North Pacific Focus 2018 Summer Edition

ANDY WINK Q&A / SEASON SUMMARY / ASMI UPDATE SUMMER 2018

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COLUMNS

FEATURES

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Q&A: ANDY WINK The BBRSDA’s new executive director begins his term.

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Net systems

tom aliotti

Summer 2018

ON THE HORIZON How to get started in Alaska’s mariculture industry.

24 DEPARTMENTS DEPARTMENTS 22 PILOTHOUSE PILOTHOUSELOG LOG 44 TIDINGS TIDINGS 44 CALENDAR CALENDAR 66 SEASON SUMMARY INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS 87 INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS BOOK REVIEW 98 FISHERPOETS GALLEY WATCH 109 ON THE MARKET FISHERPOETS 12 OUR YARDFORECASTS 10 SEASON 16 12 THE OURHULL YARDSTORY ALSO ALSO

35 35 AD ADINDEX INDEX 36 IN 36 INFOCUS FOCUS

BOATBUILDING

Oregon builder North River Boats launches its first Bristol Bay gillnetter.

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WHALE WATCHING

After a spike in whale entanglements, West Coast crabbers are under fire.

ON THE HOMEFRONT The Fish Queen earns the right to a new crown.

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From sailboats to steam power, trawling has changed a lot since its start in 1376.

THE LONG HAUL Exploring the landscape of the Aleutian Islands.

GEAR SHIFTS

Cover: The 32-foot Bristol Bay gillnetter F/V Nobody was launched by North River Boats in Roseburg, Ore., this year.

North River Boats photo.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

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PILOTHOUSE LOG

OPEN SEASON ON SALMON I

t was a banner season for Bristol Bay salmon, but not so much for the rest of Alaska’s salmon fishermen. Still it was better than the slim season most California fishermen got.

We celebrated Wild Salmon Day in August and are looking forward to the Year of the Salmon in 2019. And yet, the future of our wild salmon runs is tenuous. The Food and Drug Administration is likely to give AquaBounty the go-ahead to import genetically modified salmon eggs — not-so-lovingly called Frankenfish — to its grow-out facility in Indiana.

Labeling the fish as genetically modified for sale in the U.S. market has also been soft-pedaled by the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Marketing Service.

The Washington Legislature and state agencies continue to press Cook Aquaculture on net-pen farming of invasive salmon in Puget Sound and surrounds. Yet, the majority of West Coast salmon farms are located in British Columbia, over which our fishermen and policy makers have no jurisdiction.

Still another threat is more destructive chess moves in California watersheds, thanks to the latest generation of opportunistic politicians and devastating wildfires. For years, California’s fishermen have fought for water rights up against a powerful agricultural lobby. While acknowledging that the nation needs California produce, the fishing industry just wants enough water running through salmon streams to ensure the viability of a commercial fishery.

In the midst of this summer’s record-breaking wildfires, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross released a statement that said in part, “I directed the National Marine Fisheries Service to facilitate access to the water needed to fight the ongoing wildfires affecting the state of California.”

If NMFS controlled access to the water, do you think California salmon would be drying up on creek beds? It’s a real head scratcher that just might encourage you not to bother to read

EDITORIAL PUBLISHER EDITOR IN CHIEF ASSOCIATE EDITOR BOATS & GEAR EDITOR ART DIRECTOR

Jerry Fraser Jessica Hathaway Samuel Hill Paul Molyneaux Doug Stewart

www.divbusiness.com

the second paragraph of the statement. But that’s where the kicker comes, of course.

“Today, I direct NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service to make clear to all its federal agency partners that the protection of life and property takes precedence over any current agreements regarding the use of water in the areas of JESSICA HATHAWAY California affected by Editor in chief wildfires… Consistent with the emergency consultation provisions under the ESA, Federal agencies may use any water as necessary to protect life and property in the affected areas.”

Some folks might read the bit about threatened and endangered species and hope some guidelines might be relaxed in favor of the industry. However, California’s fishermen have used the ESA to fight for access to water that protects native salmon species.This emergency declaration has just tossed aside years of negotiations between fishermen and farmers.

“Going forward, the department and NOAA are committed to finding new solutions to address threatened and endangered species in the context of the challenging water management situation in California.”

New solutions, folks. In this case, new solutions are not likely to include more water for fishermen. Keep your eyes peeled for new solutions that favor the “life and property” of California farmers. In the meantime, let’s hope it’s not as bad as it looks.

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North Pacific Focus, Summer 2018, Vol. 5, No. 4, is published quarterly by Diversified Business Communications, 121 Free St., P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438. READERS: All editorial correspondence should be mailed to: National Fisherman, P.O. Box 7438, Portland, ME 04112-7438.

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

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TIDINGS MILESTONE GULF OF ALASKA SALMON STUDY SET FOR 2019

T

he International Year of the Salmon is set to begin in 2019.

The theme is “salmon and people in a changing world” and a focus will be a winter salmon study in the deepest regions of the Gulf of Alaska.

The salmon-centered year is a project launched by the North Atlantic Salmon Conservation Organization and North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission, which for 25 years has promoted research collaboration among scientists in its five member countries — Canada, Russian, Japan, Korea and the United States.

“The main inspiration for development of this project is our awareness of the challenges salmon meet in the open ocean related to the climate and in the coastal areas,” said Vladimir Radchenko, commission director and one of the world’s leading salmon scientists.

The primary goal of the project is to get more people involved in protecting salmon and coastal societies. The aim of the gulf study, Radchenko said, is to better understand the ocean phase of the salmon life cycle. Doing so would

improve knowledge to help forecast salmon abundance and carrying capacity of the North Pacific.

Researchers have some fragmented understanding of salmon distribution in the deep gulf area from several surveys starting in the late 1980s. But the surveys were small and the results contradictory, Radchenko said. The project set for next winter will be done with trawl gear and cover a vast area in international waters, 200 miles from shore.

Based on the survey results, Radchenko said researchers “may conclude the current state of the salmon stocks which spend the winter in the Gulf of Alaska.”

The 2019 winter survey will include scientists from all member countries and is set to be the first of many, depending on funds.

— Laine Welch

Early Alaska salmon sales point to good paydays

S

almon prices were starting to trickle in as more sales were firmed up by local buyers in early August. Early signs pointed to good paydays across the board.

In Bristol Bay, Trident, Ocean Beauty and Togiak Seafoods posted a base price of $1.25 a pound for sockeyes in late July. Trident was paying a 15-cent bonus for reds that are chilled and bled, and the others may follow suit.

Copper River Seafoods raised its

sockeye price from $1.30 to $1.70 for fish that is chilled/bled and sorted. That company also reportedly is paying 80 cents a pound for silver salmon and 45 cents for chums and pinks.

The average base price last year for Bristol Bay sockeyes was $1.02 a pound, 65 cents for silvers, 30 cents for chums and 18 cents a pound for pinks.

Kodiak advances were reported at $1.60 for sockeyes, 55 cents for chums and 40 cents for pinks. That compares to average prices of $1.38 for sockeyes, 40 cents for chums and 31 cents for Kodiak pinks in 2017.

At Prince William Sound a sockeye base price was reported at $1.95 and chums at 95 cents.

At Norton Sound, the single buyer was advancing 80 cents a pound for chums and $1.40 for silvers (same as last year) and 25 cents for pinks, an increase of 22 cents.

The weekly summary from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said Southeast trollers were averaging $8.48 for king salmon, an increase of $1.15 over last year.

Troll-caught silvers were at $1.64, a 16 cent increase; and chums were pay-

2018 CALENDAR SEPT. – NOV.

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Sept. 7-9 Santa Rosalia Fisherman’s Festival

Sept. 15 Fishermen’s Fall Festival

1 Custom House Plaza Monterey, CA (831) 625-9623 www.festaitaliamonterey.org

Fishermen’s Terminal 1900 W. Nickerson St. Seattle, WA fishermensfallfestival.org

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

Sept. 21-22 Bellingham SeaFeast 4716 Fir Tree Way, Bellingham, WA bellinghamseafeast.com

Oct. 1-9 North Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting Hilton Anchorage 500 West 3rd Ave. Anchorage, AK www.npfmc.org

AlAskA DepArtment of fish AnD GAme

Clarks Point disaster leads to fishing shutdown

Alaska’s total salmon catch is down by a third from 2017, but prices are optimistic.

ing out at 90 cents, up 13 cents from 2017.

All prices are likely to change in the coming months.

Alaska’s total salmon catches were down by a third compared with the statewide harvest from last year, topping 70 million fish by July 27. Nearly 42 million of the salmon were sockeyes from Bristol Bay. — Laine Welch

salmon predation, protect the health of sea lion stocks, and ensure that we are managing wildlife based on the best science available. Pacific salmon should be protected for generations to come,” said Cantwell.

Sea lion cull bill passes through Senate committee bill aiming to help manage predatory sea lions in the Columbia River system and reduce salmon predation is making its way through Congress, passing through the U.S. Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation before hitting the Senate floor.

The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act would allow officials and local tribes to lethally remove sea lions from specific areas of the Columbia River, giving the Secretary of Commerce the ability to authorize state and local tribes to manage sea lions.

The bill is sponsored by Sens. Maria Cantwell (D-Wash.) and Jim Risch (RIdaho).

“This science-based, bipartisan bill enhances existing tools that state and tribal wildlife managers need to address

oreGon DepArtment of fish AnD WilDlife

A

A sea lion feeds on a salmon below Willamette Falls on the Columbia River.

Threatened and endangered species of salmon are being damaged by sea lions in the Columbia River, severely impacting Idaho’s efforts to restore the populations,” said Risch.

Companion legislation was quickly passed in House of Representatives in late June.

— Samuel Hill

T

he Nushagak District of Alaska’s Bristol Bay closed to fishing in late July as the fuel from a sunken tender threatened water quality in the area.

An estimated 800 gallons of diesel and 300 gallons of hydraulic fluid were onboard the Pacific Knight when it sank on Wednesday, July 25, according to a report from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.

Petersburg resident Jeb Phillips, 31, and a teenage boy were able to escape the boat and were rescued by the Amanda C. Crewman John Phillips, 59, of Juneau was also onboard the 58-foot seiner-longliner and is still missing.

The Coast Guard called off a search for him late on the day of the sinking.

The district was reopened the following week on July 31 after Department of Fish and Game spotted no leaking fuel or sheen during aerial surveys of the site.

The owner of the wrecked vessel is contracted with the private company Resolve Marine on salvage efforts for the boat.

Resolve Marine dive teams were working to pump out the remaining fuel onboard, sealing vents and using techniques to keep residual fuel from leaking.

After the remaining fuel is pumped off, the owner and insurance company will decide whether or not to remove the sunken boat.

Clarks Point was also the location of the F/V Kristi sinking, after it was crushed between the 400-foot cargo ship Sohoh and the 330-foot processing boat Gordon Jensen.

Unlike the rest of Alaska, sockeye catches in the bay are at or near record highs, though the season for the Nushagak District was winding down.

— Jessica Hathaway

To list your event in North Pacific Focus contact Samuel Hill at shill@divcom.com

Oct. 5-7 Dungeness Crab & Seafood Festival 221 N. Lincoln St. Port Angeles, WA (360) 452-6300 www.crabfestival.org

Nov. 1-8 Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting San Diego Marriott Del Mar 11966 El Camino Real San Diego, CA (858) 523-1700

Nov. 18-20 Pacific Marine Expo CenturyLink Field Event Center 800 Occidental Ave. S. Seattle, WA pacificmarineexpo.com

Nov. 27-28 International Pacific Halibut Commission Interim Meeting Location TBD Seattle, WA (206) 634-1838 www.iphc.int

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

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SEASON SUMMARY

Outlook ALASKA/WEST COAST

RHONDA HUBBARD General manager and sales for Kruzof Fisheries, Seward, Alaska HALIBUT/BLACKCOD

“We got all of our halibut harvested with reasonable effort, although dock prices were lower by about $1/pound from 2017. Prices started moving back up a bit this summer, which may hold into the fall.

