Monday, March 12, 2012
FOOD INDUSTRY AGAINST PEBBLE MINE
For the first time ever, the nation's largest group of food retail companies has spoken out on behalf of protecting Alaska's Bristol Bay fishery - the world's largest wild sockeye salmon fishery.
– Market Watch
More:www.marketwatch.com
Search halted on Washington Coast
The U.S. Coast Guard suspended the search for the crew of the fishing vessel Lady Cecelia at 9:44 a.m., Sunday.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d13.uscgnews.com
Search near Sand Point
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-65 Dolphin helicopter and HC-130 Hercules airplane crews were conducting a search for a man overboard from the 42-foot fishing vessel Glacier Spirit near Sand Point.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d17.uscgnews.com
Aground at Yaquina Bay
The Coast Guard was continuing to monitor a grounded commercial fishing vessel, the Chevelle, for diesel fuel leakage while awaiting better weather before beginning a salvage operation.
– Eugene Register Guard
More:www.registerguard.com
Protect Bristol Bay Natives
Count me among the Alaska Natives who are saddened by multinational mining companies who work tirelessly to create the illusion of local, Native support for their dangerous projects.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:www.alaskadispatch.com
More salmon farm disease
Yet another breakout of salmon virus was reported at a commercial Nova Scotia fish farm in Shelburne. The findings carried out by Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) confirmed presence of the infectious salmon anemia.
– French Tribune
More:frenchtribune.com
Spray, not guns, for bear
In those 229 incidents, 175 bears were killed, but Smith says the people didn't fare so well either.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Alaska coastal initiative certified
The initiative to restart the Coastal Management Program in Alaska has been certified to appear on the ballot later this year.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Pirate ship still tied up
Five months after its seizure, the stateless fishing vessel Bangun Perkasa is still tied up at the dock in Unalaska - but not for much longer.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
B.C. oil port will not be safe
According to our prime minister and according to pipeline and oil-tanker spokespersons, we are safe from oil pollution of our coast. As a former oil tanker merchant seaman, I'm a hard sell for their blandishments.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Tuesday, March 13, 2012
DEADLY WEEKEND ON NW COAST
Five fishermen and one federal fisheries observer died this weekend in the deadliest 24 hours for commercial fishing in the Pacific Northwest in recent memory.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Ready to retire, now missing
At 38, Jason Bjaranson was starting to figure it might be time to get out of commercial fishing on the Pacific Ocean.
– Washington Post
Text message was last word
On Wednesday morning, Luke Jensen texted his father from 10 miles out at sea, west of Long Beach. Jensen, 22, had landed a last-minute spot on the crew of the Lady Cecelia, a 70-foot fishing trawler based in Warrenton, Ore.
– Seattle Times
Sitka herring air surveys begin
The Department of Fish and Game says aerial surveys will begin today in preparation for the first opening of the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery.
– KTUU, Anchorage
More:www.ktuu.com
Worry over B.C. oil port
A First Nations chief and representatives from British Columbia's commercial fishing and tourism sectors will outline their concerns about a proposed pipeline linking Alberta's oilsands with the West Coast at a panel discussion in Ottawa tonight.
– Calgary Herald
More:www.thestarphoenix.com
Tuna fleet: Big carbon footprint
Tuna products tend to be less energy-intensive than many aquaculture and livestock-derived sources of protein, but catching tuna uses more energy than fishing some other breeds.
— Environmental Leader
More:www.environmentalleader.com
D.C. message: Conserve Tongass
Alaskan fishermen and tour operators visited Washington D.C. last week to urge the federal government to shift the focus from logging to conservation in the Tongass rainforest.
– Mongabay
More:news.mongabay.com
Grant helps Sitka hatchery
The hatchery program at the Sitka Sound Science Center is getting a helping hand from the Pacific Salmon Commission.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:www.kcaw.org
Missing man identified
The crewmember who fell off the fishing vessel Glacier Spirit is 19-year-old Joe Haller of Greenville, Pennsylvania.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Wednesday, March 14, 2012
FISHING DEADLIEST JOB IN ALASKA
Despite significant improvements since the early '90s, fishing is still the most deadly profession in Alaska.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Hatchery fish overwhelm wild
Wild salmon in the Sandy River are being overwhelmed by more than 1.3 million hatchery-grown fish the state and federal governments release into the river every year, the Native Fish Society claims in Federal Court.
– Courthouse News
More:www.courthousenews.com
Millions of Alaska hatchery fish return
The state's annual report on its fisheries enhancement programs show that last year, hatchery returns and harvests were down by more than half from 2010, when a record 77 million hatchery salmon were caught when returning to their home hatcheries.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing for SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Grocers reject Antarctica fish
Harris Teeter joins US supermarket chains Safeway and Wegmans by taking the "Ross Sea Pledge" which means it will not buy or sell seafood from that area.
