North Pacific Focus 2015 Fall Edition

FALL EDITION 2015

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CREW LIFE \ FITNESS WOULD YOU PASS THE TEST? GEAR SHIFTS \ POWER IN YOUR PURSE

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Washington: Rich Murdy (425) 277-5329 Oregon/Alaska: Mike Fourtner (360) 742-2864 Alaska: George Piaskowski (907) 750-8055 British Columbia: Cary Griffiths (604) 785-7151 cumminsnorthwest.com

AlAn HAig-Brown

MArco gloBAl

Fall 2015

28 22

COLUMNS 16

FrAnk BlAgg

24

DEPARTMENTS DEPARTMENTS 22 PILOTHOUSE PILOTHOUSELOG LOG 44 TIDINGS TIDINGS 54 CALENDAR CALENDAR 66 INDUSTRY INDUSTRYWAYPOINTS WAYPOINTS 87 GALLEY WATCH BOOK REVIEW 98 FISHERPOETS GALLEY WATCH 109 SEASON FORECASTS FISHERPOETS 12 FISHERY 10 OUR SEASON FORECASTS 14 ASMI NEWS 12 OUR YARD ALSO ALSO

35 35 AD ADINDEX INDEX 36 IN 36 INFOCUS FOCUS

FEATURES 22

GEAR SHIFTS

ON THE HORIZON Customizing your insurance

How the power block changed purse seining and made fishing faster.

18

24

COMFORT ZONE Figuring out efficient energy

19 THE LONG HAUL In my Dutch Harbor days

20 ON THE HOMEFRONT Serious about safety

21 YOUNGBLOODS Seafood siblings

BOATBUILDING: THE PINNACLE The Acme changed hands many times, but is still on the water after 100 years.

28

IT’S A SHOAL THING A co-op in Puget Sound combines Native nets and modern processing.

32

FIT FOR FISHING One effort to study fishermen’s health takes the focus off of fataliites.

Cover: The crew on a Lummi Island Wild reef net rolls pink salmon from the net into a live well where they will be held prior to bleeding.

Alan Haig-Brown photo

PILOTHOUSE LOG

CUTTING EDGE E

veryone’s talking about drones used to track whales and personal ROVs used to examine your hull at the dock. But in the nation’s oldest profession, there’s no shortage of age-old techniques and traditions. I love seeing the threads of these old ways woven into the modern fishing culture — the modernization of time-tested gear as it intersects with shifting priorities and newfound understanding of our oceans and fish habitat.

In his cover story on reef-netting in Puget Sound (page 28), freelance writer Alan Haig-Brown highlights the overlap of traditional and modern — commercial fishermen using Native gear powered by solar arrays. It just doesn’t get much better than that. Well, maybe a little better: The people fishing these nets are getting a premium for their pink salmon because the gear allows them to handle the fish with TLC and deliver a superior product to local markets.

The price and productivity of salmon is on everyone’s minds these days (whether you’re worried about West Coast runs or the market for Alaska’s fish from returns that won’t quit), but no one more so than the new executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, Alexa Tonkovich. The last two ASMI directors have been hired from outside the organization, but Alexa came up through the hawsepipe. Read more about her new job and her outlook for the future of Alaska seafood markets in a Q&A on page 6.

Freelance writer David Peterson takes us down memory lane with a complete history of the Acme, a wooden tug built the year its home port of San Francisco hosted the World’s Fair, which was largely a celebration of the opening of the Panama Canal in 1914. Acme didn’t start with that name, nor did she start out as a fishing boat, but she is still working out of San Francisco. Read more about this 100-year-old survivor on page 24.

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

Jerry Fraser Jessica Hathaway Samuel Hill Michael S. Crowley Doug Stewart Ashley Herriman

PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE Dylan Andrews PRODUCTION ASSOCIATE Sokvonny Chhouk SENIOR V.P., STRATEGIC MARKETING Vicki Hennin

When it comes to the classics, however, there can be room for improvement, as Debra Cherry and Torie Baker discovered in their collaborative effort between the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health JESSICA HATHAWAY and the University of Editor in chief Washington to study fishermen’s health.

Read about their results in Nick Rahaim’s story on page 32.

Whether it’s a fisherman keeping alive the wooden boat tradition, using a time-tested piece of gear with a modern twist, letting loose the lines on a thoroughly modern steel boat or even managing repetitive stress injuries, we carry traditions with us whether we realize it or not.

Being on the cutting edge doesn’t necessarily mean leaving behind the tried and true. In an industry with this much history, we are always standing on the shoulders of giants. The best innovators are often the ones who take the time to sharpen the tools they already have.

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North Pacific Focus, Fall 2015, Vol. 2, No. 3, 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.

Alaska didn’t jump on the SUSTAINABILITY trend.

WE STARTED IT. Marine conservation isn’t new to Alaska Seafood.

In fact, a precautionary approach to setting harvest levels has been in place for decades. Look at the BSAI Catch Limits chart and see how the numbers tell the story. Each year scientists conduct surveys of the available biomass and use this data to calculate conservative catch limits – Acceptable Biological Catch (ABC).

Then, fisheries managers go a step further and set harvest quotas – Total Allowable Catch (TAC) – that never exceeds the sustainable ABC. And, with the FAO-Based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Certification, you have even more assurance that conserving our oceans is anything but trendy to us. Learn more at www.alaskaseafood.org

1981-2012 Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) Groundfish Catch Limits

TIDINGS

Bering Sea

NEWS FROM THE WEST COAST & ALASKA

Prince William Sound

Ketchikan

Port Townsend

Victoria

Fishing fatalities take a fall in Alaska

A

culture out on the water compared to years ago,” he said. “There are a lot of people working hard every day to make this industry safer for fishermen.”

Kemerer credits an increase in affordable safety classes and more thorough vessel requirements across the country for the fatality decrease. He also noted that, with catch-share and quota systems in place, there are generally fewer vessels on the water during the year, that the region has been lucky weather-wise and that equipment is getting safer, as well.

While the news of a safer industry is welcome, the Coast Guard is only talking about operational deaths — deaths while

Alaska releases Exxon from future Valdez spill claims

allowed for additional claims in case of unforeseen environmental impacts.

The case ended somewhat anticlimactically in a roughly 15 minute hearing. No Exxon representative spoke, and state and U.S. officials had nothing to add to their written report.

“I understand that some will be displeased with the government’s decision,” said Judge H. Russel Holland, who has taken on the case from the start. “But based upon what’s in your report, I’m satisfied that it was the right decision.”

U.S. Navy

ccording to the U.S. Coast Guard, no one died on the job while fishing in Alaska during the last fiscal year.

Jack Kemerer, the Coast Guard’s chief of fishing vessel safety division, thinks it’s time for the reality television series “Deadliest Catch” to change its name, suggesting “Safest Catch” as an alternative. “ T h e r e ’s certainly a better safety

M

ore than 26 years after the March 1989 Exxon Valdez oil spill, litigation has ended.

On Oct. 15, the Alaska Department of Law and the U.S. Department of Justice announced they were bringing judicial actions against the company to a close, choosing not to pursue an additional $100 million for restoration efforts.

The grounding of the tanker on Bligh Reef in Alaska’s Prince William Sound spilled nearly 11 million gallons of North Slope crude oil that ultimately contaminated some 1,500 miles of Alaska’s coastline. It affected three national parks, four national wildlife refuges, a national forest, five state parks, four state critical habitat areas a state game sanctuary.

The government’s original 1991 settlement with Exxon, for $900 million,

U.S. and Russia sign pact to fight pirated Bering Sea crab

T

he United States and Russia signed a bilateral agreement in September, officially teaming up to combat illegal, unreported and unregulated fishing. The pact has been in the works for years and has support from fishing and environmental groups throughout the

fishermen are out fishing — and does not include any accidents that might’ve occurred when a boat wasn’t actively fishing.

The numbers are still low though.

According to figures from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, nine people died in Alaska fishing accidents last year, and the 29 deaths nationwide were the lowest since NIOSH started keeping records in 2000. region.

While the agreement targets multiple species, the biggest focus is on Bering Sea king crab, a fishery that has been fighting pirated product at increasing rates.

In 2014, Alaska’s contribution of frozen king crab was 21.1 percent of domestic consumption, while Russia’s imports accounted for 72.3 percent. The influx of Russian crab, illegally caught or not, has put a twist on the market for U.S. crabbers. Some speculate that Russian catch limits are adjusted to mask illegal production with little oversight as well.

Mark Gleason, executive director of the trade group Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, said the agreement will be a welcome change in the fishery.

Pirated crab has also affected legitimate Russian crabbers in recent years.

A

ccording to a report commissioned

by Pebble Limited, the Environmental Protection Agency may have been biased in its review of the controversial Pebble Mine.

The report, prepared by former U.S. Secretary of Defense William Cohen, claims the EPA fostered inappropriate relationships with anti-mine advocates and began its review of the proposed mine with an outcome already in mind.

Cohen says the EPA’s consideration of a Clean Water Act designation for the nearby fishery eliminated due process for evaluating the potential mine project.

The EPA publicly rejected claims that the designation was preemptive.

United Tribes of Bristol Bay Executive Director Alannah Hurley said in a prepared statement that the attacks on EPA were inaccurate and backed up that the EPA was completely authorized to make the call.

“Salmon is a critical national resource that our tribes, fishermen and businesses are working to protect by opposing mines like Pebble in the Bristol Bay watershed,” she said.

The report will likely be used in the ongoing lawsuit over the EPA designa-

tion. Currently, both sides of the case are waiting to depose Phillip North, an EPA biologist and key witness in the original EPA case. He retired in 2013, and his whereabouts are reportedly unknown.

Are you ready? The Race to Alaska is waiting for you

T

he Race to Alaska is one competition in which contestants aren’t told to start their engines. The 750mile, engineless, unassisted race from Port Townsend, Wash., to Ketchikan, Alaska, isn’t for everyone, but if you’re thinking about taking the challenge, you had better start prepping.

Any boat without an engine can enter; most entrants opt for sailboats, while others hit the sea in kayaks and outrigger canoes. A three-man sailing team from Seattle set the record in the first year, reaching the finish line in a little over five days and taking home the $10,000 prize. A three-man Canadian crew came in three days later, taking the second place prize: a set of steak knives.

18 teams have applied to take part in this year’s race, which starts on June 23, and 15 have been accepted.

