North Pacific Focus 2020 Winter Edition by National Fisherman

ASMI UPDATE / PINK SHRIMP / WEST COAST WIND WINTER 2020

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ITâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S ELECTRIC \ Nothing but nets Southeast gillnetter goes hybrid MS. MARICULTURE \ Julie Decker Seafood leader pushes fish forward

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ON THE HOMEFRONT Putting a California crab captain to work packing some other protein.

FABIAN GRUTTER

PAUL MOLYNEAUX

Winter 2020

18 OUR TOWN Life in Cordova, Alaska, the perfect port in what locals call the best place on earth.

8 GALLEY WATCH ALSO

FISHERPOETS 349 AD INDEX 10 SEASON 36 IN FOCUSFORECASTS 12 OUR YARD

In Newport, Ore., Sarah and John Skamser have been innovating nets for 40 years at Foulweather Trawl.

BOATBUILDING: THE SUNBEAM

Alaska gillnet-longliner Fabian Grutter built what may be the first U.S. diesel-electric commercial fishing vessel.

DEPARTMENTS DEPARTMENTS 22 PILOTHOUSE PILOTHOUSELOG LOG 44 TIDINGS TIDINGS 64 INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS CALENDAR 86 ON THE MARKET INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS 117 FISHERPOETS BOOK REVIEW

GEAR SHIFTS: SHRIMP TRAWLS

FROM CANNERY TO KELP Cover: A snowy scene at the harbor in Cordova, Alaska. Cheryl Ess photo.

Erstwhile salmon packer Julie Decker runs the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and is guiding the Alaska Mariculture Task Force toward a new $100 million industry.

MARKET REPORT: PACIFIC SHRIMP There was a 2019 dip in pink shrimp, but now ocean conditions hold promise for a good 2020 season.

ALSO

35 36

AD INDEX IN FOCUS WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

PILOTHOUSE LOG

THE OTHER PINKS W hen Oregon shrimp fisherman Nick Edwards sent me pictures of his boat and catch for the Market Report by Bureau Chief Charlie Ess (page 32), he tossed in a few pics of some spectacular shrimp cocktails he had apparently whipped together for a party at his brother’s vineyard. I confessed that he was making me hungry. (By the way, how popular must your family be if they have easy access to fresh fish and local wine? You think he’s looking to adopt a sister to run a cheese and/or chocolate shop? I volunteer.) Although the 2019 Oregon shrimp season wasn’t quite as productive as 2018 (down 9 million pounds and $7 million year over year), it was still a strong showing for the fishery with good signs to come for 2020. The people who help most with that catch besides the commercial captains and crews just may be the netmakers. Sara and John Skamser run Foulweather Trawl in Newport, Ore., and have been hard at it for 40 years. Their work contributed to the significant bycatch reduction efforts of the pink shrimp fleet. Read Boats & Gear Editor Paul Molyneaux’s profi le of the Skamsers and their trawl net tech on page 14. From innovative nets we move to innovations in power. The F/V Sunbeam is a Southeast Alaska gillnetter-longliner that may well be the fi rst U.S. commercial fishing vessel to convert to hybrid diesel-electric power. Sitka fisherman Fabian Grutter opted to be the fi rst commercial captain to dive right into these uncharted waters at the risk of fi nding little to no savings following a costly install. Grutter even carved 2,000 pounds out of his hold space to make room for the new battery bank he installed when he repowered with a 6-cylinder 330-hp John Deere engine. The hold space was most valuable for blackcod, which

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he says isn’t as thick as it once was. But the battery bank is best set to pay off in the gillnet fishery. “You spend 18 hours a day idling, you just slip it into gear to stretch your net out once in a while,” Grutter says. Get the full story on page 24. If there’s anyone else I know who can’t stand to be at idle, it’s Julie JESSICA HATHAWAY Decker. Julie was one Editor in chief of the fi rst people I met in the industry, though it took me a while to realize just how much she does because A) the list is ridiculously long and B) you would never know it from talking with her. What she does best is connect people in the industry, set them up for success and cheer them on. And she does it all without seeking the limelight for the work she’s done for more than 20 years to promote Alaska fisheries and seafood. Julie’s latest mission is to make Alaska kelp and other mariculture products a $100 million industry. I’d place my bet on Julie any day. See freelance writer and nascent kelp farmer Markos Scheer’s profi le of Julie Decker on page 28.

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TIDINGS KING SALMON KEY TO ORCAS’ SURVIVAL

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

An orca pursues a king salmon.

their legitimate concerns. While the southern orca population is in decline, northern resident orcas are thriving and in fact may be driving a decline in large salmon, according to a study by University of Washington and NOAA researchers, published Dec. 16 in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. The team analyzed 40 years of data and found that as fishing pressure diminished by stricter regulation since the 1970s, the northern resident killer whales tripled their abundance. The whales’ preference for larger salmon may be a major factor in the decline of larger king salmon — and may also be intercepting more salmon before they reach the critically endangered southern population, now around 73 animals, the study suggests. — Kirk Moore

half the size ranks as the nation’s second largest forest and covers the Copper River delta, Prince William Sound, and part of the Kenai Peninsula. The study results showed that from 2007 to 2016, the two forests contributed 48 million salmon on average each year to commercial fisheries, with a dockside value of $88 million. These “forest fish” represented 25 percent of Alaska’s total salmon catch for a decade and 16 percent of the total commercial value. For the Tongass, the most lucrative forest fish was pink salmon, averaging $42 million to fishermen each year. Silvers came next, averaging nearly $15 million, and chums at almost $9 million. For the Chugach, the priciest returns came from sockeye salmon, which produced $10.5 million in local catches on average. Pinks were next at $6.2 million. The study said it underestimates the value of salmon produced by the forests, as it only considers commercial harvests

Tongass study: Forest fish of Alaska

first ever, 10-year study estimates the numbers and values of what the Tongass and Chugach rivers and streams contribute to Alaska’s commercial salmon industry. The Tongass is the largest national forest in the country at nearly 27,000 square miles and covers most of Southeast Alaska. The adjacent Chugach at

SITKA CONSERVATION SOCIETY

draft report from Washington Gov. Jay Inslee’s office summarizes a long-running debate over whether four hydroelectric dams on the Lower Snake River should be taken down to restore king and other salmon populations. The report, issued Dec. 20, makes no recommendations — except for ways that multiple groups involved in the debate, including fishermen, indigenous tribes, power producers and renewable energy advocates — might move the long-deadlocked debate forward. The report came a year after the state Southern Orca Task Force recommended increasing king salmon numbers as the most important step toward recovering the diminished resident orca population of southern Puget Sound. The task force made other recommendations, including reducing vessel disturbance and noise, and reducing the whales’ exposure to toxic contaminants. But it stopped short of calling for action on the Lower Snake River dams, blamed by some coastal stakeholders for the decline of king salmon. The subsequent $750,000 study ordered by Inslee aims to bring together the divergent interest groups. Comments were accepted through Jan. 24. “I encourage Washingtonians to get engaged in the public comment period over the next month and share their input on what should be done,” Inslee said in releasing the report. “We need to hear from a variety of people from different regions and perspectives.” The report notes how all parties remain far apart on the issues. “People told us that the manner in which the issue of dam removal is raised contributes to the overall frustration and negative reaction of those who live in southeastern Washington and are closest to the dams,” the report authors wrote, adding that dam supporters felt eastern Washington coastal stakeholders belittle

NMFS/PERMIT #1909

Tongass and Chugach salmon rivers provide some 48 million fish a year.

fishing industry coalition dealing with offshore wind energy development has launched a West Coast venture as a first step toward giving Pacific fishermen more voice in how those projects can be compatible with seafood production. The Responsible Offshore Development Alliance announced it created a new Pacific Advisory Committee to address Pacific fishermen’s “significant concern over the lack of communication and collaboration necessary to inform coexistence among ocean users.” The new effort aims to “improve science and policy approaches to development, while also increasing and improving communication to help strengthen ties between Pacific fishermen and fishing communities across the country,” the alliance said in a statement. The new committee includes fisheries leaders from California and Oregon: • Hugh Link and Tim Novotny, Oregon Dungeness Crab Commission • Mike Okoniewski, Pacific Seafood Group • Noah Oppenheim, Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (outgoing) • Peter Flournoy, International Law Offices of San Diego • Mike Conroy, West Coast Fisheries Consultants The alliance grew out of efforts by East Coast scallop fishermen and others to get a seat at the table as the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management began preparing to issue offshore leases for wind energy development. With more than a dozen projects now in various stages of planning off the East Coast,

Federal energy planners designated three California areas for wind energy.

