Monday, February 28, 2011
STELLAR SEA LIONS HURT COLUMBIA SALMON
For 10 years the highly publicized fight on the Columbia River and in the courts has been over California sea lions that show up below Bonneville Dam in March to eat endangered, migrating spring Chinook salmon. A few years ago, the Stellers came to the feast.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Strong pink run forecast for Puget Sound
A preliminary review of the 2011 salmon forecasts calls for strong pink salmon runs to the Green and Puyallup rivers, while Chinook returns in the deep South Sound should be good.
– The Olympian
More:www.theolympian.com
Time to settle B.C. halibut wars
It is time for the minister to stop feeding the fight and start coming up with a solution that really works.
– B.C. Local News
More:www.bclocalnews.com
'Lame-duck' oil stand deplored
A wide-ranging coalition of environmental, business and fishery groups are furious at Premier Gordon Campbell's "lame-duck" call to end the ban on oil tankers through B.C. waters.
– Vancouver Province
More:www.theprovince.com
Fierce winds shut down Valdez port
Hurricane-force winds have forced a shutdown of the port where Alaska oil is loaded onto tankers.
–Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Bering Sea rockfish important
While pollock and crab are some of the Bering Sea's better known fisheries, Alaska is also a major exporter of rockfish.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Kodiak wrestles with port parking
The Kodiak City Council seemed to find a harbor parking permit six-month trial that would work for the fishermen in the city.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Port Hardy still a fishing port
When Maple Leaf Foods shut down its fish processing plant in 1999, it was a dark day in Port Hardy.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Crescent City harbormaster leaves
After seven years on the job, the Crescent City harbormaster will be riding the tide south. Richard Young has announced he is leaving to become marina manager for the Vallejo Municipal Marina about 30 miles northeast of San Francisco.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:www.triplicate.com
Washington looks to hijack Newport NOAA move
A year ago, U.S. Rep. Jim McDermott (D-Wash.) joined fellow representatives and senators from Washington's federal delegation in signing a letter questioning the decision by National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to move its Pacific research fleet from Seattle's Lake Union to Newport's Yaquina Bay.
– Newport News Times
More:www.newportnewstimes.com
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
THIEVING SPERM WHALE CAUGHT ON VIDEO
You can see some great video of one way sperm whales steal from longline gear at the website for the Alaska Longline Fishermen's Association.
More:www.alfafish.org
Valuable fish found off Alaska's arctic
Spurred by the rush to develop the Arctic's offshore oil and gas riches, scientists are unlocking some mysteries about the marine environment off Alaska's northern coast.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Market report: Chilean salmon farms hopeful
Chilean salmon farmers say they'll produce more fish this year. Plus, identification of another deceptive practice called "fish protein isolate."
– Tradex Foods Three Minute Market Insight
More:www.youtube.com/TradexFoods
Fishing safety regs in effect
New safety regulations for fishing vessels are on the horizon and fishermen need to 1) pay attention; and 2) participate in developing the new rules.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Saving San Diego fisheries
Die-hard commercial fishermen in Point Loma are trying to reinvent their industry and save one of the region's signature businesses from extinction.
– San Diego Union Tribune
More:www.signonsandiego.com
Alaska CG helicopter pilot honored
The Helicopter Association International's Salute to Excellence Award was given to Lt. Audie Andry, who demonstrated exceptional airmanship and decisive action in landing a Sikorsky MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter safely aboard the Coast Guard Cutter Healy near Kodiak after it suffered a main-transmission input failure while in a 40-foot hover 100 feet from the ship at night Sept. 30, 2010.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d17.uscgnews.com
Research board chief named
Dr. Cynthia Suchman has been named executive director of the North Pacific Research Board. She had served the National Science Foundation in Arlington, Va., where she has was an associate program director in the Division of Ocean Sciences for the past three years.
– National Pacific Research Board
More:www.nprb.org
Ocean salmon helps W. Coast economy
The total West Coast income impact associated with the recreational and commercial ocean salmon fisheries for all three states combined for $25.5-million, which is 46-percent above the $17.4-million in 2009. The year 2010 had the third lowest income impacts on record, with 2008 having the lowest on record at $7.5 million and 2009 the second lowest (adjusted for inflation).
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
China's demand for salmon
China's appetite for Scottish farmed salmon is threatening dwindling stocks of sea trout and wild salmon, according to conservationists.
– The Guardian, U.K.
More:www.guardian.co.uk
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
EXXON SAYS IT'S PAID ENOUGH
Exxon Mobil Corp. says it has paid enough for the 1989 Alaska oil spill, but a judge will hear arguments that the company still owes nearly $100 million to remove oil from the Prince William Sound shoreline.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Judge agrees with big processor
U.S. District Court Judge Owen Panner handed Pacific Seafoods a big victory Tuesday in the anti-trust lawsuit against the Clackamas-based fish-processing giant.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Alaska Fish Board mulls Inlet options
After a week of emotional – and sometimes contentious – public and committee testimony, the Alaska Board of Fisheries began its deliberations on Upper Cook Inlet finfish proposals at Anchorage's Egan Center.
