Monday, April 8, 2013

PAINT BALLS HIT SEA LIONS

Miscommunication between Crescent City Harbor officials and federal regulators may have caused a harbor subcontractor to inappropriately fire a paintball gun at sea lions.

– Crescent City Triplicate

More:triplicate.com

Hazing Columbia sea lions

They can't harm the sea lions, so they detonate noisy "cracker shells" and "seal bombs" from a boat and several catwalks to push the animals down river past the Interstate 205 bridge.

– The Oregonian

More:oregonlive.com

Gulf trawl bycatch cuts

A new plan is being crafted by federal managers for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries that will reduce bycatch by trawlers, and it will very likely result in a catch share plan.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in Arctic Sounder

More:thearcticsounder.com

Polar fishing?

"Are there going to be commercial fisheries in the Arctic, and if so which species?"

– Alaska Dispatch

More:alaskadispatch.com

Japanese fish arrives

What a long, strange trip it's been for a small striped fish native to Japan that apparently hitched a cross-Pacific ride in a small boat believed to be part of a tide of debris from that country's March 2011 tsunami.

– The Daily Astorian

More:dailyastorian.com

Feds: Destroy Klamath dams

The Interior Department recommended removing four dams on the Klamath River by the year 2020.

– Oregon Public Broadcasting

More:earthfix.opb.org

Threatened Klamath suit

Two conservation groups warned federal agencies they plan to sue to get more water devoted to protected salmon in the Klamath River.

– Coos Bay World

More:theworldlink.com

Chinook bycatch in trawls

There is one boat out in the gulf that has already landed almost 1,000 king salmon in the arrowtooth flounder fishery.

– Cordova Times

More:thecordovatimes.com

Buyers in Togiak

Six processors are expected to converge on Togiak in early May, along with a fleet of 40 gillnet and 28 purse seiners for a 30,056 ton herring sac roe fishery.

– Cordova Times

More:thecordovatimes.com

See you at ComFish

Pacific Fishing editor Don McManman and ad manager Diane Sandvik will be in Kodiak later on this week for ComFish. Here's why:

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.

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, and updates on the Fishermen's Fund which provides up to $10,000 in medical benefits for Alaska fishermen.

See the complete line up of exhibitors and forums atcomfishalaska.com

 

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

HALIBUT PRICE MODEST

In recent years, dwindling supplies of halibut helped push up dock prices to more than $7 a pound at major ports, and halibut fillets topped $20 a pound at retail. That's not the case this year.

 – Pacific Fishing Columnist Laine Welch, writing in TheFishSite

More:thefishsite.com

West Coast's new management style

Federal fisheries managers for the West Coast are poised for a major change in the way they make sure that plenty of fish remain in the sea.

– The Daily Astorian

More:dailyastorian.com

Togiak sockeye slacking

The sockeye run to the Togiak District is expected to be down this year according to the recently released outlook for commercial fishing. 

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org

Tsunami boat reaches NorCal

Local scientists are crossing their fingers that a barnacle-covered boat found washed up about a mile outside of Crescent City on Sunday evening will become the first positively identified item from the March 2011 Japan tsunami to reach the North Coast.

– Times-Standard

More:times-standard.com

Appointment of fisherman snubbed

The Alaska Legislature on Monday voted by the narrowest of margins to reject one of Governor Sean Parnell's appointments to the state Board of Fisheries.

– KTOO

More:ktoo.org

Pebble mine review

Forced to review a land management plan by Pebble Mine opponents, the state is traveling around Bristol Bay communities to hear local concerns.

– Pacific Fishing magazine contributor Jim Paulin, writing in the Dutch Harbor Fisherman

More:thedutchharborfisherman.com

Collaboration on otter bounty

The chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee said Friday afternoon during a committee hearing that he will work with Sen. Bert Stedman, R-Sitka, on the Southeast Islands senator's bill to provide a bounty for legally harvested sea otters — a proposal a legislative lawyer said is in conflict with federal law.

