Legislature(2023 - 2024)GRUENBERG 120
03/16/2023 10:00 AM House FISHERIES
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| Presentation(s): Alaska Marine Salmon Runs | |
| Adjourn |
* first hearing in first committee of referral
+ teleconferenced
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= bill was previously heard/scheduled
| + | TELECONFERENCED | ||
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ALASKA STATE LEGISLATURE
HOUSE SPECIAL COMMITTEE ON FISHERIES
March 16, 2023
10:00 a.m.
MEMBERS PRESENT
Representative Sarah Vance, Chair
Representative Kevin McCabe
Representative CJ McCormick
Representative Ben Carpenter
Representative Craig Johnson
Representative Rebecca Himschoot
MEMBERS ABSENT
Representative Louise Stutes
COMMITTEE CALENDAR
PRESENTATION(S): ALASKA MARINE SALMON RUNS
- HEARD
PREVIOUS COMMITTEE ACTION
No previous action to record
WITNESS REGISTER
KATIE HOWARD, PhD, Lead Scientist
Salmon Ocean Ecology Program
Department of Fish and Game
Anchorage, Alaska
POSITION STATEMENT: Gave a PowerPoint presentation, titled
"Alaska Marine Salmon Research."
ACTION NARRATIVE
10:00:40 AM
CHAIR SARAH VANCE called the House Special Committee on
Fisheries meeting to order at 10:00 a.m. Representatives
McCabe, McCormick, Himschoot, and Vance were present at the call
to order. Representatives Carpenter and C. Johnson arrived
while the meeting was in progress.
CHAIR VANCE announced that the only order of business would be a
presentation by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
10:01:55 AM
^PRESENTATION(S): Alaska Marine Salmon Runs
PRESENTATION(S): Alaska Marine Salmon Runs
KATIE HOWARD, PhD, Lead Scientist, Salmon Ocean Ecology Program,
Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), gave a PowerPoint
presentation, titled "Alaska Marine Salmon Research" [hard copy
included in the committee packet]. She stated that the
presentation will be a high-level overview of the Salmon Ocean
Ecology Program (SOEP). She pointed out the staff of SOEP,
which are mainly focused on marine salmon research, as seen on
slide 2. She gave details on the staff members.
DR. HOWARD addressed SOEP's objectives, as seen on slide 3,
which read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
Understand the marine life of Alaskan salmon
Use this information to assist fishery management
decision making
Answer pressing questions about what drives Alaskan
salmon abundance
DR. HOWARD pointed out that the state has invested in a large
array of coastal and fresh water monitoring projects for salmon
throughout the state. These mostly monitor returning adults,
and these programs include test fisheries, fish weirs, counting
towers, sonars, and aerial surveys, as depicted on slide 3. She
noted that marine monitoring assessments have been lacking in
Alaska and in most of North America, compared with other
countries. She stated that the international "gold standard"
for monitoring salmon focuses on the salmon's first summer at
sea, or the juvenile life stage, as this life stage is critical
for survival.
DR. HOWARD pointed out that trawls are used to do the monitoring
research; however, these are small trawls that target fish at a
shallower depth, as depicted on slide 5. She stated that these
surveys collect genetic information to track salmon stocks,
adding that habitat, food resources, water temperatures, and
other species and stocks sharing the habitat are also tracked.
She moved to slide 6 and pointed out the two juvenal salmon
tracking projects in the state: Southeast Alaska Coastal
Monitoring (SECM) and Northern Bering Sea Survey. She added
that both of these projects were started by the National Oceanic
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), but there is a
collaboration with ADF&G. She discussed the focus of these
projects, including the tracking of Yukon River Chinook salmon,
which Bering Sea projects has helped with. She pointed out
future forecasting projects and noted that Capital Improvement
Project funding is aiding with these.
DR. HOWARD stated that the next few slides will summarize some
of the ways these monitoring projects are combined with other
shorter term research projects to address the marine life of
salmon.
10:09:51 AM
DR. HOWARD continued to slide 7, titled "How can we better
anticipate future run size?" She noted that often the size of a
run is not known until well into the fishing season, and this
gives little time to act accordingly to the size of the run.
She suggested that understanding the juvenile marine data would
better help with this forecasting.
DR. HOWARD moved to slide 8 and explained the depicted graphs on
run anticipation. She stated that the graphs show that
Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvests have aligned with what was
predicted using the SECM survey. She noted that both graphs
show the same data but in different ways. She pointed out that
this forecasting has been effective and accurate.
