Monday, November 15, 2010
Salmon farmers: Don’t blame us
The number of sea lice in the natural environment is affected by the salinity of the ocean. There is a genetic difference between sea lice in the Pacific Ocean and the Atlantic Ocean. Wild salmon in BC have a natural ability to shed sea lice once the fish have reached a certain size.
– B. C. Salmon Farmers Association
More:www.salmonfarmers.org
Are you on the final Exxon pay list?
A federal judge has approved the start of what has been described as the final distribution of money from the Exxon Valdez case.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Light crab delay Cal season
The start to the local commercial crabbing season has been delayed over concerns about the readiness of this year's crop.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More:www.pressdemocrat.com
Price set for Cal crab
Crab fishermen and buyers agreed to a per-pound price of $1.75.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More:www.pressdemocrat.com
Cal crab abundance looks good
After a cyclical downturn between 2006 and 2009, populations of the tasty crustacean appear to be rebounding, giving hope to fishermen battered by recent cancellations and cutbacks of the salmon fishing season.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:www.sfgate.com
Why drill in Alaska Peninsula?
Fourteen oil seeps and four gas seeps are now known to exist between the Iniskin Peninsula and the area around Sand Point toward the southwestern end of the peninsula. Geologists have found at least two outcrops of oil-bearing rocks.
– Petroleum News
More:www.petroleumnews.com
Safety zone set for Kodiak rocket launch
The Coast Guard will establish a safety zone in the vicinity of Narrow Cape and Ugak Island due to upcoming operations at the Kodiak Launch Complex in mid November.
– Coast Guard
More:mail.google.com
Forecast for Togiak herring
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast a potential harvest of 24,805 tons of herring in next spring's Togiak sac roe fishery.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Officials object to Columbia hatchery plans
Four counties say a draft federal plan for managing lower Columbia River fish hatcheries is "flawed" and "inadequate."
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Tuesday, November 16, 2010
Delayed Cal crab season begins
The commercial season for Dungeness crab officially opened Monday, but commercial crab fishermen voluntarily decided to delay the start of their season.
– Monterey Herald
More:www.montereyherald.com
Gulf mostly open to fishing
Nearly all US federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico are now open to fishing, in the latest sign of recovery from a huge oil spill.
– APF
More:www.google.com/hostednews
Lisa disses Sarah
Republican U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski says she doesn't think Sarah Palin has the leadership qualities to be president, nor the "intellectual curiosity" needed to make good policy.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Safety checks for NW crabbers
Thirteenth Coast Guard District personnel will conduct vessel safety spot checks and voluntary dockside exams in various Northwest ports through Nov. 19, and Nov. 22-24, just prior to the opening of the Oregon and Washington state Dungeness crab fishery.
– Coast Guard
More:www.piersystem.com
Help wanted: Fish commissioner
Newly re-elected Gov. Sean Parnell, you might have heard, is replacing a number of his cabinet members, including his fish and game commissioner.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Eating Kodiak fish in Kodiak
A number of parents attended lunch with their children to share the food provided through the Fish to Schools program implemented this year.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More: www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Eating Norton Sound fish in Anchorage
Now this sounds tasty. A grand opening ceremony for the new Norton Sound Seafood House at the Anchorage airport is set for today.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
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King crab prices near record
Bering Sea crabbers dropped pots in mid-October with an advance price of $6.25 a pound, compared to $4.76/lb last year. After all the sales are made, the final price could top the record of $6.27/lb set in 2002.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
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Other uses for pollock
While pollock is common at sushi joints and grocery stores, it might also be making its way into hospitals in the form of gelatins.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra M. Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Wednesday, November 17, 2010
SEE YOU AT EXPO!
The largest Pacific Maritime Exposition in recent years opens tomorrow at the Qwest Center in Seattle.
You’ll find Pacific Fishing in our usual space – Booth 622 – just around the corner from the Alaska Pavilion.
Doors open at 10 a.m. and close at 5 p.m. on Thursday.
Although we’ll be at the booth during all hours, these folks have promised to be there specifically at these times on Thursday:
• Columnist Amy Majors: 10 a.m. to noon.
• Editor Don McManman: Noon to 2 p.m.
• Publisher Peter Hurme: 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Are you rich?
To get in the doors at Expo, you have two choices:
1) Wait until Thursday and pay $30 at the door.
2) Register today on-line and get in for free.
If you opted for Option 1, we should start charging for Fish Wrap.
If you’re interested in Option 2, here’s what you do:
Go towww.pacificmarineexpo.com. On the right side of the page, you’ll see “Register to Attend.” Click. Don’t wait. The deal ends at midnight Wednesday. After that, you’ll have to pay.
Alaska salmon worth half-billion bucks
A preliminary estimate of Alaska's 2010 commercial salmon harvest shows that 168.6 million salmon were netted, the 11th largest harvest since statehood, generating $533.9 million – the highest price to fishermen since statehood.
– World Fishing
More:www.worldfishing.net
National G. looks a Pebble Mine
All that the American West once was, Alaska still is. Abounding with natural marvels and largely untouched by human ambition, it strikes the newcomer as a land of endless prospect, an impression vividly reinforced from the passenger seat of a low-flying Cessna 180.
– National Geographic
More:ngm.nationalgeographic.com
Alaska sport halibut estimate
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has come up with its final estimates for the projected sport halibut harvest this year.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Kodiak fleet donates to needy
For the first time, the Kodiak fishing industry has partnered to donate 25,000 meals to the Food Bank of Alaska through SeaShare, a nonprofit organization specializing in seafood donations.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Feds want acid ocean listings
States with coastal water that is becoming more acidic because of carbon dioxide should list them as impaired under the Clean Water Act, the U.S. Environmental Agency said.
