Monday, March 25, 2013
TRIDENT EMBEZZLEMENT II
A second conspirator in the Trident Seafoods embezzlement case has been sentenced to prison.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Shell exec out
The executive in charge of Shell's troubled Arctic drilling program is stepping down.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:ktoo.org
War over squid
It was a rare victory in the squid wars: Argentina's coast guard cutter Thompson fired warning shots at two Chinese trawlers, blocking their escape into international waters.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
War over sea cucumbers
Mexico has banned fishing for sea cucumbers, but demand from China has triggered a black market and violent rivalries between those who obey the law and those who can make a big profit on food that Mexicans don't even eat.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.com
Pot cod lousy
Alaska Department of Fish and Game Homer area management biologist Jan Rumble confirmed what fishermen have been saying all season: It has been a lousy pot cod season.
– Homer News
More:homernews.com
Long trolling season
Alternatives indicate a potentially long commercial fishing season.
– Willits (Cal.) News
More:willitsnews.com
Get set
The Sitka herring fishery goes on two-hour notice.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
B.C. herring in decline
Sierra Club B.C. and some fisheries scientists are calling for a moratorium on B.C.'s herring fishery because of fears declining stocks could affect the entire marine ecosystem.
– Times Colonist
More:timescolonist.com
Herring research cut back
Spawn-deposition surveys alone are not the most accurate way to estimate herring numbers, but more precise methods were dropped for budget reasons.
– Kitsap (Wash.) Sun
More:kitsapsun.com
Keep B.C. salmon stamps
The stamp is bought in addition to the federal fishing license and is considered a special user-fee (not a license or tax).
– Market Wire
More:marketwire.com
CG terminates Kake voyage
The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Naushon terminated the voyage of the fishing vessel Donna Jean near Kake after discovering several safety issues aboard the vessel.
– Coast Guard
More:uscgnews.com
Tuesday, March 26, 2013
NOT MUCH HALIBUT CHATTER
It was unusually quiet along the waterfront as the halibut fishery got underway.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:sitnews.us
Exxon Valdez in B.C.
Enbridge launched its own multi-million dollar media and online advertising campaign last May, to sell the public on the economic benefits of the pipeline and the company's safety and oil-spill prevention procedures.
– Star Phoenix
More:thestarphoenix.com
Oil coming to Rupert?
The ultimate plan has always been to build that pipeline to Prince Rupert.
– Prince Rupert Daily
More:rupertdaily.ca
Columbia sea lions and enviros
A conservation group known for interfering with whaling ships wants to stop Oregon's killing of sea lions that eat endangered salmon in the Columbia River.
– The Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
Cod spawning grunts
Although both sexes produce low frequency "grunts," only male Atlantic cod make this sound during spawning season.
– Alaska Native News
More:alaska-native-news.com
Humpback whales squeak
"They have slightly different acoustic repertoires."
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Tsunami testing sans Kodiak
Weekly sirens don't take place in every coastal community, but next Wednesday there will be a statewide test of all alarm systems at 9:45 a.m. That is, all but one.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Big Tanner catch
Southeast crabbers had their biggest tanner harvest in more than a decade last month.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:kfsk.org
Fighting derelict vessels
"The bill adds some things to get at vessel owner accountability, which would get towards the prevention standpoint."
– OPB
More:earthfix.opb.org
Barents cod up for certification
Russian companies, ZAO Strelets and ZAO Eridan have entered their joint cod and haddock fishery into assessment for MSC certification.
– MSC
More:msc.org
Wednesday, March 27, 2013
TOGIAK HERRING TO BE LATE
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is anticipating a later than normal start for the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery this year.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Good Columbia smelt year
Smelt swirling below him in the Sandy River transported Dick Filbert back 60 years.
– The Oregonian
More:oregonlive.com
Hope in Adak
Adak is hoping for $15 million from the state legislature to complete its small boat harbor.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:thedutchharborfisherman.com
Anti-Frankenfish vote
The Alaska Senate passed a resolution opposing U.S. Food and Drug Administration approval of genetically engineered salmon.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Wave power delay
A much vaunted wave energy park off the South Coast may not be finished this year in part because of financial issues.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Half nation’s rivers ailing
More than half of the nation’s rivers and streams are so polluted that they “do not support healthy populations of aquatic life.”
– New York Daily News
More:nydailynews.com
Cal fish coming back
After years of depletion, California's fish populations appear to be bouncing back.
– L.A. Times
More:latimes.com
Salmon farm foes fear panel
Critics of British Columbia’s salmon-farming industry fear they could be “shouted down” and that their concerns will disappear into a “black hole” when a new committee meets to advise federal fisheries officials on aquaculture issues.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Orca Bay certified
Orca Bay Seafoods has been awarded certification in chain of custody from ASMI by successfully meeting the requirements of the FAO-Based Responsible Fisheries Management Chain of Custody Certification standard administered by Global Trust.