DR. HOWARD stated that because Chinook salmon spend more time at
sea, they have become easier to predict than the other salmon
species, and she referred to the Bering Sea survey and the Yukon
Chinook salmon, as seen on the graphs on slide 9. She noted
that both graphs show the same data but in different ways. She
stated that with this tool, up to three years in the future can
be forecasted. She noted that the drop in data in 2022 was
because surveys were not conducted because of the COVID-19
pandemic. She explained that this left two to three years of
un-forecasted returns. Because the runs are currently so poor,
she said that this gap is extremely unfortunate for the
forecasting, as seen on slide 10. She added that this could be
attributed to the heat wave in the Bering Sea when these fish
were juveniles.
10:15:57 AM
DR. HOWARD moved to slide 11, titled "What is driving record
poor Yukon River Chinook salmon runs?" She stated that this
decline has been ongoing for over a decade, with 2022 seeing the
poorest run ever recorded. She suggested that the decline is
starting to be understood and can be attributed to multiple
metabolic stressors acting on returning adult Chinook salmon.
She explained that these salmon have the highest migration route
compared to any other North Pacific salmon, and this combined
with the metabolic stressors have affected the runs. She
provided details on how metabolic stressors affect the salmon.
DR. HOWARD pointed out that NOAA recently awarded a grant for
further research into this concept concerning the Yukon River
Chinook salmon. She stated that this work will continue for the
next three years. She moved to slide 13, titled "What is
driving record poor western Alaska chum salmon runs?" As seen
on the graph, she stated that there have been dramatic declines
in this chum salmon since 2020. She stated that these runs
historically have been variable; however, the recent runs are
unprecedented, and she expressed the understanding that the
subsistence harvesters in the region have had tremendous
hardships.
10:22:01 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER, pointing to the graph on slide 13,
questioned the decline that happened around 20 years ago in the
Yukon River Chum salmon return.
DR. HOWARD noted the decline in chum salmon runs in Western
Alaska 20 years ago; however, she noted the runs were not as low
as they are currently. She explained that the prevailing
hypothesis is that there was a warm water coccolithophore bloom
in the area where the juvenile salmon spend their rearing time,
and this is believed to lead to poor survival in these salmon.
She noted that the marine surveys did not exist at that time, so
this was not observed by research. In response to a follow-up
question, she defined a coccolithophore bloom, and the effects
this has on the ocean visibility and filtration.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER requested an explanation of the effects
of warmer ocean waters and phytoplankton blooms.
DR. HOWARD responded that the question is complex. She
explained that the Bering Sea is unique, as it is a sea-ice
driven ecosystem. She stated that the algae are an important
driver in the ecosystem each year, and as sea ice recedes these
nutritious algae, and zooplankton, which is the food for salmon,
are in the water; however, when there is no sea ice, as in the
last few years due to heat waves, there is no ice-associated
algae. She added that there are other kinds of algae that are
less nutritious, creating less nutritious zooplankton, and this
follows along the food chain. She noted that the situation is
different in the Gulf of Alaska.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER asked whether the temperature of sea
ice results in a phytoplankton bloom.
DR. HOWARD answered that this is partly because of what is in
the ice, but also the growing season in the Bering Sea is much
shorter so when it recedes this particular species of algae
blooms, and this has a cascade effect concerning the food chain.
She stated that the timing is effected by how much sea ice there
is and how quickly it retreats. If the timing lines up with the
animals that depend on this, this is important. In response to
a follow-up question, she stated that there are chemicals and
minerals in the ice, and this helps to support the algae bloom.
She expressed the understanding that part of the issue specific
to the Bering Sea is that there are certain species of algae
that are only associated with the sea ice, and these tend to be
nutrient rich, compared to other algae. In response to a
follow-up question, she expressed uncertainty concerning any
[man-made effort] to replace the sea ice ecosystem. She
explained that this has to do with the development of the
ecosystem over thousands of years.
10:33:27 AM
DR. HOWARD, moving to slide 14, stated that the chum salmon that
should have returned during the recent down years of 2020 to
2022, were juveniles from 2016 to 2019, and this was during the
time period that coincided with the worst warming heat wave that
has ever been recorded in the Eastern Bering Sea. She stated
that these years were so warm that NOAA declared emergency heat
waves in 2016 to 2019. She further explained how extreme these
conditions were in the area that is the prime rearing habitat
for juvenile Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) chum. She explained
that there was also a heat wave during this time in the Gulf of
Alaska, where these salmon over-winter.
DR. HOWARD, in response to a committee question, she stated that
the prime rearing grounds for these chum salmon are all along
the continental shelf, and this can be close to shore at times
and in the exclusive economic zone (EEZ). In terms of miles,
she stated that she would need to look this up. She added that
the salmon in this area are broadly distributed. In response to
a follow-up question, she expressed the belief that the sampling
would be encompassing most of the chum area. She noted that in
the Bering Strait, where the boundary lines are close, some
Russian chum salmon are present. She stated that sampling is
not done outside of EEZ.