– Coos Bay World
More:www.theworldlink.com
SF ready for D. crab
After a brief delay, the first Dungeness crab cakes of the season should be on Bay Area dinner tables by Thursday.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:www.sfgate.com
American River salmon up
The numbers of salmon trapped at the Nimbus Fish Hatchery on the American River are about four times of those trapped last fall to date.
– Bay Area Indy Media
More:www.indybay.org
Canadian fish protected areas
Fishing is allowed in all but one per cent of Marine Protected Areas (MPA) on Canada's Pacific coast, according to a study conducted by Living Oceans Society and published in Marine Policy this month.
– Rabble.ca
More:rabble.ca
Thursday, November 18, 2010
SEE YOU TODAY
There’s quite a bit of news today, folks, so we’ll make this brief: Fish Expo begins this morning at 10. In walking through Qwest Center Wednesday, it seemed as if there are quite a few more exhibitors than in the past few years. If you’re attending, be sure to stop by at Pacific Fishing’s Booth 622 and say hello. Also, ask for a coupon for a free appetizer at Pyramid Alehouse. (The food at Qwest Center is equally inedible and expensive.)
– Don
Study rocks fish science world
The most widely adopted measure for assessing the state of the world's oceans and fisheries led to inaccurate conclusions in nearly half the ecosystems where it was applied according to new analysis by an international team led by a University of Washington fisheries scientist.
– University of Washington
More:uwnews.org
B.C. scientist objects to study
One of B.C.'s most celebrated scientists is taking issue with a new study that suggests humans are not fishing down the food web.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Renewed support for pollock managers
The Marine Conservation Alliance (MCA), a coalition of harvesters, processors and communities involved in the Alaska groundfish and crab fisheries, renewed its support for scientifically set catch limits.
– Marine Conservation Alliance
More: www.marineconservationalliance.org
Anti-drilling resource
A coalition of commercial fishing, Native, and conservation groups has announced a new website, www.fishbasket.org, to serve as an information center for groups and individuals seeking to keep offshore oil and gas drilling out of Bristol Bay.
– Seward Phoenix Log
More:thesewardphoenixlog.com
California crab bountiful
Local crab should be hitting seafood shops and restaurants by the weekend, touching off what fisherman expect to be a strong Dungeness crab season – and just in time for Thanksgiving.
– San Jose Mercury News
More:www.mercurynews.com
Salmon farming in wilderness
This region is throne to a wealth of wild marine diversity and biomass, a bounty that is augmented (and unseated in the opinion of some) by booming salmon farms.
– Scientific American
More:www.scientificamerican.com
Climate change and Bering Sea
At its heart, the Bering Sea Project is an attempt to understand how climate change may affect the region's fisheries, by studying the ecosystem from top to bottom.
– NatureNews
More:www.nature.com
Lisa declares victory
Sen. Lisa Murkowski claimed victory in her historic write-in bid for the U.S. Senate Wednesday night, thanking Alaskans and telling cheering supporters: "I think we can say our miracle is here."
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
MSC for Russian pinks?
The Sakhalin Salmon Initiative Center and the Sakhalin Regional Fisheries Association, which include 11 commercial fishing companies in the Russian Federation, have entered three pink salmon (Oncorhynchus gorbuscha) fisheries, calledunits of certification, into independent, third-party assessment against the Marine Stewardship Council principles and criteria for sustainable fishing.
– MSC
More:www.msc.org
Friday, November 19, 2010
California D-crab harvest bountiful
The word around the docks this week is that crabbers are set to haul in a record catch this season.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More:www.pressdemocrat.com
Wash. D-crab to open on time
Heather Reed, coastal marine resources policy coordinator for the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife, said this year's season will open on time south of Klipsan Beach, which is about 14 miles north of the Oregon border.
– Longview (Wash.) Daily News
More:tdn.com
More restrictions on Yukon king fishery
Alaska fisheries managers are predicting a more restricted commercial salmon fishery on the Yukon River next summer after too few kings crossed the Canadian border into the Yukon territory this year.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Interim fish commissioner in Juneau
In a bold move designed to shake up a department that has become divided into what he descried as dueling "kingdoms" of sport and commercial fishing, Parnell named Cora Campbell, 31, as interim Department of Fish and Game commissioner effective Dec. 1.
– Alaska Journal
More:www.alaskajournal.com
Oregon protected area comment period
The public will get a chance in December to comment on four proposals for marine reserves and marine protected areas off Cape Arago.
– Coos Bay World
More:www.theworldlink.com
Oil in Gulf food chain
Carbon from oil released by the Deepwater Horizon spill has entered at least three levels of the marine food web in the coastal waters of the far northern Gulf of Mexico.
– Environmental Research Web
More:environmentalresearchweb.org
Canadian urchin fishermen get grant
The Government of Canada announced a contribution of up to $41,665 to the Pacific Urchin Harvesters Association (PUHA) and West Coast Green Urchin association (WCGUA) to help harvesters market their products in key international markets.
– MarketWire
More:www.marketwire.com
B.C. lighthouse keepers save lives
Lennard Island would likely sport a plaque listing the names of fishermen killed in 25-foot seas if a nearby lighthouse keeper hadn’t seen the boat in trouble and raced to the rescue.
– PBQNews.com
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Pollock may save your liver; Pacific Marine Expo is happening right now, and humpback whales know all the best places to get a meal. All that, plus, miners and fishermen working together?
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
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Frankenfish process misses consequences
When the Food and Drug Administration announces the fate of the AquAdvantage salmon, the first genetically modified (GM) animal ever considered for commercial consumption, they may have considered only a fraction of their decision’s consequences.
– Wired.com
More:www.wired.com
