Monday, April 7, 2014
GIANT SOLAR STORM
If the Earth was hit by one big enough, its own magnetic field could be unpredictably disrupted, frying electronics along with communications and navigational systems.
– The Register, U.K.
More:theregister.co.uk
Herring: Canada backs down
A coastal British Columbia First Nation is claiming a partial victory after federal Fisheries and Oceans officials agreed to keep commercial herring gillnet boats away from waters set off-limits by the community.
– APTN, Winnipeg
More:aptn.ca
Seiners on pollock
Seiners have a chance to test the waters to determine if a directed pollock fishery makes sense for that type of gear in the Gulf.
– Fish Site
More:thefishsite.com
Jump in Chinook allotment
An all-gear harvest quota of 439,400 Pacific treaty salmon for Southeast Alaska, an increase of 263,400 fish over a year ago, was announced by Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers in Sitka.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Climate wars
The concepts of mitigation and adaption are not new, but the third strategy, "loss and damage," is a recent ideological banner that brings together advocates for global wealth redistribution based on climate injustice.
– American Thinker
More:americanthinker.com
Crab pots to Hawaii
Bering Sea crab pot buoys were reported last month trailing behind a humpback whale in Hawaii.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Hake catch to rise
Good and bad for the upcoming hake season.
– Tradex
More:tradexfoods.com
Stop Navy testing
The Naval Pacific Fleet should not be allowed to test a midrange sonar system damaging to threatened and endangered marine mammals in an area extending from Alaska to Northern California, including the inland waters of Washington.
– Mary Powell, who's running an online petition against Navy testing of sonar.
To sign the petition:petitions.moveon.org
Strong hagfish slime
Researchers at the University of Guelph have figured out what makes the slime secreted by the hagfish so strong, hoping it can lead to the commercial development of stronger fibres.
– Canoe.ca
More:cnews.canoe.ca
Battle of whale chasers
In Dana Point – a city so well-known for whale watching, it's home to an annual festival dedicated to the mammal – two companies doing business from docks only half a mile apart compete over nearly 12 square miles of wide open sea.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
Tuesday, April 8, 2014
COLUMBIA CLOSED FOR SPRINGERS
Washington and Oregon officials announced today there will not be another commercial fishing period for spring Chinook salmon in the lower Columbia River until at least mid-May.
– Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian
More:columbian.com
Seattle marine industry big
A study commissioned by the Economic Development Council of Seattle and King County and the Workforce Development Council of Seattle-King County found that the maritime sectors employed 148,000 statewide in 2012.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.com
Stop high-seas fishing
If the high seas were closed to fishing, populations of migratory species such as tuna, billfish, and shark would increase significantly and that would help the coastal fishing industry to flourish.
– San Luis Obispo Tribune
More:sanluisobispo.com
Importing pirate fish
Between one-fifth and one-third of all the wild-caught seafood that comes into the United States may be caught by vessels engaging in "pirate" fishing.
– Wall Street Journal
More:blogs.wsj.com
Mislabeling fish would be illegal
The legislation is in response to a nationwide survey finding rampant seafood fraud.
– CapRadio, Sacramento
More:capradio.org
B.C. Natives win herring battle
The Kitasoo/Xaixais are celebrating their victory in blocking the opening of a commercial herring fishery in their territory.
– Coast Mountain News (B.C.)
More:coastmountainnews.com
Crab bait water pollution
A commercial crab boat captain has been charged with first-degree water pollution after police say he dumped thousands of pounds of decomposed mink carcasses in the Port of Brookings Harbor in Southern Oregon.
– The Oregonian
More:oregonlive.com
Another Pebble partner out
Mining giant Rio Tinto said it has pulled its support and will donate its shares in the proposed Alaska mine project – worth about $16 million today – to a pair of Alaska charitable organizations.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Oregon wave power plan dumped
After spending millions on the project off the coast of Reedsport, Ore., Ocean Power Technologies pulled the plug and will focus on another project in Australia.
– Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian
More:columbian.com
Ripple Rock's last
The biggest peacetime non-nuclear explosion took place in British Columbia a half-century ago when experts blew up Ripple Rock in Seymour Narrows. The rock, which rose nearly to the surface, was long a danger to vessels traveling on the way north or south through B.C. waters. But, after failed attempts, engineers got it right on April 5, 1958. The Canadian Broadcasting Corp. has uploaded video of the final explosion.
