Monday, January 27, 2014
DROUGHT COULD EXTERMINATE COHO
The lack of rain this winter could eventually be disastrous for thirsty California, but the drought may have already ravaged some of the most storied salmon runs on the West Coast.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:sfgate.com
Staying out of Cal sanctuaries
Two years after the creation of marine sanctuaries in more than 350 square miles of Southern California coastal waters, state wildlife officials and environmental groups say the restrictions on fishing are largely being obeyed.
– L.A. Times
More:latimes.com
Budget has fish money
The first federal budget agreement in nearly five years, approved by Congress, includes $75 million in disaster relief for segments of the commercial fishing industry still reeling from recent stock collapses and regulatory controls that have slashed incomes for those harvesting wild seafood species.
– 27East.com, New York
More:27east.com
Thanks, Sen. Begich
A commercial fishermen's group is running TV ads thanking Sen. Mark Begich for his opposition to the proposed Pebble Mine.
– TribTown, Indiana
More:tribtown.com
Smelt season possible
The purpose of the fishing would be to gather adult catch-per-unit-effort data for monitoring the status of the population.
– Tacoma News Tribune
More:thenewstribune.com
Investigating deadly accidents
Interviewers later asked other boat captains who fished these waters the following question: Why would a veteran boat captain completely ignore the papers on his boat and attempt to carry 10 to 15 tons more than was safe?
– Christianity Today
More:christianitytoday.com
New spot for Columbia gillnetters
The floating net pens are secured to the city dock, the spring Chinook are rearing, and Cathlamet Channel is on its way to becoming Washington's next off-channel commercial fishing spot, a small piece of the much larger Columbia River reforms.
– The Columbian, Vancouver, Wash.
More:columbian.com
Cantwell against Pebble
Democrat Maria Cantwell of Washington says the proposed mine in Western Alaska threatens fishing jobs in her state.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
Australia killing sharks
The policy is a response to seven fatal shark attacks in Australia's southwest in three years.
– Daily Mail
More:dailymail.co.uk
Drones check for radiation
It is operated using a remote control and unlike manned aircrafts, it has the option to fly lower, with a minimum of 300 meters in altitude.
– Japan Daily Press
More:japandailypress.com
Tuesday, January 28, 2014
NEW TUNA SALES REP
Bumble Bee has launched a range of social and online campaigns, including partnering with fitness expert Richard Simmons and rapper LL Cool J. (short for "Ladies Love Cool James," and we're not making it up!!!)
– Seafood Source
More:buy.louisianaseafood.com
Butt-biting sea lion
A sea lion, described as a larger bull, jumped from the water and attempted to grab the man in the buttocks, causing the man to fall forward into the vessel.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Fish farm disease in Chile
Of the 362,691 salmon susceptible, 44,518 cases were reported. The affected salmon have now been destroyed.
– TheFishSite
More:thefishsite.com
Walmart OK with Alaska fish
Walmart announced that they will continue to stock salmon products from most of the large seafood processors that operate in Alaska.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Splitting Pacific fish
The United Nations' highest court set a maritime boundary between Chile and Peru on Monday that grants Peruvians a bigger piece of the Pacific Ocean while keeping rich coastal fishing grounds in the hands of Chilean industry.
– BusinessWeek
More:businessweek.com
Warmer seas, smaller fish
A decline in the size of some species of fish in the North Sea could be due to a rise in water temperatures.
– Telegraph (U.K.)
More:telegraph.co.uk
Shipping oil on polar route
Unlike on most other Oceans, the oil transported in the waters outside the northernmost coastline of Norway and Russia is onboard relatively new tankers.
– Barents Observer
More:barentsobserver.com
Polar oil shipping code
The Polar Code will, however, not include a ban on usage of heavy fuel oil.
– Barents Observer
More:barentsobserver.com
Port near polar ship route
And nearby on the Seward Peninsula sits Port Clarence, one of Alaska's few naturally deep water ports.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
Wednesday, January 29, 2014
More mining in B.C.
The B.C. government is aiming to reverse a slide in mineral exploration investment that has come after world metal prices peaked and then declined to a 10-year average level in the past two years.
– Northern View, B.C.
More:thenorthernview.com
Cal fishermen fear drought
While farmers and residential water users watch reservoirs drop lower and lower, commercial fishermen are already bracing for poor catches in the coming years, as low river flows and dry streambeds devastate spawning runs.
– KRCB, California
More:radio.krcb.org
Kenai dipnetter take small
As the Alaska Board of Fisheries heads towards its end-of-January meeting amid a drone of complaints that the Kenai River dipnet salmon fishery is out of control, new catch figures from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game indicate dipnetters last summer really didn't catch diddly-squat.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Crabbers plead innocent
Two local crabbers accused of illegally working extra pots have both pleaded "not guilty" to six charges each of commercial fishing with unlawful gear.
– Chinook Observer
More:chinookobserver.com
Fraser disaster in Washington
Today, U.S. Secretary of Commerce Penny Pritzker determined a commercial fishery failure for the Fraser River sockeye salmon fishery in Washington State.