the alliance has been advocating for fishermen’s concerns and working to bring them together with developers, government regulators and scientists to identify pressing policy and research needs. On the West Coast, that process is still in the early stages, with BOEM having identified three “call areas” off California to gauge potential interest from developers. The agency says the strongest wind speeds are found off the state’s North Coast, where BOEM has marked out the Humboldt Call Area for possible development. Two others on the California Central Coast are Morro Bay and Diablo Canyon, and the agency is in early stages of evaluating potential areas off Oregon. Unlike the proposed East Coast turbine arrays on the shallow outer continental shelf, deeper Pacific waters have developers looking toward anchored floating turbine designs. — Kirk Moore

But when it was discovered that the way in which the payouts were calculated was badly flawed, the commission put on the brakes. “There was a big snafu because a lot of the crew was under-reported by the skippers. So Pacific States said that until everything gets squared away, no one is going to get any checks,” said Rep. Louise Stutes (R-Kodiak) who has been watchdogging the payouts since the pink fishery was declared a disaster. “That was just not acceptable,” Stutes said, quickly crediting leadership at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for coming up with a better solution. “With the help of Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang and Deputy Commissioner Rachel Baker we worked with the commission and they agreed to send out checks to those individuals who they had no questions about,” Stutes explained. “And they are going to send out letters to individuals they do have questions about to give them an opportunity to immediately reply rather than wait until the appeal period.” About 1,300 salmon permit holders are eligible for payments, according to

NATIONAL PARK SERVICE

Offshore wind watch dogs for West Coast

OFFSHORE WIND CALIFORNIA

and not recreational or subsistence uses. It also counts only dockside value, and not the economic impacts of local fish processing. The 10-year project was funded by the U.S. Forest Service which is interested in estimating the different activities and services that national forests provide. Find “Quantifying the Monetary Value of Alaska National Forests to Commercial Pacific Salmon Fisheries” in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management. — Laine Welch

Pink salmon disaster relief released

t’s been a long wait, but payments are coming for Alaska fishermen, processors and coastal communities hurt by the 2016 pink salmon run failure, the worst in 40 years. The funds are earmarked for Kodiak, Prince William Sound, Chignik, Lower Cook Inlet, South Alaska Peninsula, Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Congress okayed more than $56 million in federal relief in 2017, but the authorization to cut the money loose languished on NOAA desks in Washington, D.C., for more than two years. The payouts got delayed again last October when salmon permit holders, who share the biggest chunk at nearly $32 million, were finally able to apply to the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission for their checks.

Some $56 million in aid for the pink salmon fishing sector was delayed.

the state Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. Alaska pink salmon processors will split nearly $18 million in disaster relief funds. “They are trying to figure out how to pay their employees and what employees qualify,” she said. “So, it’s finally moving after three and a half years.” Some $2.4 million in disaster funds are set aside for municipalities, and nearly $4 million will go to pink salmon research. Fishery disasters also were declared for the 2018 cod collapse in the Gulf of Alaska and the sockeye salmon failure at Chignik. — Laine Welch WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

INDUSTRY WAYPOINTS Bristol Bay Native Corp. hires new seafood leadership Returning to the seafood business in a big way, the Bristol Bay Native Corp. has brought on Amy Humphreys as president and CEO of Bristol Bay Seafood Investments. Everette Anderson, a corporation shareholder, will serve as senior vice president. Humphreys and Anderson “will guide and grow BBNC’s emerging venture into this major sector of Alaska’s economy and overall global commerce,” according to the corporation, which has not been involved in the seafood industry since owning a majority share of Peter Pan Seafoods during the 1970s. The corporation acquired Blue North Fisheries and Clipper Seafoods in September 2019 — along with their hefty 37.4 percent share of the Pacific cod freezer longline total allowable catch. It then organized the two companies under the banner of Bristol Bay Alaska Seafoods and created Bristol Bay Seafood Investments to serve as a holding company for the venture and any future seafood investments. “This investment is about expansion and economic opportunity for BBNC and all of Alaska, as this opportunity will help us expand internationally,” said Jason Metrokin, president and CEO of the corporation. Humphreys and Anderson will provide strategic leadership

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

Amy Humphreys

and operational oversight to Bristol Bay Seafood Investments and its subsidiary Bristol Bay Alaska Seafoods. Humphreys has a long history with American Seafoods, both as an executive and as a board member, and is a former president and CEO of Icicle Seafoods, a diversified seafood company with operations throughout Alaska across multiple species and product sales worldwide. Anderson has served on the corporation’s board of directors since 2013. His decades of experience in the seafood and rural energy industries include serving as senior commercial manager at the Marine Stewardship Council.

Berg also serves as a commissioner on the three-member Skagit Public Utility District, which supplies water to 65,000 residents and businesses. For four years starting in 1999, he also served as the elected mayor of the town of La Conner from 1999 to 2003. He grew up in La Conner, where his parents owned a marine chandlery and where, for five years as a teen, he and his parents lived on their family sloop.

Port Townsend’s Boat Haven Marina.

He has worked with the Port of Skagit on several projects, including infrastructure, planning, permitting and sustaining the Swinomish Channel. He holds a law degree from the University of Washington. In public meetings July 14-15, Berg emphasized it is the Port Commission that sets policies for the port, and that the executive director’s job is to implement those policies. He said his broad municipal government experience would make him a good partner with

PORT OF PORT TOWNSEND

• New executive director for the Port of Port Townsend The Port Townsend, Wash., Port Commission has selected Eron Berg, the city supervisor and attorney for Sedro-Woolley, Wash., as the port’s new executive director. “This was a very tough decision to make,” said Port Commission Chairman Pete Hanke in announcing the decision. “We had four great finalists. Each brought clear strengths to the job. But we feel Eron has the right mix of skills and experience to lead the port through its next phase. We’re excited to work with him.” Other finalists were Andy Haub, until recently the Water Resources director for the city of Olympia; Washington State Patrol Captain Travis Matheson; and Anthony Warfield, facilities manager for the Port of Tacoma. Berg is expected to start at the port in April, pending contract negotiations, where he will work alongside Executive Director Jim Pivarnik until his retirement in early summer. Berg has been the city supervisor and attorney of Sedro-Woolley, a city of 12,000, reporting to the mayor and is responsible for day-to-day operations and legal guidance. The city has a staff of 90 and an annual budget of $38 million.

Everette Anderson

other local governments. Berg said he is interested in pursuing public-private partnerships and leveraging outside support for the port’s infrastructure replacement needs. In November 2019, county voters approved a $15 million industrial development tax levy over 20 years for infrastructure repairs that will help to fund replacement of the Point Hudson Marina breakwater. The port operates marinas and boat ramps throughout Jefferson County, an industrial boatyard in Port Townsend, and the Jefferson County International Airport. With 31 employees and an operating budget of $6 million, the port earns most of its revenues through commercial leases, moorage and boatyard haulouts. • Seaweed mariculture comes to the Aleutians Sand Point will be home to Alaska’s farthest west seaweed startup beginning next year. With an assist by Alaska Sea Grant and the Aleutians East Borough, growers plan to test run two different kelp species and harvest them in the spring of 2021. “Our hope is that we can develop an innovative type of farm that can withstand our weather conditions,” said Melissa Good, a Sea Grant agent in Unalaska, speaking to radio station KFSK

Seattle-based Crowley Maritime Corp. realigned its marine services group.

CROWLEY MARITIME

in Petersburg. “We are living within an extreme environment; they call it the birthplace of the winds for a very good reason. So, we need to show that this can be done here.” “People also are calling from St. Paul and St. George in the Bering Sea,” said Julie Decker, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation. “They want to know what they need to do to get started.” The global commercial seaweed market is projected to top $22 billion by 2024, with human consumption as the largest segment. Growers in Maine fetch 50-60 cents a pound for edible grades; their rockweed crop brings in $20 million a year. Chile estimates a kelp industry would bring in $540 million annually. Japan’s $2 billion nori industry is one of the world’s most valuable crops. Seaweed also benefits the planet by absorbing five times more carbon from the atmosphere than land-based plants.

• Crowley Maritime realigns marine services Seattle-based Crowley Maritime announced Jan. 15 a new organization plan for its marine services into three business segments: offshore services; ship assist and tanker escort; and engineering, including Jensen Maritime Consultants. The new Crowley Marine Services, part of the company’s shipping group, will now be led by Jeff Andreini, Porter Sesnon and Coulston “Cole” van Gundy in each of these units, respectively. Andreini rejoins Crowley after serving four years as chief financial officer

for Ardent Holdings, a global marine salvage business in which Crowley previously had a 50 percent ownership position. With Crowley, he now is responsible for the company’s offshore division, providing specialized cargo transportation to the offshore energy sector and the emerging U.S. offshore wind market. Sesnon is taking the lead role for the group’s ship assist and tanker escort services, which are provided in all major West Coast ports from north Puget Sound in Washington down to San Diego. Within Crowley’s engineering group, van Gundy is taking the leadership role in business development to grow the company’s third-party project and construction management services, as well as engineering and design-related offerings provided by both Crowley and Seattle-based Jensen Maritime. Van Gundy will be based in Seattle and report to Jay Edgar, vice president of Jensen.