See it:www.cbc.ca
Wednesday, April 9, 2014
DON'T USE VINEGAR ON JELLYFISH
"I've been saying use vinegar for 20 years. Now I'm going 'whoops'."
– Newsport.com, Australia
More:tourismportdouglas.com.au
Close ports to fish pirates
These criminals ply the seas and sell their catches with impunity, making off with an estimated 11 million to 26 million metric tons of stolen fish each year, a worldwide haul worth about $10 billion to $23.5 billion.
– New York Times
More:nytimes.com
Hake fishery receives certification
The Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) announced that the Grupo Regal line-caught hake (Merluccius merluccius) fishery has been certified to the MSC standard for sustainable, well-managed fisheries following an independent full assessment.
– MSC
More:msc.org
Columbia River count
Passage of Chinook at Bonneville Dam through April 7 totals 1,475 adults. The U.S. v. Oregon Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) will begin meeting April 21 to review status of the upriver spring Chinook run on a weekly basis.
– Seattle Times
More:blogs.seattletimes.com
Heat stress while working
Heat stress is a serious risk and — as it turns out — unrelated to how much or how little we drink.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Lower Alaska salmon forecast
The state forecast calls for a commercial catch of about 133 million salmon this season, less than half the 2013 tally.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Direct marketing Cal rockcod
Hensel, a fisherman based in Crescent City for 30 years, is offering a five-week subscription of two pounds of rockcod each week starting May 1.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:triplicate.com
Tidal power in Alaska
The company's financial future actually may lie in selling off-the-shelf current generators for remote, off-the-grid communities that are located next to fast-moving rivers.
– Press Herald (Maine)
More:pressherald.com
Good eastern scallop season
Nantucket fishermen landed 14,500 bushels of scallops during the five-month season, less than last year, but generally considered a successful harvest and an indicator of a stable population.
– WCIA, Woods Hole, Mass.
More:capeandislands.org
Eagles evicted from Unalaska
Unalaska's public safety department took steps to keep a family of bald eagles from returning to nest in the center of town.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Friday, April 11, 2014
STUDY QUANTIFIES ILLEGAL SEAFOOD
A new study reveals that between 20-32 percent of wild-caught seafood imported into the United States comes from illegal, unregulated and unreported (IUU) fishing.
– Fish Information & Services
More:fis.com
Chip-implant salmon experiment
Three hundred thousand juvenile chinook with tiny coded chips lodged in their heads were released in Rio Vista and under the Golden Gate Bridge over the past two days in an experiment to determine optimal conditions for hatchery-raised salmon to survive and imprint on their native rivers.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:sfchronicle.com
Senator disappoints Pebble fighters
Several groups dedicated to stopping development of the proposed Pebble Mine are criticizing Alaska's senior U.S. Senator for supporting legislation that would limit a power the EPA is using to stop development of the mine.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, fisheries in the far west may see less restrictions after another look at what's causing the Steller sea lion decline in the Aleutians, they're going to give seining for pollock a try around Kodiak, and what it's like smack in the middle of the barely controlled frenzy that is a Sitka Sound sac roe herring opening.
– KMXT
More:kmxt.org
B.C. mining worries SE Alaska
British Columbia sees aggressive development of its natural resources as a way to improve its economy; Southeast Alaska fishermen, tribes and environmental organizations see it as a threat to their fisheries and way of life.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Kodiak rate increases eyed
There could be some rate increases for the Kodiak shipyard in the coming months.
– KMXT
More:kmxt.org
Dark side of sea otters exposed
A disturbing darkness lurks beneath the sea otter's public image.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Alaska expansion proposed for Clean Water Act
U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski used a committee hearing in the Senate Wednesday to talk about a proposed rule that could lead to more streams and waterways in Alaska being subject to federal Clean Water Act protections.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Seafarer memorial proposed
Stanley Wanlass, a globally famous bronze sculptor behind several installments in the lower Columbia region, recently offered the city of Astoria the Seafarers Memorial, an 18- to 25-foot bronze sculpture yet to be built.
– The Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
CA sardine, anchovy, crab warning
The California Department of Public Health on Thursday issued a warning against eating the commercially or recreationally caught fin fish and the internal organs of crab taken from Monterey and Santa Cruz counties.
– Monteryherald.com
More:montereyherald.com
