They say it ain't over 'til the fat lady sings. Well, she's singin'. The 2024 IFQ sablefish and halibut season closed on December 7th with what might be the lowest harvest of Pacific halibut since the 1970s. Homer is still top dog in the halibut world, with 499 deliveries totaling 3,570,994 pounds; Kodiak ranks #1 for sablefish, with 268 offloads totaling 7,524,544 pounds. Statewide, the halibut TAC was 81% harvested and the sablefish TAC was 60% harvested. 

The NPFMC wrapped up their December meeting this week. A full recap will be available here soon. In the meantime, here are the adopted BSAI groundfish TACs (the total sablefish TAC in BSAI will remain the same, but the council shifted 500 metric tons from AI to BS); here are the adopted GOA groundfish TACs (the sablefish TAC is roughly the same in WG and CG, down 8% in WY and a up 6% in SE); here are the adopted BSAI crab harvest specs; and here are the charter halibut management measures for 2025.

What Else?

Applications for disaster relief for the 2018 and 2020 Upper Cook Inlet salmon disasters were mailed out in November and are due by no later than January 31st for permit holders, February 11th for processors, and February 28th for crew.

Applications for disaster relief are available for the 2018 and 2020 Copper River and PWS salmon disasters. Deadlines to apply are: February 18th for processors, February 21st for tenders, February 28th for permit holders, and March 28th for crew.

Some bright spots may be appearing on the seafood horizon, as seafood demand and volumes are expected to improve.

Wholesale prices for crab are up across the board (snow, Tanner, red and golden king) amidst high demand and low inventory. 

ASMI’s Global Food Aid program sales topped $1.07 billion this year, at a cost of just $6 million. Talk about ROI!

In 2024, Circle Seafoods paid Southeast fishermen $0.48/lb for pink salmon, nearly twice the statewide average. How? Freezing whole fish immediately and selling to large distributors. The company's plans for expansion in 2025 include adding a second freezer barge to its fleet in time for the large forecasted run. 

H&G cod and haddock from Norway continue to fetch record prices, with trawl-caught cod hitting an average of $3.17/lb at auction last week. (Sorry, what are we getting for Pacific cod in Alaska?!)

This week, a group of trawlers published an opinion piece in response to an opinion piece published last week by an anti-trawl group. It's the tale of the dueling op-eds!

NMFS released their annual Ecosystem Status Reports. 

The joint legislative seafood task force met for the fourth time this week and discussed marketing efforts, pack loans, vessel insurance, industry infrastructure and other concerns with industry reps.

The Coast Guard has recovered two bodies near Hoonah, believed to be among the five lost on the F/V Wind Walker on December 1. (Please consider donating to the fundraisers at the top of this email.) 

Governor Dunleavy has requested federal disaster relief funds for Kotzebue following the “poorest harvest on record.”

Last week NOAA announced $100 million in funding available for habitat restoration and coastal resilience projects. Proposals are due by April 16, 2025.

AquaBounty, the US-based maker of "Frankenfish", the first genetically modified animal to get FDA approval back in 2015, announced it will cease all fish farming operations. Darn.

PSF, Inc. (formerly Peter Pan Seafoods, Inc.) paid a $750,000 fine for Clean Water Act violations.

A new report from the University of Alaska Fairbanks shows how "climate extremes" are responsible for declining Chinook populations. 

The FDA is studying PFAS ("forever chemicals") in seafood, leading some to think the agency may issue safety alerts or try to establish minimum acceptable levels of PFAS in seafood products.

This week, Homer's public radio station, KBBI, launched Fathoms Deep: An Oral History of Homer Harbor, a six-part monthly series told by people who lived and worked in Homer at the time, and their children. Listen to the first episode here.

Last week's Bering Sea Barometer: The fishing grounds are quiet as the year wraps up, yellowfin sole catch is down significantly, mariners lost at sea, and a bi-weekly podcast schedule over the holidays. 

This week's Alaska Fisheries Report: low prices for last year's Bristol Bay sockeye season, the size of chinook salmon, and an effort to encourage "ocean pastures."