10:40:07 AM
DR. HOWARD continued to Slide 15, titled "What is driving record
poor western Alaska chum salmon runs?" She stated that through
marine surveys, changes to both the ecosystem and the juvenile
chum salmon were being recorded during the strong heat wave
years, and a report is being produced. She noted that during
these years the juveniles were in extremely poor condition and
more fish were reported with empty stomachs. She stated that
the diet changed from high quality, diverse food to lower
quality food items. It was noted that salmon and non-salmon
species moved northward. She reiterated that these heat waves
were unprecedented in scale, magnitude, and duration. The
report shows that there has been a lag time between the heat
wave and the return to normalcy, and she expressed the hope that
the existence of sea ice will return to its previous state.
DR. HOWARD moved to slide 16, titled "How do predators impact
the marine survival of Alaskan salmon?" She said that the
department has begun tagging salmon sharks to measure the effect
of predators. On the next slide, she addressed salmon that have
wounds and scars from predators. She stated that this is being
analyzed into patterns of predation over time. She noted that
the marine mammal predators are not captured in the survey gear,
as this is against the Marine Mammel Protection Act, but she
added that emerging technology is allowing for more information
to be collected.
DR. HOWARD, in response to a question from Representative
Carpenter, stated that there are not enough studies to
understand whether salmon sharks are eating salmon, and it is
uncertain what these sharks eat.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER expressed the concern that salmon
studies have been in easy-access areas; however, the problem is
"not where we are looking." He expressed the opinion that
salmon sharks are much better than humans at finding salmon. He
argued that research needs to go outside of the coastal waters
in order to understand what is happening to salmon.
10:48:49 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT, concerning the graphic of salmon
sharks on slide 16, questioned whether this is depicting one
shark and why the colors change.
DR. HOWARD confirmed that the moving dots represent one salmon
shark, and the colors represent the different months of the
year.
CHAIR VANCE questioned other organizations conducting salmon
shark studies further out in the ocean.
DR. HOWARD said that a coalition of scientists from all over the
Pacific convened for the International Year of the Salmon
survey, and this effort was the biggest study of its kind.
During this event she said that salmon sharks had been tagged.
She discussed Russian and Japanese efforts, which have been
centralized more at sea and outside of their EEZ. She stated
that she will discuss this further in the presentation.
CHAIR VANCE voiced her support for further funding for fisheries
research. She expressed the opinion that the state is lacking
in this research, as it is "behind the curve."
10:53:24 AM
DR. HOWARD moved to Slide 18, titled "Salmon Bycatch," and
discussed the federally managed pollock fishery. She stated
that SOEP plays a role in providing data, technical support, and
scientific advice to the National Marine Fisheries Service
(NMFS), bycatch task force, and to council staff. She stated
that this is important because bycatch issues occur outside of
the state's jurisdiction. She discussed further research that
would result in predictive maps for Chinook Salmon hotspots.
She expressed the hope that these maps can be provided to the
pollack fisheries so this area can be avoided, reducing the
bycatch.
DR. HOWARD said the council is also looking to minimize bycatch
for chum salmon. She stated that SOEP is participating by
providing predictive tools for the juvenile salmon, and this is
in conjunction with other entities.
CHAIR VANCE questioned whether Russian hatchery salmon have an
effect on Western Alaska fish.
DR. HOWARD responded that most of Russian hatcheries raise pink
salmon, which do not inhabit the Bering Sea. However, Japan is
raising chum salmon that migrate to the Bering Sea. She stated
that these effects are a big challenge to understand, and she
noted that the next slide would address this. She said Russian
research shows that salmon are consuming 0 to 15 percent of
marine nutrients. She pointed out that the salmon biomass is
small in comparison to all the pelagic fish consuming similar
food in the ocean; therefore, it is difficult to assess the
problem that hatchery salmon may present. In response to a
follow-up question regarding whether information from Russian
scientists can be provided to the committee, she stated that
these publications are written in Russian, but there are
summaries [in English] that can be provided.
DR. HOWARD addressed part of the role of SOEP on slide 19,
titled "Is Competition at Sea Impacting Alaska salmon?" The
slide read as follows [original punctuation provided]:
• Provide information and technical advice to
department leadership, the board and others
• Keep up to date and review scientific literature on
interspecific salmon competition at sea and the role
of salmon in marine food webs
• Participate in international expert groups assessing
the role of pink salmon in marine ecosystems
• New research to better inform the issue
DR. HOWARD described some of the current published studies that
have focused on competition and abundance concerning ocean
salmon.
