Monday, February 13, 2012
New name for Rat Island
With the rats dead and gone after having eaten grain pellets laced with poison, two Alaska Native groups say it's time for a name-change.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Net alarms reduce entanglements
An underwater alarm being used to protect whales from entanglement in Queensland and New South Wales shark nets is attracting attention from governments and scientists around the world.
– Noosa News, Australia
More:www.noosanews.com.au
Pebble Mine water hog
A new scientific report released by the Wild Salmon Center and Trout Unlimited says the proposed Pebble Mine would siphon as much as 35 billion gallons of fresh water out of the headwaters of Bristol Bay every year, eliminating critical salmon habitat.
– Cordova Times
More:www.thecordovatimes.com
Help wanted: Unalaska harbormaster
Former port director Alvin Osterback left the position he held for five years in mid-December. Since the city began advertising for a new director, they've received one application, said Unalaska City Manager Chris Hladick.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:www.thedutchharborfisherman.com
California bans cruise ship sewage
Today’s action establishes a new federal regulation banning even treated sewage from being discharged in California’s marine waters.
– WaterWorld
More:www.waterworld.com
Southeast seine buyback
Southeast Alaska salmon seiners could vote on a reduction to the fleet this year.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:www.kfsk.org
Young people in the fleet
The Fisheries Committee in the Alaska House of Representatives is looking at ways to get more of Alaska's young people to invest in the commercial fishing industry.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Icicle donates to U of A
The University of Alaska has received a large gift from a major seafood company that operates in Alaska.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org (Scroll down)
Fight over Alaska rockfish
Five major processors with plants at Kodiak are suing the federal government over the new Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Fire takes St. Paul fish warehouse
Firefighters in St. Paul stayed up through the night trying to put out a large blaze in the middle of town.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Cod: Grim news from back east
Fishermen and federal officials grappled Friday with the increasingly bleak prospect of finding some way for the historic New England industry to avoid collapse amid troubles with the health of Gulf of Maine cod.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Eat fish and improve love life
Two women authors are touting omega-3 fish oils as libido lifters. In her book “Can You Eat Your Way to Better Sex?” Dr. Yvonne Fulbright said that fish oil raises levels of compounds that control “feel good” levels in the brain, and stimulate the release of sex hormones. Author Marrena Lindberg also sings the praises of fish oil in “The Orgasmic Diet.” She says fish oil, like Viagra, increases nitric oxide levels in artery linings, which increases blood flow to the brain and sex organs. Seafoods from colder waters contain the most omega 3’s. Pacific oysters pack a special punch at 1700 micrograms of omega 3s, the same as Alaska king salmon. The Alaska seafood with the most omega’s of all?
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch
Baranof back to work
The Baranof has returned to the fishing grounds.
– Bristol Bay Times
More:www.thebristolbaytimes.com
Hatchery may kill wild Chinook
Wild Chinook salmon are so outnumbered by hatchery-raised fish in the Mokelumne River that scientists fear they would die out if left to their own devices.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:www.sfgate.com
Enviros like budget for fisheries
Environmental Defense Fund praised President Obama's congressional budget request that would provide funding for sustainable fisheries and shift some of the $4 billion a year in subsidies for oil and gas companies to invest in clean technology in Fiscal Year 2013.
– Press release
More:www.sacbee.com
Budgeting in NOAA
At NOAA, we too are facing the tough choices of how best to balance the national priorities in science, service and stewardship entrusted to NOAA, while at the same time living within our means.
– NOAA
More:www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Images of sea lions and seals dying
The images aren't pretty: Sea lions with shiny fishing lures protruding from their mouths or with their necks tightly bound, even deeply cut, by packing bands once used to secure boxes. Seals with necks tightly encircled by pieces of fishing net.
– MSN.com
More:www.msnbc.msn.com
Kodiak dredging OK’d
Sen. Mark Begich announced that a massive spending bill recently passed by Congress and was signed into law included over $1.7 million to dredge Kodiak's Saint Paul Harbor entrance.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Pollock by the millions
So, did you know they do a little trawling in Prince William Sound? Yep. Looks like pelagic trawlers just cleaned up 6.1 million pounds of walleye pollock.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Don’t undermine fish protections
The native fish of the Columbia River, and the industries that depend on them, have suffered severe declines in recent decades, at the cost of tens of thousands of jobs in both recreational and commercial fishing industries.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
What fishermen do right
It focuses on the positive, showing what fishermen are already doing to turn things round, and demonstrating managing fisheries sustainably is “actually more profitable than perennially succumbing to the temptation of maximizing short term income.”
– Telegraph, U.K.
More:www.telegraph.co.uk
Wednesday, February 15, 2012
Talking fish in Juneau
From all across Alaska, board and business members of the largest commercial fishing organizations in the state are in Juneau to talk fish, fishing, and the future. It’s also a good opportunity to take a step back and recognize the important cultural and economic value of our commercial fisheries.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Sportsmen and cod demise
Eecreational fishing played a significant role in diminishing cod stocks in the Gulf of Maine.
– Working Waterfront
More:www.workingwaterfront.com
Longest longliner
Jensen Maritime Consultants, a Crowley Maritime company, has been chosen to design one of the world's largest freezer longliner fishing vessels for Alaska fishing company Alaskan Leader Fisheries LLC.