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ON THE MARKET Alaska governor in Japan Alaska Gov. Michael J. Dunleavy and First Lady Rose Dunleavy traveled to Japan in November on an official trade mission to promote Alaska’s natural resources. ASMI staff worked closely with the governor’s office in planning the trip to incorporate Alaska seafood into the itinerary, including an Alaska seafood industry reception and interviews with seafood trade press. During his remarks, the governor highlighted Alaska’s exceptional fisheries management standards and expressed support for a close trade relationship with Japan. “The Alaska seafood industry and the state of Alaska wish to reaffirm our commitment to the Japanese market and look forward to continuing this long partnership,” Dunleavy said.

IN-STATE/ADMIN Seafood & sustainability: National trends A Datassentials study on 2020 trends at foodservice shows an encouraging shift toward seafood. With domestic consumers’ higher focus on health and sustainability, they are shifting away from meat and replacing it with seafood. The research also shows that seafood from Alaska is known for its great taste and freshness, and when “Alaska seafood” is called out on a menu, it raises the perception of the establishment altogether as higher quality.

News and Updates Facebook ASMI reminds you to like and share our new industryfocused Facebook page @ ASMINewsAndUpdates for relevant news, videos, resources and communication.

SUSTAINABILITY/ TECHNICAL Smart Catch webinar In a Smart Catch webinar hosted by the James Beard Foundation, Technical Program Director Michael Kohan represented Alaska Seafood to weigh in on the technology and processes that the industry is using to support frozen fresh seafood in the market. The Smart Catch program was developed to provide training and support to chefs, helping them serve environmentally responsible seafood.

Seafood lifestyle

Caviar by the Pound The article “Caviar by the Pound,” written by 2019 media tour attendee Anna Hezel, was published Dec. 4 by Taste magazine. The article highlights Alaska salmon roe and the origin story, emphasizing how roe has been an integral part of the Alaska fishing industry and including preparation tips from fisherman Melanie Brown and others. Hezel also discusses the types of roe from different salmon species.

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

salmon as part of a series covering multiple species and products. The fact sheets are available on ASMI’s website, and highlight the nutrition, sustainability, harvest methods, utilization, biology and culinary features of wild Alaska seafood.

ASMI produced a helpful reference highlighting how Alaska seafood fits into many popular dietary regimens, including gluten-free, keto, Mediterranean, Mayo Clinic, and paleo. The publication was produced through cooperation with registered dietitian Kari Natwick and is available in ASMI’s collection of nutritional resources online.

Facts: Rockfish, Pink salmon ASMI produced new technical fact sheets on wild Alaska rockfish and pink

Facts: Chalky halibut ASMI produced a new technical fact sheet on chalky halibut, detailing the causes, identification, and utilizations of chalky halibut. This document supports ASMI’s technical objectives of educating and informing the industry, market, trade, and consumers on the technical aspects of Alaska’s seafood products and is available online.

DOMESTIC Chef & The Restaurant ASMI ran a custom content article in the January edition of Chef & Restaurant New York. The article focuses on the author’s first-hand experience with the Alaska seafood industry and what makes its fisheries so special. The issue can be viewed online.

INTERNATIONAL Salmon and pollock block images The ASMI South America program recently produced new plated recipe images. The two new collections can be viewed and downloaded from ASMI’s digital asset library, NetX. Keta salmon and Alaska pollock block (common in the Brazil market) recipes are highlighted. All images are available to members of the Alaska seafood industry for use in promotion and sale of Alaska seafood products.

Quick bites Mission to Mexico ASMI South America representatives Jose Madeira and Carolina Nascimento attended the Agribusiness Trade Mission organized by the USDA to Mexico City in November. During the week, they participated in a wide range of activities that included market briefings, retail tours to seven different retail chains, and one-on-one meetings with 17 key Mexican trade members in the seafood business. Meetings generated trade leads for Alaska pollock, salmon, cod, crab, sablefish, halibut and flatfish exporters. Alaska seafood exports to Mexico in 2018 were around 7.7 million pounds (3,500 metric tons) valued at $10.6 million.

Speaking the language ASMI emphasized sustainability and fisheries management during multiple speaking engagements in China and Japan in November. In China, where interest in sustainability and certification is just beginning, Sustainability/Certification Adviser Susan Marks gave presentations at the Napa Seafood Summit and World Congress of Fisheries and Aquaculture focusing on Alaska’s robust fisheries management and the Alaska RFM Certification Program. She also summarized research on Chinese consumers and provided examples of how sustainability is integrated into marketing messaging in our different global regions.

Export experts ASMI International program staff attended the U.S. Agricultural Export Development Council’s Annual Workshop Nov. 18-21. The goal of the conference is to provide a forum and organizational structure for the exchange and coordination of information among U.S. commodity trade associations and federal government agencies. The trainings and workshops focus on grant funded

programs, which support export promotion efforts.

Trade Seminar: Bangkok ASMI Southeast Asia teamed up with the Foreign Agricultural Service in Bangkok to host a one-day seminar on Nov. 21 for Thailand seafood processors, importers, foodservice distributors, retailers and media representatives. The event gathered 84 guests from 34 companies, including four suppliers of Alaska seafood. Videos and presentations by three of Thailand’s leading chefs showcased and provided tastings of culinary dishes using Alaska keta and pink salmon and ikura; Alaska pollock and mentaiko; and Pacific Ocean perch. The seminar, particularly the chefs’ culinary creations and presentations, highlighted the potential for Alaska seafood in Thailand’s mid-range and quick-serve restaurants and retail markets.

Rosauers Northwestern supermarket chain Rosauers saw a 247 percent year-overyear increase in Alaska seafood sales during its October promotion. The retailer focused on Alaska salmon, cod, halibut, crab, rockfish, sablefish and sole in 22 stores across the Pacific Northwest and Rockies region. The stores had a designated “Alaska” section of their service case where they displayed Alaska Seafood-branded signage. Publix Aprons Partners ASMI partnered with Publix supermarkets and Alaska harvester Melanie Brown for a series of three events Nov. 14-16 at their Aprons cooking schools in Florida. Brown presented an Alaska Thanksgivingthemed menu that showcased multiple Alaska seafood species. The events allowed Brown to share her experiences fishing in Bristol Bay. Each event was thoughtfully paired with wines from Chateau Ste. Michelle. PCC Seafood Sales Seattle area retailer PCC Community Markets organized a Buy One, Get One Free promotion for Alaska coho salmon Sept. 11–20, which resulted in a recordbreaking sales week. More than 28,000 pounds of coho fillets were sold during the sales event, which was the top seafood sales week by 14 percent. The number of redeemed coupons totaled almost 13,000. Christmas in Brazil ASMI South America conducted in-store promotions over the Christmas holidays. Promotions were held in seven locations throughout Brazil at 32 outlets.

Trade Seminars: Peru ASMI South America organized two trade seminars in Peru targeting Peruvian importers and processors of seafood, in addition to Peruvian government representatives. Seminars provided the audience with information on the Alaska seafood industry, as well as the Alaska seafood species, including harvest, seasonality, quality, and sustainability. Forty-five seafood industry professionals attended the seminars and had the opportunity to see and taste samples of nine Alaska seafood species. The events served as

Christmas at Flunch A long-standing partner with ASMI, Flunch — a popular cafeteria-style fast casual restaurant chain — featured Alaska seafood dishes for the winter holidays in restaurants and in their online meal order sales channel. Flunch is specializing this campaign by dedicating a web presence to Alaska seafood providing information to consumers on their website about Alaska origin and the unique characteristics of Alaska seafood. Co-op Sapporo buyers In the fall, ASMI Japan conducted an Alaska seafood luncheon for 50 couples who had purchased Alaska seafood during an ASMI sponsored fair at Co-op Sapporo retail stores. The four course lunch was followed by an educational seminar on Alaska seafood. Select Japanese seafood buyers and members of the press also attended the event.

WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

ON THE MARKET an important platform for educating importers about Alaska seafood prior to the Alaska Seafood trade mission to Peru in March 2020.

