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

 


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