– Kenai Peninsula online
More:www.peninsulaclarion.com
NOAA chief: Let science decide
Effective rebuilding of the mighty salmon runs of the Columbia River depends on science to guide our actions, a firm commitment to implement those actions, people and funding to do the job, and a robust monitoring program to guide us through the uncertainties of the future.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Tribes sue over Cal reserves
Northern California Native American tribes are clashing with state wildlife regulators over plans to restrict fishing off parts of the rugged coastline from the Oregon border south to Point Arena in Mendocino County.
– Indian Country News
More:indiancountrynews.net
Sacramento Delta farmers can pump
A settlement has been reached between the state and federal governments, farmers, water contractors and environmental groups to allow more water to be pumped through the delta this spring while still providing protection to the delta smelt.
– California Farm Bureau
More:www.cfbf.com
Look for full California salmon season
California could see a return to a full-length coastal salmon fishing season this year with biologists forecasting a tripling of the fish's ocean population, state fish and wildlife officials said Tuesday.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:www.sfgate.com
Bellingham moorage reduced
Commercial fishermen responded with warm applause Tuesday, March 1, after Port of Bellingham commissioners approved a cut in their moorage rates.
– Bellingham Herald
More:www.bellinghamherald.com
Things look good for Washington Chinook
Fishing prospects look bright this year for Chinook in Washington's ocean waters and the Columbia River, according to preseason salmon forecasts released today at a public meeting in Olympia.
– Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
More:wdfw.wa.gov
More certification for Alaska salmon
King salmon and coho salmon, from the Alaskan Seafood Producers Cooperative, representing over 575 fishermen and employees, have been certified as sustainable under Friend of the Sea (FOS).
– FishNewsEU.com
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Thursday, March 3, 2011
DRIFTNETTERS LOSE INLET FIGHT
David Martin, president of United Cook Inlet Drift Association, estimates the drifters will lose 30 to 40 percent of their catch.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Northwest's vanishing salmon
The annual runs of millions of salmon once defined the Pacific Northwest. Now, their alarming absence is shaping the region.
– PBS
More:www.prnewswire.com
Pollock fleet Chinook bycatch
Some 54,000 kings, called Chinook salmon or winter kings, were incidentally caught in 2010 as bycatch.
– Homer Tribune
More:homertribune.com
Denby Lloyd drunk charges
A Juneau court hearing will determine whether former Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd will face trial on charges of driving under the influence and reckless endangerment.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
NOAA backs down on boundary
An agreement is now in effect in which the new three-mile line established on the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's nautical charts will have no impact on state and federal fisheries management this year.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Incoming! New safety regs
New safety regulations for fishing vessels are on the horizon and fishermen need to 1) pay attention; and 2) participate in developing the new rules.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing for SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
TWIC certifier in Dutch
Starting this week, Unalaska residents will be able to apply for a TWIC card just by going to the local library. TWIC stands for Transportation Worker Identification Credential, and it gives approved individuals access to high-security, federally regulated facilities, and vessels.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Kodiak gets new Sea Grant agent
Kodiak will have a new Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program (MAP) agent for the first time in nearly 15 years.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Oregon lottery for urchin permits
The Department of Fish and Wildlife announced recently that there will be an April 22 lottery to award nine commercial sea urchin permits.
– Newport News Times
More:www.newportnewstimes.com
Friday, March 4, 2011
ALASKA EXPECTS FIFTH LARGEST HARVEST
The statewide commercial salmon harvest for this year has been estimated at 203 million salmon of all species.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Another hit for Cook Inlet
Commercial fishermen took another hit at the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting on Upper Cook Inlet finfish policies at the Egan Center in Anchorage.
– Kenai Peninsula Clarion
More:www.peninsulaclarion.com
Sitka fisherman critical after fall
Commercial fisherman Jay Clifton was carrying mail down the ladder at Seafood Producers Cooperative when he slipped and dropped the remaining twenty or twenty-five feet into his Carolina Skiff.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Snag in Cal reserve agreement
The proposal would grant North Coast tribes exclusive, non-commercial fishing and gathering rights within certain historically significant waters; problem is, the state doesn't officially recognize the existence of those rights.
– North Coast Journal, Humboldt County
More:www.northcoastjournal.com
Alaska burglary kills fish
Alaska State Troopers are investigating a burglary at a Southeast hatchery that left most of the salmon fry dead.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Mining chief: Pebble and fish can coexist
The chief executive of a company pursuing the Pebble copper and gold mine prospect in southwest Alaska said Thursday that mining and fishing can co-exist.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Nigerians to train in Dutch
Nigerian Navy personnel have traveled to Unalaska for training on the Coast Guard Cutter Morgenthau.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Fuel hits Cal commercial fishing hard
If you think it's bad to fill up your car, just imagine local fishermen have to fill up their boats. It costs them thousands of dollars.
– KION, Moss Landing
More:www.kionrightnow.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
This week: Anger among the driftnet fleet on over a plan to conserve sockeye on Cook Inlet; a class-action suit brought by fishermen against an Oregon-based seafood processor suffers a setback; survey results are published polling Bristol Bay salmon processors; plus evidence of fisheries with commercial potential are found in Arctic waters; also the feds and state have reached a temporary ceasefire over boundary line shifts that's been causing headaches from Kachemak to Kodiak.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More: www.kmxt.org
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