Monday, January 31, 2011
FEDS GRABBING OCEAN FROM ALASKA?
State Rep. Alan Austerman, R-Kodiak, says he hears the federal government has "redrawn the three-mile line around Alaska," possibly leading to trouble for unsuspecting commercial fishermen.
—Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Alaska crabbers: Don't buy Russian
Alaska crabbers hope to enlist American consumers in their quest to stop Russian king crab pirates on the high seas. High crab prices this year have lured poachers back into the Russian fishery. These rogue boats deliver millions of pounds of illegal, unreported and unregulated catches (IUU), a scourge of seafood producing countries around the world. Foreign poachers produce 19 percent of the worldwide seafood catch each year valued at $13.5 billion.
– Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers
More:www.alaskaberingseacrabbers.org
Consultant to pitch Kodiak fish
A local marketing committee is facing a deadline to craft a strategy promoting Kodiak's seafood as environmentally responsible.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
More turmoil on the Klamath
There's no better place to get a firsthand look at how complicated salmon management can be than Oregon and California's Klamath River.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:ecotrope.opb.org
Smoked salmon: Wild fish
U.S. Sen. Mark Begich is sending President Barack Obama a sample of smoked Alaska salmon – and a pitch for the wild specimen.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Smoked Salmon: End to Commerce?
It was a big laugh line in President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech: "The Interior Department is in charge of salmon while they're in fresh water, but the Commerce Department handles them when they're in saltwater. I hear it gets even more complicated once they're smoked."
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Marin County frets over mercury
Here in health-conscious Marin, we are hyper-aware of the foods that will sustain our environment, our kids and our own health.
– Patch, Marin County
More:millvalley.patch.com
Canadians want renewed NW albacore deal
Tuna was the topic when the Canadian ambassador for fisheries conservation came to visit Astoria.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Deeda Schoeder, writing in the Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
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Tuesday, February 1, 2011
SARAH: ELECT A FISHERMAN FOR PREZ
"I think every president should have a run at gaining experience by being a council member, a mayor, a governor, a VP candidate, a commercial fisherman, a 'Hockey Mom'."
– Sarah Palin, as quoted in the Seattle P-I
More:blog.seattlepi.com
No herring fishing on West Behm Canal
Today, it has been 35 years since a sac roe fishery has been conducted in West Behm, and the depleted herring population is struggling just to keep up with the natural predation.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Funds exhausted for B.C. test fishing
There is no funding agreement in place to continue test fisheries on the West Coast, a key program that allows managers to calculate how many salmon are returning to the Fraser River each year.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
Canadians get a bit more halibut
The Department of Fisheries and Oceans has announced a slight increase in the total allowable catch (TAC) for the 2011 halibut fishing season.
– Westerly News, Tofino, B.C.
More:www2.canada.com
Senators stand against frankenfish
Alaska's senators, Democrat Mark Begich and Republican Lisa Murkowski, reintroduced legislation to ban genetically engineered salmon, or what they call "Frankenfish."
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Obama irritates NW salmon supporters
He may not know his kings from his silvers or a humpy from a chum, but President Barack Obama's mention of the Northwest's signature fish seems to have resonated with the public – though probably not as he'd hoped.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Dutch fisherman still missing
It has now been over a month since fisherman John F. Courage has gone missing, and the Unalaska Department of Public Safety is still working to determine his whereabouts.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Farming won't save wild salmon
"Farming seafood isn't the answer to saving ocean wildlife," says a prominent wall display at the aquarium. In one fell swoop, this leading aquarium disparages growing both finfish and shellfish.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Time to haze Willamette sea lions
For the next three months, it will be someone's job to light fireworks and drive a boat around to scatter sea lions below Willamette Falls.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:ecotrope.opb.org
Hunting with Jennifer
One of our correspondents for Pacific Fishing has branched out into a new endeavor. Jennifer Hawks, whose article about a vessel monitoring system lawsuit is in the February issue, now operates fishandguns.com. Although the fishing part is about recreation, the guns element focuses on hunting. (Jennifer lives close to Skagway, but is in game-rich Yukon Territory.)
See her work atwww.fishandguns.com.
Wednesday, February 2, 2011
SF HERRING: AN 'EPIC YEAR'
A ton of herring spilled into his boat. He rolled out another net. He hauled in another ton.
"This is an epic year for harvesting (herring). There are a lot of fish. And they are big fish."
– Contra Costa Times
More:www.contracostatimes.com
CDQs buy Ward Cove
Two of Alaska's Community Development Quota companies have put together a deal to buy remnants of Wards Cove, once a fishing and processing powerhouse in Alaska.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
(Scroll down.)
Bellingham debates mooring rates
Commercial fishermen have been pressing the case for a cut in their moorage rates, and their arguments appear to be gaining some traction with Port of Bellingham commissioners.
– Bellingham Herald
More:www.bellinghamherald.com
Let fishermen manage fisheries
An increasingly productive way of restoring fisheries is based on the counter-intuitive concept of allowing fishermen to take charge of their own catch.
– Environment 360, Yale
More:e360.yale.edu
Pesticides and salmon
Environmental groups and Northwest congressional representatives are battling over how much protection salmon should get from chemicals used on farmland.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:news.opb.org
Canadians blame Alaskans for killing
fish farms
According to an opinion piece published by Canada's Financial Post, one U.S. non-profit foundation is financially responsible for a marketing effort that has been threatening British Columbia's salmon farming industry by boosting the profile of Alaska's wild salmon and "demarketing" Canadian farmed product.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:www.alaskadispatch.com
Global seafood consumption up
The global consumption of fish has hit a record high, reaching an average of 17kg (37.4 pounds) per person.
