) that would prohibit
the interior and commerce secretaries from allowing commercial
finfish aquaculture operations in the federal exclusive economic
zone unless specifically authorized by Congress.
“My legislation takes needed steps to prevent the unchecked
spread of aquaculture operations by reigning in the federal
bureaucracy, and empowering Congress to determine where new
aquaculture projects should be conducted,” Young said.
Wesley Loy is editor of Pacific Fishing magazine and producer of Deck-
boss, a blog on Alaska commercial fisheries.
18 £ PACIFICFISHING £ JUNE 2019 £ WWW.PACIFICFISHING.COMYou can also read
