Pacific Fishing - Fish Wrap Archives | March 2, 2009

Monday, March 2, 2009

Editorial: Time to cut fishing’s death toll

Even now, commercial fishing remains one of the deadliest occupations. As various markers and memorials remind us, Washington state has suffered more than its share of the sorrow, tragedy and devastation of loss.

More than might have been imagined, this state can decide whether to make the 21st century safer for commercial fishing crews. Two of the state's smartest, most capable political leaders will hold key federal positions on fisheries. – Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Crescent City dredging money clears one hurdle

Harbormaster Richard Young is cautiously excited, and Crescent City boat owners should be as well.
An appropriations bill that just passed the U.S. House of Representatives includes $1.6 million for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to dredge Crescent City’s harbor.

“That doesn’t mean the corps has the money. It still has to pass through the Senate and be signed by President Obama,” Young said. “As my contact at the corps told me, ‘it’s not over till it’s over.’” -- Crescent City Triplicate

Coast Guard rescues fisherman after heart attack

The crew from the Coast Guard Cutter Munro rescued a fisherman from a Seattle-based fishing vessel Saturday after he suffered a possible heart attack in Alaska, officials said. – Seattle Post Intelligencer

Alaska legislators looking into Pebble project

Alaska lawmakers this year are beginning to look deeper into the massive, controversial Pebble project.
The debate over Pebble involves a proposal to build one of the world's biggest hard-rock mines in the headwaters of the world's biggest sockeye salmon fishery. Many consider it a battle on the scale of the duel over oil exploration in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. – Anchorage Daily News

Alaska rogue wave smacks fishing vessel

A rogue wave on the Bering Sea knocked out the windows of a fishing vessel and soaked all of the navigational equipment. The 112-foot F/V Alyeska , out of Washington, was transiting 131 miles north of Akutan when it was stuck by the wave. Coast Guard Petty Officer Sara Francis explains the incident.—KUCB Unalaska

Read more: www.publicbroadcasting.net

Tuesday, March 3, 2009

Report: Cod caused Kodiak king crab doldrums

The 1960s and 1970s was a time of plenty in Kodiak, the heyday of the king crab fishery, and Kodiak had a boomtown bustle.

Crab stocks underwent a precipitous decline in the late 1970s, and the commercial fishery was closed in 1983. Since then, neither Kodiak nor the king crab have fully recovered. – Kodiak Daily Mirror

Natives blame pollock fleet bycatch for troubles

On June 23, 2008, the Association of Village Council Presidents issued a press release titled, "Does our subsistence way of life have to end so that the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery can continue?"

Stated within the press release was our outcry on the continuation of the Bering Sea Pollock Trawl Fishery's wasteful and destructive practice of killing Chinook salmon bound for western Alaska and its implications on the commercial fishermen and their families. – Alaska Dispatch

Alaska state senator tapped for D.C. post

Juneau Democrat Kim Elton said he’s resigning from the state Senate to become director of Alaska affairs for the U.S. Department of the Interior.

Elton was in the state House from 1995 to 1998 and has been in the Senate since 1999. He’ll be moving to Washington, D.C., for the new job, which will focus on advising the Interior Department about Alaska land and natural resources issues. – Anchorage Daily News

B.C. harbor seal population explodes

The population of harbor seals has increased 10-fold to an estimated 105,000 on the B.C. coast since the federal government afforded the marine mammal protection from commercial harvest and bounties in 1970.

A new study by Fisheries and Oceans Canada found that the population has stabilized after decades of growth and appears to have returned to historic levels of more than a century ago. – Vancouver Sun

Trollers want rest of disaster money

NEWPORT — Of the $170 million in disaster money destined for West Coast salmon fishermen and related businesses last year, about $50 million is left — and Oregon trollers are going after it.

Though the $170 was divvied between Washington, Oregon and California, there’s still a chance Oregon can get some of the leftover money. California and Washington both overestimated how much their fleets would need; Oregon came in much closer to target. – Coos Bay World

Study: Fishing causes shrinking fish

People can reverse evolution when it comes to the effects of fishing on sea creatures, researchers say. Just don't hold your breath.

The common practice of catching only the bigger fish in a population becomes an evolutionary pressure for later generations to stay small and grow slow, says fisheries scientist David Conover of Stony Brook University in New York. – Science News

Read more: www.sciencenews.org

Fish farm feeding frenzy hurt baitfish population

The stars of the ocean -- bluefin tuna, salmon, whales and seabirds -- suffer from dwindling food supplies as a result of heavy fishing driven by the demands of fish farms and climate change, according to a study released.