“We look at a combination of things when evaluating people who want

DECEMBER Dec. 5 Lighted Boat Parade and Tree Lighting Morro Bay, CA (805) 772-9349 www.morrobay.org

Dec. 7-15 North Pacific Fishery Management Council Meeting Hilton Anchorage West 3rd Ave. Anchorage, AK (907) 271-2809 www.npfmc.org

Dec. 16-20 Christmas Boat Parade Newport Beach, CA (949) 467-2756 www.christmasboatparade.com

JANUARY Jan. 12-17 Alaska Board of Fisheries Meeting

Race to alaska

Pebble developers say EPA didn’t play fair with report

There are no engines in the R2AK, so most entrants opt for sailing.

to race,” said race boss Daniel Evans.

“Mainly we’re looking at experience on the water, in racing and the quality of the vessel.”

Evans says of the accepted teams, one of them is currently building their vessel in France and another is setting sail from Australia.

The first leg of the race, a 40-mile journey to Victoria, British Columbia, serves as a qualifier for the last 710 miles of the journey. Some teams choose to participate in just the first section. An organizer vessel, lovingly nicknamed the Grim Sweeper, leaves after the races and takes about 10 days to reach Ketchikan; if it passes you, you’re out.

For more info about the race or to apply, visit r2ak.com.

FEBRUARY Feb. 1-3 SeaWeb Seafood Summit

Alpine Lodge Fairbanks, AK (907) 465-4100 www.adfg.alaska.gov

Hilton Malta Vjal Portomaso St. Julian’s, Malta (508) 743-8539 www.seafoodsummit.org

Jan. 25-29 International Pacific Halibut Commission Annual Meeting

Feb. 23–March 4 Alaska Board of Fisheries Meeting

Centennial Hall Convention Center 101 Egan Drive Juneau, AK (206) 634-1838 www.iphc.int

Sheraton Hotel 401 E 6th Ave. Anchorage, AK (907) 465-4100 www.adfg.alaska.gov

Jan. 27-29 Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit Westmark Baranof Hotel 127 N. Franklin St. Juneau, AK (907) 772-3381 www.seagrant.uaf.edu

To list your event in North Pacific Focus, contact Samuel Hill at shill@divcom.com or (207) 842-5622.

INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS Alexa Tonkovich is taking the reins as executive director of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

Q&A with Alexa Tonkovich, the new executive director for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

with ASMI for six years, so I know all of the staff and have worked with them in some capacity, but now I get to work with other programs more closely.

Q A

What are the biggest challenges you see ASMI facing right

Q

Can you tell me a little about the work you were doing in your previous position and what you’ll be doing now as executive director?

I started with ASMI in 2009 as their Asia Marketing Coordinator, where I oversaw programs in Japan and China. Then we expanded in Asia, and I started looking at other emerging markets, including what we’re now working on in Brazil. Two years ago, I was elected to the international programs director, and I was overseeing programs in 21 countries broken up into eight regions.

Now, as executive director, I will be looking at domestic markets as well as international efforts.

A

Q A

What are you most excited about in your new position?

I’m excited to have a chance to work with and learn more about the domestic markets. And working with everyone will be great. I’ve been

now?

We are in a budget crunch in the state of Alaska right now, so that’s something we have to face. Right away, we’re looking for efficiencies in the budget and thinking about probable cuts for next year. It’s going to be quite a challenge, but it also gives us an opportunity to be lean and be more efficient.

I’m confident that we can run some great programs despite the budget situation.

It’s a challenging time for the industry in general right now. Specifically for Alaska salmon. The industry fluctuates, and we try to be prepared for that, but it can be challenging when there are market conditions to fight against.

Q A

Is salmon a priority for ASMI right now?

Absolutely. It wasn’t a surprise to us that this past year was a big run.

We’ve been preparing for this for at least a year. Recognizing that it was a big run, there’s going to be plenty of inventory carry-over to deal with.

There are a lot of global factors to consider in regard to salmon, too. Farmed salmon stocks are steady. Lots of salmon has been displaced due to the Russian trade ban. The strength of the U.S. dollar is working against us.

I’m not a fortune teller, so I can’t say for sure how things will shape up over

ASMI

Tonkovich was hired in August 2013 to lead ASMI’s international program, managing its overseas marketing efforts. Before that, she managed the institute’s Asia and Emerging Markets division for almost four years. She is replacing Ray Riutta, who led the organization in interim after Mike Cerne stepped down from the post this summer.

“I’m very excited to be leading ASMI,” said Tonkovich in a press release. “We certainly have some challenges facing us, but it’s also a very exciting time for Alaska Seafood, both domestically and around the world.”

Tonkovich has a bachelor’s degree from Colgate University in East Asian Studies and she lives in Juneau, Alaska.

next year or two, but we are prepared to deal with external forces. We have to be.

Q A

Are there any areas you see ASMI expanding on in the coming years?

I think, coming from the international program, I can definitely speak to those efforts. We have been doing exploratory work in emerging markets, specifically in Southeast Asia. We received a grant to go on an exploratory trade mission to Thailand, Vietnam and Indonesia.

Domestically, it’s too soon for me to say with the budget realities. Right now, we’re working as team to make the organization more efficient.

Q

Is there anything ASMI is doing right now that you think people might be unfamiliar with, or anything you’d like our readers to know?

One would be the situation with salmon. We want the seafood industry to know we’re proactively promoting salmon and doing everything we can to maintain market shares and develop new markets. We’re not unaware of the difficulties of the industry.

And ASMI does a lot of great things and offers services to all members of the industry. I’d just like to encourage anyone with questions about our work to reach out to staff members, come to a meeting or visit the website and see what we’re doing.

The more people who know what we do, the more advocates we have for the industry.

A

• Abe Williams, who was elected to the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association board last spring, was selected as the new president in September. Williams fishes the F/V Crimson Fury and is president of Nuna Resources, a nonprofit organization that supports sustainable resource development in rural Alaska, including fighting for an international solution to issues raised by the proposed Pebble Mine project.

• Washington’s pink shrimp is the first fishery managed by the state to receive certification from the global Marine Stewardship Council fisheries standard for sustainable, wild seafood.

The state’s fishery was independently assessed as a scope extension of the MSC-certified Oregon pink shrimp fishery, which achieved certification in December 2007 and attained recertification in February 2013.

“Washington state’s pink shrimp fishermen are proud that this is the first Washington state-managed fishery to earn certification to the MSC standard,” said Charles Kirschbaum, Pacific Seafood Group’s product manager.

Since the late 1990s, fishing for pink shrimp in Washington has steadily improved, with recent landings increasing from approximately 10 million pounds per year to a record 30 million pounds, with a value of more than $16 million, in 2014.

• Reps. Jaime Herrera Beutler (RWash.) and Don Young (R-Alaska) introduced legislation in October that would change the market name of “Alaska pollock” to “pollock.”

Under current Food and Drug Administration labeling standards, pollock does not have to be caught in Alaska to be labeled as Alaska pollock. A recent consumer survey conducted by GMA Research showed that 77 percent of consumers assumed that products la-

beled as “Alaska pollock” came from Alaska, and 81 percent said they would feel misled if they found out otherwise.

Approximately 40 percent of pollock Abe Williams labeled as being from Alaska is the product of Russian fisheries.

“Americans want to know where their food is coming from.

This bill will give American consumers more transparency by closing this FDA loophole that allows Russian pollock from Chinese processors to flood our markets under the label ‘Alaska pollock,’” said Beutler. “With this legislative fix, we’re also ensuring that pollock fishing and processing businesses located in Southwest Washington and throughout the U.S. aren’t having to compete with deceptively labeled products from far less sustainable fisheries.”

• Scott Kelley, a longtime employee of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, moved up to director of commercial fisheries in mid-October. Kelley started his career with fish and game as a port sampler at Excursion Inlet, a major processing facility west of Juneau, in 1990. Since then he’s held a variety of roles in Southeast Alaska, including working on stock assessments, serving as a regional management coordinator and running the shellfish and groundfish program in Southeast, which was his most recent position. “ I ’ v e got a bit of catching up to do in areas I’m less familiar with, but I’m excited,” said Kelley on his first Scott Kelley day. “You

never know what’s going to happen in Alaska.”

• At their October meeting, the Coastal Villages Region Fund’s board of directors approved $1.5 million in additional program spending. The funding will go toward the region fund’s Community Designated Fund program.

The purpose of the Community Designated Fund is to support the region fund’s member communities in their endeavors for overall economic development. In the past it has been used for public safety wages, new home appliances, water subsidies, village building renovations and other projects.

“We as a board have seen how important this program is to the region,” said region fund President Richard Jung of Napakiak. “Communities are lacking funding in many different areas of community infrastructure and basic community needs.”

• Coast guard agencies from arctic nations signed a joint statement officially establishing the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.

The organization is meant to foster

U.S. Coast Guard officials sign a statement to establish the Arctic Coast Guard Forum.

safe and environmentally friendly maritime activities in the Arctic. Membership includes Canada, Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Sweden, the Russian Federation and the United States.

“The Arctic is crucial to our shared security, and this declaration underscores our commitment to cooperating with our international partners as we navigate this challenging and changing region,” said U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Jeh Johnson.

The statement was signed in late October at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy.

The organization will meet again in the spring.

GALLEY WATCH

Recipe by Kim Sunée, author of “Trail of Crumbs” (Grand Central Publishing) Serves 4 Spicy Turmeric Garlic Grapeseed or avocado oil, for frying 6 to 8 cloves garlic, thinly sliced 2 jalapeños or Serrano chilies, stemmed and thinly sliced 1/2 teaspoon turmeric Pour about half an inch of oil in a heavy-bottom pan and place over medium-high heat. When oil is very hot but not smoking, add garlic and jalapeño; turn once or twice until golden and crisp. Add turmeric and stir. Using a slotted spoon, remove garlic and jalapeño into a small bowl; set aside. Strain remaining oil through a sieve, discard-

ing solids; use strained oil for roasting vegetables and frying salmon cakes.

Salmon Cakes 1 heaping cup (1 medium) diced parsnip 1 heaping cup diced golden beet or carrot (about 1 medium) Oil from Spicy Turmeric Garlic 1/4 cup minced celery (about 1 stalk) 1 1/2 teaspoons finely chopped jalapeño or Serrano (about 1 to 2) 1 green onion, minced 2 (6-ounce cans) wild Alaska sockeye salmon (discard any bones or skin) Salt and fresh black pepper, to taste 2 eggs, lightly whisked Preheat oven to 400. Spread parsnip and beet evenly on a parchment-lined rimmed baking sheet. Drizzle with some of the strained turmeric oil. Roast 20 to 25 minutes or until fork tender. Remove vegetables to a cutting board; give them another chop; add to a mixing bowl. Add celery, jalapeño and green onion. Stir in salmon; season lightly with

ASMI

SALMON CAKES WITH SPICY TURMERIC GARLIC

salt and pepper. Stir in egg to combine.