“As for sablefish, it’s a tougher story. A lot of smaller fish causing less value per delivery. The good news here is that it’s a sign of good recruitment and healthy stocks in years to come.

STEVE ESTES Captain and owner of the Lady Samantha seining Prince William Sound’s Eastern District pinks after a disappointing gillnet sockeye season on the Copper River Flats SALMON

“We just got home from a day trip of fishing.

The fleet stood down for four days and fished yesterday, but it was slow; most of the local fleet 6

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

“Whale predation has proven to be a huge problem for the hookand-line harvesters. The sperm whale used to simply floss the line as it comes up, whereas now it appears they are following the buoy line to the hooks on bottom of the ocean floor and trying to pick the hooked fish off the bottom.

“While Southeast has had a decent weather season so far this summer, poor weather fronts have moved in and out steadily in and around the West/Central Gulf areas, causing short windows for fishing. The Aleutian Island area has also struggled with long and poor weather systems.

“Thanks to decent sales margins early in the 2017 season, prices crept up, ending with inflated dock prices to the fishermen by fall. This left processors losing money or breaking even on sales of certain sizes by the end of the year and into the start of 2018. This occurred after buyers began receiving larger volumes of small fish and realizing they hit a price point the consumer wouldn’t tolerate, hence is back in the harbor, waiting for the announcement tomorrow. I hear the fish are coming, and they are good size with nearly a 4-pound average.”

BRISTOL BAY REGIONAL SEAFOOD DEVELOPMENT ASSOCIATION A report to the industry on its ongoing marketing program.

“Consumers want information,

inventories piled up. This triggered an adjustment to the 2018 price points for blackcod. Dock prices have improved somewhat, especially on the larger sizes. It’s uncertain if they should reach 2017 levels again, as processors are cautious yet concerned how much quota will remain unharvested because of weather, whales and poor fishing.

“Whales need to be better assessed and accounted for.

Based on empirical evidence in Alaska waters, whale populations (sperm, killer and humpback) appear to have recovered so well in numbers they are now impacting populations of other sea life and marine mammals. Their listing on the ESL no longer seems justified, but the only way to have them removed is if/when the feds make it a priority to include them in ecosystem management like all the other sea species we manage.

I find it neglectful management by NMFS to not adequately measure whale impacts on the overall marine ecosystem.” especially as it relates to seafood.

The marketing program (pointof-sale materials and branded aprons) help communicate valuable information. An informed consumer is confident and will buy or continue to buy seafood. Our customers pay attention and want to know if seafood is wild caught, sustainable, and the country of origin. Sockeye salmon from Bristol Bay checks all those important boxes for our customers.

“Quality is the #1 attribute our customers look for. Value is much more than price alone.”

SEASON SUMMARY

PENCE MACKIMMIE The Chaos Run, a light boat spotting squid for three boats out of Half Moon Bay, Calif.

ROB TILLITZ New owner of the Ann out of Brookings, Ore.

SQUID

“It started off OK. We had a nice pop of fish in Monterey [in April], but no one has caught shit since then. I’m up on the Oregon border looking for fish right now.

My seiners are waiting for a good report.”

He adds that it took a three-day strike from squid fishermen in April to bump the price per ton up from $600 to $1,000. Low yields over the summer months have buoyed the market price for squid, but current ocean conditions don’t give him high hopes for the end of 2018.

“I have put a tremendous amount of time and effort into salmon barging and have seen actual return numbers and want to get my share. I believe the best is yet to come. And I might want to sue or otherwise attack those that make salmon decisions but don’t have legal standing because I don’t commercial fish… until now!

“Also, I have heard stories of shakers up and down the coast, also watched the party boat landings all season long and believe that there will be salmon to be had over the next few years. It is not about water or habitat or any of the BS reasons

MATT FORVE The Sea Chase out of Bodega Bay, Calif., fishing off the Oregon coast.

JOHN MCMANUS President of the Golden Gate Salmon Association in San Francisco

SALMON

ALBACORE

“The water’s hot, and there’s not very many fish. And we’ve had a lot of competition this year.

“The prices and the catch has been really down, and now we have to compete for markets with hedge fund boats and paper skippers.”

In 2017, Forve had a market selling bled and brined albacore for $4,400 a ton. Now that market had dried up, he says, and he’s lucky if he gets $2,700 a ton for a premium catch.

SALMON

“In August, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross ordered NMFS to take undefined actions intended to provide water that’s already available to firefighters.

“Ross correctly points out that

that play well on the evening news.

It is simply about raising salmon and delivering them to the ocean. Once in the ocean, they will return and spawn. They’ve been doing this for at least 4 million years.

“On a more personal level, I have not salmon fished for 25 years, and rarely a day goes by I don’t think about something related to it. I also dream about it every night. I miss the fishing, yes, but now that I’ve been hanging out in Crescent City and Brookings, I realize how many friends I have and how much I’ve missed the camaraderie. That the seasons have been broken up and scattered about actually offers an interesting challenge, maybe akin to a game of chess. Trying to time things so one can be at the right place at the right time (on a smallish boat) is going to take thinking several moves ahead.

“The boat is the Ann, a 40-foot double-ender built of Port Orford cedar in Marshfield, Ore., in 1929. It stops people walking up the dock.

It stopped me, and then I saw the little For Sale sign in the window. I fell in love! The previous owner, Jeff Cox, has a solid reputation both as a salmon fisherman and a dependable man of his word. It is this fact that encouraged me to make the leap.” emergency provisions under the Endangered Species Act already allow firefighters to use any water needed to protect life and property threatened by wildfires, so it’s puzzling what additional action he’s asking federal employees to take.

“We all agree public safety is the first priority. We disagree with Ross that the federal government should hijack California’s wildfires to impose weaker protections for our fish and wildlife.

“A bill languishing in the state Legislature, S.B. 49, would go a long ways toward confirming common sense protections for fish and wildlife while leaving firefighters, who know best how to fight fire, to do their jobs.”

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

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INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS Yelena Nowak has taken the helm as director of the Oregon Trawl Commission, replacing Brad Pettinger, who is stepping down after 15 years as a public representative for the industry.

Nowak worked as a trade development manager for the Oregon Department of Agriculture where she specialized in marketing and trade development.

According to Pettinger, her skills will be used to find bigger and better markets for Oregon groundfish, shrimp and other specifies.

“It’s a sophisticated industry,” said Nowak, “and I look forward to the challenges and am excited about it.”

Pettinger was slated to step down at the commission’s Aug. 28 meeting and will help Nowak transition. Pettinger will continue his work with fisheries and regulations as a member on the Pacific Fishery Management Council.

• Julianne Curry, a fourth-generation family fisherman, has been hired by Icicle Seafoods as the company’s public affairs manager.

Curry is also the chairwoman of the communications committee for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute and is a member of ASMI’s salmon committee. She has served as the executive director and lobbyist for United Fishermen of Alaska and as the executive director of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association, among other industry roles.

• The Tyonek Tribal Conservation District received a $600,000 grant

from NOAA in July to continue its work to restore salmon habitat on the western side of Cook Inlet. The funding will help replace two culverts and one road reroute, which were barriers for several species of wild salmon. The nonprofit has been identifying salmon habitat restoration projects since 2012.

• The University of Alaska Fairbanks has decided to assist the growth of the seaweed industry in Kodiak, announcing the placement of a new faculty position at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center dedicated to researching and teaching mariculture. UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences Dean Bradley Moran said the position would be filled in about a year.

• Two Bethel, Alaska, residents — Danielle Craven and Alyssa Joseph — have formed a new working group, the Yukon-Kuskokwim River Alliance, to oppose the development of one of the largest gold mines in the world in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta by Donlin Gold. As of July, more than 500 people had joined the group.

• More than 70 percent of British Columbia fish processing plants are out of compliance with environmental regulations, according to an audit of 30 fish-processing plants conducted by the province’s Ministry of

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

FISHERPOETS Environment and Climate Change Strategy.

Some of the plants audited exceeded the volume and quality of fishprocessing effluent discharged to open water allowed under the permits, and that the undiluted fishprocessing effluent passed through current treatment works is “frequently acutely lethal to fish,” according to the audit.

The audit was sparked by a video of a Brown’s Bay packing pipe in Campbell River, British Columbia, releasing deep red bloodwater from processing farmed Atlantic salmon.

“This audit clearly tells us more work needs to be done to ensure our coastal waterways are safe for all wild fish stocks,” said George Heyman, minister of Environment and Climate Change Strategy. “The industry has been largely operating under an outdated permitting regime, going back several decades.

We are taking immediate steps to ensure permits are updated and strengthened at fish processing facilities throughout B.C.” • According to a report from NOAA’s office of law enforcement, female fishery observers are harassed and fear for their safety more than their male counterparts.

Officials presented the report as preliminary data from an ongoing survey in Alaska to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council in June.

Twenty-one females and 31 males responded from the 2016 survey, and 21 females and 26 males from the 2017 survey. Almost half of all observers in Alaska are women.

It appears that efforts to prevent harassment in observer positions is working — the office reported a drop in harassment reports in 2017. The office received seven reports compared to 14 in 2016.

News & Updates

Stay connected

Instagram #nationalfisherman

FAMILY DYNAMIC

BY ROB SEITZ Rob Seitz is a commercial fisherman, entrepreneur, and poet. He is the skipper-owner of the 58-foot trawler South Bay out of Astoria, Ore.

When I get on the boat, and I point her out to sea.

I always remind the crew this ain’t no democracy.

I don’t want no misbehaving, and don’t ya give me any lip.

Cause this here fishing vessel is a dictator-ship.

My word is law, and I’ll bend their will to mine.

If it ain’t so now, it will be in short time.

But back on land all my authority is lost.

It’s just like my kids say “at home mommy is the boss.”

Now I’ve heard all those theories, about who should wear the pants.

But when dealing with matters of town my wife has a better grasp.

Like a lot of fishermen’s wives she’s smarter than the guy she’s married to.

So it only makes good sense for her to rule the roost.

She runs a real tight ship it could pass any inspection.

The slightest piece of dust or dog hair are beyond my detection.

See, I’ve crossed breaking bars, been in the worst storms you’ve ever seen.

But that stuff don’t scare me half as much as neglecting to keep the bathroom clean.

She’s a loving mother but will stand for no infraction.

Homework is as disciplined as a military action.

She’s the primary reason we’re still afloat, she keeps the books and welds on the boat.

She has so many skills, The original multitasker, but she ain’t one to brag though so don’t bother to ask her.

The pace at which she works is staggering to see.

If I ran my crew that hard, they’d probably mutiny.

So, I’ll be the boss at sea.

She’ll be the boss in town.

I think them fish are lucky it ain’t the other way around.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

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ON THE MARKET Board of Directors meeting in Juneau The ASMI Board of Directors met May 10 in Juneau. The board passed a $16 million operating budget for FY19, comprising industry and federal funds. Jack Schultheis of Kwik’ Pak Fisheries was re-elected as chairman, and Allen Kimball of Trident Seafoods was re-elected as vice chairman.

COMMUNICATIONS #AskForAlaska in NYC In May, ASMI educated top-tier national press, influencers and chefs about Alaska seafood via a New York media event. Alaskan chef Laura Cole, fisherman Nelly Hand and cookbook author Maya Wilson attended the event and demos, providing an in-depth and firsthand look into Alaska seafood.

