Brian Hagenbuch

Contributing Editor reporting from Seattle, USA

Brian Hagenbuch spent a decade in South America, where he was a journalist for Reuters and Time Out in Buenos Aires and Rio de Janeiro. He now lives in Seattle and works as a freelance writer and translator, as well as a commercial fisherman in Bristol Bay. 


Author Archive

Published on
August 9, 2021

A commercial fisherman in Alaska will pay a fine of USD 1 million (EUR 850,000) and spend up to a six months in prison for misreporting his catch.

Kodiak fisherman James Aaron Stevens was sentenced last week for “knowingly submitting false records concerning the locations and regulatory areas where fish were harvested,” according to the U.S. District Attorney’s Office, Alaska District.

The attorney’s office announced last

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Published on
August 2, 2021

A heat wave that sent temperatures into the triple digits for three days in the U.S. Pacific Northwest in late June and early July drove up levels of the vibrio bacteria in area oysters, causing record numbers of illnesses from the bacteria and prompting oyster recalls.

The Washington State Department of Health (DOH) reported 75 lab-confirmed cases of vibriosis as of Wednesday, 29 July, and said there are likely many unreported cases. According

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Published on
July 29, 2021

The Alaska summer salmon season is riding another large catch of Bristol Bay sockeye and a recent spike in pink salmon harvests to decent overall harvest numbers, but surging numbers of COVID-19 cases have created some concern for the state’s seafood processors.

According to figures provided by McKinley Research, the summer’s total salmon harvest is already up 5 percent over last year, driven in part by a second straight week of good

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Published on
July 23, 2021

Bristol Bay, Alaska was in the midst of a record-setting run as landings continued this week.

Earlier in the week, the fishery broke the all-time record of 62.9 million sockeye set in 2018, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported that 63.7 million sockeye had run up the rivers as of Thursday, 22 July. Bristol Bay, home to world’s largest sockeye salmon run, has seen historically large runs for the past eight seasons while other

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Published on
July 16, 2021

Alaska’s Bering Sea pollock B season, which runs from 10 June to 31 October, was experiencing strong volumes, but smaller fish sizes are causing a shortage of supply for the pollock fillet market …

Photo courtesy of

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Published on
July 13, 2021

Landings in Bristol Bay, Alaska—home of the world’s largest sockeye salmon run—topped 26 million fish over the past weekend and continued to show signs of strength, with test fishing indicating the run is far from over ... 

Photo courtesy of Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development

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Published on
July 5, 2021

Bristol Bay, Alaska is off to a strong start in what is expected to be another season hovering around all-time highs for both catch and value in the world’s largest sockeye salmon fishery. Fish were already pouring in to at least two of Bristol Bay’s four major river systems, with the run total sitting at eight million sockeye salmon on a preseason prediction of over 50 million sockeye. Fleets had harvested four million fish as of 30

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Published on
July 1, 2021

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) will receive USD 3 million (EUR 2.5 million) in CARES Act funding to help cover additional costs precipitated by COVID-19, money that should help the organization rework pandemic-era marketing strategies.

Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy recently announced the allocation to ASMI, Alaska’s largest marketing association for seafood.

“Alaska’s seafood industry is a strong pillar of our

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Published on
July 1, 2021

Canada’s government announced this week it would drastically cut back on commercial fishing pressure for the 2021 season, shutting down 79 of the country’s 138 fisheries in an effort to save dwindling Pacific salmon runs.

The new reduction plan is part of the Pacific Salmon Strategy Initiative (PSSI), a USD 520 million (EUR 440 million) investment announced earlier this month to help preserve salmon runs in Canada.The PSSI plan

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Published on
June 24, 2021

A new report sponsored by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) showed that at-home seafood consumption has risen during the COVID-19 pandemic, with many consumers intentionally moving away from red meat to seafood as a healthier form a protein.

The report – put together by Datassential for ASMI – found that 26 percent of consumers bought seafood for the first time during the pandemic, while 35 percent are cooking more

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