Pour a light coating of turmeric oil into a large skillet over medium-high heat; if needed, add a bit more grapeseed or avocado oil. Form salmon mixture into 8 patties. When skillet is hot add salmon cakes (cakes will sizzle when pan is hot enough). Cook about 2 minutes until golden brown on one side. Gently turn and cook another 2 to 3 minutes. Sprinkle with Maldon flake salt. Serve warm in cabbage leaves, topped with Spicy Turmeric Garlic and Cucumber Yogurt.

Cucumber Yogurt 1 Alaska Grown cucumber 2 cups plain yogurt Grate cucumber and mix into yogurt.

FISHERPOETS My Heritage

BY MEEZIE HERMANSEN Meezie Hermansen was born and raised in Alaska. She has worked the family setnet site near Humpy Point on the Cook Inlet East Side every summer since she learned to walk. She is the author of “Brain Sand,” a collection of poems and writings about commercial fishing and life in Alaska.

I cling To the last vestige of my heritage I cling like Barnacles cling to a ship Like rock climbers cling to a grip Like skinny jeans cling to the hip And dog hair clings to Polar fleece The water provides something solid that land never can Tho people don’t understand The need to quit the land Launch out from the strand And let the mindset of town just cease Our way of life may be ceasing as well as more and more people move to the area Limited entry means the power of our voice shrinks And our hope for the future sinks And no matter how much it stinks Our fishing times decrease But my love of fishing burns within It burns like a match set aflame Like a politician shifts the blame Like reality stars seek acclaim It is something I cannot release And so I cling To this last vestige of my heritage I cling like Barnacles cling to a ship Like rock climbers cling to a grip Like skinny jeans cling to the hip And like dog hair clings to that polar fleece The water provides something solid that land never can And so I cling

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SEASON FORECASTS

Outlook

ALASKA

ALASKA FISHERIES

“

What concerns me the most for my fleet is the potential weather effects of the looming El Niño.

— Dan Martin, CAPTAIN OF THE 133-FOOT COMMODORE, FISHING BSAI POLLOCK AND COD KEVIN GANLEY Bering Sea midwater pollock trawl captain of the 123-foot American Beauty out of King Cove, Alaska

LADD NORHEIM Captain/owner of the Windham Bay, fishing tanner and brown crab out of Petersburg, Alaska Looking ahead at Southeast Alaska winter crab, Norheim is realistic about what lies ahead for the season, which is likely to kick off in midFebruary.

“I’m not very excited. I’m not crazy about how the department has handled it. The way we think and the way they think is very different. They turned it into a derby, and we used to fish for months.

“It’s only a five-day tanner crab derby and the brown crab cycle is on the bottom, so we don’t expect a lot of production for several more years to come. Everything cycles. As long as you’re doing other fisheries usually one of them kicks in for me. Everything is cyclic up here.”

CHARLIE REYNOLDS Anchorage boatbuilder “The majority of boats I’ve built in the last eight years have been for the Prince William sound salmon fishery.

35 bowpickers and 12 seine skiffs. The last two years inquiries into new boats has tapered off a bit. The combination of smaller runs, smaller fish, some mis-

management of escapement and lower prices has brought about a low or perhaps a normal gillnet season where the fisherman has had to work harder

”

to earn a living. Even though the seiners had an all time record run, the prices were very low. Many of them did very well this year, but the feeling I am getting is that they are being conservative with their money.

“Right now I am building two gillnetters for customers for the sound and have just completed one larger bowpicker and three seine skiffs on speculation. Even though I’m busy, the general feeling throughout the boatbuilding industry is there will be fewer boats for Prince William Sound built this year.

“All of the fisheries are slowly changing, not only in the way they catch the fish but how they take care of and how they process the fish. As long as those changes are taking place, advances can be made by the boatbuilders in producing a better tool. As long as more efficient tools (boats) are being produced, fishermen will keep ordering new boats to stay competitive.”

“We’ve been doing this for 34 years, so it’s almost all automatic. Mentally we prepare for being gone for three months, the boat is maintained, and we talk with our peers to work on the bycatch issue, and that’s the short and dirty version.

“We haven’t seen our quota, but I expect it to be a good season. The biomass and grounds we cover have improved a lot over the last half dozen years.

“Our biggest fear on the serious side is the bycatch, even though we catch very little, it is high value in money and culture. Our bycatch is salmon, but we have a lot of good tools like excluders, hot spot areas, closures that are phenomenal help to us. But the fact is if salmon show up in our fishing areas, we have to move.”

POLLOCK

TANNER CRAB

SEASON FORECASTS JERRY DOWNING Explorer fleet manager for B&N Fisheries’ pollock fleet based out of Seattle and Kodiak — Arctic Explorer, Bristol Explorer, Pacific Explorer, Ocean Explorer, Northwest Explorer, Peggy Jo, Cape Kiwanda, Arctic Wind “I’m optimistic about the winter season that we’ll have a relatively stable season. The resource still looks quite healthy. At the end of our B/fall season the size of fish looked good and proximity of the plant was good, and fuel prices were encouraging.

“I always get excited about the winter season. It’s my favorite season because we’re fishing multispecies and we’re

fishing generally a large aggregate in the biomass. We’re fishing for roe, trying to extract the highest dollar amount out of a pound of fish.

“I’m always concerned about the

things that are beyond my ability to control. I’m concerned about the overall fuel price outlook and the global market outlook for getting the product to market.”

“ Outlook

WEST COAST

WASHINGTON OREGON CALIFORNIA FISHERIES

The media has blown the Dungeness problem out of proportion. No one has gotten sick.

”

— Lori French, FACES OF CALIFORNIA FISHING

JOHN MCMANUS San Francisco’s Golden Gate Salmon Association executive director addressed the alarmingly low number of winter run juvenile salmon measured at Red Bluff.

“Salmon fishermen are very concerned about the alarming low number of winter run salmon being counted in the Sacramento River. We could see restrictions on our ability to make a living fishing to cover for the mistakes of federal water managers who failed to follow the law requiring them to keep enough cold water in Lake Shasta to support salmon spawning. Droughts are always hard on salmon but water management decisions made it worse this year.”

DMITRY KERMAN Captain/owner of the 30-foot Bella fishing Puget Sound Dungeness crab out of Bellingham, Wash.

At press time, Kerman was done with first part of Puget Sound Dungies, which closed Oct. 28, and was waiting for the winter season to start up in November.

“I don’t know what to expect. The second part of the season is usually a

long grind. We catch most of the quota in the first month, so the second half is just grinding, grinding. The price will be good. The last few years right around Chinese New Year, the price has gone through the roof. So I’m looking forward to that.

“All the prep work is done. Waiting for the go ahead to get the gear back in the water. To prep we usually just go through the pots, decide where we’re

going to fish, adjust gear for the depth, and make sure the boat works.

“I’m worried about the market crashing. Most of the crab goes to China I would say, and if their economy tanks, our fishery won’t do so well.”

SALMON

DUNGENESS CRAB

SEASON FORECASTS JERRY DOWNING Explorer fleet manager for B&N Fisheries’ pollock fleet based out of Seattle and Kodiak — Arctic Explorer, Bristol Explorer, Pacific Explorer, Ocean Explorer, Northwest Explorer, Peggy Jo, Cape Kiwanda, Arctic Wind “I’m optimistic about the winter season that we’ll have a relatively stable season. The resource still looks quite healthy. At the end of our B/fall season the size of fish looked good and proximity of the plant was good, and fuel prices were encouraging.

“I always get excited about the winter season. It’s my favorite season because we’re fishing multispecies and we’re

fishing generally a large aggregate in the biomass. We’re fishing for roe, trying to extract the highest dollar amount out of a pound of fish.

“I’m always concerned about the

things that are beyond my ability to control. I’m concerned about the overall fuel price outlook and the global market outlook for getting the product to market.”

“ Outlook

WEST COAST

WASHINGTON OREGON CALIFORNIA FISHERIES

The media has blown the Dungeness problem out of proportion. No one has gotten sick.

”

— Lori French, FACES OF CALIFORNIA FISHING

JOHN MCMANUS San Francisco’s Golden Gate Salmon Association executive director addressed the alarmingly low number of winter run juvenile salmon measured at Red Bluff.

“Salmon fishermen are very concerned about the alarming low number of winter run salmon being counted in the Sacramento River. We could see restrictions on our ability to make a living fishing to cover for the mistakes of federal water managers who failed to follow the law requiring them to keep enough cold water in Lake Shasta to support salmon spawning. Droughts are always hard on salmon but water management decisions made it worse this year.”

DMITRY KERMAN Captain/owner of the 30-foot Bella fishing Puget Sound Dungeness crab out of Bellingham, Wash.

At press time, Kerman was done with first part of Puget Sound Dungies, which closed Oct. 28, and was waiting for the winter season to start up in November.

“I don’t know what to expect. The second part of the season is usually a

long grind. We catch most of the quota in the first month, so the second half is just grinding, grinding. The price will be good. The last few years right around Chinese New Year, the price has gone through the roof. So I’m looking forward to that.

“All the prep work is done. Waiting for the go ahead to get the gear back in the water. To prep we usually just go through the pots, decide where we’re

going to fish, adjust gear for the depth, and make sure the boat works.

“I’m worried about the market crashing. Most of the crab goes to China I would say, and if their economy tanks, our fishery won’t do so well.”

SALMON

DUNGENESS CRAB

OUR FISHERY

BOOM AND BUST Fishing Pacific sardines gets complicated between natural swings and inaccurate stock assessments Nick Rahaim is a Monterey (Calif.) County Weekly staff writer. He has been a deckhand in more than a dozen fisheries.

BY NICK RAHAIM

ast April I received a text from an old captain telling me his boat was in Reedsport, Ore., and that they needed a replacement deckhand for sardines.

The Pacific Coast was dry with a looming closure of the fishery for the 201516 season imminent. They were fishing the last of the 2014-15 quota, after most boats from California to Washington preferred to stay tied up rather than test their luck in the empty seas. A local crabber claimed there were schools of sardines as far as the eye could see outside Winchester Bay, so a market was set up and a few lucky seiners came in.

The few boats fishing had already landed nearly a million pounds each.

With an ex-vessel price in excess of $350 a metric ton, they were raking in money.

Tax Day was fast approaching and the IRS demanded money I didn’t have, so I packed up my things and hightailed it to Oregon, even though I felt like a cowboy chasing after the least heard of buf-

“

The closure was

unforeseen and unfair.