Bike race food truck ASMI Japan brought an Alaska seafood truck to the Rapha Super Cross bicycle road races in Nobeyama on Nov. 24-25. Over 1,500 riders participated in the event. The food truck served a variety of Alaska seafood dishes, including Pacific cod coconut curry, Alaska salmon cream stew, Alaska pollock roe and Alaska pollock soy risotto. The race was the first in a series of bicycle races ASMI Japan will be attending as part of a push to promote Alaska seafood among amateur athletes.

EVENTS

marketing efforts and consumer targeting in the United States to an audience of marketing, business and communications professionals from an array of Alaska industries and sectors. The group enjoyed a lunch, including Alaska surimi stuffed Alaska rockfish.

Foodservice Editorial ASMI attended the International Foodservice Editorial Council conference in Madison, Wisc., Oct. 2930 to continue building relationships with foodservice and retail media, further driving coverage for Alaska seafood among influential trade audiences. Staff enticed media the first night by serving a miso-glazed wild Alaska sablefish with Japanese black rice, seaweed salad and a mirin-infused poached egg. They then held meetings with nine editors representing twelve of ASMI’s target publications.

China Fisheries Seafood Show

Pacific Marine Expo ASMI held a booth and presented at Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, Nov. 2123. At the show, ASMI connected with the commercial fishing fleet. On Nov. 22, Communications Director Ashley Heimbigner and McDowell Economist Garrett Evridge presented on the economic value of Alaska seafood as well as current marketing trends and tactics.

American Marketing Association ASMI Communications Director Ashley Heimbigner and Domestic Marketing Director Megan Rider were feature speakers at the American Marketing Association Alaska Chapter luncheon in Anchorage on Jan. 9, 2020. Heimbigner and Rider presented about ASMI’s global brand

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

Alaska seafood. In total, 950 guests attended while 59 chefs presented products and cooking styles. For ASMI, chef Julia Sedefdijan of the restaurant Baieta prepared Alaska salmon, salmon roe and cod.

ASMI China attended the China Fisheries Seafood Trade Show in Qingdao, China. This annual event connects seafood suppliers from around the world to the Chinese market. More than 10 Alaska seafood companies attended the show and were supported by the ASMI booth, which supplied educational materials, Alaska seafood samples, meeting tables and display cases of Alaska products. ASMI further connected the Alaska industry with Chinese buyers through an Alaska Seafood reception.

Pudlo gourmet anniversary In October, ASMI sponsored the 30th edition of the Pudlo gourmet and gastronomy celebration at the L’Intercontinental Le Grand in Paris. The event attracts journalists, chefs and food lovers to taste and celebrate new trends, products and cuisines. As a sponsor, ASMI materials were presented at the event along with a special Alaska buffet section featuring

Busan International ASMI participated in the U.S. pavilion at the Busan International Seafood and Fisheries Expo in Busan, South Korea, Nov. 5-8. The Busan Seafood show is the third largest seafood show in Asia and featured 420 exhibitors from 27 countries. The U.S. Agricultural Trade Office for Korea sponsored the U.S. pavilion, which included spaces for the trade office, ASMI and two Alaska seafood companies (American and Trident). ASMI staff met with the trade office representatives to learn more about the market and discuss potential partnerships between the two organizations. ASMI does not have an overseas marketing office in Korea, so partnerships with government organizations are central to progress in the region.

Tokyo live For the second year, ASMI presented and had a booth at the Tokyo Sustainable Seafood Symposium. With more than 1,000 attendees, the fifthannual event brings together Japanese and global business leaders to discuss the issues surrounding management of world fisheries resources. As a sponsor, ASMI hosted a panel “Understanding the Power of Sustainability in Seafood Branding from Alaska’s Public-Private Partnership.”

FISHERPOETS

THE OCEAN OF BLUE BY JEN PICKETT Jen Pickett is a freelance writer, poet and commercial fisherman. She has fished Alaska’s waters for herring, salmon, and halibut from Southeast Alaska to the Copper River Flats, Prince William Sound, Kodiak and Bristol Bay for nearly two decades, including running her own boat for Copper River reds. Read her recent work at pickfishtales.blogspot.com or follow her on Twitter @PickfishJen.

I went to the Ocean of Blue, And saw what I never had seen: A plastic flotilla was floating in lieu, Where there used to be life of marine. And the bars of the watershed were closed, And life shan’t pass. wrote in a gyre of debris; So, I turn’d to the Ocean of Blue, That so many have fished before me. And I saw it was filled with plastics, Bag and bottles were fish should be! And fishermen in black gowns, were mourning their fishing grounds, And the marine litter that chokes their joy, and their sea. (Derived from “The Garden of Love” by William Blake)

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ON THE HOMEFRONT

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

BY LORI FRENCH

A good deckhand can always find work in crab season.

wine bar and it shows the Nadine. Hey, Dad did you realize you can’t take a leak off the boat anymore?” Dad — a.k.a. the Old Man of the Sea — was coming into the kitchen for seconds. “I don’t do that in public. Wait, people are watching me from up there?” “Ya, we’re the entertainment. Kinda like a zoo. Watch the fishermen in their natural environment.” “Like an endangered species,” was thrown over his shoulder as he went back to the other adults. “Well we’re going to have to get creative. This crab season sucks.” “We could start a body disposal service.” “That would be a great alternative income!” “That’s it! Thinking outside the box.” “OK, this can’t be done in any building or boat that we have associations with because of any remaining DNA.” “Well you’d have to remove the teeth and crush them. And any distinguishing marks or tattoos.” “We could use the bait chopper.”

Pulling a good string in a tough season.

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

LORI FRENCH

was the Nightmare before Christmas when all through the house not a creature was stirring, not even a… crab. Heavy sigh. Dungeness crab season fi nally started on December 15th in District 10, California. It started with a whimper. Actually the ocean wasn’t whimpering, it was howling, ripping, swelling, storming, making our harbor unsafe. Dangerously unsafe. So the boat sat tied up until the 17th. The fi rst pull in our house was Dec. 23 with — how shall I say this? — less than desirable results. This led to a Christmas Eve conversation on how to get creative with what we have. Disclaimer: No one in our house has ever been in jail or shown blood (human) thirsty tendencies. Most of us are sane or reasonably so. I blame this entire conversation on too much Netflix time, and we have too much Netflix time due to the California Department of Fish & Game and the Center for Biological Diversity. My apologies Netflix. So please DO NOT TRY THIS ON YOUR BOAT. We/I assume no responsibility. Christmas Eve is always at our house. Somehow I wound up at the kid’s table, which means I was surrounded by five 20- to 30-somethings, one 60ish crabber, one niece-mom (What do you call your niece-in-law’s mother? Besides a wonderful person?), and one very charming 10-month-old grandnephew. The adults were in the other room. What started out as causal waterfront gossip turned into this: “There’s a camera that points directly down from the

LORI FRENCH

ON THE HOMEFRONT

“Dungeness crab season finally started on December 15th with a whimper. The ocean wasn’t whimpering. It was howling, ripping, swelling, making our harbor unsafe. So the boat sat tied up until the 17th. The first pull in our house was

”

December 23rd with — how shall I say this? — less than desirable results. “Nah we couldn’t get the DNA off.” “We just buy a new one after every use.” And then in a sing-song voice, “Well I’m kinda dumb and just don’t learn. I put large ice blocks in the chopper and it keeps breaking, officer.” “We’d have to dump them way offshore.” There was a bit of silence and then, “Maybe we could do at-sea burials, the legal way?” “Maybe we should start Ubering.” “None of our vehicles are new enough.” “Or the Instacart thingy?” “What’s that?” “You go grocery shop for someone.” “&*^%$ Fish and Game. Why can’t

we just fish like normal? Why do they have to cave to the stupid CBD?” “Yeah, someone should ask them to only work three months of the year and see how they like it.” “Don’t worry, I bought a big bag of beans. We’ll make it through this.” Fast forward to mid-February. Crab season still sucks. The weather has been horrible. The Old Man of the Sea has taken to fi xing me a breakfast that I can eat on my way to work, though. He’s also taken over my boutique chicken egg business. He’s taken to stamping the cartons, putting the labels on them, basically doing everything. He rearranges the colors of the eggs to his liking if I pack the eggs. He reweighs the eggs after I do.

I fi nally had to tell him I don’t remeasure his crabs, so stop reweighing my eggs. He still does it and puts those that I deem too small into the larger egg pile. I get random texts during the day with the egg count and questions on who he is supposed to be delivering to. The other day he called me worried about one of the girls and gave me all her symptoms. He quarantined her until I could get home to take care of her. By taking care of her, I mean disposing of her. My big, tall, crabber can’t handle any other blood than fish blood. I’m dead serious. In the meantime, is it salmon season yet? He really needs to go fishing.

