Monday, April 21, 2014
PREDICTIONS FOR TOGIAK HERRING
The largest herring fishery in Alaska waters is a few short weeks from getting underway. Two looming questions are whether the season will start earlier than predicted and what value the Togiak herring will fetch in the market.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Aquaculture could move offshore
The advent of indoor tank farming is one promising way fish farming could grow. Another would be going out into the open ocean and dropping fish in large, globe-shaped aquapods down below the surface.
– Climateprogress
More:thinkprogress.org
Fishing's 'mobile app revolution'
Fishermen and fisheries alike recognize that real-to-near-time data is the path for finding common ground. At the heart of this transformation, however, is the ability to eliminate paper-based data collection – an often inaccurate and labor-intensive process.
– National Geographic
More:newswatch.nationalgeographic.com
Limited entry commission shift
Basically, state Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer, seems to be saying the commission's workload has become too light to justify its continued existence as a standalone agency.
– Pacific Fishing Columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Fish-related cancer risk could rise
Washington Gov. Jay Inslee has privately advanced a proposal that would likely pass legal muster but that worries Indian tribes and environmentalists. It would allow a tenfold increase in allowable cancer risk under the law.
– The Spokesman-Review
More:spokesman.com
Lobbying for groundfish bill
A proposed law working its way through Congress now would give Pacific Coast groundfish fishermen, already working within tight regulations, some extra financial breathing room.
– The Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
CA fish hoist controversy
The installation of a new fish hoist on Johnson Pier in Half Moon Bay Tuesday is drawing suspicion and frustration from a fishermen's group about the San Mateo County Harbor District's construction approval.
– The Daily Journal
More:smdailyjournal.com
Fishermen enlisted for bycatch prevention
Experts say getting anglers and commercial fishermen to help design and test devices to save sea turtles, dolphins and off-limit fish is a key to getting them to use the apparatus.
– DailyComet.com
More:dailycomet.com
Climate change making fish fearless
Higher carbon dioxide emissions that eventually find their way into ocean waters could cause fish to lose their fear of predators, potentially damaging the entire marine food chain.
– Environmental Leader
More:environmentalleader.com
Tuesday, April 22, 2014
SHARK CATCH MAY BE WORLD RECORD
A Florida man has pulled in an 11-foot, 805-pound mako shark from the shores of the Gulf in what may be a new world record for land-based shark fishing.
– Houston Chronicle
More:chron.com
Coast Guard's Sitka area rescue
A 50-foot fishing vessel ran aground on an island near Sitka on Monday, prompting the Coast Guard to rescue the two people aboard.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Commercial fishing's economic appeal
Fishing is really at the leading edge of the tourism culture.
– Pacific Business Times
More:pacbiztimes.com
Bristol Bay salmon management outlined
Bristol Bay's massive sockeye salmon fishery is still a couple of months away but stakeholders are getting ready. That includes the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which last month published the 2014 outlook for commercial salmon fishing in Bristol Bay.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Workshop focuses on Bristol Bay sockeye
This year's sockeye fishery in Bristol Bay was a major topic of discussion Saturday during the first "Business of Fish" workshop of the season.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Kodiak hosts marine science symposium
The free event starts on Tuesday night and will run through Saturday, with dozens of scientific presentations and workshops designed to engage the general public in research being done around the archipelago.
– KMXT
More:kmxt.org
Salmon's not king in Monterey
Last year, catches of the humble squid generated about twice as much cash as the kingly Chinook salmon.
– Silicon Valley Business Journal
More:bizjournals.com
FDA takes aim at mislabeling
Species substitution can result in cheap fish being labeled as pricy ones, but mislabeling can also threaten public health.
– U.S. Food and Drug Administration
More:fda.gov
Patrol vessel's move blocked
State Rep. Bob Herron, D, Bethel, said the legislature blocked the move to Kodiak. He said the troopers could administratively relocate the vessel, but that won't happen because the legislature will not provide money for the move.
– The Bristol Bay Times
More:thedutchharborfisherman.com
Community supported fishery starts season
Alaskans Own Community Supported Fishery will handle all the fishing, cleaning and packaging. All you have to do is pick it up, cook it and enjoy it.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
NZ salmon farms get go-ahead
Aquaculture New Zealand has welcomed the long awaited Supreme Court decision clearing the way for three new salmon farms in the Marlborough Sounds.
– Fish Information and Services
More:fis.com
Wednesday, April 23, 2014
PERMIT PRICES HIGHER
Alaska salmon permits in many fisheries have tripled in value since 2002 and the upward trend continues.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:sitnews.us
Putin OKs guns in Arctic
Speaking to his top national security aides, Putin highlighted the need for an enhanced security presence in Russian Arctic territories.