Right in the height of the season when we should have been fishing, they

”

shut us down.

— Randy Roberts, Del Mar Seafoods

John Butler noAA

L

Sardines have long been known as a boom or bust fishery.

The Pacific Fish Co.’s Anacapa loaded with 20 tons of sardines in Monterey.

falo on the Great Plains.

Under current regulation, the Pacific sardine fishery must be shut down when the biomass falls below the cutoff threshold of 150,000 metric tons. NOAA biologists found there to be less than 100,000 metric tons in 2015. On April 12, the Pacific Fishery Management Council said there would be no directed sardine fishery from July 1, 2015, to June 31, 2016.

“The closure was unforeseen and unfair,” said Randy Roberts of Watsonville, Calif.-based Del Mar Seafoods.“Right in the height of the season when we should have been fishing, they shut us down.”

While the closure has hit the industry hard after sardines brought an average of $12.5 million annually in ex-vessel revenue to West Coast ports since 2005, the biomass has been in steady decline, peaking at more than 1 million metric tons in 2008 to just over the mandated cut-off of 150,000 metric tons in 2014.

“I don’t think anyone would ques-

tion there has been a decline, but the question is scale,” said Diane PleschnerSteele, director of the California Wetfish Producers Association. “Our beef is that stock assessments are inaccurate, that it doesn’t reflect reality.”

A week after the closure there were at least 150 tons in Santa Cruz Harbor, Roberts claimed. “There were sardines in Monterey Bay the whole summer, but we weren’t allowed to fish them,” he lamented.

Kerry Griffin, staff officer for coastal pelagic species with the Pacific Fishery Management Council, understands the closure — the first since 1998 — is a “tough pill to swallow,” but said “the les-

sons of Cannery Row guide our cautious approach today.”

“The stock assessment models have to represent the best scientific information available,” Griffin said, defending the science behind the closure. “They’re not perfect, and nobody knows exactly how many fish are out there at any one time.

But it is a scientifically robust, transparent and peer-reviewed process.”

Sardines have long been known as a boom to bust fishery. In 1930s and ’40s sardines on the Pacific Coast were likely the largest fishery in the Western

Over the decades sardines bounced back.The largest catch was in 2007 when fishermen landed more than 127,000 metric tons. In 2012, the price more than doubled from roughly $103 per metric ton in 2007 to more than $208. Ports like Westport, Wash., which were used to handling only tuna and shrimp in summer months, were overrun with sardine seiners. Sardines brought fishermen in Pacific ports more than $21 million in 2012, up from $13 million in 2007.

In the early 2010s salmon seining in Southeast Alaska was starting to get hot,

yet I would look down at peers fishing for sardines on the Washington and Oregon coasts earning double what I was bringing in for the summer. I wanted in, and when I finally got my opportunity it was too late. I arrived to Reedsport just in time for the weather to come up and the schools to scatter.We were tied up to the dock on Tax Day when the Pacific council recommended that NMFS shut down the fisheries, leaving the remaining quota from the 2014-15 season in the water.

Continued on page 15

“

Our beef is that

stock assessments are inaccurate, that it doesn’t

”

reflect reality.

— Diane Pleschner-Steele, California Wetfish Producers Association Hemisphere, according to a NOAA. At the time Monterey, Calif., was the third largest fishing port in the world and was enshrined in the cultural imagination by John Steinbeck in his classic “Cannery Row.” In 1945, Monterey supported 19 canneries, 20 reduction facilities and a fleet of more than 100 boats strong. Sardines then went bust in the late-1940s from a combination of overfishing and the natural cycle of fluctuation in ocean temperature leading to a change in geographic abundance. Sardines were not commercially harvested again other than incidental bycatch until the late-1980s.

Ed Ricketts, pioneering marine biologist and friend of Steinbeck, when asked what happened to the sardines tersely responded, “They’re in cans!”

To be fair, the current collapse in sardine population is not the result of overfishing, according to NOAA biologists.

The exploitation rate of the resource has averaged 11 percent since the year 2000, which is considered very low, Griffin said. In absence of commercial fishing, sardines would still have experienced a severe decline, he continued.

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ASMI NEWS

ASMI works The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute

at your service

A

the largest representative annual gathering in the United States of any Native peoples.

The proceedings are broadcast live statewide via television, radio and webcast to 70 countries worldwide.

In-store demos showcased both Alaska cod and sockeye salmon recipes.

Seafood retail demos SMI’s Retail Program kicked off National Seafood Month with nationwide Cook It Frozen! in-store demonstrations with multiple retail partners, including Harris Teeter, Sam’s Club, Giant Eagle, Kroger, Rouse’s, Schnuck’s, Earth Fare, Tops Markets,

Whole Foods and Super Valu stores, which include Farm Fresh, Shoppers, Shop n Save and Hornbachers. The in-store demos will be showcasing the Pan-Steamed Alaska Seafood Marseilles recipe featuring Alaska cod and Bronzed Alaska Salmon featuring Alaska sockeye salmon.

ASMI

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ASMI’s booth at the Alaska Federation of Natives convention in Anchorage.

ASMI

Federation of Natives Convention SMI was a sponsor of the Alaska Federation of Natives convention, which took place Oct. 15-17 in Anchorage. The convention, which annually draws as many as 5,000 attendees, is

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Other press coverage “Everything You Need To Know About Wild Alaskan Salmon,” Food Republic, Oct. 6, 2015 “Cooking Fish from Frozen and Other Things I Learned on My Alaska Seafood Trip,” Martha Stewart, Oct. 5, 2015 “Students across the country to get canned Seafood feature in Weight Watchers magazine.

Bristol Bay sockeye for lunch,” KTOO, Sept. 23, 2015 Last Week,” Glamour, Aug. 11, 2015 “How Your Wild Salmon Is Caught “Alaska Seafood Demystified,” The in Alaska,” Glamour, Sept. 11, 2015 Daily Meal, July 23, 2015 Chef Elizabeth Falkner Cooks — “4 Frozen Foods You Don’t Have to Home & Family (video), Hallmark Defrost,” Oprah, July 20, 2015 Channel “9 Things You Didn’t Know About “Should I Eat Salmon?” Time, Aug. Salmon,” Food Network, July 17, 2015 27, 2015 “Orange Chili Salmon,” Relish, July “Salmon Spring Rolls with Sesame 16, 2015 Miso Sauce,” Food Network, Aug. 17, “How to Grill a Piece of Fish in 2015 5 Minutes,” Yahoo Health, July 14, “(Almost) Everything I Ate in Alaska 2015

OUR FISHERY Continued from page 13 The weather report didn’t look like we’d get a chance to set our net around a school of sardines before we were shut down. After a stern haul to clean out the last of the decaying oily fish in the seine, I was sent home ending an eight-day vacation on the central Oregon coast. The steady pay of a nine-to-five started to look appealing.

It remains to be seen if the biomass will rise above the 150,000 metric ton threshold for there to be a directed fishery for the 2016-17 season. Biologists are still compiling the data from the stock surveys, so it’s too early to tell, Griffin said. But Pleschner-Steele is not optimistic for the next year. “I would be surprised if we got anything,” she said.

Yet, she is optimistic for the long-term future, believing there will not be another decades-long slump like the 1960s and ’70s. Studies of fish scales deposited in the California shoreline going back 1,700 years show sardines have a 60-year cycle of abundance, with declines lasting an average of 36 years and an average recovery of 30 years. But a changing climate and the predicted El Niño are

likely to create conditions favorable for When asked if the ex-vessel price sardines. would remain strong — pushing $380 “The ocean temperatures in the late- a metric ton up from a 10-year average 1940s to the middle 1970s were re- of just under $190 — when the fishery ally cold,” Pleschner-Steele said. “The reopens, Pleschner-Steele chuckled. “I’d warming trend in the ocean we’re see- hope so, but the market for coast pelagic ing now will allow sardines to recruit fish is just as dynamic as the resource itfaster.” self,” she said.

Yet, it’s difficult time for many seiners in California. Warm ocean temperatures have pushed squid into deeper water.

When fishermen are able to wrap their nets around squid, there are often too many sardines mixed in to bring to market, according to PleschnerSteele. Anchovies » TAKING ORDERS FOR 2016 « are also scarce, as colder temperatures 4793 Cobble Way, Ferndale, WA 98248 brought by La Niña 360-441-2346 conditions are optiBuffaloBoats42@gmail.com mal for their abundance.

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The company is now a partner in promoting wild Alaska canned salmon.

ON THE HORIZON

When you need it, you need it Mark Scheer practices commercial and admiralty law in Washington and Alaska with Williams Kastner & Gibbs, a full-service firm. He’s the president of the Northwest Fisheries Association, serves on the board of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and has worked in the seafood industry for more than 30 years.

By MARK SCHEER

I

nsurance. For many, it’s considered a necessary evil. It can be expensive, and making sure you have the right coverage can be complicated and frustrating, particularly if you have had a claim denied. In my last column, “Save your bacon” (North Pacific Focus, Summer 2015, p. 22), I outlined ways you can reduce personal risk by holding your business assets in a separate entity. Another key way to reduce risk is through comprehensive insurance that is tailored to your operational scope and risks. For fishing and catcher processor operations, the appropriate coverages and liability limits are the subject of much debate. Having the right coverage and the right limits can be the difference between business survival and failure. Insurance coverage is always a balance of risk versus the cost of the particular coverage. No one policy will fit every circumstance of operation.

Customization is key.

Fishing is risky. Nearly everyone will be subject to a claim, loss or casualty if they stay at it long enough.

And the simple fact is that the costs of repair, cleanup and medical expenses have increased over time, so it may be time to reconsider some of the assumptions we’ve relied on.

The most common risks for vessel owners are crew claims, vessel casualties (such as collisions and allisions — striking a fixed object) and pollution.

However, third-party claims, cargo claims and lost fishing time resulting from serious breakdowns can also have a significant financial effect. Catcher processors, even small ones, may consider cargo all risk and recall insurance policies to protect from losses associated with foodborne illnesses or otherwise adulterated product reaching the marketplace.

Protection and indemnity policies typically cover general liability, in-

cluding crew claims and third-p claims. They do not cover your ve The historical rule of thumb has to carry approximately $1 mi per person on the vessel. With m cal costs increasing, you may wan consider increasing P&I coverage t million or adding a substantial ex policy, as discussed below. At to cost of medical care, claims excee $1 million for maintenance, cure unearned wages are much more c mon. A crew accident policy ma an additional level of protection.

