“We told them that we are fishing communities,” said Osterback. “We don’t do anything else. We don’t have anything else. Every business in our communities depends on the fisheries.”
KUCB / Andy Lusk
The mayors of Unalaska and the Aleutians East Borough traveled to Washington, D.C. last month, sounding the alarm on the challenges jeopardizing Alaska’s fisheries.
Unalaska Mayor Vince Tutiakoff Sr. and Aleutians East Borough Mayor Alvin Osterback attended an invite-only conference May 22 and 23 in the nation’s capital. There, they filled state and federal officials in on the severity of the fishing industry crash and its impact on rural communities.
“Right now they have a crisis going on in King Cove,” Tutiakoff said during an Unalaska City Council meeting in late May, referencing the recent closure of Peter Pan — King Cove’s main economic driver. “They will not have a processing plant and they will not have a salmon season. They don’t have a crab season. They’re in real dire need.”
The closure of Peter Pan and sell-offs within Trident have sent shock waves through coastal towns who rely on the fishing industry.
Tutiakoff said federal officials he spoke with were interested in the issue but weren’t aware of the whole situation.
“My comments to the Secretary of Commerce were that we need help,” he said. “We need it soon. Unlike some communities, we do have some revenues but it’s not going to carry us very long before we start to feel the impact.”
Tutiakoff said the main issue brought forward at the meeting was that Alaska’s fish can’t compete with loopholes in global markets. He said Russian-caught fish is being transferred to countries like China and then sold on the American market as an Alaska product.
He called for federal officials to close loopholes that benefit the Russian fishing industry, warning that if help didn’t come soon, “Russian fish will be on everybody’s plate.”
Osterback agreed with Tutiakoff, emphasizing the region’s reliance on the success of its fisheries.
“We told them that we are fishing communities,” said Osterback. “We don’t do anything else. We don’t have anything else. Every business in our communities depends on the fisheries.”
Osterback noted that Sen. Dan Sullivan is working to add fisheries into renewal of the Farm Bill, a set of programs that support American agriculture. Including fisheries in the bill could insulate the industry from fluctuating markets.
“Whether you’re growing crops on land or you’re harvesting in the sea, you’re still a harvester,” Osterback said. “The fishermen, the municipalities, the processors — we’re all tied together pretty tight. If one fails, we all fail.”
Sens. Sullivan and Lisa Murkowski are expected to present a strategic plan to the Secretary of Commerce this summer.
ADFG’s South Alaska Peninsula Salmon pre-season stakeholders meeting will happen via M$ Teams videoconference:
Thursday, May 30th, 2024 at 10AM
“Annual ADFG Preseason meeting for fishermen. Video conferencing will be available at AEB offices in Sand Point, King Cove, Nelson Lagoon and False Pass. Otherwise fishermen can use the phone number to call in directly or from the harbor houses. They will need to dial the number below and enter the passcode.”
Meeting ID: 279 844 469 514
Dial-in by phone
+1 323-433-2327,,678885963# United States, Los Angeles
(833) 779-6874,,678885963# United States (Toll-free)
Phone conference ID: 678 885 963#
Peter Pan announces it will cease operations
Peter Pan Seafood Co., the state-backed processing company that has faced dire financial troubles recently, announced Friday it was ceasing operations.
“We’re saddened to share that Peter Pan Seafoods will be halting operations at its processing plants, leading to the discontinuation of both summer and winter production cycles for the foreseeable future,” the company said in a Facebook post Friday night.
The company faced mounting troubles, including legal claims from fishermen claiming back-owed payments for unpaid deliveries of seafood.
Silver Bay Seafoods recently announced it would acquire Peter Pan’s Valdez facility, as well as operate Peter Pan’s facilities in Dillingham and Port Moller during the 2024 salmon season. It never specified, however, if the King Cove plant would be included.
“This is so sad because I [worked up in King Cove] from ‘96 through last summer,” one commenter posted. “I have good memories from King Cove and the plant, have my kids in the school for a few years.”
King Cove, a community of around 800 residents, relies on the processing facility as its main economic engine. The city already faced hardship when Peter Pan opted last minute not to open for winter’s “A” season, forcing local fishing boats to scramble for new facilities where they could deliver their catch.
“Thanks for waiting until the last possible minute before you told the community of King Cove,” another person commented. “Wouldn’t even tell the fishing fleet of King Cove face to face what was happening, we all have to find out on Facebook.”
Peter Pan said current or former employees can seek processing jobs at Silver Bay Seafoods, but did not specify which facilities would be hiring.
CFEC:
https://www.cfec.state.ak.us/
Survey:
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/fishingkids
New CFEC Survey Seeks Feedback on Commercial Fishing Permit Transfers to Minors
March 21, 2024/Juneau, AK. The Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission (CFEC) which works to conserve and maintain the economic health of Alaska’s commercial fisheries by limiting the number of participating fishers, announced the launch of a new survey on the topic of transfers of CFEC permit ownership to minors under the age of 16 (or under 10 years of age for set net permits).
“The CFEC welcomes feedback from the fleet and is always looking for ways to support Alaska’s family fishing traditions and create quality opportunities for Alaska’s fishing kids to learn the skills they’ll need to become the next generation of Alaska’s commercial fishermen.”
A link to the survey can be found on CFEC’s website at www.cfec.state.ak.us. For further information, please contact: Robin Loreth, Commercial Fisheries Permit Hearing Officer, email: dfg.cfec.adjudications@alaska.gov or visit cfec.state.ak.us
2024.03.21 Minors Survey PRESS RELEASE pdf
Sand Point Commercial Salmon Fishery Advisory Announcement #01
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will be conducting a fishery stakeholder’s meeting on Wednesday,
May 31 at 10:00 a.m.
