Monday, February 1, 2010
Yukon Chinook getting smaller
A recent study by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game revealed that 7-year-old female kings, the largest and oldest fish in the Yukon’s Chinook run, have shrunk by 3.9 inches during the 43 before 2007, the latest year for which the fish were studied.
– Fairbanks News-Miner
More: newsminer.com/view
Deadliest Catch skipper has stroke
The captain of the commercial crab fishing boat F/V Cornelia Marie, which is featured on the Discovery Channel series Deadliest Catch, has suffered a stroke and is currently hospitalized, a Discovery rep told TMZ.
– Entertainment and Showbiz!
More: www.entertainmentandshowbiz.com
NOAA to reexamine move to Newport
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced Friday it will take another look at the decision to move its research fleet from Seattle to the central Oregon Coast after a competing port raised questions about the potential for flooding.
– Seattle P-I
More: www.seattlepi.com
Halibut commission recommends 2010 harvest
The International Pacific Halibut Commission, meeting in Seattle, on Friday set catch limits and season dates for the 2010 fishery.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Adak suit taken to federal court
You'll recall Deckboss telling you about a hearing set for Friday in state Superior Court in the case of Aleut Enterprise suing to evict Adak Seafood from the fish processing plant on Adak Island.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Unalaska taxi company no more
Local taxi cab driver Sheila Taranto's chauffeurs license was revoked after she pled guilty to violating city and state laws. Her taxi company, Mr. Kab, will no longer be in business starting on Feb. 1.
—Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: www.publicbroadcasting.net/kial
More groups sign on to Klamath deal
The Karuk Tribe and the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations have joined the ranks of those formally supporting the Klamath River dam removal agreements.
– Eureka Times-Standard
More: www.times-standard.com
Tuesday, February 2, 2010
Pebble mine area said to hold richer deposits
The potential for riches keeps growing at Pebble Mine, a huge minerals deposit in southwest Alaska near Bristol Bay and the world's most productive wild salmon streams.
– ABC News
More: abcnews.go.com/Business
Yukon fishermen told to reduce mesh size
In an attempt to get more older, bigger and more productive kings on the spawning grounds, the Fish Board voted to prohibit subsistence and commercial fishermen on the Yukon from using gillnets with mesh larger than 7.5 inches starting in 2011.
– Fairbanks News-Miner
More: newsminer.com
We may be shrinking the fish
Predatory behaviour of humans is causing some species to shrink at an unprecedented rate, says a Victoria research scientist whose study has been deemed one of the top science stories of last year. While most predators take smaller and weaker prey, humans target the largest animals – whether salmon or grizzly bears.
– Victoria Times-Colonist
More: www.timescolonist.com/technology
Oregon fishermen behind on moorage payments
Dock users in the Charleston marina had a hard time making moorage payments last year, leading to a steep rise in boat seizures.
– Coos Bay World
More: www.theworldlink.com
Sitka told to leave sea lions alone
Marine mammal officials in Sitka are warning residents not to harass Steller sea lions.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: www.adn.com/news/alaska
The official halibut harvest announcement
The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) completed its Eighty-sixth Annual Meeting in Seattle, WA, with Dr. James W. Balsiger of Juneau AK presiding as Chair.
– IPHC press release
More: www.iphc.washington.edu
Alaska cod fisheries certified by MSC
Two Pacific cod fisheries have earned Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification covering longline, trawl, pot and jig fishing methods.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More: www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Sea otters don’t listen to bureaucrats
The first hint of trouble in trying to save endangered sea otters and protect fishermen competing for the shellfish the creatures eat was when bureaucrats drew a line in the ocean separating the two.
– Seattle Times
More: seattletimes.nwsource.com
Alaska CDQ tax status costs millions
The letter, from the Joint Committee on Taxation, estimates how much tax revenue Uncle Sam would lose if Congress clarified the law to exempt certain income the state's six Community Development Quota companies generate through various business ventures.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Omega-3 market could boom
A multi-million dollar omega-3 market could open up within two-to-three years if the U.S. Department of Defense orders its troops to take EPA and DHA omega 3 fatty acids.
– AP-FoodTechnology.com
More: www.ap-foodtechnology.com/Publications
B.C. government reports on fish farm health
The British Columbian government has released its 2008 Fish Health Report and Aquaculture Inspection Report.
– ThefishSite.com
More: www.thefishsite.com/fishnews
N. California awaits wave energy plan
The Pacific Gas and Electric Co. is weeks away from submitting an application to the federal government for a first-of-its kind project to test wave energy devices off the Humboldt County coast.
– Eureka Times-Standard
More: www.times-standard.com/localnews
Alaska looks for new estimates on SE king crab
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the commercial crab fleet are trying out some different approaches to estimating the amount of red king crab in Southeast.
– KRBD, Petersburg
More: krbd.org/modules/local_news/
NOAA gets new West Coast ship
NOAA has taken delivery of Bell M. Shimada, the agency’s newest high-tech fisheries survey vessel. The vessel’s primary mission will be to study, monitor and collect data on a wide range of sea life and ocean conditions, primarily in U.S. waters from Washington state to southern California.