Pollution coverage will pro funds for cleanup of releases. W these may and should be rare ev they can be extraordinarily expen when they occur. I was involved case in which a vessel sank at the d and released, perhaps, 150 gallon diesel fuel. Because there was in quate insurance, the Coast Guard over the cleanup and sent the ow a bill for more than $500,000. M fishing vessels carry many thousan gallons of fuel. You can do the m In the event of a substantial rel policy limits of $1 million to $2 lion may simply not be enough. W out insurance, the rest of the costs be on you, and that load can be fi cially devastating to a small busine Hull insurance is possibly the controversial, as the insurance pay value of the vessel in the event the sel is lost or is a constructive total

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ON THE HORIZON

You may want to consider asking your insurance broker about a supplemental wreck removal policy.

because the payout in most policies is based on the declared or replacement value of the asset. Because of this, the valuation survey of the vessel is vitally important. If the value of the asset is too low (which may provide a lower premium), once paid there may not be enough to replace the vessel you rely on to earn your living. Additionally, talk to your broker about a wreck removal policy. It may be a good supplemental coverage to hold.

If you only operate part of the time, a port risk or lay-up policy is another way to reduce the total hull premium costs. Basically, if your vessel spends a significant period of time tied to the dock between fishing seasons, the risk of loss for those periods is much lower;

accordingly, underwriters can charge lower premiums, saving owners material sums for premiums. A cautionary note, however, if you tell the underwriter that you will tie up in one port, but you change your mind and go to another, you should notify your insurer before and confirm that the coverage will apply. Failure to do so may result in the denial of a claim.

Excess policies are umbrella policies that provide coverage in the event the primary policy limits are expended.

For example, if you have a crew member who gets injured or takes ill while in the service of the vessel and the care requires a long period of hospitalization or specialized care, the traditional minimum P&I policy limits of $1 million can quickly be exhausted. An excess policy will provide coverage for some or all of the overage. In fact, excess policies can be quite reasonable, for the amount of coverage, depending on the types and limits of the primary policies, i.e., the higher the limits on the primary coverage, the lower the cost of the incremental excess coverage.

Finally, if you process at sea, your operation is held to the same standards for product quality and cleanliness as shoreside processors. Cargo, recall and business interruption insurance could save your company in the event that there is an issue with product produced by your operation.

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I cannot stress enough that there is value in shopping your insurance needs through several brokers. Every broker has different relationships with different underwriters and pools of underwriters. Also, if you really take the time to educate the broker about your seasons, area of service and put together a package of insurances, it will likely be more cost effective. As my friend Damon Nasman, the managing director of the Marine Division for MCM out of Seattle, says, “it is easier to negotiate premiums when you tailor your package to include the full range of coverages. The good news is excess P&I premiums are coming down.” In the current marketplace, according to Damon, “there are a number emerging P&I Markets that are actively seeking to write more fishing vessel policies and are more competitive.”

Insurance is a shield protecting your business. Yes, it’s another expense. But when you need it, you need it. Also, it may be time consuming to shop your coverage to several brokers, but you will be the beneficiary. As you shop, make certain that your broker is intimately familiar with your intended operation and fashions an insurance package that provides the appropriate coverage. Once the policies are issued, make sure you understand your insurance policies, coverages and exclusions operate so you understand how to comply with those provisions.

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COMFORT ZONE

Deborah Mercy photos

Vessel energy audits will reduce your fuel costs Terry Johnson is a professor of fisheries and a marine advisory agent with Alaska Sea Grant’s school of fisheries and ocean sciences.

funding from the state Legislature and contracting with Alaris Companies, a uel is usually a fishing vessel’s big- marine engineering firm, to conduct gest non-crew operating expense. those audits on selected vessels.

Many companies, from engine manuThe first phase of the project comfacturers to those producing fuel addi- piled data on fuel use by type of equiptives and fuel treatment devices, prom- ment and operation. Those numbers ise reduced fuel consumption, but their will be compared in the second phase claims often are difficult to substanti- with results after operators make recate. Even a proven technology may cost ommended changes to equipment and more to purchase and install than the operating behavior. projected savings over many years.

The Alaska Longline Fishermen’s AsIn 2008, Alaska Sea Grant began help- sociation in Sitka developed an Excel ing fishermen find ways to lower fuel spreadsheet using the data to help fishercosts. We based our recommendations men analyze their vessel’s consumption on reviews of research and documented patterns. Based on that work, Alaska Sea operational experience. But work that’s Grant has published a report that identidone elsewhere doesn’t always produce fies ways fishermen can reduce energy consumption.

Here are some of the report’s takehome messages: There is no free energy on a boat.

Equipment driven by a propulsion engine that is already running still imposes a fuel penalty, which can be measured.

An under-loaded diesel engine burns fuel inefficiently; it is more efficient in the upSelecting a new engine to match a boat’s power needs per middle part of means it will run at its most efficient rate, thus saving fuel. its power band.

Most vessels in the project operate at solutions for Alaska fishermen, in part because the right questions haven’t al- an efficient hull speed but run their engines slower than what is most efficient. ways been asked.

In 2012, our industry advisory com- In other words, boats are significantly mittee recommended that we conduct over powered, resulting in greater fuel energy audits on working Alaska fishing consumption, as well as higher purchase vessels. The Alaska Fisheries Develop- and maintenance costs than necessary.

The same applies to auxiliary generament Foundation assisted by obtaining

BY TERRY JOHNSON

Deborah Mercy photos

F

A new more fuel efficient diesel goes into the Alaska seiner Wavedancer.

tors. Most are bigger than needed for the job. Electricity produced by an under-loaded genset costs more than that produced by a properly sized generator.

Old technology generators, alternators, motors and pumps use 5 to 50 percent more energy to do the same work as new technology units.

Continuously running hydraulics wastes energy.

Variable frequency drive controllers significantly reduce electrical consumption.

Every vessel uses energy differently.

You can identify potential savings by studying the equipment’s consumption patterns.

The project came up with the following practical measures for reducing fuel use: Most fishing vessels are overpowered.

Solution: at new build or next repower, “right size” the propulsion engine. The Alaska Sea Grant report shows how to calculate the power you need.

Most auxiliary generators are larger than necessary. Solution: when replacement time comes, calculate how much electrical power is actually required, including surge demand, and size the genset to match it. A large boat may benefit from a big genset for heavy loads and a small one for “hotel” power to run galley appliances. A small boat might get by with an inverter instead of a generator. Any boat that runs refrigeration or circulating pumps at the dock would save money by using shore power rather than a diesel generator.

Look for alternators and electric motors with a “premium efficiency” rating, which can be as much as 50 percent more efficient than old style alternators.

Premium efficiency motors are as much

COMFORT ZONE as 20 percent more efficient than standard motors.

True sine wave inverters are about 20 percent more efficient than the common modified sine wave units, and they produce cleaner power that is less likely to damage electronics.

Continuously running hydraulics wastes energy. Solution: use electric clutches or variable frequency drive

controllers to provide hydraulic power only when a motor (gurdy, pump, etc.) is engaged.

Many vessels with fish hold refrigeration have head pressure set too high.

Solution: Reducing head pressure on refrigeration pumps can save 23 percent in energy cost with no loss of product quality.

Use of paravane stabilizers increases

fuel consumption by as much as 50 percent. Solution: Use stabilizers only when necessary.

THE LONG HAUL

Midwest, arriving Seattle 1930), was a partner in our family West Coast combination dragger/longliner Kristine, and more than anything he was the glue that held our family together after the untimely death of my mother (Emma Karoline Aure) when I was 12 and my father (Konrad Karl Uri) when I was 18 (1953).

Everyone in Ballard referred to Sverre as “Uncle” and unfortunately, his health was failing. I received the call from home that Uncle was sick and I was needed in Seattle. My wife, Helen, had been aboard the vessel for a trip with our youngest son Karl (6 months old), and the two older brothers were aboard the boat with me for a summer of fishing in the Bering Sea. It was a two-day journey by air to Seattle in those days, with an overnight in Anchorage. Flights were not as readily available as they are today, and they were quite expensive. Combine the expense, difficulty, and wanting to spare the kids the pain of the death of a beloved uncle, it seemed quite natural to leave the boys behind to watch the boat until I could return and head out for king crab.

Kris was 9, KC was 14, and we were tied up four boats out at the Unisea (converted Liberty Ship — fish processor) in the inner harbor of Dutch Harbor. I took Kris up with me to meet with Dick Pace in the stern office (location, not demeanor) of Unisea and explained the situation.

“Would it be OK for the boys to eat in the Unisea galley with the processing crew while I went home to be with Uncle and figure out what we are going to do for him in his last days?”

Dick replied, “Of course, Konrad — glad to help.” And then added half jokingly, “Just have Kris work a few hours on the shrimp line each day to cover the cost of the meals.”

And that was that; I flew home with

Helen and Karl and the rest of the crew.

I left instructions with the two kids to keep the day tank full and generator running and be on 4 megs each afternoon at 4 to keep radio schedule with Mom at home — KXY Seattle. It was a different time, and phones were scarce.

When I came back up a couple of weeks later, I was pleased to hear from Carl Perovich (F/V Viking — tied up just inside us at the Unisea) that Kris had been working away each day on the shrimp line, good to his word. He knew this firsthand, as one day when the boy came crawling from the Unisea across three boats out to the Rainier, he had tried to stop in to say hello to Carl before heading to the wheelhouse to call home on the single sideband radio.

“The smell hit me before I saw him,” Carl said, “shrimp peelings from head to toe. And I told him to take a shower before he even thinks of stepping into the galley.” (Carl was known for keeping his vessel impeccably clean.)

The boys had many stories to tell of movies in the Unisea galley, riding dirt bikes, fishing for salmon and shrimp in Captains Bay. Unfortunately, Uncle Sverre’s health declined, and he passed on Aug. 13, 1976. Ultimately, I did bring the boys home for the funeral, but they had the happy memories of a working summer (May to August) aboard the Rainier and the respect of the Unisea crew.

Dutch Harbor in the 1970s was a special place. We were in this together (processors and fishermen) and worked as if our lives depended on it. Which they did. When we look back on the experience of fishing together as a family and in a fleet that treated each other like family, I have nothing but the fondest memories, no matter how hard we were actually working.

Dutch treat Konrad Uri is one of the founders of the Bering Sea crab fishery and a 1981 National Fisherman Highliner.

BY KONRAD URI

A

s I look back on my fishing career, many fond memories come to mind (especially as I get older and sentimental).

They might not have always been easy times fishing in the Bering Sea in the days before internet and satellite phones, let alone GPS, but the one thing the isolation of fishing in such remote locations brought to us was a team spirit to work together and get things done. We had a loran, radar, VHF and a single sideband radio.

