Welcome to 2012!
Between poring over the Crew Shots (p. 24) and best of Boats & Gear (p. 32) and getting ready for Pacific Marine Expo (where we'll honor our 2011 Highliners) as soon as we ship this issue, I could not be more energized by the U.S. commercial fishing industry right now.
Sure, my desk is a disaster; my plants are gasping for help with their parched roots; and to top it all off I toasted my hard drive this week, so in some ways I'm just limping along until we get to Seattle.
But none of that matters because there is an invigorating pulse in the fishing industry. It was a good year for a lot of fishermen. And for those who may not have had a great year, there's energy around taking the industry back from the black hole of precautionary approaches and finding ways to rely on (and fund) comprehensive data based on collaborative research.
Perhaps more people are starting to see that sometimes no matter what you do, you can't bring a stock back to a desired level because fishing is not the only "pressure" on marine ecosystems.
The Gulf Coast is having a tough go at it with oysters and shrimp, but vermilion snapper is a bit of a Cinderella story, with open access playing the part of the glass slipper. Read more on page 21 about how our Southern brethren are struggling to make sense of red snapper IFQs while the B-liners, restricted only by a size limit, are surpassing the carefully managed reds in value and volume.
Chesapeake Bay fleets (and yards) are finally reaping some rewards for a widespread spat-seed-planting initiative (page 37). Longtime field editor Larry Chowning details one Virginia waterman's first endeavor at building a deadrise skiff that can handle the chop as well as the shallows (page 28).
In New England, where the attrition of catch shares looms over many small- groundfish boats, a recent council-led meeting explored a lot of the problems in the first two years of sector management. There still may be little hope for the long-term future of the small boats, but the overall feeling in those meetings was relief that the problems are being addressed. Read more about the sessions on page 15.
Southeast Alaska crabbers got a red king crab season for the first time in several years. The quota is small, but the price is strong. And anything is a help for Dungeness fishermen who have watched their fishing area shrink under an expanding population of sea otters (more on page 17).
I look forward to seeing what the rest of 2012 has to offer and keeping our readers in touch with their fellow fishermen across the country.
– Jessica Hathaway
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
National Fisherman has been the industry standard for over 50 years. Readers from coast to coast depend on it to stay up to date on news, regulations, fish stocks, to research purchasing decisions and to stay informed of the newest vessel and product technology.