– JuneauEmpire.com

More:juneauempire.com

Tracking salmon-eating orcas

By 29 March the whales had turned south and were on the continental shelf break to the west of Gray's Harbor.

– NOAA

More:nwfsc.noaa.gov

Ghost boat bill moving

A bill that would give cities and boroughs in Alaska the ability to deal with derelict and abandoned vessels is on the move in Juneau.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

Fleet helps clinic

When a local processing plant got wind of the need for new equipment down at the Iliuliuk Family and Health Services clinic, they turned to fishermen for help.

 – Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal , reporting for KUCB, Unalaska

More:kucb.org

 

Wednesday, April 10, 2013

CAN AQUACULTURE FEED THE WORLD?

An ancient form of aquatic farming, and current $60 billion-a-year industry, may hold the key to both protecting wild fish populations and your local sushi shop.

– Gizmodo

More:gizmodo.com

SE Alaska Chinook quota unveiled

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced that the preseason Chinook salmon all-gear harvest quota for Southeast Alaska in 2013 is 176,000 fish.

– SitNews

More:sitnews.us

No salmon for Washington markets

This summer and fall, state officials are expecting strong numbers for salmon in Puget Sound and in Washington rivers. But you won't find much – if any – Washington salmon at farmers markets. 

– Seattle Weekly News

More:seattleweekly.com

Bristol Bay enforcement outlined

The enforcement priorities of the Alaska State Troopers, in regards to commercial fishing this summer in Bristol Bay, were outlined last Saturday as part of the "Business of Fish" workshop held in Dillingham. 

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org

Pebble mine opposition grows

Rapala, which bills itself as the world's leading manufacturer of fishing lures, is lending support to the Renewable Resources Coalition in the campaign to stop development of the proposed Pebble mine.

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org

Lowdown on fisheries board vote

Here's how state legislators voted on whether to confirm the appointment of Vince Webster to the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

NPFMC critical of sea lion report

The council roundly criticized the report for failing to answer the question of how different fisheries management strategies would affect Steller sea lion populations. 

– KUCB

More:kucb.org

Ecosystem Plan Approved

Federal fisheries managers for the West Coast have adopted an ecosystem approach to decisions on fishing seasons and catch quotas that will rely on regular scientific reports about the health of the ocean.

– OregonLive.com

More:oregonlive.com

N.C. fishermen brace for new law

Commercial fishermen and their supporters are bracing for another attempt to get the state General Assembly to place striped bass, red drum and speckled trout off limits for commercial harvest and sale.

– Tideland News

More:carolinacoastonline.com

China's huge illegal catch

Illegal fishing is a persistent problem, but it appears that China has elevated it to a new level, catching about 12 times more fish than it formally reports to the United Nation's Food and Agriculture Organization, an international agency that keeps track of global fisheries catches.

– Summit County Citizens Voice

More:summitcountyvoice.com

 

Thursday, April 11, 2013

ENERGY AUDITS FOR FISHING FLEET?

You know those energy audits you can get for your home, where heat loss and fuel efficiency are all measured and charted to see where you might save money on utilities? Well soon, you might be able to get one for your fishing boat.

– KMXT

More:kmxt.org

Mixed reviews for Oregon crab season

Three months in, feedback on the Oregon commercial Dungeness crab season is mixed.

– Bandon Western World

More:theworldlink.com

Alaskan processor hikes prices, pays top wages

Coastal Villages Region Fund (CVRF) announced last week that its subsidiary, Coastal Villages Seafoods (CVS), will increase the starting hourly rate for processors at its plants in western Alaska to $10.00 per hour, believed to be the highest starting wage for processors in the history of the Alaska seafood industry.

– Delta Discovery

More:deltadiscovery.com

Invasive species probe snubbed

Alaska fisheries officials concerned about the spread of an invasive marine species have denied federal and university researchers permission to study the organism's effect on herring eggs near Sitka.

