Monday, January 11, 2010
Peter Pan facing $4.5 million fine
Federal authorities are pursuing a nearly $4.5 million civil penalty against Peter Pan Seafoods Inc., a Seattle-based subsidiary of Japanese seafood giant Maruha Nichiro.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
‘Deadliest Catch’ boat going green
As Captains Johnathan and Andy Hillstrand of the Homer-based F/V Time Bandit finish up the king crab season, they embark on a new adventure – and not just for opilio crab as the season opens.
– Juneau Empire
More: www.juneauempire.com
Coast Guard terminates three fishing voyages
The Coast Guard Cutter Naushon terminated the voyages of two 50-foot and one 45-foot commercial fishing vessels last week near Craig for safety violations.
– Coast Guard press release
More: www.piersystem.com
Klamath deal not done
Negotiators have released a final restoration plan for the Klamath River, meant to accompany an agreement to remove the four main dams that have squelched salmon and other fisheries in the river for years.
– Eureka Times-Standard
www.contracostatimes.com/california
Alaska lawmaker wants his poaching case dismissed
State Sen. Albert Kookesh and the three co-defendants accused of illegal subsistence fishing have filed a court motion to have the case dismissed.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: www.adn.com/crime
Kodiak hearing reveals opposition to Navy testing
The Navy held a public hearing and review of the Gulf of Alaska Navy Training Activities Draft Environmental Impact Statement/Overseas Environmental Impact Statement (EIS/OEIS).
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More: www.kodiakdailymirror.com
No major damage after N. California quake
At a multi-agency press conference this afternoon, Humboldt County officials reported that the county fared well in Saturday's earthquake, with only one major injury -- a broken hip – reported.
– Eureka Times-Standard
More: www.times-standard.com
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
Editorial: Anti-gillnet vote not a solution
Though the festering issue of commercial gill and tangle netting of salmon and steelhead on the Columbia River must be resolved, a conservation group's plan this fall to put an initiative on the ballot to ban the practice is a mistake.
– The Oregonian
More: www.oregonlive.com/opinion
Fish bills filed in Alaska Legislature
State lawmakers unveiled a list of new bills they've prefiled ahead of the scheduled Jan. 19 start of the next legislative session.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Diesel spill reported on Adak
Coast Guard Sector Anchorage personnel are responding to a report of a leaking underground diesel tank that has spilled into Sweeper Cove on Adak Island Monday.
Coast Guard watchstanders at Sector Anchorage command center received a report about 6:40 p.m. from Adak Petroleum personnel stating an underground tank containing approximately 100,000 barrels of #2 diesel fuel had reportedly released an unknown amount of fuel.
– Coast Guard press release
More: www.piersystem.com
Rule would stop land-based support of fish pirates
NOAA is seeking public comment on a proposed rule that would allow the NOAA assistant administrator for fisheries to deny a vessel entry into a U.S. port or access to port services if that vessel has been listed for engaging in illegal, unreported and unregulated (IUU) fishing by one of the world’s international fishery management organizations.
– NOAA press release
More: www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Coast Guard’s Liberty marks 20th year of service
The captain and crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Liberty marked the patrol boat's 20th year in service recently with a small ceremony and tours in downtown at Station Juneau.
– Juneau Empire
More: www.juneauempire.com/stories
Coos Bay port manager resigns
Life seems to come in 20-year chunks for Mike Gaul. The 62-year-old Washington native has spent the past two decades working for the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay. Gaul is retiring from his post as the port’s deputy executive director. His last day in the office was Wednesday.
– Coos Bay World
More: www.theworldlink.com/articles
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Alaska gov wants to suspend marine fuel tax
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell wants to suspend again the state tax on motor fuels, including the nickel-per-gallon levy on marine diesel and marine gasoline.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Coos Bay port scrambles with Charleston ice plant
Right off the marina, sits the Charleston ice dock, outdated, and currently out of service. "The ice plant is an old facility. It's operated well for many years but the equipment is old and it was starting to break down," says Martin Callery, Communication Director with the Oregon International Port of Coos Bay.
– KCBY, Coos Bay
More: www.kcby.com/news
Cordova’s Kuttel resigns from Trident board
Peter Kuttel has resigned from the Trident Seafood's board of directors and sold his Trident stock. "This is not a decision I took lightly," Kuttel said.
– Cordova Times
More: www.thecordovatimes.com
Chinook upswing predicted for Russian River
It was another subpar year for Chinook salmon in the Russian River, with 1,800 passing through the fish ladder at the Sonoma County Water Agency's Forestville facilities. The number was substantially lower than the peak of 6,103 counted in 2003 but better than 2008, and biologists believe it is the start of an upswing.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More: www.pressdemocrat.com
Chile to try deep-sea salmon farming
Chile will launch its first deepwater salmon farming project with a Norwegian loan to try and reverse the low yields on salmon amid constant global demand.
– UPI
More: www.upi.com
Latest in Adak melodrama
Earlier this month, Deckboss told you how the landlord out on Adak had told the new occupant of the island's lone fish plant to get out. Or be thrown out.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Adak spill caused by over-filling
A unified command has been established and is continuing to respond to the discharge of diesel fuel from an underground oil storage tank into Helmet Creek and the small boat harbor adjacent to Sweeper Cove Monday on the northeast side of Adak Island.