More than 50 media representatives and influencers attended the event, including editors from The Daily Meal, Food & Wine, Time, Food Network, CBS This Morning and O Magazine.

Tutka Bay culinary school tour Six domestic media and five international chefs attended the 2018 Alaska Seafood Culinary Tour in July. The group started in Anchorage before departing to Tutka Bay to discover Alaska’s various species of whitefish, salmon and shellfish, while learning about Alaska’s fisheries and world-class sustainable fisheries management.

Reel Food films ASMI collaborated with Reel Food host Chadwick Boyd to film an Alaska sockeye salmon burger recipe demonstration in July. The segment was filmed in Homer and Seldovia, Alaska. In Seldovia, commercial setnet fisherman Anne Barnett (AKA Salmon Annie) taught Boyd how to fillet a sockeye salmon. The duo then used

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

a skiff to check the nets and catch wild salmon at setnet sites in Seldovia Bay. The Reel Food recipe demo was scheduled to air August 2018 in nearly 15,000 movie theaters nationwide as a part of the previews.

Juneau Maritime Festival ASMI sponsored the 2018 Juneau Maritime Festival May 12 in celebration of Juneau’s rich maritime culture, history and commerce.

Bristol Bay Fish Expo At the second annual Bristol Bay Fish Expo in Naknek June 8-9, ASMI provided quality handling materials to hundreds of attendees — largely fishermen getting ready for the upcoming salmon season. ASMI also presented at the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association board meeting June 9.

Alaska from Scratch online ASMI worked with chef and cookbook author Maya Wilson to create recipe videos of Alaska King Crab Avocado Toast, Alaska Salmon Ginger Peanut Noodle Bowls, Alaska Halibut with Pistachio Pasta and Roasted Tomatoes, and Alaska Smoked Salmon Pot Pie with Chive Drop Biscuits in partnered promotion of her new publication, “The Alaska from Scratch Cookbook.”

The videos are available at www. wildalaskaseafood.com and YouTube.

SUSTAINABILITY SeaWeb Summit panel Sustainability Director Susan Marks attended the SeaWeb Global Sustainability Summit in Barcelona in June. Marks participated as a panel speaker at the conference. This summit brings together global representatives from the seafood industry with leaders

from the conservation community, academia, government and the media.

Marks’ portion of the panel was picked up by SeafoodSource.

DOMESTIC Stephen Gerike joins ASMI Stephen Gerike has joined the ASMI team as the Foodservice National Accounts Representative as of July 1. In his new role, Gerike will lead efforts to partner with foodservice operators to reach seafood super-consumers in the foodservice segment. During his 25year career in foodservice marketing, Gerike honed his skills as a classically trained chef. His background as a culinary and protein specialist, as well as his work with national restaurant chains, brings valuable knowledge.

Bon Appétit goes crabbing Following Bon Appétit’s Test Kitchen Manager Brad Leone and videographer Vincent Cross’ February trip to Alaska, their It’s Alive with Brad segment for Bon Appétit is now available to view on Bon Appétit’s YouTube channel, reaching 1.2 million subscribers. The second It’s Alive with Brad episode is an 11-minute video that features Brad cooking Alaska Bairdi and king crab on the beach, and is a follow-up to a previous 18-minute video of his crabbing experience.

Foodable features Alaska halibut A feature on Alaska halibut initiated Foodable TV’s new Smart Kitchen Studio in Miami. This is leading to the production of an eight-episode series on Amazon Prime Video.

Altogether, ASMI will have nine new recipes developed, demoed, shot, and streaming in FY19. The eight-series is 50 percent subsidized by Amazon.

Marketing with big hits ASMI attended the Marketing Executive Group Conference as a platinum sponsor to discuss trends with industry thought leaders and chain restaurant operators. Attendees sampled Ugly Alaska Crab Tostadas created by Chef Lionel Uddipa of the Juneau restaurant Salt. The tostadas

Quick bites featured Alaska snow crab and Barnacle Foods kelp salsa, showcasing the use of #2 Alaska crab.

buyers and media from China in July.

Nine participants from Qingdao, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Shenzhen and Guangzhou gained firsthand knowledge of the wild, natural and sustainable attributes of Alaska seafood and met with industry members during visits to Anchorage, Kodiak and Seattle.

Seafood Expo Global in Brussels

National Culinary Review feature The National Culinary Review asked ASMI Domestic Marketing Committee Chair Thea Thomas for an inside look at the Alaska salmon fishing industry.

Thomas contributed to the “Let’s Talk About” section, describing her experience fishing in Alaska and the benefits of wild Alaska fisheries for culinary experts.

Corporate Chefs convene ASMI attended and provided a tasting of all five species of salmon. the International Corporate Chefs Association annual conference in Napa in June. The mission is to provide chefs with the tools necessary to advance in their career while creating a network of corporate chefs from the nation’s largest foodservice operations connecting them to partners like ASMI.

ASMI exhibited at Seafood Expo Global in Brussels, Belgium, in April. Twenty Alaska companies coexhibited with ASMI in the Alaska pavilion. At least 10 more used the ASMI booth. ASMI again brought the German food truck to host a USA Seafood Reception, co-sponsored by the Foreign Agricultural Service in The Hague and Food Export Northeast.

International videos and blogs • ASMI Northern Europe partnered with Foodism, a London-based foodie blog, to create the Be Different campaign, showcasing recipe videos using wild Alaska pollock.

• U.K. Alaska Seafood chef ambassador Adam Reid’s cooking video on Big Hospitality features a dish of wild Alaska pollock with his signature beef and onion broth, swede and confit yolk.

• Naoyuki Yanagihara, vice president of Yanagihara School of Traditional Japanese Cuisine, and Adam Reid

INTERNATIONAL

China visits Alaska and Seattle ASMI hosted a delegation of seafood

Quality Food Center, a division of Fred Meyer, partnered with ASMI’s preferred wine partner Chateau Ste. Michelle to showcase wine displays in the seafood department, promoting ASMI’s Ibotta campaign bundling Alaska pollock with H3 wines (up to $3 off in the app).

The promotion totaled more than $1.2 million in Alaska seafood sales for Lent.

Three divisions of Pacific Seafood promoted Alaska halibut and salmon to their foodservice operator customers April through June.

ASMI supported the State University of New York, Cortland for a student dining facility event. SUNY Cortland distributed sustainability brochures and recipe booklets with samples of Alaska Pollock Quesadillas and Salmon Tacos.

San Pedro Fish Market is working with ASMI to target the new seafood audience. San Pedro Fish Market uses their “Kings of Fi$h” online reality show to promote pouched Alaska sockeye.

Over the Lenten season, Lunds & Byerly’s promoted frozen Alaska sockeye salmon and cod at 26 stores in the upper Midwest. A total of 65,000 pounds of Alaska seafood was sold through 52 instore demos.

Sysco Canada ran their Alaska Summer Grill Promotion June through August.

More than 700 sales associates at 20 operating companies participated.

A new refresh program in 53 Costco locations nationwide featured refreshed Alaska sockeye salmon. A total of 275,000 pounds were sold. In May, 514 Costco locations held demos featuring frozen Alaska sockeye salmon, resulting in a sales lift of 27.8 percent.

ASMI China greets Gov. Walker The ASMI China team hosted five major events and provided on-theground support to Alaska Gov. Bill Walker’s trade mission in May. ASMI China hosted a chef seminar; a banquet dinner featuring king crab, snow crab, black cod, pollock, herring roe and pollock roe; and a trade gathering in Shanghai. Delegation members visited e-commerce company JD.com at its headquarters in Beijing, and Alibaba headquarters in Hangzhou.

Cash-Wa Distributing launched Alaska Seafood Spectacular, featuring 47 Alaska seafood products. More than 100 sales associates competed for prizes for most cases sold and highest dollars sold during the spectacular.

paired up to create “From tip to tail” – using all parts of a fish to create maximum flavor with minimum waste.

• Alaska Seafood chef ambassador Jaoquin Filipe Peira was featured in a video on the Facebook page of the Spanish running group Curra y Corre promoting Alaska seafood.

An Ibotta promotion launched in June featuring $2 off fresh or frozen Alaska salmon and halibut. The offer reached 70 percent of the estimated spend, garnered more than 5 million impressions after three days and sold more than 9,000 units. The offer has been extended at $1 off per purchase.

Throughout June, H.E.B. supported Alaska cod with 315 chef demos at 235 stores in Texas. The promotion resulted in a 20 percent sales lift year-over-year.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

11

OUR YARD

QUICK LOOK at

FASHION BLACKSMITH

Fashion Blacksmith

LOCATION Crescent City, Calif.

OWNER

Ted Long

YEARS IN BUSINESS

54

NUMBER OF EMPLOYEES 10 NUMBER OF BOATS BUILT 24 newbuilds, 60 sponsoned

Nick Rahaim

NOTABLE BOATS The Sea Valley II was built in 1980, was a Monk design and the first boat built at the current boatyard. It was an extremely successful Alaska longliner that sadly caught fire and sank last year.

FISHERIES OF THEIR BOATS Crab, salmon, halibut, tuna, blackcod

By Michael Crowley

R

oger Long drives along the road leading to Fashion Blacksmith every couple of weeks. Though at one time he was coming to the Crescent City, Calif., boatyard every day. That started back in 1964 when he and his brother, Dale Long, turned Fashion Blacksmith from a name that had first been associated with blacksmith work followed by a general fabricating shop into that of a boatbuilding business. Then the boatshop was at the other end of town from its present location, and boats had to be trailered to the harbor.

These days, Long, who is in his 80s, comes down that road to relive some of the old days. It’s a place where he says he “met an awful lot of good people through the years.” And, too, boatyards that build fishing boats have a special place for Long. They are not the same as other boatyards. “They have

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

a different smell. I like going in and smelling the steel and welding smoke.”

As the years have passed, he hasn’t lost his critical eye. There are times when he goes into the boatyard and sees something being done that he might do differently, but “I can’t say much about it,” he says.

For the past few months, there’s another reason for Long’s trips to Fashion Blacksmith. That’s the Gladnik, a steel 60' x 16' tuna, Dungeness crab and shrimp boat out of Eureka, Calif., that’s currently being sponsoned and lengthened. Launched at the old boatshop on June 10, 1971, for Gene Evanow, the Gladnik was the sixth boat built by the Long brothers. When it showed up at Fashion Blacksmith at the end of March, except for the addition of a tophouse, the boat was the same as when it was built, right down to the color schemes.

Edwin Monk designed the boat

at a time when “most Monk designs were wooden boats,” says Long. It was “one of the first to be done in steel.”

Forty-seven years later, he can’t think of many other Monk boats that have survived as long as the Gladnik and are still fishing.

Roger Long’s nephew, Ted Long, who now owns and operates Fashion Blacksmith, has a pretty good idea why the Gladnik is still fishing today.

Basically, he says, it was a really well built boat. As part of the sponsoning work, the Gladnik was cut apart, and he marveled at how, “the bottom plating was like new. I’m always amazed at how good a boat they built. It was rock solid.”

Gladnik’s original construction has undergone some rough encounters over the years. The Gladnik hit a rock at Point Reyes, Calif., suffering “se-

FashioN Blacksmith

OUR YARD

Gladnik is expected to leave the yard measuring 67' x 26' in time for California’s Dungeness season.

Nick Rahaim

The 60' x 18' crabber Gladnik had 6 feet added to the stern after the transom was cut off.

Nick Rahaim

FashioN Blacksmith

Minus the tophouse, the Gladnik arrived to be sponsoned looking exactly the same as when she was launched in 1971.

The Sea Pearl is on blocks waiting for washing, painting and zinc replacement, while the Seeadler waits in line to be sponsoned and lengthened.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

13

OUR YARD vere damage,” says Long. Another time the Gladnik was drifting at night when it was slammed into by a boat it was working with, knocking the crew that was asleep out of their fo’c’sle bunks.

