Climate action by fishermen, for fishermen

Sarah Shumaker wants the fishing industry to get its share of federal funding.

When Congress passed the federal Inflation Reduction Act in 2022, more than $300 billion dollars were earmarked to help the American economy move towards renewable energy. The act included funding to help all sorts of industries move away from fossil fuels. But when fisherman Sarah Shumaker looked at the language, she saw something missing.

“We looked at it and we said, I don’t see anything in here that’s earmarked specifically for the fishing industry. That’s a gap. And we want to make sure that the fishing industry is not left behind,” Shumaker said.

Now, Shumaker is crowdsourcing decarbonization policy recommendations from the fishing fleet. Shumaker leads a group called Fishery Friendly Climate Action. Their slogan is “climate action led by people in boots, not people in suits.”

Shumaker has fished and worked at canneries in Bristol Bay for 18 years. She says she’s been talking with fishermen in Bristol Bay and elsewhere about what they want to see happen in terms of decarbonization, both on the federal and state level.

That includes inviting fishermen to join an ongoing group that meets virtually to will try to influence how decarbonization plays out in the fishing industry.

“Just talking shop about this stuff, about both the technologies, what’s feasible, what’s not, and also about the policies, so that we can start advocating now for some supportive policies in the short term that will enable us to, to undertake whatever needs to be done in the long term,” Shumaker said.

One program that fishing boats are already taking advantage of is the Rural Electrification for America Program. Fishermen can use it for upgrades that will make their boats more energy efficient.

“Alaska, and Bristol Bay in particular, has been good at sort of cracking that nut and finding a way into that program for fishermen,” Shumaker said.

Shumaker says the Inflation Reduction Act expanded the program.

“It’s been around for a while, but it’s actually like, on steroids now, thanks to the inflation Reduction Act, where they actually doubled the amount of the incentive, you know, a match that the federal government will pay from 25 to 50%,” Shumaker said.

Chandler Kemp is a professor of sustainable energy at the University of Alaska’s Bristol Bay campus. He says many fishermen in Bristol Bay have used the program to help pay for refrigerated seawater systems, which help chill fish at sea before they’re delivered to a processor.

“So what a lot of fishermen have been able to do in Bristol Bay is say, Well, if I install a refrigerated seawater system on my boat, I might be able to reduce the amount of transit I have to go there might not have to transit to get ice as often or at all. And even though my refrigeration system is going to use a little extra fuel, maybe I’m going to save more than that by reducing my transit distances,” Kemp said.

An energy audit is required to confirm those energy savings. Kemp says he can help connect fishermen with those audits. He says other kinds of energy efficiency projects count, too: like switching to LED lights, or updating hydraulic systems. For folks who already have refrigerated seawater systems, he says adding insulation can also help with energy efficiency.

“One of the things that can can be surprising is that actually, you don’t need a lot of insulation especially in the Bristol Bay fishery where you’re rich delivering fish quite often. But having an inch of insulation in the hole can really save fuel,” Kemp said.

Kemp says that in fisheries where people are only out on the water for a few hours at a time, it can make sense to switch from diesel fuel to batteries. That’s less possible for the drift boat fleet in Bristol Bay, because boats are on the water for much longer. But in the future, alternate fuels like hydrogen, methanol, or ammonia could be a possibility. Kemp says those fuels are still in development. For now, Kemp says, making boats more energy efficient is a good way to save money and to help the fishery.

“Many fishers that I talked to you, you sort of see climate change having an impact on the fisheries that they participate in and feel motivated to do what they can to reduce their own contributions to greenhouse gas emissions. I think there’s a driving factor for a lot of people,” Kemp said.

Kemp and Shumaker both say that fishermen should feel empowered to make changes.

“A message that I hope people would come away with this is that fishermen all know their boats better than anybody else does,” Kemp said.

Both Kemp and Shumaker are excited to hear from fishermen who want to work on either short term energy efficiency, or on long term strategy for decarbonizing the fleet, especially as more money becomes available in the years ahead.

Fishermen can connect with Sarah Shumaker at FisheryFriendlyClimateAction.org. They can reach Kemp at 842-8303.