– Perishable News
More:perishablenews.com
More Arctic rules
After a year’s delay, the United Nations body tasked with developing polar shipping regulations has recommended provisions to address the environmental impacts of Arctic shipping – but they don’t go far enough.
– World Wildlife Federation
More:panda.org
Thursday, March 28, 2013
FIRST FARMED SOCKEYE
B.C. seafood firm Willowfield Enterprises will begin harvesting the world's first commercial supply of sockeye salmon raised on a land-based farm.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Lower seiner taxes
Two different taxes paid by Southeast Alaska commercial purse seiners could be going down this year.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:kfsk.org
Sitka herring begins
The first opening of Sitka's lucrative and fast-paced commercial herring fishery began at 3 p.m. and ended at 6:05 p.m.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Fish board re-appointments
Gov. Sean Parnell reappointed two members to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.
– Fairbanks News Miner
More:newsminer.com
Gillnet ban in court
Olympia became the battleground in commercial fishermen's efforts to stop a plan to move gillnetters off the lower Columbia River's mainstem.
– Wahkiakum County Eagle
More:waheagle.com
Processor floating again
During the vessel's stint aground no spills were reported.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
See you at ComFish
For 34 years, ComFish Alaska has been bringing the latest products, services, and information directly to the people in one of our nation's top fishing ports – Kodiak. Kodiak is home to Alaska's largest and most diverse fishing fleet, with more than 600 vessels filling its two downtown harbors. Kodiak also has the largest number of seafood processing companies operating in Alaska.
ComFish exhibitor booths sold out in record time and the venue will be expanded next year, said Trevor Brown, director of the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce, which hosts the ComFish event.
"ComFish provides a unique opportunity for vendors and exhibitors to interact with people in the fishing industry right where they live and do business. Visitors get to experience a thriving, year round, working waterfront and a colorful fishing town," Brown said.
Along with the trade show, a lively lineup of workshops and presentations provide the latest information on policies and issues that directly affect Alaska's fishing communities. A highlight this year include discussions on a catch share program being crafted for groundfish fisheries in the Gulf of Alaska and what it might mean for the Kodiak community. Visitors from coastal communities around the nation will share their experiences on securing long-term access to their fisheries.
Other highlights: expanded halibut stock surveys, fishing vessel energy savers, new hatch/door monitors to prevent vessel sinkings, marine debris cleanup programs, seafood markets with a focus on China, updates on the Pebble Mine, ergonomics for fishermen that help reduce pains, strains, and sprains, updates on king crab enhancement projects at the nation's top crab lab in Kodiak, updates on the Fishermen's Fund which provides up to $10,000 in medical benefits for Alaska fishermen, and a historical/pictorial overview of Kodiak's canneries.
This year's ComFish Alaska Forums are sponsored by GreatLander Commercial Marine.
See the complete line up of exhibitors and forums atwww.comfishalaska.com
Friday, March 29, 2013
BERING SEA ICE YEAR
This year’s winter-time sea ice extent is the sixth lowest since the National Snow and Ice Data Center started keeping satellite records in 1979.
– KTOO, Juneau
More:ktoo.org
Commonsense and mining
Right now, it’s perfectly legal for the State of Alaska to issue a permit to a company to mine completely through a wild salmon stream.
– Seward Phoenix Log
More:thesewardphoenixlog.com
Beef up Coast Guard
James Holmes argues if and when that icy expanse opens regularly to shipping, the Arctic will need policing like any other marine thoroughfare, and he nominates the United States Coast Guard.
– NPR
More:npr.org
Fish fraud at borders
This new label law seems aimed at the border – making sure that what comes in to the country is what is says it is (and perhaps is from where it says it’s from), likely helping commercial fishermen in the U.S. who already have transparent, cooperative, and clear operations.
– National Geographic
More:newswatch.nationalgeographic.com
Emergency winch switches
Workers in the commercial fishing industry have the highest occupational fatality rate in the United States, nearly 35 times higher in 2011 than the rate for all U.S. workers.
– Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
More:cdc.gov
Oil spill advisory board
Commercial fisherman Andrew Craig of Cordova has been appointed to the Prince William Sound Oil Spill Recovery Institute's advisory board.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
King crab hatchery
Research into raising Kodiak red king crab in hatcheries is progressing well at the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery in Seward, with some 360,000 larvae stocked in six 1,200 liter tanks.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Dead sea lion not
The animal appeared alert and healthy with no sign of injury or distress.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:www.opb.org
Pain in New England
A way of life that has existed for over 400 years could end if requirements aren’t relaxed.
– BizPac Review, Florida
More:bizpacreview.com