The strangest accident occurred in the Fashion Blacksmith yard some 15 years ago, during what Ted Long describes as “a super, super bad storm with sustained gusts” of wind. The boatyard has sets of railroad tracks that center on a transfer pit where a boat can be put on a different set of rails, allowing multiple boats to be stored at once. During the storm, the Gladnik broke loose, went into the pit and rolled on its side. It took a couple of cranes to get it out of the hole so it could be repaired. The “boat,” notes Long, “has had many lives.”

Today, the Gladnik is undergoing substantial changes as it is being lengthened from 60 to 68 feet and being widened from 16 feet to 25 feet 6 inches. It wasn’t until 1990 that Fashion Blacksmith started sponsoning

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

fishing boats. That was the Hickory Wind, an Alaska dragger. “Now, sponsoning and lengthening is the primary driver of our business,” Long says.

“

The bottom plating

was like new. I’m always amazed at how good a boat they built. It was rock

”

solid.

— Ted Long, FASHION BLACKSMITH, OWNER

The Gladnik’s current owner, Sean Eddy, is having it sponsoned to pick up additional deck space, carrying capacity and to gain stability. The beamier boat will also make it easier to go into the double-rigged shrimp fishery.

Though it’s the Dungeness crab

fishery that Long credits for being “a big driver” for sponsoning work. The wider boat allows crabbers to “go up and down the coast and pack all your gear on the boat.”

Sponsoning the Gladnik won’t result in increased fish hold capacity for the time being. Thus, the original hull plating remains in place along the fish holds. But if the owner decides he wants to increase the size of the fish hold or the bait tanks, Long says the sponsoning has been configured so that the fish holds and bait tanks can be moved out into the sponsons. The two fish holds now have a removable bulkhead between them. It could be “left out during Dungie season,” says Long, “so he could flood twice what could do previously.”

Six feet is being added to the stern, which has been cut off and lengthened just aft of the sternpost. That gives better lines to the after part of the hull, helps get the stern lower in the water and adds space for fishing gear. “That’s

OUR YARD how the boat’s width and the stern extension are all based,” says Long. “How many more rows of pots can I get?”

Part of the lengthening process calls for the Gladnik to replace its fairly plumb bow with one that’s tipped out more. That accomplishes a couple of things: It gives more shape to the bow, which is visually pleasing, and the sharper bow is more efficient moving through the water than a blunt bow.

The Gladnik is also getting a bulbous bow, and tipping out the new bow out allows the bulb to be longer than it would otherwise be. In addition, the anchor won’t be interfering with the end of the bulbous bow.

The bulbous bow should help the Gladnik gain some speed. And flooding the bulb can be used to trim the boat, which will be much larger in the stern. Boats that are sponsoned have a “tendency to slam in the bow,” Long says, “because they have a much more abrupt chine.” The bulb helps reduce that slamming, along with twisting the lines of the sponson in the bow area so they are more vertical than flat.

A change to the underwater lines has given the Gladnik a single-chine hull. Like most steel fishing boats of her time, the Gladnik was constructed with a double-chine hull. “They were a carry-over from the naval architect philosophy of building a wooden hull,” says Long. The problem is the doublechined steel hull “didn’t lend itself to great stability or packing ability.”

Inside the hull, both the engine room and the forepeak have been expanded into the new sponsoning. In the engine room, the wing tanks have been extended into the new space.

That newly opened up space above the tanks allows for the placement of new plumbing, refrigeration and a new John Deere genset.

Removing the fo’c’sle’s original side plating and opening the area to the new sponson will make it much easier and quicker for the crew to go down into the fo’c’sle to sleep. Before the Gladnik was hauled out at Fashion Blacksmith, “the only way to access the forepeak,” says Long, “was down through a hatch in the galley floor into the engine room” and from there go into the fo’c’sle. That, he adds, “is

the way a lot of these original (Edwin Monk designs) were.”

The hatch arrangement is being replaced with a circular stairway that goes from the port side of the wheelhouse down through part of the sponson and into the forepeak. “The forepeak will now be really wide, and there will be really ample living quarters,” says Long. The forepeak can still be accessed through the engine room’s watertight door.

Ted Long’s uncle, Roger, on his trips down to the boatyard has seen much of this work taking place as the Gladnik was first cut apart and then put back together. It was scheduled to launch in mid-August. Asked how he rates the job his nephew’s crew is doing, Long doesn’t hesitate: “It’s going beautifully.

They are doing real good.”

Michael Crowley is the former Boats & Gear editor for North Pacific Focus.

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SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

15

The HULL STORY

“

It’s amazing what a few inches will do in a boat. It

”

changes a lot of things… stability, speed, draft.

— Tom Aliotti, ALIOTTI ENTERPRISES 16

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

F/V MARIOLA

INSIDE the F/V MARIOLA

Fisherman Tom Aliotti builds a boat to deliver quantities of quality fish from Bristol Bay

By Sierra Golden

A

Asked what the secret is to break the on-step barrier, Aliotti didn’t want to give an answer. He did eventually say, “It’s amazing what a few inches will do in a boat. It changes a lot of things… stability, speed, draft and that sort of stuff.”

The Mariola is 15.5 feet wide with a draft of 19 inches. Her top speed is 40 knots and she should get 22 knots with 15,000 pounds of fish onboard.

“The Mariola will turn and it will slide out, like MasterCraft ski boat,” he added. “There’s not a lot of boats that can do that.”

The other notable quality of the Mariola is that she is built with product quality in mind, helping the skipper reduce trips to the tender without the fish quality deteriorating. The boat will pack 24,000 pounds, and “I can flood fish and float fish in increments of basically 5,000 pounds,” Aliotti added. “I can flood fish up to 20,000 pounds.” The Mariola has a 10-ton RSW system.

A slope in the back deck also helps the crew deliver higher quality fish. After they’re picked from the gillnet, the fish hit a mat and then slide into the hold.

Most of the time, the fish do not even need to be touched after picking.

“The key to Bristol Bay is getting the

Tom AlioTTi phoTos

s a third-generation fisherman with more than 30 years of experience gillnetting in Bristol Bay, Tom Aliotti has developed his own distinct sense of the perfect bay boat.

“My goal is to be able to have the diversification to fish in the areas that I like to fish,” Aliotti said. “I like to have the option to fish anywhere. The other key is being able to carry a lot of weight and still get on step.”

Aliotti first pursued a fast, strong boat that let him fish in the shallows with other boatbuilders. Though he worked with two different builders, he was unsatisfied with both the boats he purchased. That’s when he knew he wanted to build his own. In 2009, he started Aliotti Enterprises and built the Maximus. Since then he’s built nine boats.

Building his own boats gives Aliotti the speed and diversification he’s been looking for, and he said it increased his fishing production by 35 percent.

In spring 2018, Aliotti launched his newest builds: the Mariola and the Defender. He will fish the Mariola this summer, and a former crewman will run the Defender. He says both boats will crack the 10,000-pound on-step barrier.

Mariola and Defender lined up for fishing Bristol Bay after being launched by fisherman and sometimes-boatbuilder Tom Aliotti.

Name of Boat: Mariola Home port: Egegik, Alaska Owner: Tom Aliotti Builder: Aliotti Enterprises Hull material: Aluminum Year built: 2018 Fishery: Bristol Bay Length: 32 feet Beam: 15 feet 6 inches Draft: 19 inches Propulsion: Set drives x 2 Power train: Twin FPI 500 hp Speed: 40 knots Fuel consumption: Lots Generators: None Fuel capacity: 375 gallons Freshwater capacity: 150 gallons Hold capacity: 24,000 under the hatches with RSW Crew: 3 quality up,” Aliotti said. “But the problem with Bristol Bay is that the quantity comes in such a short burst that you can’t have both. There’s a sweet spot, and that sweet spot is getting as much fish as you can and producing the highest quality you can.”

With its high speed, big RSW, and thoughtful design, the Mariola might just hit that sweet spot, though fishermen in the market for a new boat should not get too excited. Aliotti said he is not interested in mass-producing boats.

“I’m building them specifically for quality over quantity. I’m a fisherman first. Building a nice boat is something I’m passionate about, but I don’t want everyone to have one just like me.”

Sierra Golden is a seiner deckhand and freelance writer living in Seattle.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

17

BOATBUILDING

FROM THE

RIVER TO THE BAY

The F/V Nobody, the first gillnetter from North River Boats, heads for Bristol Bay.

Oregon’s North River Boats launches a Bristol Bay gillnetter, its first commercial fishing boat

S

ince 1972 North River Boats, in Roseburg, Ore., has been turning out high-quality aluminum boats for anglers, the military, and marine professionals.

In 2018, the company launched its first commercial fishing boat, a 32-foot Bristol Bay gillnetter. “We have strong salmon runs and an aging fleet,” says CEO Brent Hutchings. “We see an opportunity for diversification.”

Marty Stevens, who has fished for 30 years in Alaska, the last eight years with his son, was looking for a boat that would see him into retirement, and that he could turn over to his now 20-yearold son.

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX

In late July 2017, Stevens approached North River Boats to see if they would be willing to build a boat for the Bristol Bay salmon fishery. North River said yes, but the company did not jump blindly into building boats for the commercial fishing sector. It wanted to come out a winner in the highly competitive boatbuilding business.

Hutchings sent his design team to Bristol Bay to talk to fishermen and study the gillnetters being used in the sockeye salmon fishery, which has been landing close to 40 million fish per season in recent years.

“We found most fishermen liked Dick Smitha’s design,” says Hutchings. North

River licensed the hull design from Smitha, who was preparing to retire, and the company’s design team worked with him on the boat Marty Stevens wanted.

What came out of the Roseburg shop was the F/V Nobody, a 32' x 14.5' propdriven boat powered by a 575-hp John Deere diesel turning a 26" x 26" propeller.

Stevens’ last boat was custom made, and he wanted the Nobody to include significant upgrades. The new boat has a 10-inch hydraulic thruster that, with the help of a massive rudder, enables the boat to make tight turns. A stand-alone steering system, with an additional full control console aft, maximizes the effec-

The Kinematics drum setup is powerful enough to enable simultaneous towing and picking.

During sea trials, the Nobody made 19 knots empty. Loaded she made 8 knots at 1,650 rpm.

North river Boats photos

tiveness of the entire set up.

A Diamond Seaglaze door provides access from the cabin to the engine room. A window in the door allows crew to see inside the engine room before entering.

Stevens wants to deliver top quality product to the tenders and had installed an IMS 10-ton recirculating seawater system in his 16,000-pound-capacity hold. The spray rails of the refrigeration and dump valves are laid out in three zones so Stevens can quickly get even late-caught fish down to the magical 34 degrees, and get top dollar.

The hydraulic system consists of four separate Hawee pumps that power stand-alone systems for the steering (4.8 cube), the refrigeration system (4.8 cube), the thruster (8 cube), and the deck gear and washdown pump (6.7 cube). The engine manufacturer called the stainless steel hydraulic line layout, “a work of art.”

Stevens asked for a deck layout that provides plenty of space for round hauling and picking fish. Kinematics Marine supplied the deck gear, a 42-inch roller and 22-inch-wide, four-shackle drum (D permit) with upgraded wheel drive and an anchor winch. The North River Boats designers gave Stevens a generous 11 feet between the roller and the flanges of the drum. Wing Walk nonskid material gives crew traction when working on a wet deck.

The wheelhouse layout meets Stevens’ demand for good visibility and

All systems go! A simple console layout enables Marty Stevens to monitor his engine, refrigeration and hydraulics.

communication with the crew. Three large windshields looking forward, and large sliding windows on the sides give Stevens a complete view of what’s going on around him. Sliding glass windows looking aft enable him to communicate with the crew and watch what is happening on deck with the eyes on the back of his head, a metaphysical mutation common among longtime skippers.

