Download a copy of the LOI submission guide here: https://www.pccrc.org/request-for-proposals
PCCRC funded student Greg Merrill successfully defended his master's thesis!
In case you missed his live defense presentation, Greg Merrill recently successfully defended his master’s thesis. This project, with advisor Dr. Jennifer Burns, explored maternal foraging trip durations (MFTD) as an index of foraging conditions for northern fur seals in 3 colonies known to forage in 3 different oceanic domains around the Pribilof Islands.
If you would like to watch the presentation here is a link to the recorded presentation:
https://www.pccrc.org/defensepresentations/2019/5/2/greg-merrill-thesis-defense
New research published by PCCRC research fellow Dr. Elizabeth Figus
Drs. Elizabeth Figus and Keith Criddle recently published an article in the journal PLoS One about the preferences of commercial halibut fishermen in Southeast Alaska to different types of data collection methods on their vessels.
Pollock Bingo?!?!
Our friends at Genuine Alaska Pollock Producers recently created a Bingo challenge on their facebook page that highlights all the pollock products on the market during Lent. Did you know that Jack in the Box serves a fish burrito?
A noodle revolution?
The Alaska Journal of Commerce just reported that Trident Seafoods swept the awards for new products at the 26th annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood in Juneau. So what had everyone talking? Alaska Pollock Protein Noodles! The noodle is fully cooked and packaged to readily replace traditional noodles in a myriad of recipes. They are described by Trident as a ‘versatile, flavor neutral alternative to high-carb noodles’. So is the Alaska Pollock Protein Noodle a revolution?
New research published by PCCRC research fellow Cory Graham
PCCRC research fellow Cory Graham and coauthors Drs. Trent Sutton, Milo Adkison, and Megan McPhee at UAF College of Fisheries and Ocean Science as well as Philip Richards with ADF&G recently published work that evaluates growth, survival, and recruitment of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaska. The article was published in Transactions of the American Fisheries Society.
'Filet-O-Fish season'?
Lent, a period of 40 days (not counting Sundays), is a religious observance in the Christian liturgical calendar that begins on Wednesday March 6th of this year. The word lent comes from the Proto-Germanic word for spring (langatīnaz) which itself is a combination of the words langaz (long) + tīnaz (day). So what does this have to do with Pollock you ask? In 1962, Lou Groen, a McDonald's franchise owner in Cincinnati, Ohio noticed he was losing buisness on Fridays as a result of many Catholics abstaining from eating meat on Fridays during this period. In response, the Filet-O-Fish was born.
Now McDonalds slings 25% of their wild-caught Alaska Pollock fish sandwiches during Lent! On social media people have referred to the season as ‘Filet-O-Fish season’ in response to many fast food restaurants offering fish sandwiches as an alternative. Here is a slightly dated article from QSR magazine which outlines various fast food restaurants and their lent menu additions: https://www.qsrmagazine.com/news/fast-food-preps-seafood-boom-during-lent
Wild-caught Alaska Pollock is available year round. There are a plethora of recipes online to construct your own Filet-O-Fish sandwich. If you want, every season could be Filet-O-Fish season!
https://www.mcdonalds.com/us/en-us/product/filet-o-fish.html
Pollock behavior changing as climate warms?
A recent article by Nat Herz at KTOO public media reports on a trend both pollock skippers and scientists are observing. The distribution of Alaska pollock during the summer season is changing drastically which has forced commercial fishers to explore areas they have not fished previously. Last summer temperatures in the Bering Sea were nearly 9 degrees higher than normal. The article has a great overview of the Pollock fishery and how the warming climate may be responsible for the changes being observed.
https://www.ktoo.org/2019/02/06/as-the-bering-sea-warms-this-skipper-is-chasing-pollock-to-new-places/
2019 PCCRC PI Symposium
On the 1st of February the PCCRC board and researchers from around Alaska gathered in the Adventure room of the Captain Cook hotel in Anchorage Alaska. Principle investigators and their graduate students gave 30 minute presentations on the status of their projects. A total of 11 presentations (12 research projects and 1 graduate fellowships) were given on research topics ranging from pollock roe dumplings (we hear they are tasty!) to the interactions between arrowtooth flounder and pacific halibut!
On the 31st of December the PCCRC board held a board meeting to discuss current projects and project proposals from the 2019 LOI. Be sure to check the research projects page to see the new research the board decided to fund for the upcoming year!
The PCCRC Board (from L to R): Dr. Keith Criddle/CFOS, Karl Bratvold/Aleutian Spray Fisheries, Austin Estabrooks/At-Sea Processors Assn (non-board member), Dr. Ben Williams/ADF&G, Dr. Larry Hinzman/UAF, Jan Jacobs/American Seafoods Group, and Dr. Brad Moran/CFOS (Not present Stephanie Madsen/At-Sea Processors Assn.)
2019 PCCRC PI Symposium
The 2019 PCCRC PI symposium is taking place this Friday (Februrary 1) in the Adventure Room at the Captain Cook Hotel in Anchorage. Eleven researchers and their graduate students will present their projects with a short question answer session.