The vessel was our family vessel, Rainier (110-foot Martinolich crabber), and the year was 1976.We had just completed the tanner crab fishery and returned to Dutch Harbor before changing over to fish king crab.

My uncle Sverre Dagfin Aure, who had come from Norway in 1921 (via the

Postcard

Dutch Harbor was a tight-knit community.

For the full report contact me for a print copy at terry.johnson@alaska.edu or look for Saving Money with Fishing Vessel Energy Audits at our vessel energy efficiency website, https://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/ ASG-61.html.

ON THE HOMEFRONT

No pain, all gain Lori French is the wife of a crab and salmon fisherman, the founder of Faces of California fishing in Morro Bay and recently launched the Facebook direct marketing group #WeFishWild.

BY LORI FRENCH

P

ssstttt… Can I talk to you privately? It’s about safety. As a Super Glamorous Fishwife, I take the safety of my husband, our oldest son and my brother-in-law very seriously. OK let me change that: I take the safety of all the guys (and ladies) whom I respect and admire extremely seriously. Yes, I’m the woman who bought Mustang safety vests for Christmas.

The reason I’m bringing this up is because Oregon State University has a new program: the Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program, also called

FLIPP. Now don’t get your blood pressure up. The Official Fisherman’s Wife Stance — and I will stand by this to my dying day — the Old Man of the Sea has had more injuries on the basketball court than on the boat. I can count the injuries on the boat on one hand, but on the basketball court?

Well those would take both hands and feet and my best friend’s hands.

Seriously now. The Fishermen Led Injury Prevention Program came into being as a response to a request for proposals from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health.

Laurel Kincl and Kaety Jacobson

hands of someone in Arkansas. (No offense implied to Arkansas.) In a nutshell, they understand that crab fishermen — not some random person in a dark office somewhere — know crab fishing safety.

The intent of the study is to gather information on injuries, see if there are any trends and then turn the information over to the fishermen themselves, so if we see a pattern of problems we can fix them. There will be researchers taking surveys on the docks and other locations, asking you about your experiences. There may be some very simple fixes, such as wearing gloves to prevent chlorine burns. There is no intent to create new regulations! Em-

“Yes I’m the woman who bought Mustang safety

”

vests for Christmas.

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partnered up and decided to create a study on the Dungeness crab fishery in Washington, Oregon and California.

Their thought was to keep any study on crab fishermen within the industry, so it wouldn’t wind up in the

phasis on that. Think of this as intrastate networking that is done for you.

We can all learn from each other.

The researchers involved in this study are all involved with commercial fishing somehow. There are a couple of fishermen’s wives, a fisherman’s daughter, two marine surveyors, one fish biologist. I’m in it to bring any safety information home. I kinda like my Old Man of the Sea and my Oldest Tall One. I want them home, safely. I want you home safely, too.

YOUNGBLOODS

Let your fish flag fly

BY CLAIRE AND EMMA LAUKITIS

W

e grew up in a fishing family.

While our parents gillnetted in Area M and longlined in the Bering Sea, the two of us were raised on the swell of excitement over a healthy salmon run and the disappointment of a halibut hook hauled empty. Our home, Stonewall Place, was an isolated homestead on the tip of the Alaskan Peninsula, positioned at the entrance of False Pass. It was as if we were the gatekeepers to the Bering Sea, allowing all fishing boats, cargo ships and ferries to sail safety through the pass into the wild, windy West.

Our first jobs were on deck, picking salmon out of gillnets and baiting halibut hooks. We’ve spent every summer of our lives commercial fishing on our family’s boats, and now in our 20s, have begun to understand what this experience has given us. The ocean has provided our family with sustenance, work and a way of life. This life is synched to the seasons, the natural ebb and flow of growth and death, abundance and scarcity. The ocean has taught us the importance of resourcefulness, toughness and respect for our resources. It has given us the means to pursue an education and provided us with infinite inspiration. When we graduated from college several years ago, we started our own company, Salmon Sisters, and through it, we attempt to give back to the ocean, its creatures and its people, all that it has given to us.

Our goal is to connect people to their state’s fisheries while highlighting the importance of sustainability, healthy oceans and coastal communities. The clothing and products we design for Salmon Sisters celebrate our state’s people and its resources. People wear our designs to show pride, to identify with their community and to celebrate what makes Alaska their home. Alongside our apparel, we offer seafood sourced directly from fisherwomen in our state, providing our

customers with a source and a story behind their sustainably wild-caught fish.

We celebrate the strong women working in our fishing industry and strive to create incentive for them by offering them a personal connection to their market and a larger network of fishermen.

Through Salmon Sisters, we’ve met incredible young people in the fishing industry — a small but mighty group that will become the next generation of Alaska’s fishermen. Most of us have come from fishing families; our heritage as fishermen has been passed down from our fathers, mothers and grandparents.

We must keep this inherited knowledge and tradition alive if we hope to keep our fisheries alive, thus it becomes essential that as young fishermen we invest in our shared future.

“You are not afraid of hard work, and you are well-equipped to make

”

a difference.

We urge you to become a steward of your fisheries. Your job isn’t over when you put your boat away for the winter.

Help your community, state and our nation understand the importance of healthy, wild and diverse fisheries. Give the public a face to their fishermen, offer a truthful and honest connection for consumers. Change seafood from a commodity to a story, a traceable product caught by independent fishermen in pristine waters that’s delicious and healthy. Ask consumers to care about where their food comes from and what

Scott DickerSon PhotograPhy

Emma and Claire Laukitis commercial fish on the F/V Stanley K and F/V Oracle. The siblings spend their off-season running Salmon Sisters out of Homer, Alaska.

Salmon Sisters sells clothing and seafood that celebrates Alaska.

they’re putting into their bodies.

Educate yourselves on the regulations, policy decisions and process behind the management of our fisheries. Find a mentor in our area to attend meetings with.

Start a storytelling event to celebrate your community’s connection to the ocean.

Attend events like the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit to learn about financing options available to you when attempting to start your own fishing operation. Try a new fishery in your usual off-season to enhance your skills and gain perspective from a different gear type. Get merchant mariner credentials and work on a search vessel, supply ship or pleasure boat. Learn a marine trade or professional skills by attending your local community college or taking an online course. Refresh your AMSEA safety and CPR skills, apprentice or intern at your local net mending facility. Work for a local fisheries-related non-profit or conservation group or volunteer for their events. Direct market your catch, work with restaurants on educating staff on wild Alaska seafood — its sustainability, traceability and health benefits. Get fish into schools, teach kids why eating wild fish is good for their bodies and their minds. Use your boat for oil response, water taxi or tender during the off-season (with the proper license).

Feel confident that the resourcefulness, creativity and gumption that long seasons fishing have taught you is enough to tackle any project on or off the boat. You are not afraid of hard work, and you are well-equipped to make a difference in your community.

Let’s own our identity as young fishermen in your state, get involved and give back. Our time is now.

GEAR SHIFTS

SHEAVE, HO!

Marco Global photos

The Puretic Power Block eliminated most of the labor on this older Puget Sound seiner.

The power block changed the game of purse seining

T

he word “revolutionary” should be reserved for ideas, actions or concepts that have a major impact on society or industry. In the case of the Puretic power block, the designation is totally appropriate — and often used. When Mario Puretic invented the power block in California in the early 1950s and patented it in 1953, he changed purse seining — whether it be for salmon, tuna, herring, anchovies, menhaden or sardines — forever.

In pre-power-block fishing days, large purse-seining crews wrestled fishing nets in by hand. It was backbreak-

BY BRUCE BULS

ing, inefficient work. Puretic’s device used mechanical power to turn a boomsuspended sheave that could pull nets from the water. All you needed were a few guys to pile the net on deck. Suddenly six or seven could do what had required 20 to 30 crew.

Kal Harris at Kolstrand in Seattle says the first power blocks were rope-driven off the main engine’s shaft. “They had a V-belt groove on the side of the sheave and another down on the propeller shaft,” he says. “As long as the shaft was turning, it could also turn the power block. It was very slow, but if a guy could make three or four sets a day

at that time, that was huge.”

Although currently at Kolstrand, Harris spent nearly 40 years at Marco in Seattle helping develop and market the power blocks that were once an exclusive Marco product, thanks to the partnership of Marco founder Peter Schmidt and Puretic. Marco Global in Seattle is still one of the major manufacturers and has a broad product line. Kolstrand is its main competition. Kinematics Marine in Marysville, Wash., also makes power blocks, one 20 inches in diameter and The Puretic Power Block was designed to meet the needs of various fisheries.

GEAR SHIFTS one 26 inches. The size range at Marco for salmon seining is 19 to 33 inches.

Kolstrand’s run from 12 to 26 inches.

Hydraulics was one of the biggest changes in power block operations. Hydraulics allowed a much more efficient and easy power transfer from the engine to the sheave. Another significant development was the hydraulic swivel that allows a suspended power block to be rotated 360 degrees without putting a kink in the hydraulic hoses. “With a swivel, guys up north could take fish from either the port side or the starboard side and keep the power grip where it needs to be,” says Harris.

The power grip was another advancement in the power block’s evolution.

It’s essentially a rubber tire on an arm that presses the net against the back side of the sheave during haul back. It holds the net square in the block and allows

“Fishermen have figured out how to go from four

sets a day to seven sets a day to now 16, 17 or 18

”

sets a day.

— Kal Harris, Kolstrand

for a faster operation. “It helps keep the cork line speed coming home at the same rate as the lead line in the V of the sheave,” says Harris.

With a power grip and beefed-up hydraulics, power blocks are now much faster. “In the old days, it would take 30 to 40 minutes to haul your net, and nobody cared how fast you got the net in,” says Harris, talking about salmon seining in Alaska.

“Today, 12 minutes is way too long.

Mario Puretic, who invented the Power Block, with a prototype in 1955.

Today, you’ve got guys half-pursing who get the net in in 7 or 8 minutes haul time. Everything has to do with time.

You’ve got to get the net on board so you can make another set. It can cost 25 grand for a power block with a power grip and swivel to fish Southeast or even Prince William Sound, but he can pay for that piece of equipment in one year by making a couple extra sets a day.”

The original power blocks were all closed, meaning the sheave was suspended from a yoke that connected to both sides. “But if a guy wanted to make a partial set or got hung up, he would have a hell of a time trying to get the net out of the block,” says Harris. That led to the open top block. The first was a 24-inch Marco power block, followed by a 26-inch block from Kolstrand that was used in Southeast Alaska.

Early on, the sheaves were covered with rubber — and some still are — but the rubber needed frequent replacement. Marco developed bolt-in replaceable rubber cleats that were recessed into pockets on the aluminum sheave. Now Marco offers bolt-in cleats made of rubber, aluminum and polyurethane.