The Nobody’s wheelhouse has a Shockwave S5 captain’s chair, and a dash laid out with a Blue Sea 360 breaker panel, Garmin electronics suite, John Deere digital gauges, and controls for the refrigeration system and deck gear.

When Stevens gets a break between openers, he has a day bunk to catch a kink on. Four more bunks down for-

ward offer respite for captain and crew.

The galley features a Dickerson stove, custom sink and faucets with hot running water, a refrigerator and storage for dry goods.

According to North River Boats salesman Mike Blocher, who visited Stevens aboard the Nobody in Bristol Bay in July, Stevens is a happy customer. Sea trials proved the Nobody could make 19 knots empty. Loaded she could run 8 knots at 1,650 rpm while burning less than 15 gallons of fuel per hour. Stevens says this is the most stable boat he has ever owned.

Bristol Bay hosts the largest sockeye salmon run in the world. “At one point he had over 12,000 pounds in the holds and over 3,000 on deck,” says Blocher.

“The boat performed flawlessly.” Ac-

The Nobody has 11 feet of deck space between the Kinematics 42-inch roller and the 72-inch-diameter drum.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

19

BOATBUILDING

The heart of the beast: The Nobody’s 575-hp John Deere. State of the art hydraulics, steering and refrigeration systems make this one of North River Boats’ most complicated projects to date.

cording to Blocher, Stevens is pleased with the deck layout, particularly the aft control console, and with the thruster and the refrigeration system. “Here is the thing he loves the most,�

says Blocher. “He loves our service. This boat is likely one of the most complicated boats that we have ever built. When he had a minor problem during the middle of the season, we had personnel

on a plane and had the problem resolved within 24 hours of the first call, and he never missed a minute of fishing.�

Like any new boat, Stevens has discovered some things he would like to change, like the slide direction of the windows, adding windows aft and different lighting. “We are also going to rework the way the drum is secured to the deck and add some extra bracing, simply based on the fact that the boat has such strong hydraulics and Marty uses it like a workhorse,� says Blocher. “Marty says that the power of the drum enables him to pick and tow at the same time, which means he can make more sets.�

With average prices around $1.60 per pound, it should not take long for the Nobody to pay for herself. Stevens fishes with his son and another crewman, setting four 50-fathom nets, or shackles, as they call them.

The egalitarian nature of the share system on fishing boats, where crew share a percentage of the risks and rewards of the owners, is reflected in the structure

“Your Partner for an Exceptional Project�

 �

� � � � � ­€‚ ‚ ƒ

20

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

“My intention is to grow this business and die with my boots on… I expect we’ll be building a lot more

”

bay boats.

Marty Stevens and son Wyatt in Bristol Bay this summer with a deckload of sockeye aboard their new boat.

of North River Boats. The company is 33 percent employee-owned, having set up an employee stock ownership plan, where qualified employees, those with a year of full time or part time work,

— Brent Hutchings, NORTH RIVER BOATS

receive company stock as a retirement benefit.

“My wife and I were looking for a way to create a legacy of ownership,” says Hutchings, who, in addition to being CEO, is the majority owner at present. Hutchings and his wife wanted to protect the culture of their business and to ensure the long-term viability of North River Boats. While Hutchings has no plans to leave, he hopes that when he does the company will be 100 percent employee-owned.

“This is a deliberate effort to persuade good employees to stay with us,” says Hutchings. “It’s a way to achieve operational excellence.” While employeeowned stock is non-voting, the company holds regular meetings with its 135

employees. According to Hutchings, he has seen a groundswell of ideas welcomed and often implemented.

“I’ve owned a lot of businesses, but I love this one the most,” Hutchings says.

“I love the people, the products and the customers. My intention is to grow this business and die with my boots on.”

Hutchings believes diversification is the key to growth, and that the commercial fishing industry offers a market that North River Boats can compete in. “It was a steep learning curve with Marty,” he says. “But I expect we’ll be building a lot more bay boats.”

Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for North Pacific Focus.

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SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

21

Q&A

Q&A with Andy Wink Andy Wink is the incoming executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

BY ANDY WINK

A

ndy Wink, a well-known Alaska seafood economist, took the helm at the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association on July 23. As incoming executive director, Wink replaced interim director Cameo Padilla, a stand-in for Becky Martello, who left the group earlier this year.

We spoke with Wink about fisheries data, the importance of the Bristol Bay association and its future plans.

NPF: What brought you to Alaska?

Wink: In 2003, I was working at the Chicago Board of Trade when my wife’s father got sick with cancer. He was a setnetter in Yakutat, and we moved to Juneau to be closer to him (unfortunately he passed away the next year, but we treasured the time we had with him).

NPF: How did you get into data analysis and then come to focus on fisheries?

Wink: I worked for the Alaska Department of Labor as an economist, and one of my first projects was to estimate employment in commercial fisheries. That led me down a deep rabbit hole where I had to learn the industry inside and out.

From there, I got more and more involved in industry development until, in 2010, I went to work for McDowell Group where I provided analysis and consulting for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. A few years later, I began providing sockeye market analysis for BBRSDA. In 2013, our family decided to move back to Minnesota (the state I grew up in). I offered to resign but was given the chance to continue working remotely, and it ended up working out just fine. When the former ED resigned from BBRSDA earlier this year, I decided to apply for the position.

NPF: What drew you to the BBRSDA? What role do you see the organization play in Alaska fisheries?

Wink: It’s such a productive fishery made up of truly remarkable people, the idea of telling their stories and working on their behalf is very exciting. Also, I felt like BBRSDA was doing a lot of productive work and saw a lot of opportunity in continuing those strategies — as well as developing new ones.

In terms of the role the organization can play, there are situations where the fleet can be more effective speaking as one unified voice, and there are activities we can fund more efficiently as a single non-profit entity, as opposed to many individuals making similar, disconnected investments. Specifically,

22

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

we have a well-conceived committee structure that endeavors to improve quality, conduct marketing, promote resource sustainability, and perform outreach — we can do things within each of those categories that contributes to the mission of raising the value of the fishery.

NPF: How do you see your background in data and analytics playing a role in your new position?

Wink: Spending most of my career analyzing seafood industry data has made me very adept at recognizing what is quantifiable and what is not — and spotting good/bad data sources.

Everybody in the organization has heard the requests to quantify the impact of the BBRSDA, but that is not as simple as it sounds. There are so many variables involved in what we’re doing — versus what would have happened in the absence of our efforts — that I think it’s impossible to know exactly how much ex-vessel value is added to each pound.

What we do know is that we just wrapped up the fourth year in a row of 35 million-plus fish harvests and haven’t had an issue with inventory. This season produced one of the highest ex-vessel values ever (adjusting for inflation), and critical management activities have been sustained or enhanced in some cases despite the state’s fiscal problems. However, analytics will play a large role in the daily evaluation of project goals/ opportunities. How much is achieved versus the spending required? If we remain vigilant about 1) being on point with the issues we work on (and there is a great process for doing that), 2) work with the right partners and 3) are pragmatic about evaluating future options and past performance, the ROI will take care of itself. Honestly, the BBRSDA already did a tremendous job of using the market analyses to support its activities and at least try to get ahead of problems .

NPF: What are some immediate and long-term challenges facing the BBRSDA? Wink: In the short term, we have a fantastic problem: a lot of fish that will need to be sold/marketed ahead of next year.

In the long term, I’m very interested in finding ways we can promote efficiency in the supply chain and find ways to return a larger share of the resource pie to fishermen. There’s been a lot of progress on improving quality, and we’ll continue to work with the fleet and processors on that aspect.

The issue of large-scale mining in the region is an immediate and long-term challenge. BBRSDA is prohibited from lobbying for or against resource allocation issues, but we can still be a very strong voice of opposition and provide information explaining what is at stake.

NPF: How can fishermen become involved in BBRSDA activities?

Wink: We have member meetings twice a year (one in the bay and one at Pacific Marine Expo) and we will probably be hosting some town hall events in the coming year for fishermen.

Aside from in-person events, there’s committee teleconferences and our phone/inbox is always open. You can follow us

Continued on page 35

ON THE HORIZON

Mariculture: The basics Markos Scheer is a Seattle-area attorney and entrepreneur who has spent more than 30 years in the seafood industry from California to the Bering Sea. He is developing a 127-acre kelp and oyster farm near Craig, Alaska, and operates a law practice.

BY MARKOS SCHEER

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ariculture. Aquaculture. Industry publications have been filled with articles about the benefits of mariculture, with stories about investment and the growth of aquaculture. The topic is abuzz in Alaska, with the Alaska Mariculture Initiative, the Alaska Mariculture Task Force and the rapid expansion in site lease applications and growing sites in Alaska.

So how does someone get started in mariculture? Let’s start with the example of a fisherman operating out of Southeast Alaska. You engage in several fisheries, like salmon gillnetting and longline for halibut, but you’re interested in using your assets to diversify into additional products as a way to increase revenue, while still engaging in your traditional fisheries.

First, figure out what you want the business to grow, and build a business plan. This is a very important step. This plan should answer these fundamental questions: How and when do I make a profit engaging in this activity? The business plan should include four primary components and an identified path to profitability: (1) the product or products to be grown; (2) the capital costs required to build the assets necessary to produce the projected volume of product(s); an accurate and detailed projection of costs, including labor, shipping and other costs, summarized on a monthly and annual basis for the first 5 years; and (4) the projected revenue for the sale of the product produced.

In Alaska, “mariculture” means any species indigenous to Alaskan waters that doesn’t have fins. Shellfish, including oysters (which are not indigenous to Alaska, but are permissible), clams, geoduck, abalone, rock scallops and mussels; multiple kelp species, including sugar, ribbon and bull kelp; and giant red sea cucumbers are products that have material existing marketplaces and are commercially viable. There are oyster, kelp and mussel farms in Alaska today. Do your research.

Select a species that is commercially viable, and then learn all you can about it, how it lives, how it reproduces and the market/market value for that product or some derivative of the raw material you will grow. Also, look at the seasons and production schedules to determine if it makes sense in conjunction with your current operations.

Determine what assets you’ll need to develop the operation.

Look at what assets you currently have, like a fishing boat, equipment, relationships with existing processors or others in the industry. If you can use your existing assets to develop a new line of business, that means you will not have to duplicate that capital expenditure. For example, kelp is planted in the fall and harvested in the spring, which would mesh

well with salmon season operations and assets. If you have a salmon gillnetter, buoys and groundline that has been retired, you have a head start on the material needed for a kelp farm.

Third, locate a site you would like to develop. Considerations for a farm site include competing uses for the area (i.e., hatchery release areas are a no-go zone), the site’s freshwater influences, what other species, including kelp, are within the site boundaries (Alaska regulations do not allow the displacement of local species), anadromous streams (salmon streams) that may be in the area and the proximity of your site to your workforce, transportation networks and processing facilities.

The farther you have to travel to work your site and deliver product, the more time and expense to you, and the less likely you are to give it the regular attention it requires. This is not an exhaustive list, by any measure, but it highlights considerations you should include in your site selection analysis.

The Alaska Aquatic Farming forms, information and other resources can be found at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game site under Fishing, then Aquatic Farming.

Finally, fund the project. The single most common reason new businesses fail is lack of adequate capital at the onset. The costs of the project should be laid out in detail in your business model. The capital requirements should include operating capital for wages, packaging, shipping and other sources, until the operation cash flows and can support itself.

In addition to grants and personal funds and loans through institutional lenders, check out these loan programs and grant opportunities: • State of Alaska, Department of Commerce, Division of Economic Development, Mariculture Revolving Loan Fund.