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GEAR SHIFTS

MAKING EVERY

MESH WORK At Foulweather Trawl, Sara Skamser never stops pushing the envelope of innovation

ara Skamser has been building nets since 1980. “All my fingers are distorted from making nets,” she says. Skamser and her husband, John, own Foulweather Trawl in Newport, Ore. She has seen many changes in the design and construction of nets used in Pacific Northwest and Alaska fisheries for coldwater shrimp, groundfish and midwater species. While Skamser builds nets for groundfish and midwater trawlers, her main focus in the past 12 years has been building shrimp nets,

and she appears to have cornered the market. “I’m humbled by our success,” she says. “We supply almost all the boats on the coast.” According to Skamser, one of the biggest changes to come to shrimp nets is knotless twine. “We get the black 36 ply from Japan,” she says. At her shop in Newport, shelves are stacked with all sorts of colors of twine. “We use those on our groundfish and midwater nets,” she says. “Everything’s color-coded so when you get a ball

Shawn LaFontaine shows off a shrimp net with a grate and escape hole developed by Foulweather Trawl to help reduce bycatch.

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

PAUL MOLYNEAUX PHOTOS

By Paul Molyneaux

GEAR SHIFTS on deck the size of a Volkswagen, the guys can know where they are on the net.” On her shrimp trawls, however, it’s all the black knotless and an aquablue cod end. “That’s the new design,” she says of the splashy cod end. “It’s about 200 meshes deep.” Skamser notes that while the legal mesh size for cod ends in the Oregon shrimp fishery is 1 3/8 inches including the knot, it’s 1 3/8 between the knots in California. “Guys have fished the California cod end and say they’re not losing any shrimp, so most use that in case they end up fishing down there,” she says. Another innovation on the cod end of the Foulweather shrimp net is the use of elephant ears. “They used to have rings for lifting the cod end. They could have as much as 8,000 pounds in a tow, and sometimes the rings would tear. We saw the elephant ears up in Washington and started using them.” The elephant ears consist of two triangles of heavy twine. The wide sides are sewn mesh to mesh around the outside of the mouth of the cod end, while flexible rings on the tips provide a place to hook into. Moving up into the body of the net, Skamser points out that the knotless twine holds its shape better when being towed, but it can be difficult to mend at sea. “For about four years the fishing was outstanding, and there were no tears,” she says. “The last couple of years have been good, but they have to look for them in places where they rip up.” Skamser explains that if the tears are not too bad, the crew can seize them. But if the net is torn to pieces, they bring it back to Foulweather Trawl. “That’s what you have to do, be able to service the nets,” Skamser says. “Rather than repair nets at sea, a lot of guys carry a third net on the roof of the wheelhouse.” When the Pacific shrimp fishery began, most fishermen used nets from the Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery. “They were sewn together,” Skamser recalls. “Mesh by mesh, and when you tore them you’d tear them right in half. That’s why we put a selvage mesh in ours and seize the two halves together. The seam is like a rope,” she says,

“Fishermen are the real innovators. I think they start to compete with each other to be the cleanest.

”

— Sara Skamser,

FOULWEATHER TRAWL

Sara Skamser of Foulweather Trawl has been building nets for 40 years.

referring to the gore. One of the most important aspects of building a net is making sure that it keeps its shape when on bottom.

“You’re catching water and shrimp,” says Skamser. “You want to let the water go and keep the shrimp. Every mesh has to work.” By that, Skamser means that the meshes have to be holding the shape of the net without getting stretched or creating folds that won’t let the water go, increasing resistance, fuel use and bycatch. Skamser has seen about every change that has happened with shrimp trawls

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in the last three decades and more, and many of those changes happened at Foulweather Trawl. Starting with the old Gulf of Mexico design, Skamser has shortened the belly, tapered the wings on her shrimp nets, and is currently making changes to the headrope. “We’re using float rope instead of the floats,” she says. “Fishermen are fi nding that it’s easier to set the net, without those floats getting caught on things.” Regulations guide some of what goes into a net, besides the 1 3/8 mesh size on the cod end, web in the net itself has to be 1 1/2 inches, including the knot, and the grate, used to separate out bycatch. Shrimp go through the grate, and fish go out a hole above the grate. “When they changed the grate to 3/4-inch we had shrimp piling up on it,” she says. “So we put T90, square mesh behind the grate. It increased the flow, and the shrimp came through. The grates used to be 48 inches in diameter. Now they’re 6 feet. You need that much area to let the water through.” Skamser notes that bycatch reduction hasn’t been all good for her. “It used to be if you did a good job for a fisherman, you could look forward to a nice fi let once in a while. But now there’s no more fish in the net!” It’s a funny line, but Skamser has worked hard with fishermen and regulators to eliminate bycatch. “We partner well with government,” she says.

PAUL MOLYNEAUX

GEAR SHIFTS

Sara Skamser uses a variety of fibers. Lately she is experimenting with Danish float rope for the headropes of her shrimp trawls.

“Around 2016, when the shrimping was really good, the smelt showed up, and we almost had an in-season closure.” According to Skamser, the Oregon Department of Fisheries and Wildlife thought they would try putting some lights around the grate in the throat of the net and maybe reduce bycatch. “The more lights they put in, the more smelt they got,” says Skamser. “Finally they put a row of green lights on the

footrope. No more smelt. Two weeks later, the whole fleet was compliant. They didn’t need a regulation.” Skamser has also made changes in the way she hangs the net on the footrope. “We used to see guys take the footrope, get a pickup truck on each end and pull it out till they were burning rubber. That would stretch the footrope three feet. Other guys would tie it to a stick in the mud and just pull it.” What Skamser

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GEAR SHIFTS

MARK LOMELÍ PHOTOS

Yellow elephant ears on the cod end of shrimp net allow fishermen to lift bags of as much as 8,000 pounds.

Foulweather Trawl’s groundfish and midwater nets have all parts color coded to make mending at sea easier.

The black knotless twine Skamser buys from Japan has revolutionized shrimp net performance.

did was add a wind of cable around the footrope to keep it an honest 90 feet. “Then we hang 3/8-inch stainless chain off it, using 5/16-inch chain drops. The chain hangs down about 10 inches on the ends but can get up to 2 1/2 feet in the middle.” Other refi nements come from the fishermen themselves, Skamser points out. “Back when things were good they made a lot of money and they had to fi nd something to do with it.” According to Skamser, many fishermen bought camera systems for upward of $100,000. “Fishermen are the real innovators. They wanted to see if shrimp were going in the net, and most important they wanted to be able to see if they had gone through a school. Many of them felt they were keeping their nets in the water too long. So we had to add rings on the net to hold that third wire for the cameras.” Skamser notes that the camera systems, such as the Simrad FX80, enable fishermen to save fuel, work more efficiently and reduce bycatch.

“I think they start to compete with and repair midwater and groundfish each other to be the cleanest,” she says. nets. One of the newest things changing in net building are the fibers. “I’m Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor really excited about fibers,” Skamser for North Pacifi c Focus. says. She is fi nding that smaller but stronger fibers are enabling her to build lighter nets. “That saves fuel,” she says. S k a m s e r continues to refi ne shrimp nets with a focus on quality. “Our nets can last seven years,” she says. “There’s 42' Stormi Gayle a lot of good net designs out there,” Skamser likes to Now accepting orders for hulls, say. “But not a lot kits and complete boats. of good nets.” We offer twelve models from 25' to 47' In addition 932 U.S. Route 1, Steuben, Maine 04680 to shrimp nets, Phone: (207) 546-7477 Fax: (207) 546-2163 Foulweather Trawl www.hhmarineinc.com continues to build

Foulweather Trawl helped reduce smelt bycatch in the shrimp fishery by putting lights on the footrope.

Brian Robbins

H&H MARINE, INC.

WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

OUR TOWN: CORDOVA

Salmon TRAP BY CHARLIE ESS PHOTOS BY CHERYL ESS

The harbor at Cordova might appear sleepy in the dead of winter, but the town maintains a steady state of fishing bustle year-round as residents prepare for the season ahead.