– Wildlife Extra
More:www.wildlifeextra.com
Alaska eyes Chinook research plan
Down in Juneau, state legislators are thinking about creating a special endowment to fund Chinook research.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Drive to build B.C. oil port
The federal government plans to gut the powers in federal legislation intended to protect fish habitat, making it easier for projects such as Calgary-based Enbridge Inc.'s Northern Gateway pipeline to B.C. to clear federal hurdles.
– Victoria Times Colonist
Read more:www.timescolonist.com
Selling to your neighbors
His request was simple: When you go to the supermarket or the fish store, ask for Jersey seafood, and help some of these guys out.
– Middletown, N.J., Patch
More:middletown-nj.patch.com
Scots sell farmed fish in U.S.
Scottish salmon exports experienced a 36 per cent increase to the United States in 2011. As the largest ever year-on-year rise, it further secures the U.S. as Scotland's top export market.
– FishNewsEU
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Danes unify behind MSC tag
Competing retailer groups – Coop, Dansk Supermarked and SuperGros – together covering 97 per cent of the Danish market have united to achieve a common objective, to promote MSC certified sustainable seafood.
– MSC
More:www.msc.org
Seabirds declining
Almost half of the world's seabirds have populations that are thought to be in decline, according to a new review.
– BBC
More:www.bbc.co.uk
Thursday, March 15, 2012
HALIBUT AT THE WHITE HOUSE
A state dinner to honor the arrival of David Cameron to the White House included a starter made with wild Alaskan halibut.
– FishNewsEU
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Acidification faster than thought
Their findings reinforce warnings from many climate scientists that the world's oceans, a vital source of fish food protein, may be turning acidic faster today from human CO₂ emissions than they did during four major episodes of animal and plant extinctions in the last 300 million years, when natural surges of CO₂, probably from catastrophic volcanic eruptions or meteor strikes, sent global temperatures soaring.
– Japan Times
More:www.japantimes.co.jp
Seoul waits for cheaper fish
South Korea and the U.S. will eliminate duties on thousands of goods as they implement a free-trade agreement that took one year to negotiate and an additional four years of political battling to complete.
– Wall Street Journal
More:online.wsj.com
New future for Japanese fleet
A year later, residents are struggling to rebuild, but some are finding that the disaster has given them the opportunity to chart a new course.
– Public Radio International
More:www.pri.org
Aleutian shipping risk assessment
Last fall, the panel recommended a number of immediately implementable steps to improve the safety of shipping in the Aleutians. Now, the organization is soliciting proposals to help solve some of the more persistent problems.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
A herring killer
Creosote, a toxic substance extensively used as a wood preservative for marine pilings, attracts spawning herring, but groups working on the fish's recovery believe that creosote-covered pilings kill the eggs.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Feds against fish fraud
Those plump and tempting scallops behind the fish counter glass might be a lot smaller than they look — a sodium-based compound can bloat scallops well past their actual size.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Seafood prices rise in past year
In the aftermath of the tsunami's impact on those harbors, many seafood markets felt the effects on their wallets.
– KDRV, Medford
More:kdrv.com
Fish farm moratorium sought
An alliance of salmon conservationists, commercial fisheries groups, environmental organizations, sustainable economic development proponents and tourism operators has expressed its concern over the commitment made by Nova Scotia's Provincial Government to expand salmon aquaculture.
– FishNewsEU
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Friday, March 16, 2012
AGAINST COOK INLET COAL MINE
A citizens group concerned that a large coal strip mine project could set a precedent for adverse affects on salmon spawning streams is asking Gov. Sean Parnell to say no to development of the mine in Upper Cook Inlet.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Biology the solution to halibut wars
In the end, though, while fishing pressure and bycatch undoubtedly are having an impact, the biggest problem with the halibut resource may be biological.
– Alaska Journal of Commerce
More:www.alaskajournal.com
Forage fish threatened
There is increasing pressure globally to harvest marine "forage fish" for everything from hog feed and fertilizer to fishmeal in tuna pens or as bait for recreational or commercial fishing.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Undersize crab
A Bay Area crabber was convicted Thursday of catching too many small crustaceans.
– KTVU, Oakland
More: www.ktvu.com
Bonneville sea lion kill OK’d
Oregon, Washington, and Idaho will be allowed to resume killing California sea lions at Bonneville Dam this spring.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Kodiak boat aground
The Kodiak-based Alaskan Star was being led back to port after hitting a rock.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, a pirate ship in Unalaska will be up for sale soon; user groups on the Tsiu River near Yakutat clash over salmon allocations; Congress authorizes $1.7 million to dredge the entrance to Kodiak's St. Paul Harbor; and Rep. Alan Austerman touts coastal communities at a recent economic summit held in Anchorage.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Wash. nominee for N. Pacific Council
Lori Swanson, executive director of Groundfish Forum, is Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire's top choice for a seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
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Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
Alaska nominees for council
Gov. Sean Parnell nominated Robert "Ed" Dersham and Howard "Dan" Hull for consideration by the U.S. commerce secretary for continued service on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
