The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro conducts a boarding of a Chinese fishing vessel The crew of the U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro recently completed a nearly two-month patrol, traveling 12,500 miles throughout the North Pacific Ocean, supporting Operation North Pacific Guard, an annual high seas U.S. fisheries international law […]
Research aims for baseline information on whale behavior and biology in absence of vessels. This is a collaborative effort with the University of Alaska Southeast, University of Alaska Fairbanks, NOAA Fisheries Alaska Regional Office and Alaska Fisheries Science Center/Auke Bay Laboratories and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission. It’s an unusual year out on […]
On October 30, 2019, the U.S. Secretary of Commerce declared the 2018 Chignik sockeye salmon fishery a disaster under the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. On February 27, 2020, the Secretary of Commerce allocated $10.3 million to address losses to the Chignik management area affected by the fishery failure. The State of Alaska, […]
Commercial salmon harvests in Alaska are off to a slow start in the 2020 season, with year-to-date statewide landings at just over three million fish – the lowest in at least 12 years. Still while some areas have been late to open or are much lower than historical averages, recovery from early season weakness […]
Four weeks into Alaska’s famed Copper River salmon fishery just half of the potential 12-hour commercial openers have been fished and inseason harvest estimates compiled by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game stand at a grand total of some 78,177 fish. Deliveries from the four commercial drift gillnet fisheries – the latest on […]
ANCHORAGE, Alaska — The Coast Guard will offer courtesy dockside examinations of commercial fishing vessels in Bristol Bay in anticipation of the 2020 Bristol Bay salmon fishery season. The Coast Guard anticipates sending examiners to the following locations for public outreach and to encourage dockside exam participation: King Salmon: June 8-22 Dillingham: June 15-26 […]
An innovative scientific approach to survey Alaska pollock this year. Scientists are capitalizing on existing technological capabilities and partnerships to collect fisheries data. This will help fill the information gap resulting from the cancellation of FY20 ship-based surveys due to the COVID-19 pandemic. NOAA Fisheries plans to use autonomous surface vehicles to collect some […]
Alaska Sea Grant recently surveyed the Alaska mariculture industry to shed light on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic and response on their businesses in February and March. Survey respondents reported that revenue was down, with 43 percent reporting losses of more than half of their revenue. More than a third had laid off […]