Harris says the rubber hardness, measured in durometers, is important for both gripping and durability. “We’ve found that 90-durometer cleats seem to be about the right hardness.”

The internal design has also evolved.

“At Marco, we developed the planetary drive to get away from ring gears and pinion gears and things of that nature,” says Harris.

The end result of all this evolution is a net puller with lots of power, speed and control. “Some guys are delivering 100 gallons [a minute] at 1,500 or even 2,000 psi up and down the boom,” says Harris. “That’s pushing 150 horsepower. In the days of chain-drive power blocks, it was like 7 horsepower. So things have changed drastically over the past 40 years or so. Fishermen have figured out how to go from four sets a day to seven sets a

Before the Power Block, fishermen hauled their nets in by hand.

day to now 16, 17 or 18 sets a day. The nets are stronger and faster sinking, and the purse winches close the nets faster.

Everything is speeded up.”

Bruce Buls is a freelance writer on Whidbey Island, Wash. He is the former technical editor for WorkBoat magazine.

Sylvia S. Darling

BOATBUILDING

The Acme, tied up between fishing trips, looks a lot different from the Zone on the facing page.

SEA-NOTE Running in Ikatan Bay in 1986, Charlie Ess and his wife, Cheryl, follow a cork line, looking to fill up with silvers.

San Francisco’s Acme celebrates her 100th birthday working on the water

B

uilt in 1915 at Anderson Ways in San Francisco, the Acme is one of the oldest working commercial fishing boats on the West Coast. The American Dredging Co. built the 45' 6" x 15' tug. She was christened with the name Zone, for the Panama Canal Zone, which was widely celebrated at the World’s Fair in San Francisco the year she was built.

The Zone’s master carpenter certificate was signed by Anderson Ways’

BY DAVID PETERSON

Henry Peter “Pop” Anderson on Dec. 6, 1915, two days after the closing of the fair. Anderson, a Dane, had established his boatyard at San Francisco’s Hunters Point in 1893. It was said to be the envy of other boatyards. In 1926 Anderson partnered with Alf Christofani, and the yard continued under the name Anderson and Christofani.

Many commercial fishing boats were built at this boatyard, and some are still operating. The Terron is a blackcod, crab and salmon boat out of Eureka, Calif. She

was built in 1927, the same year Anderson died. Anderson also built the wellknown Snark for the writer Jack London.

In his book “The Cruise of the Snark,” London gives a not so flattering review of her builder. But London was a fiction writer, after all.

The American Dredging Co. used the Zone for passenger service, mostly in the Oakland estuary. Though in the summer she towed barges loaded with beets from farms near Tracy. In 1926, the Oakland Launch and Tow Boat Co.

San FranciSco MaritiMe national HiStorical Park

ACME

SIMPLY THE BEST

A

(owned by American Dredging Co.) and the Henry C. Peterson Co. consolidated, which resulted in the Harbor Tug and Barge Co., and Zone worked under that company name.

After the Depression hit, Thomas Crowley, of the Crowley Launch and Tow Boat Co. bought 55 percent of Harbor Tug and Barge to control his competition. On May 12, 1934, the Zone’s name was changed to Acme.

Five years later, Harbor Tug and Barge, which by then was completely owned

The tugboat Zone operating in the Oakland estuary in May 1926. She would become the ACME with changes to the deckhouse and bulwarks.

by Crowley, sold the Acme to Angelo Pendolfi, who had a grocery store in Redwood City, Calif. That would be the first of several short-term ownerships. Angelo had the boat for only four months before selling her to Charles G. Blom of nearby Alameda, Calif.

The Acme was lying in the mud by Government Island near the causeway.

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cme — meaning “the best” — wasn’t the name on the bow of this 100-yearold fishing boat until she was almost 20 years old, and it would be even longer before she started fishing.

The American Dredging Co. had been naming some of its smaller tugs in recognition of the Panama Canal, which was started by the United States in 1904 and completed in 1914.

The tugs included the Panama, built in 1911, and the Ancon in 1912, named for a city near Panama. The Mexico was converted from steam to gas and the name was changed to Colón for the city on the east side of the Isthmus of Panama.

By 1915, the city of San Francisco was experiencing what could only be described as zone mania in celebration of the Panama Canal Zone.

The World’s Fair opened in the city on Feb. 20, 1915, and a large part of the fair was devoted to the Panama Pacific International Exhibition.

A huge reclamation project began in the years that preceded the fair. The entire flat area of the Marina District was filled in to accommodate the main part of the event, with the American Dredging Co. doing much of the dredging and reclamation work.

Once the fair opened, most of that reclamation work was known as the Exhibition Zone.

The carnival area was called the Joy Zone. The educational area was the Amusement Zone, and on May 27, the exhibition celebrated Zone Day. So when the American Dredging Co. launched its 45-footer, the name Zone probably seemed very appropriate.

— D.P.

As part of the condition of the sale, Blom had to take the Acme to William Cryer’s boatyard to get her back in shape. There he had a cabin built aft of the main house. Harry Jacobson did the work on the boat, including removing her wooden towing bit.

Blom used the Acme for pleasure and charter work on San Francisco Bay, including fishing for striped bass with his family and friends. But with World War II on the horizon, Blom had no time for the Acme. The company he worked for had contracts with the government to repair the many floats used to hold up nets blocking off the entrance of San Francisco Bay to enemy submarines.

Blom sold the boat to Daniel J. Gesslar on Nov. 29, 1941. Gesslar used the Acme throughout the remainder of the war to clear debris from the bay that would damage seaplanes that landed and took off at the naval air station in Alameda, Calif. Blom’s son, Ray, says the boat’s front was fitted with a large grill that looked like the cowcatcher on the front of a locomotive.

Gesslar sold the Acme on June 28, 1945, to Alf Gorstrom, a shipwright living in Oakland. Five years later, Gorstrom sold her to Earl H. Maize. Maize owned a hardware store in Willits and likely used the Acme for pleasure and sport fishing.

The Acme’s history of being handed off to a new owner every few years was about to end. On Jan. 23, 1956, Maize sold the Acme to Silas S. Darling. Silas and his wife, Mary, fished the boat out of Bodega Bay, Calif. Shortly after buying the Acme, he built on a poop deck and cockpit for trolling. He replaced the cabin about two years later.

Meanwhile, Mary had gotten her captain’s license and worked the helm of the 50-foot Sea Wolf hauling passengers and commercial fishing. The Sea Wolf was hit by a ship and sank while fishing for albacore in 1967, 50 miles north of San Francisco and 25 miles offshore. Frank Blagg, Mary’s brother, was operating the Sea Wolf; both he and his crewman survived.

In 1980, after returning from a tour in Vietnam, Blagg joined Silas and Mary on the Acme, fishing mainly for herring in San Francisco Bay. Three years later, Silas retired from commercial fish-

Blom family collection

BOATBUILDING

The Acme under the ownership of Charles Blom (fourth from the left in the front row). The others (seated left to right) include Mrs. McCoy, Mabel Blom and John Carlson.

can be hostile.

Hazards abound.

Disaster and risk of injury are never far away.

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We are proud to help professional fishermen do a difficult job well, reduce their risk of on-the-job accidents and injuries, and help them come home safe to the people who care about them.

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ing, Blagg and Mary continued working the herring grounds with the Acme.

In 1988, Blagg took over control of the boat when Silas’ health began to fail, and Mary needed to be near him. Silas Darling passed away in 1991, and Mary continued to lease the Acme to her brother.

In 2010, Mary passed away, leaving the Acme to her daughter, Silvia Darling, who gave a lifetime lease to Blagg, who not only fishes the boat but takes excellent care of her, doing most of the repair work himself. In 1988 he recaulked and refastened the boat with No. 14 galvanized screws. Over the years, he’s replaced 12 planks on the port side and seven on the starboard side.

In 1995, the guards were replaced with purpleheart and, two years later, the wooden bulwarks were replaced with aluminum. In 1999, he rebuilt the Acme’s interior.

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Frank Blagg recaulked and refastened the bottom of the then-73-year-old Acme in 1988.

As amazing as it is that this old San Francisco Bay tug turned fishing boat lasted to be 100 years old, it is also remarkable that the Darling family owned her for nearly 60 of those years. The Darlings’ lives would not have been the same without her, and the Acme probably would not be here today without them.

David Peterson is a boat carpenter working out of Eureka, Calif. He is also author of “Tales of the Lucin.

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AT SEA

REEFING IN A

s returning salmon follow ancient routes bound for their spawning grounds in the Fraser River and its tributaries, some of them head south through Rosario Strait and the San Juan Islands in northern Puget Sound off of Bellingham, Wash. For those whose route passes through Legoe Bay on the west coast of Lummi Island, a cooperative of historic reef nets lies in wait.

The north coast of the island is low and extends to a gravel spit to the west.

A mile south of this, the waters start to shallow with the bottom coming up to 30 fathoms. As you approach Legoe Bay by boat, the reef net towers come into sight like miniature oil rigs on the horizon. There are eight gears, as each net is called, arranged in a line across the shallow water. Four of the gears belong to members of the co-op, two others fish within the co-op and two more sell their catch to the co-op.

The eight reef nets are marked with buoyed anchors set 200 feet apart at their southern entrance, where the water and the nets are about 10 fathoms deep. The submerged net extends about 300 feet to the shallow net between two floating

platforms, each with one or two elevated towers. At this business end of the reef nets, the water is about 3 fathoms deep.

Native Americans developed and employed this gear for thousands of years.

When Westerners brought fish traps to Lummi Island, they drove out the native reef nets. Traps were outlawed in 1935, and non-natives took up the old net sites. Around that time, “the front of the net was pulled up with hand winches,” according to Roger Granger, a Lummi Island historian. In 1953, a high school shop teacher introduced “the electric winch, battery operated and using old World War II electric motors,” to

GooGle Maps

Lummi Island’s Legoe Bay sees some of the first fish returning to Washington’s Puget Sound.

Watchers in towers wait for fish to follow the lead to the front of the net, where winches will help the crew move fish from the nets to live wells.

Fishermen in the towers keep watch on reef nets aligned over the shallows at Legoe Bay on Lummi Island, Wash.

Crew members Jacob Reinsberg and Cara Blake break gills on pink salmon before moving them to a live tank to bleed out.

haul the nets, Granger adds. After the 1974 Boldt decision, which restored some Native fishing rights to, the Native fishermen found other gear types preferable. Today’s eight-gear operation is down from the 1949 peak of 70 reef nets.