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

OUR TOWN

he jet hasn’t even climbed to cruising altitude in what terminates as a southbound flight from Anchorage to Seattle when what should appear but a tiny town under the port wing. The pilots throw the 737 into a steep descent alongside jagged mountain peaks with the deep blue-green waters of Prince William Sound below. The plane drops its flaps. The mountains give way to the alders, willows, creeks and rivers that make up the Copper River flats, and the wheels touch the tarmac in Cordova. It is here that visitors with so much as an inkling sense of adventure should take heed. Like sirens calling vessels to the rocks, Cordova might suck you in, might change you forever, especially if you’ve got an affinity for a town that makes no apologies for living and breathing its commercial fishing lifestyle. “This is a salmon town,” says Christa Hoover, executive director of the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, in downtown Cordova. We’re looking out of her second story office window in early January to the snow-covered boats tethered to the docks below, when she spools out a story that defines Cordova as a port we might never want to leave. The setup in her yarn rings strikingly thematic to what other residents told us earlier in the day: You arrive in town with a sense of adventure but without the slightest intentions of staying, then run headlong into lucrative fishing, welcoming people, a recreational mecca and eco-

nomic opportunities like no place else on earth. Bam.You’re hooked. Even some of Cordova’s long-term transient fishermen tend to return and call Cordova home in the end. Hoover came to Cordova aboard a floating salmon processor in 1987 and fell in love with a fisherman. They married, fished during summers, put the kids through school in Seattle in the offseason, then returned for good five years ago. “Our youngest daughter was done with college, and that made it easy to come back,” says Hoover, adding that the family bowpicker, Ocean Edge, and her daughter’s boat, the Obsidian, are among those adorned in almost a foot of fresh snow down in the harbor. And if the lore of the fishing life isn’t enough, Cordova’s off-season activities have done more than their share in turning transients into locals. For starters, deer, moose and duck hunting have been rated off the charts. The town offers myriad hiking trails, and downhill skiers can ride the nation’s oldest operating ski lift, which was built in 1939, then transported north from Sun Valley and installed up the steep slopes of Mt. Eyak in 1974. Though the vertical gain on the slopes of Mt. Eyak tallies up to just 800 feet, the variety of runs offers excitement for beginners and experts alike. Backcountry skiing moves to center stage for Marc Carrel and Tania Harrison when their boats are tied up for the winter. Carrel fishes his gillnetter the Silver Moon by summer, while Harrison skippers the seiner Celtic Cross with an Statue of a mariner at the fisherman’s memorial stands vigil over the local fleet in January.

WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

OUR TOWN

The Tamar’s name was inspired by “Take All the Money and Run,” but the Cordova-based boat has proven the opposite and won renown along most of Alaska’s coastline for its dedicated tendering service to fishermen in herring and salmon fisheries.

all-woman crew. The couple invites us to dinner in a small home one night after they’ve come off the slopes. We sit down in candlelight to a mound of fresh, thin-cut venison steaks, a rice dish and salad. As we load our plates, conversation quickly evolves to the nitty gritty of capturing salmon with their respective gear types. Our hearts race when Carrel regales us with stories about fishing the breakers on the flats, navigating the shallow channels and racing his freshly iced sockeyes and silvers to market. Harrison’s game is much different as she strategizes and waits her turn to make seine sets off the rugged capes inside of the sound. As for their indoctrinations to Cordova, they sound synonymous with others who’ve arrived with little else but a sense of adventure, tried the fishing and got caught up in the town’s magnetic force. Carrel and Harrison represent but a single niche in the socioeconomic structure of the fishing community. Though the town of around 2,200 year-round residents nearly triples each year when salmon season gets underway, there is a distinction among folks plying the water, according to Hoover and others. “We’ve got like three classes of fishermen,” says Hoover. “You have the nonresident fishermen who don’t live here. Of course, they fish hard in summer and play hard somewhere else all winter. Then we have the community of fam20

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

ily fishermen who stay here. They fish in summer, they work in winter, and their kids attend the school here. And then you’ve got a nice young group of fishermen, who don’t have all those overhead responsibilities yet. They work hard all summer and then play here all winter.” Beyond immediate connections to the local sockeye fishery, access to strong support industries have kept others calling Cordova their home port. Take for example, Christine Hite, owner of the ubiquitous 80-foot herring and salmon tender Tamar. Though fishermen from deep Southeast Alaska

to the northwest Arctic — and nearly all points between — know the blue and yellow bowpicker as a fixture along the coastline, she hails here, out of Cordova. Hite, 63, says she was never a city girl and escaped Seattle when she was 16 to live out her life in Cordova and eventually aboard the Tamar, which worked the water nearly 200 days last year. She points out that the peripheral services in Cordova enable her and her son, Breyan West, 37, to complete upgrades and seasonal repairs. Like others in the community, Hite and West pride themselves in their self-

The Tamar’s owner, Christine Hite, and her son, Breyan West (engineer, mechanic and refrigeration specialist) have tendered fish from deep Southeast all the way to the Arctic. The vessel also serves as an oil spill response platform.

OUR TOWN

sufficiency. West serves as the chief engineer aboard the boat and has formal training in diesel mechanics, hydraulics, refrigeration and can fix just about anything else that could go wrong on the water. “We can do our own thing,” says West, over a cup of coffee at Hite’s house above the local slough. “Everybody runs their own business.” They hauled the boat out for repairs to the bulwarks in Cordova two years ago; they’ve rebuilt the boat’s 8-71 Jimmies numerous times and work with local electronic, hydraulic and ship supply stores to keep it afloat each year. Though Hite,West and other members of their family have lived within sight of each other along the slough for decades, the next generation has begun putting down roots. Hite beams with pride when she describes how her granddaughter, Holly West, 13, has shown natural talents on deck and has declared that she’ll run the Tamar someday. Teal Barmore, 27, first came to Cordova in 2010 and worked two summers on a seine boat. As part of her duties, the captain taught her to mend. Soon enough mending nets became her mainstay occupation. For the next five years she traveled in winter, but that got old, and she longed for a place to settle down. “Three years ago I decided to stay for the winter,” she says. “Now, I own a house here.” Barmore pulls through the corkline of a 90-mesh-deep chum net, stops abruptly, drops the corkline to the floor and strides to a gaping hole in its center with a vigor that says that she’s out to make a name for herself as the fastest and most methodical mender in the area. Her hands blur, and she cuts out excess webbing around the hole.This is one of 50 gillnets she’ll repair this winter. In summer, she moves her operation to the docks, where fishermen spool off their torn gear on a daily basis. “In the summer I mend so much that I hardly have time to feed myself,” she says. “Or sleep.” She explains, as she buries the mending needle into a handful of net and throws a series of hitches, that the economy here has been sufficient to provide year-round work. This winter Barmore leased the heated net loft from a fisherman, a new

Caption needed Love Platt

Cordova’s harbor becomes home to more than 700 vessels in salmon season.

venture. “This is the first time trying it out in winter,” she says. “And it’s working out great.”

Great enough that she has subcontracted extra work out to a friend, Emily Love Platt, 32, who arrived in Cordova for the first time last April. Platt will help hang

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OUR TOWN

Teal Barmore settled in Cordova, bought a house and established a yearround net-building and repair business.

Emily Love Platt works for Barmore in winter, mending and hanging nets for the May salmon opener.

another dozen new nets that fishermen have ordered. To Barmore, Platt and others, the bounty earned in a thriving fishery sustains other businesses in the offseason. That sustainability builds a sense of community as evident by the array of events hosted

throughout the year. True enough. The billboards of local stores have been festooned with a hodgepodge of posters and flyers suggesting that if you can think of a theme, Cordova probably throws a party dedicated to it. (Barmore puts on her own potluck at

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her home every Monday night.) From disco dancing to the Iceworm Festival, the Shorebird Festival, the Copper River Salmon Jam and a passel of other weekly events, Barmore says the town leaves little to wish for in terms of social engagements. That isn’t to say that Cordova doesn’t face challenges. In 2018, the Copper River sockeye run came in abysmally weak, and fishermen had to adjust. “We didn’t get to fish on sockeye, which was super unusual for us,” says Hoover. “It felt so strange not to be out on the flats.” Fishermen seemed shell-shocked at first and kept betting that the fish would show up. But as the days ticked by, reality set in they were forced to make a move. While some gillnetters loathed crowded fishing in key sockeye areas of the sound, most concur that the move saved their seasons. “Luckily for us, we’ve got two really great areas: the flats and the sound,” says Hoover. “And the sound really delivered for us.” The shift to the alternate fishing area also demanded a shift in strategy from the perspective of a marketing association, adds Hoover. For decades, Copper River sockeye has won renown for high quality and the hype among diners and restaurateurs for producing the first fresh sockeyes of the season. “We’re such a small organization,” says Hoover of the association representing the area’s 560 drift permit holders. “You’ve got to take the biggest bite that you can.” As the run failure ensued on the flats, Hoover and her associates regrouped and came up with a plan. “It was really a great opportunity for us, here at the marketing association to focus on Prince William Sound as a brand. You’ve got to find your opportunities; so that’s what we did.” Work continues on campaigns to promote Copper River and Prince William Sound salmon products, but Hoover believes that on a global scale consumers taking the time to track where their food comes from will invariably seek salmon products coming from the sea. “Really, as people start discerning more about where their protein is coming from, I think there is going to be a lot more attention to what’s at the center of their plate.”