– JuneauEmpire.com

More:juneauempire.com

Canadian LNG project's impacts

Coastal First Nations affected by Shell Canada's proposed liquefied natural gas terminal at Kitimat say air quality and the number of vessels that will pass through their fishing grounds are emerging as the main issues they want to see addressed if the $12-billion-plus project is to go ahead.

– Vancouver Sun

More:vancouversun.com

Family reunion on processing boat

A Seattle student who arrived in Alaska last summer to work on a fish-processing boat kept hearing he was a dead ringer for one of the boat's long-time crew members. And when he finally met Roy Foyil, he did a double-take.

– The Province

More:theprovince.com

Sea Lion debate at Oregon port meeting

The talk of the Steller sea lions, who have noticeably increased in number along the lower Columbia River, dominated the meeting, with a discussion of what the problem really is, the responsibility and the potential solutions.

– Daily Astorian

More:dailyastorian.com

Community's fishing woes aired

In the days since U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren visited Marshfield to listen to concerns of local fishermen, apprehension remains in the community about the industry's future.

– Marshfield Mariner

More:wickedlocal.com

Seafood rebranding in Louisiana

The 13 new members of the Louisiana Seafood Promotion and Marketing Board inherit an organization proven many times over as an advocate for the state's commercial fishing community – in good times and especially bad.

– Louisiana Seafood News

More:louisianaseafoodnews.com

Fishing flick premieres

"Salt Of The Sea" juxtaposes the working fishermen's perspective on regulations with key players in federal fishery management.
 
– Gloucester Times

More:gloucestertimes.com

 

Friday, April 12, 2013

KODIAK FISH THEFT ALLEGED

Fishery advisor and former member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council Denby Lloyd spoke about a number of fishery items, including a recent incident involving what has been called alleged "fish stealing."

– KMXT

More:kmxt.org

Sitka tribe: close roe fishery

Sitka Tribe of Alaska said they are disappointed in the recent decision by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to allow a cooperative Sitka Sound Roe fishery to take place and not close the fishery all together.

– Sitnews

More:sitnews.us

Glowing gillnets prevent bycatch

As gillnet mesh is very hard to see underwater, the team hypothesized that if nets were more visible, then turtles could avoid swimming into them. 

– WWF

More:worldwildlife.org

May 1 Opening for S.F. Bay Area Chinook

The salmon season from Point Arena in Mendocino County to the Mexican border will run until Sept. 30, with a few breaks in between, according to the Pacific Fishery Management Council, which released the dates late Wednesday.

– Contra Costa Times

More:contracostatimes.com

Big move for Alaska processor

The move to the much larger, waterfront facility will mean a major expansion for Tonka which plans to substantially increase the company's production and workforce once the plant is fully up and running within the next year. 

– KSFK

More:kfsk.org

Alaska board's political upheaval

The State Legislature throws a commercial fisherman off the Board of Fish, Kodiak's mayors are upset with Trident, and a new pilot program could help you save money running your boat. 

– Alaska Fisheries Report on KMXT

More:kmxt.org

Indictment for husband and wife fishing team

Jim and Rhonda Hubbard have been indicted on commercial fishing and other charges.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, in his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

Alaska drilling delayed

ConocoPhillips Alaska announced Wednesday it will not drill in Arctic waters off Alaska's northwest shore in 2014.

– JuneauEmpire.com

More:juneauempire.com

Portland moves on PCB clean-up

Portland City Council has approved a settlement that paves the way for the clean-up of Mile 11, within the Portland Harbor Superfund site. 

– Oregon Public Broadcasting

More:opb.org

NE herring ban extended

The state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection last week announced that the prohibition on the taking of alewives and blueback herring from most inland and marine waters in Connecticut has been extended for another year.

– TheDay

More:theday.com

A kaleidoscope from Kodiak's ComFish

Click below to view some of the folks at this years' ComFish in Kodiak. Click on: pacificfishing.com/Comfish2013

 


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