Monday, April 4, 2011
GOT OTTERS? TRY LION DUNG
At the Whitbourne Angling Club in Worcestershire, a non-violent approach to otter deterrence has been used with success so far. Lion dung from the London Zoo has been mixed into a spray and then squirted around the ponds where the otters are stealing fish.
– Care2.com
More:www.care2.com
Council to stem Gulf salmon bycatch
Federal fishery managers are taking steps to limit the incidental harvest of Chinook salmon in the Gulf of Alaska trawl fishery, in the wake of a 2010 season that saw the numbers of king salmon caught by trawlers soar.
– Seward Phoenix Log
More:thesewardphoenixlog.com
Fish processor to prison
The owner of a former Bellingham fish processing plant was sentenced to a year in prison and must pay $347,202 for selling coho salmon labeled as Chinook.
– Tacoma News Tribune
More:www.thenewstribune.com
Quicker way to kill sea lions
Seeking to put an end to the invaders' free lunch once and for all, four members of the House of Representatives — Democrat Norm Dicks and Republicans Doc Hastings and Jaime Herrera Beutler, all of Washington state, and Oregon Republican Rep. Greg Walden — have teamed up on a bill that would give both states and Indian tribes a quicker way to get federal permission to kill the sea lions.
– McClatchy News Service
More:www.mcclatchydc.com
Stop Navy shooting in Gulf of Alaska
Environmental groups and fishermen are sounding the alarm over planned US Navy live-fire exercises they claim threaten marine wildlife including whales in the Gulf of Alaska.
– AFP
More:www.google.com
More time for Columbia springers?
Oregon and Washington biologists haven't ruled out more fishing time for sport and commercial spring Chinook salmon on the lower Columbia River.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Japan salmon not in B.C. waters
Wild Pacific salmon coming in from radiation-affected areas of Japan should not impact local commercial fisheries, according to the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans.
– B.C. Local News
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Cal disaster loans for '10 available
Low-interest Federal disaster loans are now available to California small businesses that have suffered financial losses due to the closure of the April 10 through Sept. 30, 2010, California Salmon fishery season.
– Lake County News
More:lakeconews.com
Tsunami wave rose 124 feet
A tsunami that hit a coastal city in Iwate Prefecture after the March 11 earthquake is estimated to have reached 37.9 meters in height, a field survey by a researcher at the University of Tokyo showed Sunday.
– Japan Times
More:search.japantimes.co.jp
Another Sitka opener
A second opener Friday in the Sitka herring fishery brought the season's catch total thus far to 7,100 tons.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Tagging black cod
State fisheries biologists have launched a study into the habits of Alaska's most valuable groundfish — at least by price per pound — in southcentral Alaska waters.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Tuesday, April 5, 2011
ALASKA HALIBUT CHARTERS GO TO COURT
Largely abandoned by state tourism and small-business interests, a group of skippers who run small halibut charter boats in Alaska went into a federal court in Washington, D.C., to try to stop the U.S. government from running them out of business.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:www.alaskadispatch.com
Council considers sportie's halibut limit
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, meeting in Anchorage, is expected to discuss a possible move to relax the new Halibut opens tomorrow 37-inch size limit on halibut retained by charter boat anglers in Southeast Alaska (Area 2C).
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
A satisfying Alaska crab season
The last pots are being hauled in Alaska's biggest crab fishery, and by all accounts it's been a good one, with all hands home safe.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Dick Eliason dies
Former State Senator Dick Eliason has died at the age of 85. The Sitka Republican served 22 years in both chambers of the state legislature, including two years as president of the Senate.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Staff writer
Nukes dumping tons of radioactive water
Tokyo Electric Power Co. began releasing 10,000 tons of low-level radioactive water from the Fukushima No. 1 power plant into the Pacific Ocean to help accelerate the process of bringing the crippled complex under control.
– Japan Times
More:search.japantimes.co.jp
Japan sets radiation standards for fish
The government set its first radiation safety standards for fish after Japan's tsunami-ravaged nuclear plant reported radioactive contamination in nearby seawater measuring at several million times the legal limit.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Icicle to lease Adak plant
Seattle-based Icicle Seafoods Inc. will lease and operate the processing plant on Adak Island in Alaska's Aleutian chain.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Correction
The photo we used in Friday's Fish Wrap lacked a credit line. We should have said the photo was taken by Stacey Hjort of Petersburg. It showed her "Pop" – Wes Abbott, skipper of the Dorothy H II – bringing aboard a nice king. He's been trolling in Southeast for more than 30 years.
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
JAPAN RADIOACTIVE LEAK STOPPED
Engineers have stopped the leak of highly radioactive water into the sea at the crippled Japanese nuclear power plant, the facility's operator said in an apparent breakthrough in the battle to contain the worst nuclear crisis since Chernobyl.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
How bad is the radiation here?
Drinking water samples from two locations, Boise, Idaho and Richland, Washington, showed trace amounts of Iodine-131 – about 0.2 picocuries per liter in each case. An infant would have to drink almost 7,000 liters of this water to receive a radiation dose equivalent to a day's worth of the natural background radiation exposure we experience continuously from natural sources of radioactivity in our environment.
– EPA
More:www.epa.gov
Fuel prices at scary heights
Petroleum prices have suddenly made your business more expensive — and there's not much you can do about it.
– Pacific Fishing magazine's April issue
More:Subscribe to Pacific Fishing
B.C. Natives want sport fishing ban
Some British Columbia Indian bands are calling on the Department of Fisheries and Oceans to close a sport fishery off the southern tip of Vancouver Island, saying anglers are intercepting Fraser River Chinook that aboriginal fishermen aren't allowed to catch because the stocks are endangered.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
Report on PWS Aquaculture
Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation played a critical role in the recent economic recovery of the Alaska salmon industry. Since 2006, PWSAC has produced one in four of Alaska's commercially caught pink salmon.