Seven of the world's 10 largest commercial fisheries include small fish such as herring, anchovy, pollock, mackerel and whiting, which support the vast ocean web of big fish, marine mammals and birds, said the study by Oceana, a worldwide environmental group. – San Francisco Chronicle

Alaska kid asks good questions

Do you eat farmed fish or know someone that does? Do you know how unhealthy farmed fish are and what are given to them? And did you know that farmed fish could pass cancer-causing chemicals on to you and make you more antibiotic resistant when you eat them? – Eighth-grader Mizani Rawhani of Floyd Dryden School writing in Alaska’s Capital City Weekly

Court: Canada can give Native-only fishing access

Giving exclusive commercial fishing licenses to aboriginal groups is consistent with the Charter of Rights and Freedoms and does not discriminate against non-aboriginal fishermen, the Supreme Court of Canada ruled in a unanimous decision.

Ruling on what’s known as the Kapp case, the country’s top court said a federal fisheries program that gives three native bands a 24-hour jump-start on fishing for salmon in British Columbia’s Fraser River is not unconstitutional because it qualifies as an affirmative action program. – Canada.com

Coast Guard Neah Bay honored

Coast Guard Station Neah Bay, Wash., received the prestigious Sumner I. Kimball Readiness Award for superior readiness.

The Kimball Award is presented to Coast Guard units who have demonstrated excellence in crew proficiency, boat and personal protective equipment condition, and compliance with established training documentation requirements.

While the Coast Guard maintains a high readiness posture, only 5 to 10 percent of its small boat stations earn this coveted award each year. – Coast Guard press release

Thursday, March 5, 2009

Report: Invasive species culprit in salmon loss

Most discussions about the causes of declining salmon runs focus on the four H's: habitat, hatcheries, harvest and hydropower. But the most important factor may be invasive species.

That's the conclusion of a new report from the NOAA science center in Seattle.

The study, which was published in the journal Bioscience, is sure to be controversial because much of the Northwest's multi-billion dollar salmon recovery work is centered on improving habitat, mitigating the damage of power-producing dams and curtailing commercial or recreational fishing. – The Oregonian

Read more: www.oregonlive.com

To read the study (PDF), click here: blog.oregonlive.com/environment_impact

Seattle’s old codfish schooner towed away

It took about a half-hour for a tugboat to haul the 111-year-old Wawona, one of the West Coast's oldest sailing ships, to the dry dock where it will be dismantled, ending a remarkable maritime life.

The short trip across Seattle's Lake Union also marked the end of a battle by ship enthusiasts to save the schooner, which was listed as a national historic site in 1970. – San Francisco Chronicle

Report: U.S. government subsidies to fleet higher than thought

A new study published in the North American Journal of Fisheries Management reveals that the US government gives more financial support to the fishing industry than previously estimated.

The study, conducted by Renée Sharp and Dr. Rashid Sumaila, and supported by the Lenfest Ocean Program, is the most detailed assessment to date of state and federal fishing subsidy programmes in the United States. The researchers found that $713 million per year of direct subsidies, or financial support, goes to the US fishing industry, roughly half of which could contribute to overfishing. – The Fish Site

Coast Guard send team to St. George wreckage

Citing concerns over migrating birds, mating seals and a historic Russian settlement, the U.S. Coast Guard on Thursday dispatched a team of experts from California to remove the wreckage of a fishing vessel that ran aground on St. George Island with some 15,000 gallons of diesel aboard.

The 112-foot Mar-Gun, based in Seattle, ran aground and began taking on water shortly after 4 a.m. Thursday as it battled whipping winds and swelling seas. The helicopter crew safely hoisted the five crewmen from the Mar-Gun at 7:53 a.m.

Tim Propst, Dan Hankins, Richard Post, Dan Stanfield and Paul Gore were safely hoisted and are being taken to St. Paul Medical Clinic. There have been no injuries reported.

The Mar-Gun was fishing for pollock when the incident occurred. – Anchorage Daily News

Navy told to step back from practice range

TILLAMOOK — Representatives of the state’s commercial and sport fishing industries are urging the U.S. Navy to refrain from stepping up training efforts off the Oregon Coast.

They are suggesting working closely with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife. That was the message they shared at a hearing in Tillamook. – Coos Bay World