Approaching the Lummi Island fishery from the south, it would be easy to imagine that nothing had changed since those early days. The white buoys, with

THE SALES Puget Sound’s Lummi Island Wild uses Native reef nets and modern processing techniques to maximize a price for pink salmon STORY AND PHOTOS BY ALAN HAIG-BROWN

AT SEA

their 10,000-pound anchors, mark the gear entrance; sentries stand atop the spindly towers on the platforms. From time to time the web at the head of the net lifts and salmon can be seen splashing, as they roll into a live pen on one of the two platforms.

The distinctly modern touch of a solar panel array on the primary platform of each set of gear shatters the image of a fishery frozen in time. “All the mechanical winch systems are run by 24-volt DC electric motors. And so at the end of each day we used to have to take a whole bank of batteries ashore to be recharged,” Dave Hansen explains. “Then we found a local supplier, Alpha Technologies, who set up the first gear.That was a success, and now they all have renewable power that stays constantly hooked up and [has] a much longer battery life.”

Lummi Island Wild claims they are the world’s only solar powered salmon fishery. “No one has ever disputed that claim!” Hansen, general manager and one of the owners of four reef nets that form the Lummi Island Wild Cooperative, reports enthusiastically.

In late August things were looking better for pink salmon returns. After a slow start, a single day’s catch from the

The primary platform (right) holds winches, live wells and one end of the net, while a support boat holds the other end of the net.

Riley Starks (red vest) looks on as Josh Thomason, Jacob Reinsberg and Cara Blake roll fish into the well.

eight reef nets produced 10,500 fish for about 35,000 pounds. These were the fish that earned the premium 50-centper-pound price. Crew member Cara Blake perched high above the net at one end of the 40-by-12-foot platform while co-op member and gear captain, Ian Kirouac, perched on a tower at the other end. With the afternoon sun already halfway down the western sky and the tide nearing the end of the north running ebb, it was a good time for fish.The two on the watchtowers stayed still so their afternoon shadows wouldn’t scare the fish.

At a signal from the captain they seem to fly down from their perches to the platform deck to activate the electric winches on either end of the platform.

The web rises and, with Jacob Reinsberg and Josh Thomason on the deck, they pull web to roll the fish toward a Dave Hansen runs the tender Solar Ice to Bellingham with the day’s catch.

Seafood buyer Daisy Berg with coop member Riley Starks.

low section of their platform. This section is only 2 inches above the water surface, so the fish barely leave the water as they tumble into a live net pen suspended from the platform. The whole operation is over in minutes, the net is back in the water, and the watchers are back in their towers. An advantage of the live tank is that the deck crew can release bycatch — such as steelhead and king salmon — with virtually no mortality.

In this first tank the fish swim until their lacticacid-producing adrenaline subsides. At a break in the fishing, Blake and Reinsberg lift the fish, one by one. With a quick movement of their thumbs, they sever the pink salmon’s gills and toss the fish into a second net pen, where they bleed out. Submerged bleeding improves taste and shelf life. Finally the fish are transferred by hand to slush ice in nylon bags so a skiff can deliver them to one of the co-op’s two aluminum tenders.

This is not a high-volume fishery, nor is it a big profit maker for the co-op partners. With 65 percent of the 50-cent price going to the crews who work the reef net gear, there is not a lot left for the owners. But they are passionate about what they do and about their product.

They are not the only ones who see the value of their high-quality product from a sustainable fishery. Buyers include Microsoft’s dining services in Redmond,

AT SEA Bagging fish on the net platform before they are moved to the tender.

Wash., as well as the high end New Season Market with 16 stores in Portland, Ore. Daisy Berg, New Season’s seafood buyer, spent a day during the short season visiting the reef net platforms, doing her own chain of custody and quality control.

Onboard the newly launched 50-by24-foot co-op tender Galactic Ice, Berg observes and approves of the gentle handling of the pink salmon. The skiff has

come along the starboard side and is moored at the end of a boom that prevents any banging against the tender. The tender’s crane lifts the bag of fish and deposits it in a specially designed aluminum discharge box that allows the fish to slide into a tote filled with slush ice. With one-third ice and one-third seawater, the totes each hold about 300 fish and weigh about 1,000 pounds.

This gentle handling results in superb quality that generates a premium price. “Customers have learned a preference for sockeye and will say, ‘I don’t eat pink,’” explains Berg. “But we tell them the story of this remarkable fishery and urge them to try our head-on princess-cut pinks at $4.99 per pound or our fillets at $6.99 a pound… Our customers are coming back for more.”

The Galactic Ice transports the day’s catch about 15 miles around the south end of Lummi Island and into the locally owned Bellingham Cold Storage facil-

Off-loading 35,000 pounds of pink salmon from the co-op’s newest tender, Galactic Ice.

ity. Here the catch is custom processed

by Homeport Seafoods to customer specifications ready for shipment to the restaurants and supermarkets where it is winning a loyal following while paying the fishermen a decent price.

Alan Haig-Brown is a former fisherman, commercial marine writer and photographer based in Vancouver, British Columbia, and Bangkok.

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CREW LIFE

PhiliP TaPang PhoTos

SHIP SHAPE

Study gets the picture of health in Alaska’s Copper River driftnet fleet

By Nick Rahaim

W

hile studies on death and safety are easy to find, the University of Washington School of Public Health and the National Institute for Occupational Health and Safety are research-

ing an overlooked aspect in commercial fishing — the actual health of fishermen. The pilot study uses fishermen in the nearly 500-boat strong Copper River salmon driftnet fleet to study hearing loss, sleep deprivation and hypertension among fishermen.

CREW LIFE The first section of the study was a two-part written survey fishermen filled out themselves — once preseason and once midseason.

Torie Baker (left) and Debra Cherry at a health fair at Cordova High School.

While fishermen might be known for their strength, endurance and resiliency, they are not necessarily known as the best examples of health and fitness. The stereotype of a work hard, party harder profession is not without truth with tobacco, alcohol and other excesses counteracting the benefits of exercising for a living. The heavy lifting and repetitive motions can also throw out backs, wear cartilage in joints and leave hands painfully arthritic.

Data and reports on mortality in the commercial fishing industry rarely include info on the overall health and physical fitness of those who work in one of the nation’s most dangerous occupations. The NIOSH Commercial Fishing Safety Office in Anchorage has a catalog of studies on the health of fishermen, but just one is from the United States on hearing loss. Before doing their own study, the dozen or so articles on the health of fishermen NIOSH had focused on European countries.

Those studies contained few surprises. Fishermen drink and smoke more than the average general population.

This is especially true among Greek and Turkish fishermen, while a study of Scottish fishing captains showed they drink and smoke less than the national averages. Another issue is the difficulty of obtaining a large enough sample size to be statistically representative of the whole. Nonetheless, there was an effort, unlike what we’ve seen until recently domestically.

“It’s difficult to conduct studies of this kind, especially for the self-employed fleet. It’s not like an employer or an insurance company is there to push for studies of this kind,” said Debra Cherry of the University of Washington and the study’s lead researcher.

“In other countries where the fleet is run by a company or the government, there is more motivation.”

The small pilot study of the health of

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CREW LIFE Copper River fishermen was broken down into three sections. The first was a written survey in two parts — one preseason, the other midseason — that assessed the overall physical health and lifestyle choices of fishermen. Of the more than 530 permit holders asked to participate in the survey, 67 responded. The second part of the survey used

This pilot study focused on Copper River drift gillnetters. Out of the 530 permit holders asked to participate in the survey, 67 responded.

Net pickers are at risk for repetitive stress injuries caused by hours of fixed motions and use of a single tool.

Fitbits — wristwatch-like devices that track movement and heart rate — to monitor the sleep and physical activity of 10 fishermen over a 72-hour period.

The third part was a physical exam of 20 gillnetters.

Cherry teamed up with Torie Baker

— a Copper River gillnetter, professor with the University of Alaska Fairbanks and a Marine Advisory Program Agent with Alaska Sea Grant — who acted as the on-site liaison. Cherry hopes to publish the results in a peerreviewed journal next year, but she shared some preliminary results.

The respondents were predomi-

nantly white males between 40 and 60 years old. Most reported to be healthy, but most also reported having experienced some hearing loss, Cherry said. She also said they reported a surprising amount of upper extremity injury. The group did not report much smoking or drinking, but this could also be a function of

CREW LIFE healthy bias for self-reported studies of this nature, Cherry explained.

In the Fitbit portion of the study, the results showed less than average physical activity over a 72-hour period. Yet at the same time, the participants showed the expected amount of sleep deprivation. The lack of physical activity is likely a factor of the nature of the driftnet fishery.

Alaska drift gillnetters work on small boats with a net set off a drum.

The nets are allowed to drift for a short period of time when the run is heavy or for a few hours when fishing is slow. The fishery doesn’t lend itself

“There aren’t many

chronic problems resulting from lack of sleep, but fishermen had lots of descriptions of near misses

”

while overtired.

— Debra Cherry, UNIVERSITY OF WASHINGTON SCHOOL OF PUBLIC HEALTH

much in the way of aerobic activity.

Yet, Cherry found sleep deprivation to be a real problem.

“There aren’t many chronic problems resulting from lack of sleep, but fishermen had lots of descriptions of near misses while overtired,” she said.

The physical exam portion of the study showed a near universal hearing loss among participants. The constant and inescapable dull roar of diesel engines could be one of the great longterm health detriments for fishermen.

The regular use of hearing protection and engineering solutions for engine room noise could significantly help over the long run.

Also in the physical exam, participants were asked to step on and off a box for three minutes to measure physical fitness. Some didn’t break a sweat, while others couldn’t finish.

“There was a wide variety of fitness levels — lots of variability,” Cherry said.

The study also found that 10 percent of participants lack healthcare.

Also of interesting note, 80 percent claimed the Affordable Care Act (a.k.a. Obamacare) did not help them, while 15 percent said it did. It’s possible those percentages mirror political party affiliation in the fleet.

Both Cherry and Baker expressed hope that they would continue with these types of studies. If there are any enterprising fishermen look-

ing to pursue an advanced degree in public health, this could be an underexplored thesis. To counter the problems of insufficient sample size, teaming up with departments of fish and game that require deckhands to purchase licenses — e.g. California and Alaska — could be great way to reach more people.

Nick Rahaim is a staff writer for the Monterey County Weekly. He has worked as a deckhand in more than a dozen fisheries.

Read his blog at outside-in.org and follow him on Twitter and Instagram @nrahaim.

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PHOTO BY JASON HOUSTON/ ECOTRUST AND COMMUNITY FISHERIES NETWORK

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