Alaska’s two U.S. senators are trying to get the face mask requirement aboard fishing vessels removed.
A Coast Guard Marine Safety Information Bulletin issued March 22 recites its authority to restrict vessel access to ports and at-sea operations if the boat operator and crew fail to follow the rules of the Centers for Disease Control.
“Vessels that have not implemented the mask requirement may be issued a Captain of the Port order directing the vessel’s movement and operations; repeated failure to impose the mask mandate could result in civil and/or criminal enforcement action,”the bulletin said.
The CDC mask requirement has been interpreted by the Coast Guard to apply to ”all forms of commercial maritime vessels,”including cargo ships, fishing vessels, research vessels and self-propelled barges. It requires “all travelers”to wear a mask, including those who have been vaccinated, according to National Fisherman.
The magazine wisely asked: “Why commercial fishing vessels have been included in a requirement written for airplanes, trains, subways, buses, taxis, ride-shares, trolleys and cable cars has yet to be explained by the Coast Guard.”
“Senator (Lisa) Murkowski and I have been pressing this relentlessly on a call with the Coast Guard commandant, a call with the White House guy who’s supposedly in charge of all the CDC issues. We had a meeting with the head of the CDC, we are trying to explain to them how, no offense, but just how stupid this is and how uninformed it is,”Sen. Dan Sullivan said last week at a ComFish forum.
“And it could be a safety issue, not with regard to COVID, but with having to wear masks when you’re out on the deck of a ship in 30-foot waves trying to bring in gear or pots. So, we’re going to continue to work on that one,”Sullivan said.
“The CDC has planted their heels on this one as I understand it,”said Doug Vincent-Lang, commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “Certainly, from a realistic standpoint, it makes no sense.”
Vincent-Lang said he is speaking with members of other coastal states and hopes to garner support to overturn the mask requirement.
“I think to the extent that we can form some kind of a unified position on this issue across more states, we stand a better chance of changing it.”
Trade talk
Alaska’s senators also spoke at ComFish about ongoing trade policies with Russia that hurt the U.S. seafood industry, and expressed hope for change under the new administration.
Russia stopped purchasing any foods from the U.S. and other nations that imposed sanctions on Russian individuals and businesses after its illegal land-grab of Crimea from Ukraine in 2014. Meanwhile, U.S. purchases of seafood from Russia have increased every year.
Russian seafood imports to the U.S. in 2020, for example, topped 97.5 million pounds, valued at nearly $1 billion, compared to 80.2 million pounds in 2019, valued at nearly $698 million.
“I think it was the one area where the Trump administration was kind of weak. I thought we could have done more,”said Sen. Sullivan, calling the lack of action “a disappointment.”
Sullivan said he raised the issue in a recent meeting with new U.S. Trade Representative Katherine Tai. “I said, look, it’s just ridiculous. Six years! I mean, that embargo started at the end of the Obama administration and the whole Trump administration. Meanwhile, most of their fish comes in almost duty free, and they’re taking market share from our fishermen in America.”
Sen. Lisa Murkowski added that she intends to raise the trade imbalance with new Secretary of State Antony Blinken and encourage him to include it in diplomatic discussions with Russia.
“The fact that this has been in place for as long as it has, the fact that it has caused harm to our fisheries is something that the education needs to continue at different levels. … This is one thing that I think we all agree we have got to have addressed. It has been going on for far, far too long and quite honestly, it’s untenable.”
Hatchery hauls
Last year, nearly 31 million salmon that got their start in Alaska hatcheries were caught in commercial fisheries, or 27% of the statewide harvest. The dockside value of $69 million comprised 23% of the state’s total salmon value.
That’s according to the annual salmon enhancement report released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
There are 30 hatcheries producing salmon in Alaska, of which 26 are operated by private, nonprofits funded primarily from sales of a portion of the returns, called cost recovery. There also are two state-run sport fish hatcheries, one research hatchery operated by NOAA Fisheries, and one hatchery operated by the Metlakatla Indian community.
At Prince William Sound, where six hatcheries operate, about 15 million hatchery salmon were harvested in 2020. Those fish accounted for 70% of the total commercial catch that was worth nearly $27 million at the docks, or 67% of the total value for the region.
At Southeast Alaska, 14 hatcheries operate, split between northern and southern regions. Last year, fewer than 4 million hatchery salmon were caught, accounting for 45% of the total harvest and 52% of the value to fishermen at $18 million.
Alaska’s combined hatcheries released 1.7 billion juvenile salmon in 2020 and are projecting a return this year of nearly 66 million fish.
Get schooled!
A first-ever, field-based Alaskan Aquaculture Semester in Sitka is being offered this fall to a dozen students from Alaska and across the nation.
It’s part of the University of Alaska Southeast Fisheries Technology Program that has been preparing students for jobs in the industry since 2009, with classes focusing on aquaculture and salmon enhancement and fisheries management.
The aquaculture semester adds in more direct training on the water.
“Students will come here and be able to get 13 credits of instruction with courses in salmon culture and mariculture, and also in cold water survival,”said Angie Bowers, assistant professor with the Fish Tech Program.
“And they’re going to learn how to drive boats and fix motors and tie knots and how to be safe. They will also be able to do an internship based on whatever they’re interested in. We’ll tour processors, they will be able to help out at local
hatcheries and shadow fishermen.”
There are three salmon hatcheries in the region where students will help with egg takes and learn about fish pathology and rearing before the tiny salmon head out to sea. Bowers said students also will be introduced to shellfish and kelp farming.
“Because of the timing
of the semester, that’s not the typical growing season for kelp, but we will be able to identify species of kelp and make the seed string that gets out-planted on a kelp farm. We will be visiting an oyster farm and we’ll try to incorporate as much of that mariculture experience as we can,”she said.
The Fish Tech Program is the university’s only one- and two-year, entry-level applied fisheries program. There has been a 10-fold growth since it began 12 years ago in Ketchikan, and graduates now work for agencies or organizations across Alaska and in the Lower 48, said director Joel Marcus. Part of the program’s success, he said, is that nearly all classes can be taken remotely.
But the new aquaculture semester will focus on being out on the water. Only 12 students will be accepted for the fall semester that starts Aug. 23 and runs through December. Visit Salmon Culture Semester to learn more or email Angie Bowers at abowers4@alaska.edu
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