These are loans for aquatic farmers, up to $100,000 each year, up to a total of $300,000 in total loans.

• Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority (AIDEA). These loans are for larger capital asset construction and asset acquisition funding and serviced through approved lenders. Basically, AIDEA guarantees 90 percent of the loan made through the lender.

• Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Loan Bank (CFAB).

• USDA, Farm Service Agency. These are farm loan programs (microloans, beginning farmer loans, farm operating loan, farm ownership loan, guaranteed farm loans).

• Community Development Financial Institutions (CDFIs) such as Spruce Root.

• Alaska Sea Grant’s annual aquaculture grants.

• NOAA’s annual Saltonstall-Kennedy grant program, Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission, National Sea Grant aquaculture program.

• Economic Development Administration: These loans are not programs specific to mariculture, but more general to economic development and rural development.

• Private equity capital investment groups, like Aqua-Spark, might assist in funding your project. All of them will require a well developed business plan and a site lease.

When you have put your plan together, it’s time to get to work. Mariculture in coastal Alaska represents the largest untapped fisheries resource in the world. The fishing industry in Alaska can open this opportunity with the right tools planning and persistence.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

23

ON THE HOMEFRONT

The crown Lori French is the president of Central Coast Women for Fisheries, the executive wife and mother of a commercial fishing family, and serves on the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations’ board of directors.

BY LORI FRENCH

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few months ago the Morro Bay Chamber of Commerce decided to give me an award. I was a bit shocked. I got a call, and the person on the other end congratulated me and told me I was Morro Bay’s Citizen of the Year. After I hung up I started laughing, and then I had to text the Old Man of the Sea. “Sit down, you aren’t going to believe this one.”

“What? Who died?”

“No, you’re going to laugh. I am Morro Bay’s Citizen of the Year.” And then we went to radio silence for about 10 minutes and my phone rang — yes he was laughing really hard.

“Do they know who you are?”

In the background I could hear Tall One #1 saying, “Mom? Citizen of the Year? What’d she do now?” And then my Crab Brother in Law, “Do they know she doesn’t live in Morro Bay?” (We live it the county, not in town.) I tell you the family love thing was overwhelming.

It gets even better. A week or so after that, I got another phone call.

“I’m so sorry, you’re not Citizen of the Year.You’re the Living Treasure.”

Again I called the boat, because seriously I just knew he was going to have way too much fun with this.

“Hey they made a mistake, I’m not Citizen of the Year. I’m the Living Treasure.”

“HAHHAHHAHHAHHAHHAH! Living Treasure means you’re old. REALLY OLD! They only give that award to people who have one foot in the grave. BAHHAHHHWAAAA!” In the background yet again, “Wait. Mom is Living Treasure as opposed to Dead Treasurer?” Let the jokes begin. “Buried Treasure, Treasure Chest, Treasure Chest with Booty… You name it, they came up with it.

I was basking in this award-winning glow until I realized I would have to wear a dress. I. HATE. DRESSES. And shoes, I’d have to wear proper shoes. I.HATE.SHOE.SHOPPING. You see for years I worked at our local bank and had to wear dresses every day with high heels. We live on a ranch with gates and barbed wire fences and dirt. I’d often arrive at work with ripped pantyhose and mud on my clothes and shoes. My coworkers gave me a hard time on a regular basis. They never went home during lunch and put cattle back on the right side of the fence only to arrive back at work in a dead sweat with hay in their hair. The day after I quit, I tossed every dress and pair of pantyhose out. Well except for my black funeral dress.

The only dress I’ve ever wanted to wear was my wedding dress.

And then, I realized that the Old Man of the Sea had to wear a suit, and the Tall Ones had to wear shirts and ties. This was 24

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

heading downhill very quickly.

The trip into town for the suit and shoes for the Old Man of the Sea was fun. (Lie!) The last time we bought him a jacket was when my little brother got married. To his first wife. Pregray hair. The last time I saw that jacket was on Tall One #2 who was wearing it for some kind of hipster fashion statement when he went out to the gun range.

So I was a practical wife. I took the Old Man of the Sea to lunch first, and then we went to Farm Supply. The Thrifty, Practical Fishwife side took over. He was getting a decent looking pair of boots that could pass as dress shoes for the first five times he wore them and then would swiftly become work boots. Score! Next off we went to our only department type store. This is the type of store that gives me anxiety attacks.

There is just so much stuff! We both quickly went to the sale rack. Great minds were thinking alike. We got him a couple of shirts, a jacket and a tie. I was taking pictures and sending them to my sisters for fashion advice. I sent one to Tall One #1, who is some sort of male clothes horse with taste that he did NOT get from his parents. His response was typical: “You cannot be serious? That tie? Oh My God you people have horrible taste.”

To be honest if it was an Armani he would have dissed us.We’re old, we get it son.

As we left the store, I spied it. The Tiara. It gave me instant ideas. I had to have it. So I bought it as the Old Man of the Sea just shook his head. (He has been getting better about some of my ideas, and it’s been more challenging to scare him. I’ll have to work on that.) On the way home we had a frank discussion about how every little girl wants a crown and how I still wanted one with sapphires, diamonds, rubies and emeralds, but I’d settle for a pair of sapphire studs.

So fast forward to the big night. I was packing my speech and wearing my tiara. I had plans.You see, Morro Bay has become another victim of the “we moved here because it’s a quaint fishing village, but oh we must change it because while we like to look at the pretty boats, they smell, they are evil, we can make more money if we have gift shops” mentality.

I intended to make full use of my speech time because the mayor, our city council members and our county supervisor freakin’ HAD to listen to me, a commercial fishing wife, talk about commercial fishing and our needs. These people have voted against us on so many topics, and now it was my/our turn. The highlight of my speech was when I turned to the mayor and told him, “And while we’re at it. I want dedicated parking for commercial fishermen in the front of fish market, by the anchor statue and for the slips at the end of Beach Street.”

(Morro Bay isn’t like other fishing towns with one dedicated marina area for boats. Our slips are spread out throughout the waterfront with no parking lots, no public bathrooms and only one shower for transient boats.)

Let’s put it this way, those who really know me weren’t shocked by my demand, but the suits were a bit taken aback.

Fine. I then explained that not only was it dangerous to carry gear across the roads to the boats, but it just wasn’t practical. I explained how it was not uncommon to get an ear full from a tourist because we save parking spots, we park in the loading zone, we park illegally and block traffic to unload gear and parts. I explained that each boat is a small business in this town, Continued on page 35

THE LONG HAUL

Solo on Sanak Terry Haines is a North Pacific groundfish fisherman and a former member of the Kodiak (Alaska) City Council.

BY TERRY HAINES

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r. Clean popped his head into the Pain Cave and asked the question that has only one answer: “Do you guys want to go to the beach?”

Aunty looked at Ernie and shouted “Beach!”

Ernie threw up his hands and yelled “Beach!”

We all started jumping up and down yelling “Beach! Beach!

Beach!” Gloves flew off. We banged out the anchor and launched the skiff.

“So that’s a yes?” Mr. Clean said, jumping into the skiff.

We had anchored in a friendly cove in one of the smaller Fox Islands, west of the islands of the Four Mountains.The Aleutian Chain is 57 submarine volcanoes whose emerging tops form more than 200 islands stretching 1,100 miles east to west. It is split into seven groups, including the Fox and Rat Islands, named for destructive invasive species. Sanak, biggest of the Fox Islands, had a surprisingly profound role in Alaskan history.

Foxes and cattle and cod have all been farmed and harvested there. Otters in Fox Island waters spurred Russian expansion in the Aleutians at the turn of the 19th century. It’s fair to say the few hundred Aleuts living there were overwhelmed by Russian violence, illness, money and Orthodox Church.

A more benign invasion of bachelor Scandinavian cod fishermen began in the 1880s. With them came a culture of hardcore fishing. When the cod dwindled after 1915, it drove an out-migration of fishing families to cannery towns in King Cove, False Pass, Nelson Lagoon and Sand Point. Most of the Aleut families in these modern towns trace their lineage back to Sanak, and they still own the island, keeping it as a kind of cultural touchstone. But since the last cattle ranchers moved off in 1980, Sanak, which supported human life 5,700 years ago, has been uninhabited. Except for the birds, of course. Birds are the real residents of the Aleutians.

Fishing boats are always surrounded by birds. Offshore, gangs of black-footed and Laysan’s albatross compete for our scraps with their sturdy cousin, the fulmar, and the occasional diving shearwater. Closer to shore, the locals join the party, not just the braying gulls, but clever kittiwakes and penguin-like murres. As you travel west down the chain, the whiskered and crested auklets start to show up, each looking like a cross between a quail and a cartoon character. Also the rhinoceros auklet, which is neither. Ducks, scoters, geese, swans and shy parrot-headed puffins live and vacation here.Tiny fluttering storm petrels whistle and tweet in the widelights. For water birds, the Aleutians are Shangri-La — more than a thousand linear miles of lakes, marshes, bogs and shoreline protected from enemies on all sides by landless sea. At least until the people showed up with rats and foxes.

We drove the inflatable Achilles onto a gravelly beach in between the grass-topped boulders and tufts of sedge and carried it up above the tide line.

“OK,” said Mr. Clean, “let’s meet back here before dark.”We all laughed. That gave us till about midnight. “And don’t get lost in the forest.” We laughed again. There are no trees in all of the Aleutians.

Some of us walked the beach, others headed inland, toward the island’s high spot. I shuffled down the beach a bit, then climbed up through the tall grass onto the crowberry-covered tundra, which sloped gently up to the foot of a flat-topped hill that I thought might hide a lake. Black crowberry is a dwarf evergreen that dominates great swathes of the Aleutian landscape. It looks like a carpet of spruce tips. Great springy mats of the stuff cover the ground for acres, often intertwined with a dwarf willow that is content to grow straight sideways.

It is more luxurious to lie upon than the most expensive mattress. I was bounding across it like the Hulk when I noticed a network of tiny tunnels just below the green surface. When I bent down to look closer, I saw perfectly round, 2-inch-high tunnels that were parallel and intersecting, like the streets of a city. What made them? Then I saw a small, dark creature streak by and disappear. Voles! The tiny rodents had formed quite an extensive little society. Once I noticed them, I saw their trails and tunnels everywhere. After that I felt more like Godzilla.

At the top of the hill was a teal blue lake with a single swan paddling in the middle. I wondered why it was alone. It swam a slow figure eight with its long neck curved down, head bowed to the water. It seemed enormous, a dreadnaught, like a swan from which Zeus might transform. Months later, when I looked at the picture I took at the time, the swan had shrunk to a pale ghost in a dark pond.

I took a different route back down, heading for a grassy meadow. When I got there, it was crazy with flowers, but wetter than it looked from above. My rain boots sank into the marshy perimeter of the meadow, and as I skirted it and headed toward the beach, it became downright boggy. The muck started grabbing at my boots. Then I stepped in the wrong place. A suction seemed to draw my foot down into the bog.

I was sank past my knee before I knew it. I laid out flat before I sank further. When I tried to use my arms to push myself up they began to sink, too. I quickly extracted them and laid back down in the bog. Holy crap! Trapped by homicidal muck! I began to question my habit of solo hiking.

I realized there was a relatively dry area to my left so I backstroked my way over, planted my hands, arched my back and pulled my leg out. Unfortunately my boot was no longer on my foot when it emerged. I needed that boot. I plunged my arm up to the shoulder into the rapidly filling hole. Now the muck started tugging on my arm. Cursing like a sailor I grabbed the top of the Xtratuf and pulled with all my strength.

It came up with a giant sucking sound and a facefull of bog water.Victory.