OUR TOWN

Christa Hoover, executive director of the Copper River Prince William Sound Marketing Association, came to Cordova in 1987 and fell in love with a fisherman. They married, fished the summers, and moved back year-round five years ago.

Meanwhile, an immediate threat to Cordova’s fishing industry in the coming year rides on state budget cuts to the Alaska Marine Highway System, which translates to severing ferry service to the port. In years past, the state ferries have frequented the town six days a week and have been the conduit to getting fresh salmon, blackcod and, more recently, oyster products out of Cordova and to the roadside communities of Valdez or Whittier where trucking operations scurry to get fresh product to the Anchorage airport for transit to restaurants across the country and even abroad. But local processors also depend on ferries from roadside ports to deliver cardboard and other

supplies needed to put up the fish. “We depend on the ferries to get our product out, and also they bring in supplies on the backhaul,” says Diane Wiese, a product developer with local processing company, 60 Degrees North. “I think it’s going to be really disruptive,” says Hoover. “We don’t really know until it happens, and then we’ll have to face it.” Though some think it may take the better part of the upcoming season to realize the disruption — and react to the changes — Hoover believes the lack of ferry service will manifest itself quickly. “I think we’ll know within the first couple of weeks of the salmon season

how things are going to go.” She says that with an air of aplomb. This is, after all, the town that has thrived for more than 56 years after a massive earthquake and 30 years in the aftermath of the Exxon Valdez oil spill. “The people here are strong,” adds Hoover. “They’ll get scrappy again.” In the meantime, Cordova continues its siren call. Emily Love Platt sits at a hanging bench in the net loft, and though she could wax long about the loss of her boyfriend who died in a hiking accident and was found after an intensive five-day search here in Cordova last October, her positivity toward the community pervades. “As a new person in town, I was amazed at the support that I got from the community during that,” she says.“Everything you would hope that people would do, they did. To this day, people are looking out for me and taking care of me. I am just floored by that. I just feel so indebted to the community. I liked it here already, but now I’m way more invested.” For Barmore, forsaking connections to her home state of Wyoming seems but a small price to pay for the chance to stake her all in the place she loves. “This is definitely the coolest place I’ve ever been,’’ she says. “Cordova’s the best place on earth.’’ Charlie Ess is the North Pacific Bureau Chief for North Pacific Focus.

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Fabian Grutter turned his 34-foot gillnetter/longliner Sunbeam into Sitka, Alaska’s first hybrid-electric powered fishing vessel.

ELECTRIC

SUNBEAM

An Alaska gillnetter-longliner builds his own diesel-electric hybrid fishing boat BY PAUL MOLYNEAUX

n Europe, Siemens, VolvoPenta and others in the marine industry are investing millions in developing hybrid diesel-electric systems for fishing vessels. These big players believe hybrid power has a lot to offer. So does Sitka, Alaska, fisherman Fabian Grutter. He has spent five years and about $40,000, building his own diesel-electric boat. Grutter has no engineering training. 24

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS WINTER 2020

“This is Alaska,” he says. “A mechanic can cost you $100 an hour — if there’s one around. You have to do things yourself.” Grutter has turned his 34-foot gillnetter-longliner, the Sunbeam, into what may be the fi rst hybrid electric fishing vessel in the United States. Five years ago, Grutter was burning diesel all day, gillnetting chum salmon and longlining blackcod and halibut. “Gillnetting, you’re not even using

the engine most of time,” says Grutter. “You spend 18 hours a day idling, you just slip it into gear to stretch your net out once in a while.” Three years ago, Grutter repowered with a 6-cylinder, 330-hp John Deere 6068AFM85, and installed it with intentions of adding a battery bank and electric motor. “When we put in the new engine, I took out the forward fuel tanks to make room for the batteries, and made the

FABIAN GRUTTER PHOTOS

BOATBUILDING

BOATBUILDING INSIDE

F/V SUNBEAM HOME PORT: Sitka, Alaska OWNER: Fabian Grutter BUILDER: Lindell Yachts HULL MATERIAL: Fiberglass YEAR BUILT: Early 1990s FISHERY: Chum salmon gillnet; halibut and blackcod longline LENGTH: 34 feet Working through the Electric Car Co. in New York, Grutter had his 1,200-pound battery bank — 10 144-volt batteries — custom made in China for $22,000.

BEAM: 12.5 feet DRAFT: 4 feet PROPULSION: Diesel-electric ENGINE: 330-hp John Deere 6068AFM85 ELECTRIC MOTOR: HyPer 9 hv SHAFT: 2-inch stainless steel PROPELLER: 25" x 22" four blade FUEL CAPACITY: 250 gallons BATTERY CAPACITY: 70-kW system SPEED: 8 knots top; 6.5 knots cruising

Grutter bought his 38-kW electric motor from Green Shed Conversions in Florida for $4,150. The motor delivers 200 foot-pounds of torque instantly.

deck over the engine so I could take most of it up to access everything.” Grutter also shrunk his fish hold from 10,000-pound capacity to 8,000. “These blackcod aren’t coming like they used to anyway,” says Grutter. “I used to fi ll the boat in one trip. Now I have to make a few trips.” Grutter had already converted a truck to electric power and learned some valuable lessons in the process. “It’s all about battery management,” he says, and dives into a topic he has steeped himself in for years. “If you haven’t got a good BMS [battery management system], you’ll ruin your batteries,” he says, putting it simply. “With lithium-ion batteries, each cell

has to stay between 2.5 and 3.6 volts. If you go over or under, you can start a fi re or an explosion.” Fires and explosions are undesirable under the best of circumstances. But on a 34-foot boat miles offshore, they are often deadly. “The battery management system keeps all the batteries balanced,” says Grutter. “It’s got a wire going to every cell, and feeds electricity to any cell that’s getting low. It shuts the system down if the voltage gets too high or too low.” After some expensive lessons with his truck, and years of research, Grutter had a battery bank custom made in China.

HOLD CAPACITY: 8,000 pounds ELECTRONICS: Furuno FCV585 sounder, Furuno radar, VHF, autopilot DECK GEAR: Sliding net reel

“I have 10 144-volt batteries, five on each side. They weigh 120 pounds each. It cost $22,000. But that’s cheap. Batteries used to cost $1,100 per kilowatt. Now they cost $300 per kilowatt.” By comparison, Grutter’s 120-pound, 38-kW, HyPer-9 hv electric motor is small. But the Sunbeam is a small boat. “We still had to cut a 5-inch inset WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

BOATBUILDING

Grutter’s battery management system is vital to safety and efficiency. Each cell in the lithium ion battery bank has to be kept at 2.5 to 3.6 volts.

Grutter hopes to charge his batteries in 10 hours if he can access Sitka’s 240-volt lines. With a 50-amp charging system, he thinks he could charge up in 4 hours.

Eric Holmgren of Current Navigation, in Sitka, programmed the motor and charge controllers. Grutter monitors his system on a flat screen.

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS WINTER 2020

into the fish hold to fit the motor,” says Grutter. He bought the motor through Green Shed Conversions for $4,150. “It delivers 200-foot pounds of torque in one second.” Grutter has the motor connected to the shaft with Brecoflex online pulleys and belts. “The pulleys clamp onto the shaft,” he says. Grutter has the motor set up at 3:1 reduction, and the gear on his diesel freewheels when the electric motor is driving the boat. “I’m using a $15 shifter throttle, and the power is too much,” says Grutter. “Yesterday it slipped a cog. The belts are slipping. I’m trying to get Livorsi DTS shifters, so I can throttle up gently.” By early February, Grutter had taken the Sunbeam on four sea trials. Based on what he’s seen, he is expecting 60 percent fuel savings when he’s gillnetting close to home. “I have to run further out for blackcod. I think we’ll get about a 30 to 35 percent fuel savings. But I won’t have to rebuild the diesel for years.” During sea trials, Grutter is learning what his batteries and electric motor can do. “I’ve got an amp meter and you can do the math. Cruising at 6 knots, I can run for two and a half hours. Trolling or gillnetting, twelve hours. And it’s quiet. I called my sister while we doing sea trials. I had the engine room half uncovered and she couldn’t even hear it. Try that with a diesel running.” Grutter has some troubleshooting to do while testing the boat, and it sounds like a rat’s nest of issues and work-arounds. “I turned on the batteries before I hooked them all up, and it’s created problems with the flat screen. It was all programmed for me in China. I have to get the codes, so I can reset it.” While he’s done most of his engineering himself, Grutter gets information from his suppliers. “I did my truck with Green Shed Conversions in Florida. I talk to them a lot. The guy’s name is Steve Clunn.” The HyPer 9 hv is an AC engine, so Grutter has to convert the DC from the batteries to AC. “One of the biggest challenges is programming the motor,” he says. “You set the rpms and acceleration and about 15 other things

BOATBUILDING

“The Tesla battery modules weigh 50

pounds for 5 kW. That’s 30 percent lighter than mine. And with cooling, they can supercharge in

”

20 minutes.