– NOAA
More:noaanews.noaa.gov
Fighting for onboard safety
Their commercial fishing experts have been studying fatal accidents since 1991. Using their research, they've come up with a slew of mechanical gadgets – like door monitors and emergency winch stops – to make boats safer.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal, reporting for Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
Alaska Natives fight B.C. mine
For years, the old mine at the headwaters of Southeast Alaska's most prolific salmon stream has been an issue for Native groups, commercial fishermen, and others on both sides of the border.
– KTOO, Juneau
More:ktoo.org
B.C. oil port threatens whales
Justified in the Circumstances is highly critical of the federal government's handling of whale habitat protection which appears to have been managed to delay a DFO whale recovery strategy from influencing the Joint Review Panel's (JRP) environmental assessment of Northern Gateway.
– Living Oceans Society
More:livingoceans.org
U.S. scientists against B.C. pipeline
While there are many arguments about the level of risk, no one believes the risk is zero.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:timescolonist.com
Boat sinks in Chetco's mouth
Only the uppermost structure of the 62-foot, steel-hulled vessel could be seen above the water.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:triplicate.com
Thursday, January 30, 2014
SKIPPER GETS JAIL TIME
A commercial fishing boat master found guilty for the third time in the past six years of serious offences against the Fisheries Act, was sentenced to six months in prison (concurrent on multiple counts), a $15,000 fine, and a 10-year prohibition from fishing in Canadian or U.S. waters.
– Fisheries and Oceans Canada
More:marketwired.com
Fish Board tackles Cook Inlet
The source of the Mat-Su salmon woes is unknown, with some blaming interception by commercial fishermen in the Inlet, others blaming habitat issues, and still others asserting that the problem lies farther out in the ocean.
– Alaska Journal
More:alaskajournal.com
B.C. fishermen against changes
Salmon fishers are opposing potential changes that could limit large catches to the highest bidders, effectively shutting out independent fisheries.
– 24 Hours Vancouver
More:vancouver.24hrs.ca
Spring Columbia fisheries
Two Tuesdays — March 25 and April 1 — will be closed to allow for commercial fishing on the lower Columbia without a clash between the sport and net fleets.
– Vancouver Columbian
More:columbian.com
Alaskans fight radiation rumors
While there have been problems with fish in the waters near the radiation leak, the affected species are not migratory, and are no threat to Alaska seafood.
– Homer News
More:homernews.com
Politics on Magnuson rewrite
DeFazio says he had hoped to work on a bill on a bipartisan basis, but Hastings, who is chair of the House Natural Resources Committee, introduced his own Republican bill.
– Eugene Weekly
More:eugeneweekly.com
Unalaska fights for cop boat
Unalaska’s lobbyists will be gearing up for a fight to keep the state trooper patrol vessel Stimson homeported here.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Loonie decline
The loonie was down 0.1 of a cent to 89.36 cents U.S. as gross domestic product rose by an annualized rate of 3.2 per cent, which was broadly in line with expectations.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:theglobeandmail.com
A pollock by any name
The 2013 version of the American Fisheries Society Common and Scientific Names of Fishes has a new scientific name for walleye pollock — Gadus chalcogrammus, instead of the old Theragra chalcogramma. – Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Russia pollock certified
Prices for pollock from Russia are up after the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) designated the fishery as sustainable — but what’s good for Russia’s share of the world’s largest fishery is not as good for the Alaska side of the equation.
– Seafood Source
More:seafoodsource.com
Friday, January 31, 2014
COOK INLET BATTLEFIELD
At odds: the Cook Inlet setnet fleet, which target sockeye near the Kenai and Kasilof rivers, and groups representing king salmon-dependent Kenai guides, charter operators, and tourism businesses.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
B.C. Natives can sell fish
Five First Nations on Vancouver Island, who are part of the collective known as the Nuu-chah-nulth, have had their right to catch and sell nearly all species of fish found within their territories recognized by the country's highest court.
– CBC
More:cbc.ca
Pebble Mine or salmon?
The proposed Pebble Mine in Bristol Bay is a great test of this democracy of salmon.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Ban fish farm pesticides
Kumiega's bill specifically would not allow the use of methoprene or resmethrin in any body of water that drains into the Gulf of Maine or on land where runoff into the ocean is possible.
– Maine Politics
More:bangordailynews.com
Kodiak seeks fish advisor
Last night the city council and borough assembly sat down for a joint work session and discussed the potential hire of Heather McCarty from McCarty and Associates.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Yukon fishermen need help
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has failed to meet Chinook salmon escapement goals for the Yukon River several times in the last 14 years.
– The Tundra Drums
More:thetundradrums.com
Shell backs away from drilling
The company's new CEO, Ben Van Beurden, pointed directly to a recent federal appeals court ruling that casts doubt over the federal oil and gas lease sales in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week: Walmart commits to Alaska salmon; is trophy sport fishing responsible for the decline in abundance and size of Kenai River King Salmon? and don't let Facebook scare your friends away from Alaska seafood. All that, and the coolest red king crab you'll ever see.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Alaska volcano churns
Scientist Kristi Wallace says the unusual activity at Shishaldin began Wednesday.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Oregon shipyard recognized
Best known for constructing Korean War-era minesweeper warships, the AMCCO site in recent years has been a mainstay for repairing local fishing vessels.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com