Monday, March 19, 2012
HELP FOR ICED-OUT SNOW CRAB FLEET
Department of Fish and Game is providing some relief by opening an additional area to fishing.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
Reasons for deadly CG crash
A failure to observe altitude restrictions and maintain situational awareness at low altitudes and high speeds are among six factors the Coast Guard says contributed to the fatal crash of a MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter near La Push, Wash., July 7, 2010.
– Coast Guard
More:www.uscgnews.com
Pebble Mine backers have their say
Consistent with our promise to be open with Alaskans, the Pebble Partnership recently released its Environmental Baseline Document. While not required to present this information publicly, we did this to reinforce our commitment to responsible, sustainable development.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Fishermen rally in D.C.
Fishermen from California to New England plan to rally for their struggling industry in Washington with an election year message for Congress: Helping the fishing industry will save jobs.
– Fox News
More:www.foxnews.com
Forging Columbia River seasons
It's a long process — and a long-winded one — that leads to the summer and fall salmon fishing dates and rules for the Columbia River.
– Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian
More:tdn.com
Former minister:
Don't mess with fisheries act
A former Progressive Conservative fisheries minister urged the Harper government to reject private sector appeals, which are particularly loud in Western Canada, to water down the federal Fisheries Act.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Shut down shrimp fishery?
The Alaska Board of Fisheries will consider dozens of shellfish proposals during its meeting at the Hilton Anchorage.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Japan heading our way
Somewhere west of here — bobbing and oscillating in the ocean currents — are bits of Japanese villages, washed to sea by last year's tsunami.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Tuesday, March 20, 2012
SARDINE COLLAPSE?
Two fishery scientists have predicted a collapse in the West Coast sardine population based on several factors that parallel the fishery's dramatic collapse in the mid-1900s.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita in her public radio blog: Ecotrope
More:ecotrope.opb.org
Oregon river bar re-opens despite sunken ship
The U.S. Coast Guard opened the Yaquina River bar on Sunday, even though they're not sure of the location of the wreckage of the fishing vessel Chevelle – which crashed into the north jetty and sank and then broke apart later in the stormy surf.
– KATU News
More:www.katu.com
Juneau restaurant owners to pay a high price for buying illegal halibut
The owners of Zen Restaurant will pay $18,000 for knowingly buying subsistence-harvested Pacific halibut to serve in their restaurant.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Coast Guard pilot reprimanded for fatal crash
The U.S. Coast Guard's Alaska commander officially admonished Lt. Lance Leone, a Sitka-based aviator, for his role in a 2010 fatal helicopter crash. Three people died in the crash near La Push, Wash.
- KCAW
More:www.kcaw.org
Alaskan Seafood Exports to China on the Rise
According to data released by the Governor's Office, China overtook Japan to become Alaska's largest trading partner in 2011.
– KUCB Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Run of river project kills fish
Rather than watch the Mamquam flow predictably to the sea, the biologists were dismayed to witness the water levels fluctuate wildly - and with dire consequences.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Fishing changes balance of species
Marine researchers estimate there are two billion tons of fish in the oceans, the equivalent of about 300 kilograms for every human on the earth. Sounds like plenty to go around.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Another hatchery vs. wild fight
Environmental groups say a federal plan to stock a major river on the Olympic Peninsula with hatchery fish after dams are removed violates the Endangered Species Act and will hurt native fish and inhibit the recovery of wild salmon.
– Courthouse News
More:www.courthousenews.com
Wednesday, March 21, 2012
THE END OF THE EXXON VALDEZ
The Exxon Valdez has been sold for scrap 23 years after causing the worst tanker spill in U.S. history.
– Bloomberg
More:www.bloomberg.com
Sea lion kill postponed
Oregon, Washington, and California have postponed startup of their plan to resume killing California sea lions at Bonneville Dam in light of a lawsuit.
—The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Tsunami debris not radioactive
Researchers feel confident that, while debris found on shore might set off your Geiger counter, the level of radiation will be negligible.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Stunned at Guv's council nomination
"Overturning the Governor's recommendation is not an easy task."
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com (scroll down)
Fishing demonstration in D.C.
Thousands of coastal recreational fishermen, business owners, commercial fishermen, charter boat, and party boat owners and others are expected to descend on Washington, D.C., for a rally calling for efforts to "Keep Fishermen Fishing."
– TradeOnlyToday
More:www.tradeonlytoday.com
Broad effects from Cal nuke testing
The work will have significant impacts on air quality, land and marine animals, greenhouse gas emissions, land use, recreation and noise.