– NOAA press release
More: www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Enviros announce death of coast salmon fisheries
Sometime soon, small-scale commercial fishermen in towns all along the West coast -- from California up to the Canadian border -- will find out whether their way of life is over.
– Natural Resource Defense Council
More: www.onearth.org
Ocean carbon: A ‘chemistry experiment’
A major chemistry experiment is taking place in the world’s oceans, with potentially irreversible effects on marine ecosystems and commercial fisheries.
– CapeNews.com
More: capenews.net/blogs
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Oil tanker escort tugs’ action praised
The board of directors of the Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory council voted unanimously on Friday to praise the crews of two Prince William Sound escort tugs that assisted a loaded oil tanker that lost power while leaving the Sound earlier this month.
– Cordova Times
More: www.thecordovatimes.com/article
Oregon Legislature considers offshore drilling
President Obama said in his State of the Union address that the country needs to make "tough decisions about opening new offshore areas for oil and gas development." In Salem this week, the Oregon Legislature is already weighing in on that idea.
– Publicnewsservice.org
More: www.publicnewsservice.org
Editorial: NMFS enforcement ignores criticism
The top federal official for fisheries law enforcement apparently believes that the best way to respond to a scathing report on his performance is to ignore the substance of it.
– Gloucester (Mass.) Times
More: www.gloucestertimes.com
Tribe signs on to Klamath agreement
The Yurok Tribal Council voted late last week to approve signing two agreements that will remove four PacifiCorp-owned dams on the Klamath River and bring a basin-wide approach to ecological restoration.
Eureka Times-Standard
More: www.triplicate.com
Will individual quota stop overfishing?
When and where the first humans caught the first fish is long lost in pre-history. But what happened next is pretty easy to imagine: First they wondered if they could catch another. Then they began to ponder whether there were enough fish to feed their family or village.
– EcoSystem Marketplace
More: www.ecosystemmarketplace.com
Farmers against Sacramento salmon restoration
Westlands Water District – California's largest and most politically powerful agribusiness group – asked a federal judge to block a federal salmon restoration plan that protects salmon and other fish in the Sacramento-San Joaquin Delta.
– Earth Justice.org
More: unearthed.earthjustice.org
Deadliest Catch skipper improving
The Discovery Channel is reporting some encouraging news on the condition of Phil Harris, the "Deadliest Catch" crab boat captain who suffered a recent stroke while the Cornelia Marie was in St. Paul making a delivery.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Track fishing boats on line
Here’s a neat little service we stumbled upon: The University of the Aegean (Greece) has developed “MarineTraffic.” The system provides near-real time information about the current geographical positions of ships and larger boats using the Automatic Identification System.
So far, the system seems to focus on the Pacific Northwest. Although there is no category for fishing boats, they can be seen as “yachts & others” or “unspecified vessels.”
For example, at 8:31 a.m. today, the F/V Controller Bay out of Westport was off Cannon Beach, Ore., traveling at 1.9 knot – probably trawling.
Go to this link. Click on an individual icon to harvest information. www.coastalatlas.net
Friday, February 5, 2010
Cheaper tickets to Alaska?
An unexpected surge in new commercial flights scheduled for Alaska this summer may trigger new competition among airlines and cheaper tickets to some major Lower 48 cities, travel industry experts say.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: http://www.adn.com
Slow start for pollock A season
It's another slow start to pollock A season this year. Just like last year, when the quota was just about the same, the some of fleet was slow to leave port.
— Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: www.publicbroadcasting.net
Coast Guard lifts fisherman from St. Paul
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew assists Chad Smith from the aircraft in St. Paul, Feb. 4, 2010, after the helicopter crew medevaced Smith from the 150-foot fishing vessel Alaskan Leader.
More: www.piersystem.com
Copper River salmon forecast mixed
This year’s Copper River salmon projections for sockeye and king salmon are a mixed bag for fishermen.
– Fairbanks News-Miner
More: newsminer.com
Obama has more money for West Coast salmon
West coast fishermen are relieved the Obama Administration's budget proposal for next year would restore some money for salmon recovery. But they say it's not enough to meet the need.
— KPLU, Tacoma
More: www.publicbroadcasting.net
California lobster season going well
Even as the specter of new and improved Marine Protected Areas threatens to impact their way of life, Santa Barbara-based lobstermen are enjoying one of their most economically successful seasons in memory.
– Santa Barbara Independent
More: independent.com
U.S. seafood industry worth $9 billion
The U.S. seafood processing and distribution industry consists of about 650 processors with annual revenue of about $9 billion and about 2,500 distributors with annual revenue of about $12 billion.
– Refrigerated Transporter
More: refrigeratedtrans.com
California crab season fizzling out
Local processors and fishermen say that California’s Dungeness crab season, which opened Dec. 1, started strong, but in January the number of crabs per pot dropped dramatically.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More: www.triplicate.com
Loran to be unplugged on Monday
The Alaska-based domestic Long Range Aids to Navigation signals will cease broadcasting Monday, with the exception of stations Attu and Shoal Cove which are bound by bi-lateral agreements with Russia and Canada.
– Coast Guard press release
More: www.piersystem.com