When we reassembled later, only Ernie and Aunty smelled worse than I. They had found a 14-foot-long squid washed up on the beach and dragged it back, thinking to use it for bait.

Mr. Clean nixed that idea. Mentally refreshed, we returned to the Pain Cave and baited our way to Dutch Harbor.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

25

GEAR WORK

Trapped California fishermen fight to save the Dungeness crab fishery after a three-year spike in whale entanglements

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he future of California’s iconic Dungeness crab fishery seemed uncertain after a three-year spike in the number of whales entangled in fishing gear from 2015 to 2017. A warm-water blob, domoic acid and a coinciding of whale migrations and fishing caused by the delayed start of the Dungeness crab season spurred a record number of whales and other marine animals to become twisted in crab gear.

Few fisheries were spared entanglement issues on the Pacific Coast, but California Dungeness crab fishermen 26

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

By Nick Rahaim

came under fire for their lines snaring the largest number of whales. Negative publicity, threats of a federal shutdown and a lawsuit in federal court made California crabbers fear the worst.

But with ocean conditions returning in the direction of normal and state legislative effort looking to head off litigation, crab fishermen can breathe easier.

Still, there’s no returning to the way things were.

A fisheries omnibus bill making its way through the California Legislature, (S.B. 1309) would give the director of the Department of Fish and Wildlife

the ability to implement emergency closures in the Dungeness crab fishery when there’s a “significant risk” of entanglement in a specific area.

The new powers to close the fishery when there’s a threat to marine life would only be effective until November 2020 when the legislation calls for new regulations to be implemented based on the proposals of the California Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group — consisting of commercial fishermen, state and federal biologists and NGO representatives.

The director of Fish and Wildlife

GEAR WORK

Bryant andersOn / nOaa

PRACTICES BUOY SET-UP BEST PRACTICES would have to give 48 hours’ notice be- BEST confirmed instances. fore any closure and would have to alNumbers in 2017 were down, but surface. low feedback from the crab gear work- the still above historic norms, with 31 SURFACE Main Trailer the main buoy and trailer.

Buoy ing group. confirmed entanglements on the West “The fleet is protected from all but Coast and 10 unconfirmed instances. the length the most dire circumstances,” said adjust While not of alltrap thelines entangled whales Total distance between the (i.e., measured length of line) to maintain taut Noah Oppenheim, executive director were spotted in California or were main and final trailer buoy of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fish- pulling Dungeness crab gear, some beshortest as possible, ermen’s Associations and the Institute whenever lieved the spike in entanglements put RECREATIONAL possible. at any depth for Fisheries Resources. “But this is go- the California fishery in violation of Maintain gear to ensure lines and buoys are in COMMERCIAL ing to come as a major shock to a lot of the federal Marine Mammal Protection and will not break under people because this is the first time a Act and the Endangered Species Act. shortest as possible, Inside 30 fathoms Lost gear to marine fixed-gear fishery is managed this way.” or irretrievable.

The increase in contributes entanglements was and increases of whale entanglements. shortest as possible, In 2015, 50 whales, including hump- debris likely the result risk of multiple factors: An 30-50 fathoms back, gray and blue whales, were con- Allalgae bloombesparked

by El consistent Niño congear should clearly marked shortest as possible, Outside 50 fathoms firmed to have become entangled in ditions created high levels of the neumaintained so markings are clearly legible to fishing gear — although the total in- rotoxin domoic acid in shellfish and creased to 62 when unconfirmed in- the Dungeness that delayed the start gear involvedcrab in entanglements.

Minimize # of buoys in set up—no more than 1 trailer stances were included — up from an of the crab season in California for the Use the minimum amount of scope required buoy inside 30 fathoms average of less than 10 annual entangle- 2015-16 season.

Keep line between trap and ments recorded in the 15 years prior.

During that time, the warm-water Whales are more likely to become entangled with The California Dungeness Crab blob in the Pacific Ocean led to lower and taut snare”.

Fishing Gear Working Group was cre- levels of krill for baleen whales to feed ated in September of that year by the on and also pushed bait fish and other Trap gear is longer in the California Department of Fish and when sources ofno food forallowed whales, likewater. sardines 1 fathom= 6 feet Wildlife, in partnership with Califor- and anchovies, nearshore. A heavy fishnia Ocean Protection Council and Na- ing effort in the spring months com- of overlap” between migrating whales tional Marine Fisheries Service. The bined with an increased presence of mi- and Dungeness crab fishermen, said goal was to have the not-always-har- grating whale feeding on schooling fish Karin Forney, a scientific adviser for monious mix of stakeholders, includ- in shallow waters likely led to a perfect the working group and a National ing members from the environmental storm of ocean conditions causing the Oceanic and Atmospheric Administragroups Oceana and Earthjustice, to find increase in entanglements. tion biologist. ways to reduce negative interactions.

While some fishermen concede that The Dungeness crab season in CaliBut domoic acid levels delayed the fornia has typically run from Novem- more fishing gear in the water at a time opening of the 2015-16 crab season ber to March, while migrating hump- when there is an increasing number of until March 2016, and the number of back, gray and blue whales have passed whales boosts the likelihood of entanentanglements remained high for the through California waters from March glement, most are adamant that whales year with 48 confirmed whale entan- to November. and fishing can coincide without negaglements and a total of 72 including un“Historically, there hasn’t been a lot tive effects.

“People at the working group know that whales and gear can co-occur,” Oppenheim said. “This isn’t about saying where whales are gear can’t be.

That’s absurd to think that’s a solution to this problem.”

While biologists have sought to understand why the spike in entanglements has occurred, fishermen like Dick Ogg, a member of the working group and a fisherman from Bodega Bay, have looked for ways stop negative interactions by changing the gear they set in the water.

“I think we are evaluating every option we can possibly put together: line profile, buoy, length, the number of buoys,” Ogg said.

A humpback whale entangled in fishing gear near Crescent City, Calif.

Ogg and others in the working group SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

27

Ocean PrOtectiOn cOuncil

MMHSRP Permit# 18786 | Stephanie Marcos

GEAR WORK have established best practices for setting gear in a way to mitigate entanglements. This means keeping gear tight and only using the bare minimum in scope. It also means using fewer buoys, reducing the distance between the main buoy and the trailer, and making sure there’s no excess floating line on the surface.

While the tight gear setup might reduce the number of fishing days with gear going under water in high winds, it’s a small price to pay by not going afoul with whales and other marine life.

“We are working so hard as a fishery.

Nobody wants to entangle a whale, nobody,” Ogg said. “We are working so hard to mitigate these issues.”

While the legislation pending in Sacramento doesn’t enshrine any of the best practices being developed by Ogg and other fishermen into law, it creates the pathway to do so in two years.

Having gear setups micromanaged by government officials isn’t a satisfactory solution for most fishermen. But some

“We are working

so hard as a fishery.

Nobody wants to entangle a whale.

— Dick Ogg, CALIFORNIA DUNGENESS CRABBER

An ASRC Company

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NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

”

alternatives are worse, said Oppenheim and Ogg. In October 2017 the Center for Biological Diversity filed suit against the state of California in federal court, arguing the Dungeness crab fishery is in violation of the Endangered Species Act because of increased whale entanglement.

A press release from the NGO to announce the legal action set in motion a public relations battle with an attorney stating: “Dungeness crab dinners shouldn’t come with a side of whale...

California officials can’t let this minefield of crab traps continue to slaughter endangered whales and sea turtles.”

Oppenheim fears the suit might set the groundwork for a federal takeover of the state-managed fishery or would establish a federally managed Take Reduction Team at the least.

After filing a motion to intervene, the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations and Institute for Fisheries Resources have taken over

GEAR WORK

Rachelle FisheR / Ocean PROtectiOn cOuncil

once at great odds are now finding common ground for ways to keep the fishery going and whales safe.

“To me, this the best way to go because fishermen are the best people to identify long-term solutions,” Forney said of the working group. Multi-stakeholder groups “are a slow process and sometimes it feels like we go around in spirals. But in the end it’s the best way to fix problems.”

Ogg, who owns the Karen Jeanne, was once fearful for the fate of his fishery but is happy with the work done by Best Practices Guide Calder Deyerle, a commercial fisherman out of Moss Landing, demonstrates best the working group. to Minimize Whale practices for Dungeness fishing gear buoy setup with other members of the California “I Entanglement just want to express Riskhow proud I Dungeness Crab Fishing Gear Working Group.

• Disentanglement Trainings: NMFS, in partnership with California Whale Rescue, am of the work we’ve done,” he said. from state Conservancy as the main defendant The first six months of 2018, NOAA “It’s not easy to change what you’ve Thethe Nature (TNC), andinthe Working Group, are training commercial Group [in the the case. has preliminarily reported a total of 19 doneThe for 40Working years, and everyone and recreational fishermen in whale entanglement response. developed several vol- us fishThe hope is the power granted to the confirmed whale entanglements on the group] seems to want to keep untary “best practices” director of Fish and Wildlife to close West Coast and three unconfirmed — a ing.”

•theGear federally Bycatch still Reduction Engineering Program focused on recommencrabmodification: fishery whenA there is a funded sig- number above average and enough projectrisk is underway where scientists, withfor fishermen, evaluate the Nick dations nificant for entanglement in S.B.in collaboration to cause trouble the fishery.

Rahaim isfor a writer and gear former commersurface 1309 satisfy theload Center for BiologiThe of California Crab based in the San Francisco Bay linewill profiles and strengths of different types fishing line,Dungeness as well as the visu- cial fisherman set up for the 2017-18 calalDiversity’s demands and result in a Fishing Gear Working Group continArea.

Check out his blog www.outside-in.org contrast of different line types/colors in the water column. fishing season, includsettlement of the case, Oppenheim said. ues to move forward, and members and follow him on Twitter @nrahaim.

• Whale and crab gear distribution surveys: The Working Group has worked in part-

nership with the National Marine Sanctuaries, Point Blue Conservation Science, NMFS, Oceana, and LightHawk to conduct a series of aerial and cruise vessel surveys to document the distribution of whales and crab fishing gear.

• Electronic reporting tool research: Fishing participants are working with CDFW

and TNC to conduct a series of pilot projects on different types of data loggers, with a focus on solar loggers and TNC’s eCatch, to gain a more comprehensive understanding of fishing dynamics.

LOOKING AHEAD: CONTINUED COLLABORATION In addition to collaborative projects and the Best Practices Guide, the Work8-600kW Marineresearch Generators ing Group also looks forward to piloting a draft voluntary risk assessment and mitiga// High efficiency windings for superior motor starting tion program in the upcoming 2017-2018 Dungeness crab fishing season. Throughout // Lowest cost of ownership 2017 and into 2018, the Working Group will continue to support implementation of // Limitless options and accessories collaborative projects and communications; provide guidance and recommendations to the California built Dungeness crab direct fishing pricing industry, the Dungeness Crab Task Force, // Custom at factory and the stateservice of California how to reduce the risk of whale entanglements; and // 24/7 andabout support identify measures to address the entanglement issue. // Over 50 years experience

ing improved buoy setup, reduced slack surface line, and limited number of trailer buoys. More than 2,250 copies of the resulting Best Practices Guide are being shared widely with fishing associations, local gear stores, fishing harbors, and by CDFW Enforcement, the US Coast Guard, and the California Recreational Fishing Survey surveyors, as well as online distribution via CDFW and recreational fishing clubs.

// Call today for a free application review!

FOR MORE INFORMATION: http://www.opc.ca.gov/whale-entanglement-working-group/ “I have been looking for a company that takes pride in their product; one that designs and fabricates out of the box to October 2017 make service and maintenance easier. MER Equipment has the Western Towboat seal of approval.”