— Fabian Grutter, OWNER F/V SUNBEAM

with a computer. I had Eric Holmgren from [Current Navigation] come down and do it. It was well worth it.” “I didn’t do a lot,” says Holmgren, owner of Current Navigation. “I set the controllers for the charging rate from shore power, and making the motor run. It was just punching the right buttons and calling tech support a lot.” According to Holmgren, the controllers all have to be programmed according to boat and systemspecific parameters. Grutter has two charge controllers purchased from Thunderstruck Motors. “The manufacturer sends clone fi les, and you have to dump them into the controller,” Holmgren says. Although he is an electronics technician, Holmgren is not completely sold on the benefits of hybrid electric boats. “It’s an expensive experiment,” he says. “I’m not sure he will save as much fuel as he thinks. He’ll save money if he charges at the dock, because the price of electricity in Sitka is low compared to diesel. But it could take him 24 hours to charge. He’s going to end up charging those batteries more with his engine. And when he’s running his engine, he’s going to be turning that electric motor whether he’s charging or not.” Holmgren notes, however, that battery technology is improving and that someday electric boats may be viable. “Maybe someday it will work. Right now it seems like the main benefit is silence, and that’s a big investment for not having to hear an engine.”

Loading the batteries aboard, Grutter had to take out two fuel tanks and shrink his fish hold to make room for the battery bank and electric motor.

Like the companies that are pouring millions into developing this technology, Grutter thinks different. He expects to be able to charge up in 10 hours, overnight, if he can access available 240-volt lines at the harbor. “I could charge in four hours if I can get a 50-amp charging system.” Grutter also notes that when he is anchored in a current strong enough to turn his prop, it will charge the batteries. “The best system would be like they have in Norway on the Karoline, where you have gensets just big enough to keep the batteries charged.” Norwegian electronics company Siemens and Corvus Energy have been working to build an electric fishing boat for about as long as Grutter has been at it. Grutter is also excited about new batteries.

“The Tesla battery modules weigh 50 pounds for 5 kW. That’s 30 percent lighter than mine. And with cooling, they can supercharge in 20 minutes.” At the forefront of the hybrid fishing boat movement, Grutter is not going to stop improving his system. Now that he has the electric drive motor more or less up and running, he is working on running his hydraulic system of the batteries. “I bought an electric forklift motor on eBay. It’s got all the hydraulic connections. It’s pretty much plug and play.” And he has those Tesla modules on his mind. “You can get them used for $1,100. If they come from a crash, they are almost brand new.” Paul Molyneaux is the Boats & Gear editor for North Pacifi c Focus. WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

IN PROFILE

ALASKAN FISH TENDER Julie Decker makes waves across Alaska’s seafood web, clearing a path for opportunity By Markos Scheer

NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS / WINTER 2020

DECKER FAMILY PHOTOS

any Alaskans know Julie Decker as she is today, executive director of the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation, chairwoman of the Alaska Mariculture Task Force, a longtime assemblywoman for the city and borough of Wrangell, and the leader in the promotion and advancement of mariculture in Alaska. However, Decker’s story started a long way from Alaska as the second child of a beautician and a diesel mechanic in a suburb of Detroit. It wasn’t long before she was pining for more. She was the fi rst in her extended family to attend college when she headed to Northwestern University in Evanston, Ill. Her journey to Alaska began by chance in 1994. Decker was working in a neurobiology lab and fi nding it wasn’t quite what she was looking for. One of her roommates at the time had spent the prior summer working on a salmon can line at a plant in Ketchikan, Alaska. Her roommate planned to go back for the summer and suggested it to Decker. The roommates and two other friends drove a 1975 Dodge van from Chicago to Prince Rupert. From there, they took the Alaska Marine Highway ferry from Prince Rupert to Ketchikan. Decker spent the summer working as a patcher at Alaska Glacier Products — the lowest position in the plant. That was all it took. Decker was hooked on Alaska. She returned in 1995 at age 22, carrying a fresh degree from Northwestern. She walked the docks in Ketchikan, where she landed her fi rst fishing job as a deckhand on a gillnetter. She ended the season in Haines. Alaska had her enthralled. “The beauty, the environment, the animals… just grab you,” says Decker. After the ’95 season, she returned to Detroit and spent the winter waiting

Julie Decker came to Alaska to work in a cannery and now heads the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation.

tables, teaching English and working at a domestic abuse shelter. But Alaska had its hooks in her. She drove back in the spring of 1996 and has made her

home there since. Decker crewed on the same gillnetter in 1996. However, during the season, the captain struck her on deck. She was stuck on a boat in remote area determined to figure a way out. When the boat was unloading at the tender, she called another gillnetter to pick her up and take her to Wrangell. It turned out he was looking for a deckhand, so Decker started working for him, fi rst harvesting salmon, then diving for cucumbers and urchins. That gillnetter was Gig Decker. They married on Valentine’s Day in 1999 and welcomed their son Sig the same year. Their daughter Helen was born in 2001. The Deckers live in Wrangell and continue to be a fishing family. The kids grew up on the boat, and both are still fishing. Sig attends the University of Southern California and seines in the summer. Helen is at the University of California at San Diego and gillnets with her dad in the summer. For more than 20 years, Decker has been dedicated to promoting the interests of fishermen and other users, as well as public service. Initially, she worked with a regional diving group to obtain legislative approval of a selfassessment and the setup of the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fishery Association. In 1998, Decker became

Julie and Gig Decker met gillnetting for salmon and diving for urchins and cucumbers. They raised their kids on the boat, fishing the summer salmon season.

IN PROFILE

“The path is not straight. There are bumps in the

road, but you just have to

”

keep going.

— Julie Decker

ALASKA FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

Gig and Julie Decker met in 1996 and married three years later.

and retool the Wrangell Seafoods operation. Ultimately, it became clear it wasn’t going to be enough. Trident Seafoods purchased the operation in 2009-10. In 2009, Decker received her master’s degree in public administration with a concentration in natural resource management from the University of Alaska Southeast. In 2013, she

earned the Ernest Gruening Award for outstanding graduate student, and she was elected to the Wrangell assembly, which she continues to serve. The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation is a nonprofit membership-based organization formed in 1978. The foundation has been integral to fisheries and fisheries technology development in Alaska for more than 40 years. Decker fi rst served on the board of directors, then was hired as the development director in 2011 and

The Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation hosts the Symphony of Seafood, an annual product development competition for Alaska fisheries.

NF STAFF

the association’s executive director, which included guiding the organization through the lean early years and its growing pains. She also served as a trustee on Southeast Conference, the Southeast Alaska regional economic development organization. These experiences laid groundwork for the future, developing key relationships and “learning a ton” along the way, Decker says. “Coming from Detroit, I was amazed that you could go to the capital and meet with the legislator and the governor,” she says, “that normal people can still have an impact on Alaska.” Decker left the dive association in 2006 and was hired to work with Wrangell Seafoods, which was a local company formed to take over the seafood plant in Wrangell when it was going to close. Keeping that processing capacity in Wrangell was vital to the community’s economy. For several years, Decker worked with the company’s leadership and the community to get a cold storage built in Wrangell

WINTER 2020 / NORTH PACIFIC FOCUS

the executive director in 2014. Seeing the potential for mariculture development in Alaska, the foundation created the Alaska Mariculture Initiative in 2013. That initiative, thanks to Decker’s experience and leadership, led to the creation of the Alaska Mariculture Task Force by then-Gov. Bill Walker in 2016. Decker became the chairwoman of the task force in 2017. Thanks in no small part to Decker’s leadership, mariculture in Alaska is developing rapidly. The task force produced a Mariculture Development Plan, which projects a $100 milliondollar Alaska industry in the next 20 years. Applications for new sites around Alaska are up exponentially, including applications for site leases and operating permits by major seafood producers, like Trident Seafoods and Silver Bay Seafoods. Decker has come a long way from suburban Detroit to becoming a leader

ALASKA FISHERIES DEVELOPMENT FOUNDATION

IN PROFILE

Julie Decker (middle) with her daughter Helen Decker, Nina Schlossman of Global Food & Nutrition, Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski, and seafood marketing consultant Pat Shanahan at the NOAA Fish Fry in Washington, D.C.

in mariculture and fisheries development in Alaska. “The path is not straight,” she says. “There are bumps in the road, but you just have to keep going.”

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

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