Final reminder: AgWest Farm Credit (a sponsor of this newsletter!) offers $15,000 New Producer Grants to newer fishermen. That's free money  The deadline to apply is May 31. Note that the flyer refers to agriculturalists, but the grant program is open to fishermen.

NMFS issued a preliminary decision to move forward with listing multiple Alaska king salmon populations as endangered under the ESA, following a suit brought by the Wild Fish Conservancy, an environmental group based in Washington. The next step is a long scientific review, which is likely to take about a year and is a stringent threshold. Although an actual listing would come with untold repercussions for the fishing industry, no fisheries limitations come with this initial decision.

AK Representative Peltola introduced two bills related to trawl and bycatch. The  Bycatch Reduction and Mitigation Act authorizes NOAA’s Bycatch Reduction and Engineering Program at $10 million for five years and sets up a Bycatch Mitigation Assistance Fund, which will provide financial assistance for the purchase of new gear or technology to reduce bycatch. That bill seems to have broad support. The second, the Bottom Trawl Clarity Act, requires the councils to define the terms “substantial” versus “limited” bottom contact, and to designate Bottom Trawl Zones to limit the areas where scraping of the seafloor is permitted. Trawlers have come out definitively against this bill. 

National Fishermen has been chatting with the bigwigs at Alaska's largest processors. Here are Silver Bay CEO Cora Campbell's thoughts on the state of the industry, and here are OBI Seafoods CEO John Hanrahan's. In general, it does seem we're seeing improvement and some optimism going into the 2024 season.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo declared a fishery disaster for Alaska's 2023–2024 Bering Sea snow crab fishery, paving the way for NOAA disaster assistance and potential disaster assistance from the Small Business Administration.

With the passing of HB19, commercial fishing vessels will no longer be required to register with the DMV. (It's not quite final yet - the bill passed the state legislature and is awaiting Gov. Dunleavy's signature.)

The state legislature also passed HB345, which will require all Alaska harbors owned and operated by cities and boroughs to have safety ladders.

And, the state passed HB273, which received a last minute amendment that will increase the maximum refinancing amount allowed by the state's Commercial Fisheries Revolving Loan Fund from $200,000 to $400,000, as well as lower the interest rate to 5.25% (compared to the current 10.5%). These are temporary changes that will sunset in 2027.

In a $2 billion lawsuit, Canadian seafood giant Cooke Inc. is accused of violating the American Fisheries Act and the Jones Act by maintaining de facto control, as non-citizens, over fishing vessels harvesting in US waters. 

The US Army Corps of Engineers included $800,000 for the Homer Harbor General Investigation in their FY24 work plan, allowing the study to keep moving through the fall.

A 73' fishing vessel ran into the dock in Ballard, damaging a pier and several vessels. 

Is direct marketing right for you? Find out the down and dirty and what it really entails here.

Click here for part two of Kodiak seiner Henry Orth's retelling of his first season as skipper. It's laugh-out-loud funny and uncomfortably relatable. 

Here's this week's Alaska Fisheries Report.

On Friday's Bering Sea Barometer podcast, Pete Neaton gets his boat ready to head east, talks about the Copper River opener and a quiet Dutch Harbor. 

Despite supporting the US ban on Russian-origin seafood, Trident CEO Joe Bundrant says that Trident subsidiary Pickenpack's ongoing purchasing of Russian seafood is an "economic necessity for survival." 

AK On-Board is a new program led by Alaska Sea Grant to offer hands on crew training to prospective deckhands. The next workshop will be held in Petersburg June 1-3. 

We were saddened to hear that two notable members of the fishing industry recently crossed the bar: NPFMC member Kenny Down passed away on May 5. His memorial service will be live-streamed the evening of June 8, during the June Council meeting. Larry Cotter, former council member and the former CEO of APICDA, passed away May 9. 

Some reminders:

AMSEA has upcoming drill conductor classes and safety trainings! Registration & info here.

The Halibut Defense Group is intervening in a lawsuit to enforce trawl bycatch reductions. Lawsuits are expensive. If this matters to you, please consider donating to the Halibut Defense Fund.

Applications are open for ALFA's 2024 Crew Training Program.

Real Time Data is looking for halibut and sablefish fishermen to test their e-logbook program, Deckhand, in the GOA this year. Fishermen will receive free software access for 2024 and 2025, a $500 stipend, and an iPad, case, and mount to keep if they participate in the full project duration. Ready to ditch the pen and paper? More info here.