– Jensen press release
More:www.4-traders.com
Demonstration against Magnuson
In another historic show of solidarity, U.S. recreational and commercial fishermen will gather at Upper Senate Park in Washington, D.C., on March 21, 2012, starting at noon in an organized demonstration supporting sensible reform of the Magnuson Stevens Fisheries Conservation and Management Act.
– Marine Link press release
More:www.marinelink.com
Klamath deal views mixed
At either end of the Klamath River, food producers support the Klamath Basin Restoration Agreement. All along the river, there are detractors.
– Herald and News, Klamath Falls
More:www.heraldandnews.com
SE eulachon fishery closed
Anticipated low eulachon returns have prompted the U.S. Forest Service to close a federal subsistence fishery in District One.
– KRBD, Ketchikan
More:www.krbd.org
Seeking help fighting salmon farms
A coalition of U.S. and Canadian conservation groups and First Nations are asking for international help in dealing with fish farms off the B.C. coast.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Fish pirate still idle
A ship seized for illegal fishing last September remains in Dutch Harbor while a federal court decides what to do with it.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Top Seafood Symphony winners
This year’s first place winners included: Sweet Potato Crunch Alaska Pollock Sticks by American Pride Seafoods in the Foodservice category, AquaCuisine Naturally Smoked Salmon Frank by AquaCuisine in the Retail Category, and Kylee’s Alaskan Salmon Bacon by Tustumena Smokehouse in the Smoked category. The grand prize, awarded to the product that received the most overall votes, also went to Kylee’s Alaskan Salmon Bacon by Tustumena Smokehouse.
– PerishableNews.com
More:www.perishablenews.com
About top seafood winner
A Kenai Peninsula grandfather prompted by his teen-aged granddaughter’s food allergies won the grand prize in the 19th annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood with his maple flavored Kylee’s Alaskan Salmon Bacon.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Needed: Vegetarian fish
Farmed fish largely subsist on a steady diet of smaller fish, which are caught from fragile fisheries. It’s not a sustainable equation.
– Miller McCune
More:www.miller-mccune.com
Norwegians take Russian salmon
A recent study found that 60 to 70 per cent of the biggest salmon killed by Norwegian nets are Russian and Finnish.
– FIS
More:www.fis.com
Portable dry dock in Sitka
The world’s first portable floating dry dock has been launched at Sitka and it could bring more than just boat repairs to remote coastal communities.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Enviros say fish isn’t green
A report on the environmental impact of New Zealand food production has rated the country's seafood as a ‘green protein.’ But a conservation group has serious reservations about the report and believes it overlooks the deaths of thousands of animals caught as by-catch every year by the fishing industry.
– FIS
More:www.fis.com
Acidification and Alaska
Many scientists are raising concerns about the impacts of ocean acidification on fish and shellfish species across the globe. A new publication from the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program outlines how the phenomenon could impact Alaska.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Pulling the plug on Cold Bay?
The Federal Aviation Administration is considering decommissioning the approach lights on one of the runways, which could impact air travel to the Aleutian region.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
New Zealand dragnet for fish fraud
The New Zealand government has warned that restaurants and takeaways need to do their bit to shut down the black-market fish trade and support both sustainable fisheries and food safety.
– FishNewsEU
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Safeway tightens tuna policy
Safeway Inc. announced that its Safeway brand skipjack (chunk-light) canned tuna will be responsibly caught using free-school purse-seine methods.
– Safeway press release
More:www.marketwatch.com
Canada boosts aquaculture
“Our government is proud to ensure that Fisheries and Oceans Canada has the tools it needs to regulate the aquaculture industry in British Columbia and ensure that it operates in a sustainable and environmentally responsible manner,” Minister Ashfield said.
– FishNewsEU
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Friday, February 17, 2012
Use us as a reference
NOAA is soliciting nominations for two individuals to serve as United States commissioners to the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). Two U.S. Commission seats will expire in March 2012.
– NOAA
More:www.gpo.gov
Pebble permitting this year?
An executive says the goal is to move toward permitting for a massive copper and gold prospect near the headwaters of Bristol Bay as early as this year.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
$120,000 fine for fisherman
A new trial has been ordered for a commercial fisherman who was fined $120,000 for unlawfully possessing halibut and rockfish.
– Campbell River Mirror
More:www.campbellrivermirror.com
Don’t cut NOAA budget
With many fisheries in trouble and the health of our oceans in decline, now is not the time to cut funding for programs that safeguard our marine resources and the economic growth they support.
– Huffington Post
More:www.huffingtonpost.com
Small scale traceability
Fishing communities on Vancouver Island are leading the country in seafood traceability thanks in part to a $50,000 grant provided by the Island Coastal Economic Trust.
– Canada.com
More:www.canada.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, seiners in Southeast may be voting this year on buying back fishing permits, the Pribilof fishing town of Saint Paul has had its share of problems this winter, geoduck farming could expand out of Southeast, and what happens when young fishermen get together.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Fishy business big business
With oil and gas issues dominating Alaska politics, it can be easy to forget that as many as 20,000 people work in the state’s commercial fishing industry every year. That’s 6,000 to 7,000 more jobs than on the North Slope.
– KRBD, Ketchikan
More:www.ktoonews.org
Panel OKs Oregon reserve plan
Coastal legislators reiterated that they fear a statewide ballot measure could put much more of the coast off limits if the bill fails, given potentially strong support from voters in Portland and other cities.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
We’re gone on Monday
Although no one at Wrap Central is very presidential, we intend to take President’s Day off. See you on Tuesday.
