Frigid February fishing in Alaska options crabbing from the Panhandle to the Bering Sea, adopted in March by halibut, black cod and herring.
Crabbers all through Southeast will drop pots for Tanners on Feb. 11, and so they’re anticipating probably the greatest seasons ever. Fishery managers mentioned they’re seeing “traditionally excessive ranges” of Tanner crab, with good recruitment arising from behind.
The catch restrict gained’t be set till the fishery is underway, however final yr’s take was 1.27 million kilos (504,369 crabs), with crabs weighing 2.5 kilos on common. Crabbers know they may fetch traditionally excessive costs primarily based on the latest payout for westward area Tanners.
Costs to fishermen at Kodiak, Chignik and the South Peninsula reached a jaw-dropping $8.50/lb for the weeklong fishery that led to late January and produced 1.8 million kilos of handsome crab.
Again at Southeast, crabbers can also concurrently pull up golden king crabs beginning Feb. 11. The harvest restrict is 75,300 kilos, up from 61,000 pound final yr. The crabs weigh 5 to eight kilos on common and final yr paid out at $11.55/lb on the Southeast docks.
A Tanner crab fishery kicks off at Prince William Sound beginning March 1 with a 61,800-pound catch restrict. The fishery might run via March 31 until the quota is taken earlier.
Out within the Bering Sea, crabbers have taken 18% of their 1 million-pound Tanner crab quota and 33% of their 5.6-million pound snow crab quota. For snow crab, that equals about 4.3 million animals.
The 2022 snow crab catch is down 88% from final yr’s 45 million-pound quota, and the fishery has been formally categorized as “overfished” by federal managers.
Nevertheless, a NOAA doc to the North Pacific Fishery Administration Council in October mentioned the snow crab inventory is “not topic to overfishing,” as a result of “the fishery removals aren’t above the extent thought-about to be sustainable — moderately, it’s as a result of the inventory dropped for different causes that scientists and managers aren’t totally positive of but.”
Farther north, a through-the-ice February pink king crab fishery at Norton Sound was canceled when native consumers opted to not buy any to guard the declining inventory in that area. In different Alaska fisheries, halibut catches for this yr had been elevated for all areas besides Southeast. Right here’s the breakdown in thousands and thousands of kilos in comparison with 2021, in parentheses: Southeast/Space 2C: 3.51m (3.53m); Central Gulf/3A: 9.55m (8.95m); Western Gulf /3B: 3.35m (2.56m); Aleutians/4A: 1.76m (1.66m); Aleutians/4B: 1.28m (1.23m); Bering Sea/4CDE: 2.06m (1.67m).
In all, the Alaska industrial halibut harvest for 2022 is 21.51 million kilos, up from 19.6 million kilos final yr. The common halibut worth paid to Alaska fishermen in 2021 was $6.40/lb with a fishery worth topping $109 million.
The abundance of Alaska sablefish (black cod), one of many priciest fish, continues in all areas. Mixed Gulf and Bering Sea catches for 2022 whole almost 76 million kilos, a 32% enhance.
The sablefish and halibut fisheries each run from March 6 to Dec. 7.
Boats are also concentrating on Alaska pollock within the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, the place mixed catches might high 3 billion kilos, in addition to cod, rockfish and flounders.
Some excellent news for Southeast king salmon trollers: Their treaty harvest allocation for 2022 is 193,200 Chinook salmon, a rise of 44,700 from 2021.
Lastly, the 2022 forecast for the Copper River sockeye salmon industrial harvest is simply 716,000 fish. The Alaska Division of Fish and Sport predicts the entire sockeye run will are available in at 1,432,000 fish, 34% under the 10-year common.
Fish hacks – Do you crack the crab shells with a rolling pin earlier than cooking them, or have a particular brine for smoked black cod?
The Alaska Seafood Advertising and marketing Institute has launched #AlaskaSeafoodHacks to search out a few of the greatest methods and suggestions for making ready fish and shellfish.
“As customers are buying and cooking seafood more than ever, ASMI is bringing collectively cooks, culinary masterminds and those that prepare dinner seafood essentially the most — Alaskans and members of the fishing business — to supply simple recipe inspiration and cooking suggestions whereas encouraging dwelling cooks to share their very own #AlaskaSeafoodHacks on social media,” mentioned Ashley Heimbigner, ASMI communications director.
By means of March 4 the #AlaskaSeafoodHacks marketing campaign will showcase new suggestions from consultants and residential cooks. Revolutionary and distinctive concepts may be recreated by culinary consultants and cooks and featured on Alaska Seafood’s social channels and web site.
Hacks head to Juneau – Alaska legislators and choose others are being invited to pattern the newest seafood hacks and haute objects on the annual soiree set for five to eight p.m. Feb. 26 at Centennial Corridor in Juneau.
The legislative reception, hosted by United Fishermen of Alaska and Alaska Fisheries Growth Basis, is the second leg of the Alaska Symphony of Seafood competitors in November the place solely first place winners and a Seattle Folks’s Selection had been introduced at Pacific Marine Expo. All others, together with the grand prize winner, are saved below wraps till the Juneau occasion the place attendees additionally will choose their favourite.
Prime winners get a free journey to the large Seafood Expo North America in Boston in March. They embody Echo Falls Wild Alaskan Smoked Salmon/Tapas Sliced Mediterranean by Ocean Beauty Seafoods, Alaska Grown Ribbon Kelp by Seagrove Kelp Company of Craig, Wild Alaska Pollock Jerky by Neptune Snacks, Deep Blue Sea Tub Soak by Waterbody of Wrangell, Bristol Bay Sockeye by Alaskan Chief Seafoods, whose Alaska Black Cod additionally was chosen because the Seattle Folks’s Selection.
The inspiration has hosted the Alaska Symphony of Seafood competitors since 1994 to showcase new market-ready merchandise by massive and small Alaska firms.
Oysters on the go – Farm Suzuki of Japan is promoting its specialty fried and uncooked oysters on the half shell and uncooked tiger shrimp at merchandising machines in Hiroshima and Tokyo, full with a microwave for heating.
Seafood Source reports that the idea is just not unique to the corporate – a Dutch firm has a mussel vending machine, for instance – however Farm Suzuki’s direct advertising and marketing machine rapidly gained consideration and was featured on the Japanese authorities’s Twitter.