– PWSAC
More:www.prnewswire.com/news-releases
Trial for fisherman who refused boarding
A trial began Tuesday for a man arrested by National Park Service rangers in a dispute on the Yukon River that got the attention of the governor and Alaska's congressional delegation over concerns that rangers overstepped their authority.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Plan for Ward Cove Ketchikan land
A father-son team is offering $2.1 million to buy the Ward Cove Industrial property from the Ketchikan Gateway Borough for various ventures, including a commercial and industrial marina.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Hiatus for Sitka herring fleet
Sounds like the Sitka sac roe herring fishery will be on hiatus until at least Thursday. That's to allow processors time to work through the backlog of fish.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Alyeska Trading to close in Dutch
Once its inventory is gone, Alyeska Trading Company will be shutting down its operations.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Gulf Chinook bycatch cap nears
Federal regulators are moving toward setting a hard cap that would limit Chinook salmon caught as bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Salmon farming gets better
Salmon farming has long been a controversial issue, especially in British Columbia. But is the tide starting to turn? We think it is.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
California reaches tsunami damage threshold
Crescent City Harbor officials are crossing their fingers after learning that California has met the threshold to apply for federal disaster relief funds.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:www.triplicate.com
Thursday, April 7, 2011
B.C. SARDINES THICK ENOUGH TO WALK ON
Sardines have returned to the B.C. coast in schools "thick enough to walk on," creating a fascinating spectacle and new fishery on Vancouver Island.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Sockeye seller fined $2,400
A man caught selling First Nations sockeye salmon out of the back of a truck in East Vancouver has been handed a $2,400 fine and won't get his Ford Bronco back until the fine is paid in full.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Government shutdown and fisheries
A shutdown of the federal government could potentially take place by Friday, which would close up national parks and slow down the tax refund process for late filers.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Worry about fish radioactivity?
Now, hauls of fish pulled in by commercial fishermen near the plant are showing amounts of radioactive iodine-131 double current standards – prompting the Japanese government to regulate radiation levels in seafood. How worried should people be?
– Solon.com
More:www.salon.com
Japanese fishermen fear losing grounds
Fishermen who lost their homes and boats on March 11 now fear radioactive water gushing into the Pacific from the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant could cost them their livelihoods.
– Japan Times
More:search.japantimes.co.jp
Gulf cod jig decision delayed
Federal fisheries managers have voted to put off until December a decision on how to revise management of the Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod jig fishery.
– Cordova Times
More:www.thecordovatimes.com
Skippers say safety rules too costly
About 45 fishermen squeezed into the rec room at Charleston Marina RV Park on Tuesday night to hear a U.S. Coast Guard safety expert explain new regulations for fishing vessel safety that will be rolled out over the next nine years.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
First citation in Sitka herring derby
Alaska State Troopers have issued their first violations in this season's herring fishery.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
L.A. fishing harbor fleet disappears
This vibrant seaport was first carved out of the California coastline more than a century ago to serve fishermen like Michael Harris. Today, Harris and the few remaining commercial fishermen have been relegated to a couple tiny corners of what has become North America's largest container port.
– Neon Tommy
More:www.neontommy.com
Friday, April 8, 2011
FEWER FISH COPS = FEWER TICKETS
Reported violations of laws protecting fish habitat fell dramatically on the West Coast – by 1,000 percent one year – after the government cut fisheries officers, reduced patrols, and adopted a new policy that favoured voluntary compliance by industry, over enforcement.
– The Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
Budget cuts would kill your safety agency
I was stunned to learn that the administration's FY 2012 budget would eliminate the NIOSH fishing safety program – a cut which would save the federal government at most a few hundred thousand dollars.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Fish coming! Start the water wars
With the expected opening of California's commercial salmon fishery just weeks away, those who catch, study and defend the species are squaring off against those who say federal protections of the fish rob the state of critical jobs and fallow thousands of acres of fertile farmland.
– San Francisco Chronicle
Read more:www.sfgate.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week: Things get exciting in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery, the charter halibut industry fights back against restrictions, the far-reaching and unexpected repercussions of the Wards Cove sell-off.
– KMXT
More:www.kmxt.org (Scroll down)
Initial Crescent City cleanup done
The initial cleanup phase at the Crescent City Harbor after the March 11 tsunami is nearing its end as harbor officials figure out what is next.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:www.triplicate.com
Oregon fish passage wins award
With "votes" from more than 100,000 downstream-migrating fish on the Deschutes River in 2010, a 273-foot-tall floating fish collection facility and underwater tower in Central Oregon has won top awards this month in Washington, D.C. from the National Hydropower Association and the American Council of Engineering Companies.
– Business Wire
More: www.businesswire.com
Japan fishermen want compensation
Fishers in Ibaraki prefecture have suspended 96 percent of fishing operations due to detections of radioactive sand lance in nearby waters and some say they should receive compensation.
– FIS
More:www.fis.com
High-rise fish market?
The fisheries ministry has proposed rebuilding coastal areas wrecked by the March 11 quake and tsunami by constructing high-rise fish markets and relocating fishermen and their families to higher ground.
– Japan Times
More:search.japantimes.co.jp
NY Times discovers Astoria
While other former fishing and shipping ports have withered, Astoria, a town of about 10,000 just two hours northwest of Portland, has actively preserved its on-the-waterfront identity.
– New York Times
More:travel.nytimes.com