– BBC
More:www.bbc.co.uk
Alaska senators oppose earmarks ban
Both of Alaska's senators said Tuesday they were disappointed the top Senate appropriator was calling for a moratorium on earmarking, the practice that has directed billions of dollars in federal spending to Alaska.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:community.adn.com
Dillingham plots tax boundary expansion
The staff of a state agency, the Local Boundary Commission, has recommended approval of the city of Dillingham's petition to annex extensive commercial fishing grounds.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
(Scroll down.)
Thursday, February 3, 2011
CUT SALMON FISHERY TO PROTECT WHALES?
Fishermen in Canada and the U.S. may have to give up part of their lucrative Chinook-salmon catch to help the recovery of endangered resident killer whales.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Fish sandwich vs. Barack Obama
"Change, not only for your mom, but for you, your stomach, for a better taste," the Obama lookalike proclaims in the video, before being tragically crushed by a giant sandwich.
– AOL News
More:www.aolnews.com
New road in Naknek
A new road is planned to connect the village of Naknek to Pederson Point. The North Pacific Seafoods salmon cannery is located on the point, currently accessible only by taking a four-wheel-drive along the beach at low tide.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Brits look to cucumber fishery
It breathes through its anus, can liquefy its body, and acts as the waste collectors of the seabed. Scientists now believe that a species of sea cucumber living off the British coast could become a lucrative culinary export.
– The Independent, U.K.
More:www.independent.co.uk
Feds study fishing injuries
The job of a fishermen has got a reputation being "deadly" – but it's a painful career, too. Now, NIOSH is trying to change that by studying injuries suffered by fishermen.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Rep worried about fed ocean grab
Kodiak Rep. Alan Austerman is sounding an alarm about a federal initiative to rechart boundaries around Alaska and Kodiak Island that define the three-mile limit for state fisheries.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Finally, crab loan program begins
It's taken six years but NOAA Fisheries Financial Services is finally accepting loan applications for new entrants in the Bering Sea crab fisheries. The fisheries agency has authority to lend up to $8 million to eligible skippers and crew who want to buy into the Bering Sea crab fisheries. The program can finance up to 80 percent of the cost of purchasing crab quota shares. For more information, contact NMFS Financial Services Branch in Seattle at 206-526-6122 or e-mail tonw.finance@noaa.gov.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, reporting for Fish Radio
Feds: Eat fish twice a week
This year's revision includes specific recommendations about eating more fish and seafood, as well as more practical advice for adopting healthier eating habits, such as eating breakfast and avoiding fast food traps.
– Time
More:healthland.time.com
Suit filed against California reserve plan
Making good on a pledge, angler advocacy groups have sued the California Fish and Game Commission in an attempt to invalidate a sweeping marine protection plan for Southern California that was adopted by the state in December and another set covering the north Central Coast.
– San Diego Union Tribune
More:www.signonsandiego.com
Friday, February 4, 2011
SEA LIONS CAUSE BIG CUTS IN STURGEON
The sea lions, once believed to eat mainly migrating spring Chinook salmon, are turning to sturgeon. Oregon biologists estimate sea lions killed 6,680 sturgeon older than 5 in the lower Columbia last year alone. Worse, biologists see that number growing to 10,400 a year by 2014.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Greens support Aleutians catch cuts
Two conservation organizations represented by Earthjustice have filed motions in U.S. District Court in support of a federal fisheries decision which impacts Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries in the western Aleutian Islands.
– The Tundra Drums
More:www.thetundradrums.com
Group forms for Sacramento salmon
A new body of power has been born in the arena of fisheries restoration, and its founders have big goals.
– Marin (Calif.) Independent Journal
More:www.marinij.com
Shell delays Alaska drilling
Shell Oil announced that it's abandoning efforts to drill in Alaska's Beaufort Sea and will push back offshore drilling in Alaska until after 2011.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Alaska Fisheries Report
This week: Big cuts for halibut longliners; a new poll suggests a majority of Alaskans are against the proposed Pebble Mine; a fisherman in Dutch Harbor goes missing under mysterious circumstances; a study is underway to help reduce work-related injuries on vessels; also, a fight is looming between state and federal agencies after the feds shift boundaries demarking jurisdiction at the three-nautical mile line.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Aggressive anti-salmon farm commercials
Aggressive advertisements by an anti-fish farming group, comparing salmon farming to cancer, have been dismissed as immature and inappropriate by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Barge oil leak called 'major spill'
No one knows how much oil may be inside the barge; it was formerly used to transport various grades of petroleum products and has a carrying capacity of 930,000 gallons. So far, 1,400 gallons of leaked oil have been collected and the vessel has been cordoned off with oil-absorbing booms to contain additional leakage.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:ecotrope.opb.org
Five rescued off Washington Coast
The Coast Guard rescued five people from the 80-foot fishing vessel, Vicious Fisher, 13 miles west of La Push, Wash.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d13publicaffairs.com
Cal reserve agreement up to regulators
A strongly supported local proposal that would put areas along the North Coast off limits to fishing and gathering was aired before the state regulators that will decide whether to adopt or change it.
– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times-Standard
More:www.times-standard.com