– Coast Guard press release
More: www.piersystem.com
Halibut charters limited entry process begins
Sport charter halibut fishing operators in Southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska must apply for a permit to operate in the new limited license program between February 4 and April 5.
– NOAA press release
More: alaskafisheries.noaa.gov
Thursday, January 14, 2010
Bering Sea pollock still sustainable
The commercial quota for Bering Sea pollock has taken a tumble in recent years, but it appears the still-huge fishery is in line to keep its Marine Stewardship Council certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in
his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Not a dude ranch, but a dude setnet site
At $75-plus per pound, it wouldn't be the cheapest salmon you ever bought.
But how often do you get a chance to play commercial fisherman and help catch it? Sara Pozonsky, of the improbably partly-in-Western Pennsylvania Wild Alaskan Salmon Co., is for the first time offering folks the chance to "live the life of a commercial fisherman" for a week this summer in Kasilof on the Kenai Peninsula of Alaska.
– Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
Read more: www.post-gazette.com
A 20-year plan for Columbia River jetties
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Wednesday announced a 20-year plan to shore up the crumbling jetties at the mouth of the Columbia River — a $400 million to $500 million project that local officials say is critical to maintaining commercial shipping.
– Longview (Wash.) Daily News
More: www.tdn.com
Dillingham Council opposes Pebble Mine
The Dillingham City Council has passed a resolution that opposes the proposed Pebble copper/gold mine in the Bristol Bay area.
– Bristol Bay Times
More: www.thebristolbaytimes.com
Killer whale rules not in effect this year
Proposed federal rules to protect endangered Puget Sound orca whales by restricting how close commercial and recreational boats can get to them will not go into effect this year as expected.
– Bellingham Herald
More: www.bellinghamherald.com
Editorial: Klamath pact creates future out of chaos
The architects of the settlement aimed at restoring the Klamath River to salmon-bearing health say they stand on the precipice of a new, more collaborative age in the Klamath Basin.
– The Oregonian
More: www.oregonlive.com
Halibut charters say they’ll go out of business
Homer’s reputation as halibut capital of the world has suffered a serious blow as local charter boat captains come to terms with new rules that will force up to one-quarter of them out of business in Area 3A.
– Homer Tribune
More: homertribune.com
Enviros sue over Tongass timber sales
Three environmental groups are going to court to try and stop a particularly contentious timber sale of old-growth trees in the country's largest national forest.
– ABC News
More: abcnews.go.com
Friday, January 15, 2010
Washington crab season opens big, then shrinks
When the crab boats first started coming back to Westport earlier this month fishermen were all smiles, with catches of 40,000 to 50,000 pounds.
But that soon dropped off — and now some crews are already on the move in search of better seas just 15 days into the season.
– Aberdeen Daily World
More: www.thedailyworld.com
Letter: Kitimat pipeline to carry ‘ugliest’ oil
The Northern Gateways Pipelines would be a welcome addition to our local economy if it wasn’t for the fact that it is the ugliest oil in the world that will be coming through, and that it will cause vast disruptions to untouched wilderness in BC, and for the possibility of oil contamination in streams, rivers and the ocean, and more.
– Kitimat Sentinel
More: www.bclocalnews.com
See January’s Pacific Fishing for a comprehensive look at the proposed Kitimat pipeline.
Fish Board considers trawl ban in Unalaska Bay
The state's Board of Fisheries is considering closing Unalaska Bay to all trawling year round. At present, the pelagic trawl fleet is allowed to harvest in the Bay during pollock B season, from June 10 to November 1. Many local residents and the Unalaska/Dutch Harbor Fish and Game Advisory Committee want the area to be closed to all trawling year round.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: www.publicbroadcasting.net
Portuguese sardine fishery earns MSC certification
The Portuguese purse seine sardine fishery has been awarded Marine Stewardship Council certification as a sustainable and well-managed fishery, becoming the first Portuguese fishery to be certified under the international program.
– MSC press release
More: www.msc.org
Opposition to more Navy training in Gulf of Alaska
Representatives of the U.S. Navy got an earful from Homer residents Saturday at an event set up to collect public comment and disseminate information about a draft Environmental Impact Statement for plans to increase training exercises in the Gulf of Alaska.
– Homer News
More: homernews.com/stories/011310/news_bu_005.shtml
California protected area panel ignores Natives
The process to close off public access in our ocean waters is now entering a critical stage. Local groups, hoping to keep important access open, have almost finished their proposals for closures. This process will result in one group of possible Marine Protected Area sites that match the sizing and spacing requirements of the Marine Life Protection Act Initiative. It is a local good-faith effort to minimize the impact of the closures on our fishing community.
– Kenyon Hensel, a local fisherman who has been closely involved with California’s MPA process, writing in the Crescent City Daily Triplicate
More: www.triplicate.com
Alaska subsistence review moving slowly
After announcing plans for a rapid review of the way the feds manage subsistence hunting and fishing — with changes expected as early as this week — the Interior Department is still looking for answers.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: www.adn.com