11:06:22 AM
DR. HOWARD moved to Slide 20, titled "2022 Pan-Pacific
Expedition". She stated that this expedition contains several
different surveys on competition at sea. She stated that ADF&G
is collaborating on a project that leverages these surveys to
access potential competition between AYK chum salmon and other
stocks and species in the winter.
DR. HOWARD, in response to a committee question, said that the
analyses from these reports on competition for AYK chum salmon
will be published in a year or two.
DR. HOWARD narrated Slide 21, titled "International Data Sharing
and Collaboration." She explained that because U.S. salmon do
not remain in U.S. waters during their marine life, there has
been an effort for international cooperation. She referenced
the International Year of the Salmon effort as an example. She
added that a publication will be coming out soon on this effort,
and it will include a variety of studies. She discussed the
North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC), stating that
ADF&G does play a role on the scientific committee. She listed
the countries involved, which include, the U.S., Canada, Russia,
and Japan. These countries share information and work together
with the goal of understanding Pacific salmon. She stated that
she is in the working group for stock assessments, which will
soon be publishing a work on salmon stock across the entire
Pacific. She stated that through NPAFC relationships, there has
been a connection with resources and opportunities that would
not otherwise exist.
11:13:33 AM
DR. HOWARD moved to slide 22 and spoke to the expense of marine
surveys. She stated that different technologies are being
investigated to help reduce these costs. One of these
technologies, she said, is exploring the use of environmental
DNA, which involves examining DNA in water samples. She stated
that SOEP is collecting water samples during its surveys and
giving these to the NOAA genetic laboratory in Juneau. She
stated that another project uses salmon bones to see the life
history of chum salmon, and this is being done by using new
technologies.
DR. HOWARD expressed the understanding that for most people the
life of salmon is an unknown. She expressed the importance of
investing time and energy into communications and outreach, as
seen on slide 23. She pointed out that the ADF&G website has
information on SOEP. She pointed out that Facebook has become a
more dynamic way to interact with the department and
stakeholders, as there are several new posts a week. She
invited the committee and public to interact with the
department. She stated that also there are many presentations
outside the salmon season to stakeholder groups, and these
provide information as well as opportunities for feedback. She
concluded the presentation with this.
11:18:15 AM
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER referenced the comment that most Alaska
salmon do not stay in the state's waters. He questioned which
salmon are being excluded from this list.
DR. HOWARD responded that portions of stocks in Southeast Alaska
will stay in inside waters; however, she said that most salmon
migrate out at least three miles, out of the EEZ.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER referenced slide 14 that depicted the
heat wave map. He questioned whether the waters depicted are
inside or outside of state waters.
DR. HOWARD responded that the slide depicts the primary juvenile
salmon rearing habitats for Western Alaska. In response to a
follow-up question, she stated that in later life stages the
salmon leave these grounds for deeper water. She further
discussed this critical stage for salmon survival, and she noted
that it is incredibly variable.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER questioned whether the heat of the
water would reduce the food supply to salmon.
DR. HOWARD explained that the warmer water effects both the food
supply and the salmon. She explained that salmon metabolism
"ramps up" when water temperatures rise, and this will cause
them to starve. The other issue is that the rising temperature
is effecting the entire ecosystem, which would affect the food
available, the competitor species, the predator species, and
other variables. She noted that there is also the tendency for
a higher occurrence of disease in warmer water temperatures.
REPRESENTATIVE CARPENTER questioned how the research is
prioritized at ADF&G.
DR. HOWARD explained that most of the research is funded by
grant proposals, and this depends on the available grants. In
response to a follow-up question, she stated that research
topics, goals, and directions are mandated by the leaders at
ADF&G, but it can also be driven by the funding.
11:26:38 AM
REPRESENTATIVE HIMSCHOOT questioned the roles that traditional
ecological knowledge (TEK) has played, whether from fishermen or
Alaska Natives.
DR. HOWARD responded that the project investigating Yukon
Chinook salmon is attempting to be inclusive. She stated that
the Western science arm of the program is collecting its
traditional data, but this is being done in partnership with the
Yukon River Drainage Fisheries Association, and this association
connects with local fishermen, who have helped collect the data.
She stated that another project related to the health of salmon
has worked with communities to gather TEK, such as the loss of
belly fat in Chinook salmon over the years. She expressed the
hope that more of this information can be collected and
integrated in projects with ADF&G.
11:29:28 AM
CHAIR VANCE provided closing comments.
11:30:09 AM
ADJOURNMENT
There being no further business before the committee, the House
Special Committee on Fisheries meeting was adjourned at 11:30
a.m.
| Document Name | Date/Time | Subjects |
|---|---|---|
| HFSH ADF&G Salmon Ocean Ecology Program 03.16.2023.pdf |
HFSH 3/16/2023 10:00:00 AM |