– San Luis Obispo Tribune
More:www.sanluisobispo.com
PenAir bugs out of Atka
Effective July 1, PenAir will no longer be flying to Atka or Nikolski – or at least they hope not.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Alaska halibut hits market
Halibut fillets are $19.95 per pound.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Alaska rockfish complaint
Processors challenging the new Central Gulf of Alaska rockfish catch shares program have filed this amended complaint in federal court in Seattle.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Elwha Dam no more
"It's no longer there; there is nothing left of it."
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Aleutian sea lion ruling appealed
Alaska and industry groups are challenging recent rulings upholding fisheries closures in the western Aleutians.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Thursday, March 22, 2012
JELLYFISH? SELL THEM
Along the coast of the southern U.S. state of Georgia, jellyfish are a valuable export, which end up on dining tables across Asia.
– Voice of America
More:www.voanews.com
D.C. fishermen protest draws 1,000
Around 1,000 commercial and recreational fishermen from around the country gathered near the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday to call attention to the regulatory difficulties facing the fishing industry on the East and West coasts.
– South Coast Today, Gloucester, Mass.
More:www.southcoasttoday.com
Subsistence panel quiet
The Federal Subsistence Board for Alaska will not release its position on a village corporation's petition to take over management of nearby state fisheries.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:www.kcaw.org
Court stops logging expansion
A federal court in Oregon formally struck down a Bush-era plan that abandoned scientific protections for federal public lands in western Oregon and would have opened up those lands to outdated boom-and-bust logging.
– Enews Park Forest
More:www.enewspf.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week: The feds are taking a closer look at seafood fraud, the state will start monitoring personally harvested bi-valves for PSP, the Department of Labor declares fishing as the deadliest way to make a living in Alaska and the Senate is looking at a resolution to get more young folks into the industry. All that and Prince William Sound's Leviathan makes its last voyage.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org (scroll down)
Togiak herring to be late
The man who makes management decision about the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery anticipates a late start this year.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Bad news for geoduck divers
For the fifth consecutive week, the commercial geoduck clam fishery in Southeast Alaska is closed due to all harvest areas failing paralytic shellfish poison testing.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Open mouth, insert foot
Many aboriginal communities are "socially dysfunctional," and could benefit from developments that bring jobs and revenue to them.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Tough summer seen for Klamath
Another tough summer could be shaping up for salmon and farmers in the Klamath Basin of Southern Oregon and Northern California.
– Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Dry dock sinks, takes tug
The Coast Guard and Washington Dept. of Ecology were maintaining oversight of the response by Vigor Marine to a submerged dry dock and partially submerged tug at the company's shipyard in Everett.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d13.uscgnews.com
Friday, March 23, 2012
SEEKING SITKA HERRING
Alaska Department of Fish & Game officials were expected to do another aerial survey Friday to look for herring.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:www.kcaw.org
Sea lion killing may resume
Oregon state authorities can resume killing California sea lions that feast on endangered salmon bottled up at a dam on the Columbia River, but fewer than one-third as many as federal biologists previously had authorized.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Claim: Ocean policy good for you
Shortly before the National Ocean Policy was established, a firestorm broke out when a columnist for ESPN.com spread the unfounded rumor that the policy would close off large swaths of the ocean to fishing.
– National Resource Defense Council
More:switchboard.nrdc.org
Look out for sick seals
Federal and state wildlife biologists are seeking help from Alaska residents and visitors in finding out what is causing a disease among ice seals and walruses in the 49th state.
– Cordova Times
More:www.thecordovatimes.com
Coho recovery plans flawed
Representatives of the National Marine Fisheries Service told the Siskiyou County Board of Supervisors that they will reconsider several aspects of the NMFS coho salmon recovery plan based on concerns from the board and the public.
– Siskiyou Daily
More:www.siskiyoudaily.com
'Responsible' mining
The proposed Pebble Mine and other potential mining projects in the Nushagak River watershed has prompted several tribes and local governments along the river to put together a guide for environmentally responsible mining.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Fracking in Alaska
Boosting oil production with "fracking" is likely to help Alaska get more oil out of older or other challenged resources.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Sporties reject Chinook restrictions
Angry anglers gave Fisheries and Oceans representatives a rough ride with raucous objections to any cuts to the summer Chinook fishery in Juan de Fuca Strait.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Fisheries loan measure clears hurdle
Legislation aimed at increasing Alaskan ownership in the state's fisheries by enabling more residents to purchased limited entry commercial fishing permits cleared the House Finance Committee, and a vote on a House floor was expected soon.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Fishing crawfish in Tahoe
The commercial harvest of crayfish in Lake Tahoe is still a very real possibility and may kick off within the next couple of months — on both the California and Nevada sides of the lake.
– Tahoe Daily Tribune
More:www.tahoedailytribune.com