Powered by MER Equipment, Inc. - Ed McEvoy (Port Engineer, Western Towboat) 1.800.777.0714 toll free • www.merequipment.com

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

29

GEAR SHIFTS

SLIDING DOORS Trawling has come a long way: From 19th-century steam-powered otter boards to air foils tested in flume tanks

NET SySTEmS

BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX

T

rawling began with the beam trawl, a towed net held open by beam across the mouth. First recorded in 1376 off the coast of England, sailboats towed small beam trawls for flatfish and shrimp. For hundreds of years, sail power limited the size of the nets. The advent of steam power in the late 1800s meant boats could target other species and tow nets bigger than they could feasibly spread with a beam. Fishermen began experimenting with otter boards — trawl doors. By the time trawling came to America early in the 1900s, steam power and doors had become the norm, though the boats were still called beam trawlers.

Led by Lowell Wakefield, Alaska fishermen started trawling for king crab after World War II. In 1958, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries, which preceded the National Marine Fisheries Service, chartered the 75-foot schooner 30

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

Tordenskjold, typical of the fishery, to conduct a study on door performance.

The bureau report on the project identifies the issues of concern as spreading power and drag.

Gary Loverich came out of MIT in the mid-60s with a graduate degree in ocean engineering, which, combined with his engineering degrees in aeronautics and astronautics from the University of Washington, made him the right man for the right job at the right time. He went to work for the bureau doing research and design on trawls and trawl doors.

In 1978 Loverich and a partner started NET Systems. “In those days people would go trawling for cod and rockfish after the salmon season. They used the old wooden doors,” says Loverich.

“At first, we built what the fishermen wanted, the V-door. That was a bottom door.

According to Loverich, when the

NETS began building doors in 1979, with the V-Door, for bottom trawling, and the Universal Fishbuster, introduced in 1984. “We gave the fishermen what they wanted,” says designer Gary Loverich.

Magnuson-Stevens Act went into effect in early 1977, it forced foreign boats to buy from American fishermen in Joint Ventures for midwater species like pollock, hake and whiting.

“The price came up, and more people got into it,” Loverich says of midwater trawling. “They didn’t have to take the fish aboard their boats. They could stay out for two or three weeks delivering bag after bag to the processors.”

While at the bureau, Loverich had worked on midwater trawling for whiting, with something called the Cobb pelagic trawl; at NETS he set out to improve it. “We said to fishermen, ‘We’ll build you a door. If you don’t like it, you don’t have to pay.’ That’s

CrEdiT BurEau of CommErCial fiShEriES NET SySTEmS

In 1958, when Alaskan fishermen used trawls to harvest king crab, the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries chartered the F/V Tordenskjold to test door performance.

In the 1980s and early ’90s some trawlers carried two sets of doors for bottom and midwater trawling.

NET SySTEmS

how it was in those days. There was so much innovation going on.”

They built what they called, simply, the Alloy door. “It was our first midwater door,” says Loverich. “It was lighter with a lower center of gravity and incorporated hydrodynamic innovations. It was based on sound engineering. We weren’t taking risks, just applying principals of physics.”

Dan Oliver, the current president of NET Systems, recalls that at the time most boats used Suberkrub doors — patented by German designer Franz Suberkrub in 1959. “When NETS came out with the Alloy door, that pretty much put the Suberkrub to bed forever. There’s probably some out there at the very bottom of the old gear pile.”

Unlike other designers, Loverich did not focus on drag. “The doors are only about 10 percent of the total drag when you have that big trawl, I was more concerned with lift, or spread.”

Eventually Loverich and the NETS team began adapting what they had learned from midwater door design and applied that to bottom trawl doors.

“With bottom doors, a lot of the spread came from contact with the bottom, friction. We started with a Japanese door and modified it into what we called the Super-V. It didn’t need as much ground sheer,” says Loverich.

“That was the evolution since 1980, until I sold the company.”

Loverich sold NETS to the Japanese marine company Nichimo Ltd. in 1995, but he continues to consult on door design. He notes that there is only so much a designer can do to achieve maximum efficiency. “You can change surface area, angle of attack, add slots, after that you have to jump to things like power and moveable flaps.”

Loverich has some ideas if the company goes that route. “If they get power to the doors,” he says, “I have a pet thing I’d like to try.” But he’s not saying what it is.

Iceland-based Polar Fishing Gear, another door design and manufacturing company, is testing a controllable door, the Poseidon. According to Polar’s website, three flaps on the top section and three flaps on the bottom half of the 4-square-meter (43-square-foot)

The Amber Dawn carrying the NETS Alloy doors, which replaced the popular Suberkrub doors in the midwater trawl fisheries.

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

31

GEAR SHIFTS

“We listen to what the

NET SySTEmS

industry is asking for, Lund and when we go to the Electro flume tanks we invite the 5415-24th 5415 fishermen.

A lot of designs A Seattle, W come from them.” Se — Koji Tamura, NET SYSTEMS Ph: 206.7 Ph softly on the bottom. “The next genor 800.2 o eration will be probably higher aspect doors with more foils,” says Tamura.

The Gull Wing has nowax: become one of the more popular midwater doors.

F 206.7 “But the real excitement is in F materials.a door can be controlled like the flaps of an airplane wing, enabling the skipper

to increase lift and spread as desired.

While expressing some interest in the remote controlled doors being developed by Polar, NET Systems senior engineer Koji Lunde Marine Tamura is hesitant.

Electronics, Inc. “That could be us 5415-24th Ave. N.W. in the future, but Seattle, WA 98107 right now we’re not working on anyPh: 206.789.3011 thing with power,” or 800.275.3820 he says. “We like to 42' Stormi Gayle Fax: 206.782.3188 keep things simple and easy to use.”

Tacoma, WA Tamura notes the Now accepting orders for hulls, success of NETS 1928 Milwaukeekits Way and complete boats. doors like the Gull Tacoma,We WA 98421 offer twelve models from 25' to 47' Wing, a midwater Ph: 253.627.6968 932 U.S. Route 1, Steuben, Maine 04680 door, and the Series Phone: (207) 546-7477 Fax: (207) 546-2163 2000, a universal door meant tow Dutch Harbor, AK www.hhmarineinc.com

We’re working with things like carbon fiber and plastics.”

Like the Bureau of Commercial Fisheries in 1958, Tamura is looking for more lift and less drag, but using some high tech tools in the process. In the past, fishermen could not see what their doors were doing once they disappeared below the surface. They measured the spread of the wires just aft of the towing points, inspected the wear on the doors, and used their imaginations. “Those guys had an extra sense of the bottom and how to catch fish,” says Gary Loverich. “Even with all the new electronics, there’s still guys like that.”

Beginning in 1995, with the sale of the company, NETS designers have had access Nichimo’s 100-meter-long (328 feet) tow tank, where they can test 1/15 scale models of doors and trawls.

“We also use flume tanks in Canada and Denmark,” says Tamura, who uses

Brian Robbins

T ac H&H MARINE, INC. 928 Milwau 1928 T acoma, W Tac Ph: 253.6 Ph

Dutch H D Ph: 907.5 Ph Fax: 907.5 Fa

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Lunde Marine Electronics, Inc. Lunde Marine 5415-24th Ave. N.W. Inc. Seattle, Electronics, WA 98107 Ph: 206.789.3011 5415-24th Ave. N.W. or 800.275.3820 Seattle, WA 98107 Fax: 206.782.3188

Ph: 206.789.3011 Tacoma, WA or 800.275.3820 1928 Milwaukee Way Fax: 206.782.3188 Tacoma, WA 98421 Ph: 253.627.6968

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Q&A WITH ANDY WINK

ON THE HOMEFRONT

Continued from page 22

Continued from page 24

on Facebook and sign up for our Waypoints email newsletter on our website.

I’m extremely interested in hearing from the fleet and would especially like to gather profiles, stories and media assets to help us meet our mission, in addition to ideas you might have about things we should work on. I am very keen on connecting sockeye consumers with this amazing fishery, but we need cooperation from the fleet. We’ve got a great food story to tell and plenty of high-powered contacts that want to tell that story, but we can’t do it alone.

providing jobs: We’re not just pretty boats. And while we’re on the topic, the shower down at the T-pier? It’s disgusting. In other harbors, fishermen are treated with respect with their own shower and bathrooms. I was nice about everything, but I think I got my point across.

A few weeks after this event, we had another event in Sacramento: the Fisheries Forum. This is where we commercial fishermen host a seafood reception for the powers that be and then testify or slam the powers that be.The tiara came along for the ride. I wore it for the reception, and I figured I should wear it for my testimony the next day. More logical heads talked me out of that one, but in my mind I was wearing that baby like I was the Queen.

“Damn it! You people need to show some respect to we who provide seafood, who have more knowledge about the ocean in our little finger than you will ever have from a textbook or study.” It’s an attitude thing that I’m pretty sure we should all adopt. Just work with me here.

Furthermore, I’ve decided I could rule with this crown — Pacific Fishery Management Council? Sure why not. Queen of the Common Sense Department of NOAA? You have to admit it, NOAA really needs this department. And while I’m at it, I feel I could rule the Living in Reality Dept. for all the NGOs. This department might be a bit more tough.

OK I need to go polish my crown now. And now you know what happens when you give a Super Glamorous Fishwife an award. Just remember, the Old Man of the Sea lives with this on a daily basis.

NPF: Any BBRSDA projects happening now or coming soon?

Wink: We ran branded Bristol Bay sockeye promotions in 365 grocery stores during July and have a lot of interest from retailers in promoting refreshed product this fall/winter. The cost/ benefit on these promotions and other marketing partnerships is looking really good.

For example, the Texas supermarket chain H-E-B likes our brand and story so much they are going to have seafood staff sporting Bristol Bay Sockeye branded aprons at more than 200 stores.

We also have eight discounted RSW units left to sell and are working with Doug Cannon and Mendi Jenkins from Marine Refrigeration Solutions to provide free boat consultations.

Please get a hold of us if you’re interested in buying one of those. There are many other things in the works which we’ll be fine tuning this fall.

INDEX TO ADVERTISERS Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CV3 www .alaskaseafood .org

Lunde Marine Electronics Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www .lundemarineelectronics .com

Cascade Engine Center LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14, 21 www .cascadeengine .com

Marport Americas Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CV2 www .marport .com

Delta Western, Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 www .deltawestern .com

MER Equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29 www .merequipment .com

Foss Maritime Company . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15 www .foss .com

NET Systems Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 www .net-sys .com

Fusion Marine Technology, LLC . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 www .fusionmarinetech .com

North Pacific Fuel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28 www .petrostar .com

H & H Marine Inc . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31 www .hhmarineinc .com

Platypus Marine . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 www .platypusmarine .com

Jensen Maritime Consultants Inc . . . . . . . . 3, Cover Snipe www .jensenmaritime .com

Simrad Fisheries . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .CV4 www .simrad .com

Kodiak Shipyard . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 008 www .kodiakshipyard .com

Simrad - Navico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33 www .navico .com

SUMMER 2018 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

35

IN FOCUS / SLIME EELS

Nicholas Taron fishes slime eels out of Morro Bay, Calif., on his 27-foot Boston Whaler F/V Persistence.

Photo by Nicholas Taron

36

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / SUMMER 2018

EYES ON THE

HORIZON YOUR PASSION: harvesting Alaska’s wild seafood.

OUR MISSION: making sure the world demands it.

While you spend time working on your boats and gear to prepare for the season ahead, we are also looking beyond the horizon, developing new markets and maintaining relationships with your customers in the U.S. and overseas.

Building global demand for Alaska seafood sustains fishing families and communities for generations. The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute team is proud to be on deck with you. www.alaskaseafood.org

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

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Trawl opening is 10m, trawling depth is 200m, towing speed 1,6kn

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