The meeting will be held at the Aleutians East Borough building. We will also hold the meeting through
Zoom and broadcast on KSDP Sand Point public radio station 830AM and livestreamed at https://apradio.org/
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/1470523639.pdf
Tomorrow, Friday April 21st at 1:30 pm there will be a teleconference to hear testimony regarding Senate Bill 128.
Attached below is information on how to call in to testify.
How to call in to testify
Talking Points: Seiners / CAMF
(more…)
KSDP is seeking applicants to Represent Area M at the Board of Fish Meeting from February 20th until February 25th, 2023.
Candidates interested in a paid trip to Anchorage from February 20th through February 25th 2023 to represent Area M should contact:
Austin Roof, General Manager of KSDP radio in Sand Point with their reason for interest no later than the 21st of January, 2023.
Contact information can be found in the attached notice.
Download Fish News from Dec. 17, 2022 here:
https://www.aleutianseast.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/12/Fish-News-Dec.-17-2022.pdf
The audio from the meeting is archived here:
https://apradio.org/mp3/2022-12-20-aebfish.mp3
“The Aleutians East Borough Natural Resources Department will host the annual Winter Fisheries meeting via Zoom on Tuesday, December 20, 2022 at 10 a.m.
Agency representatives will provide overviews of upcoming 2023 winter fisheries and give updates on any regulation changes of note.
Some of the upcoming 2023 local State-water fisheries guideline harvest levels and opening dates:
• South Peninsula Tanner Crab Eastern District 525,000 lbs., Western District
575,000 lbs. Open Jan. 15, 2023.
• South Alaska Peninsula Pacific cod pot gear 4,196,059 lbs., opens March 7, 2023
or 7 days after fed season closes, jig gear Pcod 740,481 lbs., opens 48 hours after
federal A season closes.
• Dutch Harbor Subdistrict Pacific cod pot gear 38,316,000 lbs., open 7 days after
fed BSAI pot cod <60ft closes; jig gear Pcod 100,000 lbs., open May 1, 2023."
Check out the interview that was held after the community meeting that included Board of Fish Chairperson Marit Carlson-Van Dort and Board Member John Wood. Both speak on the incredible task of regulating Alaska Fisheries and the matters they see coming on the horizon of this years Board of Fish Cycle.
Download and Listen to the audio ofthe interview.
Download the Meeting Here!
The Alaska Department of fish and game has just released Sand Point Commercial Salmon Fishery Advisory Announcement #02.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is soliciting bids to charter purse seine fishing vessels to conduct a cost recovery fishery in the South Peninsula on or about June 8, June 9, and June 10, 2022. The request for quotation (bid) format for the 2022 cost recovery fishery will be based on a percentage of the catch value, not to exceed 30% of the value paid to the bidders at the dock on the day of the delivery. Upon delivery, the winning bidders will present their permits to the buyer and the harvest for each day will be split onto two separate payments relative to the percentages of the winning bid. The contract will be awarded to the bidder with the lowest percentage of the total value of the catch. Bids for greater than 30% of the value of the catch will be rejected. To obtain further information and bid forms contact the Kodiak Fish and Game office at 907-486-1874 or the Sand Point office at (907) 383-2066.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will be conducting a fishery stakeholder’s meeting on Wednesday June 8th at 10:00 AM.
To obtain further information, please refer to the attached document or contact the Sand Point Fish and Game office at (907) 383-2066 or the Kodiak Fish and Game office at (907) 486-1874.
Sand Point Commercial Fishery Advisory Announcement #01
Download the audio here after the meeting.
Download the Meeting Here!
Sand Point Fish & Game Advisory Committee Meeting Announcement
The Sand Point AC will meet in the Sand Point City Council Chambers on:
Thursday, March 3, 2022, at 6:00pm
The purpose of this meeting is to discuss Board of Fisheries Shellfish Proposals 264, 265, and 267 and Finfish Proposal 282 (formerly ACR 7).
The committee will also discuss representation and subcommittee work during the upcoming Statewide Shellfish meeting.
This meeting is open to the public.
The Sand Point Fish and Game Advisory Committee is a collection of community members from all user groups that come together, discuss Fish and Game issues and recommend changes to current regulations. They also represent their community before the Board of Fisheries and Board of Game at board meetings.
For more information, contact:
Taryn O’Connor-Brito
Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Boards Support Section
(907) 842-5142 | taryn.oconnor-brito@alaska.gov
Audio is available for download here (10MB, 45min):
https://apradio.org/mp3/2021-12-29-aeb-fish.mp3
AEB Fishermen’s Winter Fisheries Meeting on Wednesday December 29, 2021 10AM via Zoom/virtual meeting
Meeting scheduled to be broadcast live on local radio KSDP and at www.apradio.org
Agencies Representatives expected to be available at this teleconference meeting:
• U. S. Coast Guard, Kodiak.
• Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Kodiak.
• NMFS Alaska Region, Juneau.
• Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle.
• North Pacific Observer Program & A.I.S. observer providers.
• Trawl EM EFP coordinators.
• NMFS Office of Law Enforcement
• International Pacific Halibut Commission
Aleutians East Borough’s Natural Resources Department will host the meeting from the Anchorage office conference room 3380 C Street – fishermen welcome.
For more information please contact Aleutians East Borough:
Natural Resources Director Ernie Weiss 907-274-7557 eweiss@aeboro.org or
Natural Resources Assistant Director Charlotte Levy 907-274-7566 clevy@aeboro.org