– Barents Observer
More:barentsobserver.com
Herring prices too low
At least one expert thinks the price may be so low this year, it won't be worth fishing.
– Mike Mason, KDLG, Dillingham
More:alaskapublic.org
Explosive rock in Unalaska
The city has canceled a $3.9 million contract with Northern Alaska to expand the landfill, after workers found evidence of explosive material in heaps of rock recycled from the wastewater treatment plant site.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Setnet ban in high court
A group looking to ban commercial setnet fishing in urban Alaska took its challenge to state Superior Court, hoping a judge will overturn a decision by the lieutenant governor to not let a voter initiative head to the ballot.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Bristol Bay elections
The 2014 BBRSDA board election is complete and the votes counted. In Seat C, incumbent board member Fritz Johnson ran unopposed and retained his seat. In Seat F, incumbent John Fairbanks received 143 votes and challenger Larry Kenneth Christensen received 207.
Larry will assume his board seat effective Saturday, June 7, at the BBRSDA Annual Meeting to be held in Naknek.
– BBRSDA
More:bbrsda.com
Lisa not friend of fishing
Gov. Sean Parnell's House Bill 77 proved to be very unpopular Alaska wide, yet at the national level Sen. Lisa Murkowski is now supporting similar policy and siding with corporate interests over everyday Alaskans.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
Poached ling cod
Illegal catches of lingcod, a bottom-dwelling whitefish sometimes marketed as a substitute for pricey halibut, have netted a small fishing company a $12,000 fine and three years' probation, state officials said.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:alaskadispatch.com
Smart farmed fish
The Kuterra farm, the first land-based commercial Atlantic salmon farm in North America, marks Earth Day by bringing to market Canada's first Atlantic salmon raised on land.
– Canadian News Wire
More:stream1.newswire.ca
Oregon Pacific REFI Act nears
Rep. Peter DeFazio, D-Springfield, says chances are good that HR 2464, better known as the Pacific REFI Act, will make it out of committee and be voted into law.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Splitting Klamath water
Cattle ranchers and Indian tribes who long fought over scarce water in Oregon's Upper Klamath Basin have signed an agreement to share access to rivers and cooperate on restoring habitat for endangered fish the tribes hold sacred.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Thursday, April 24, 2014
PREPARING FOR BRISTOL BAY
Commercial fishermen, processors, and the managers for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are all preparing for the upcoming sockeye salmon fishery in Bristol Bay.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
No boom in Bering shipping
Despite reports of a boom in Arctic ship traffic, a recent report by the Government Accountability Office concludes commercial industries aren't planning to boost shipping through the Bering Strait or elsewhere in the U.S. Arctic over the next decade.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
B.C. quake, no tsunami
A magnitude-6.6 earthquake off the coast of Vancouver Island was felt by residents across the Island and on the mainland Wednesday night.
– Times Colonist, Victoria
More:timescolonist.com
Fish runs after slide
As search crews continue to look for two missing people following the devastating mudslide in Washington state, scientists are closely monitoring how the avalanche is affecting federally endangered fish runs.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:opb.org
B.C. herring fleet wants help
Commercial herring roe fishermen are asking the federal government to compensate their losses after a decision to reopen fisheries was capsized by First Nations' opposition.
– Tyee, Vancouver, B.C.
More:thetyee.ca
Natives want own fishery
The nation has promised to regain its rights to geoduck harvesting in Kulleet Bay with or without the DFO, following five years of unsuccessful consultation that has left Stz'uminus leadership exasperated.
– Nanaimo Daily News
More:nanaimodailynews.com
Fish company pleads
A fishing corporation has been fined after pleading guilty to illegal fishing operations in Alaska state waters.
– KTOO, Juneau
More:ktoo.org
Columbia plan won't work
Southwest Washington's regional manager of the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife came to Cathlamet to discuss the start of a salmon net pen rearing project, and commercial fishermen used the opportunity to express their displeasure with changes to the Columbia River gillnet fishery.
– Wahkiakum County Eagle
More:waheagle.com
Abalone poacher guilty
The urchin diver caught with four illegally harvested abalone on a boat in the Santa Barbara Harbor in November 2012 was convicted by a jury of all seven charges against him last week and will be sentenced today.
– Santa Barbara Independent
More:independent.com
No sign in Togiak
The first aerial survey of the Togiak District conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) this week finished without spotting herring schools in the fishery.
– FIS, U.S.
More:fis.com
Friday, April 25, 2014
SKAGWAY DOCK SINKS
Apparently the dock started to sink overnight and by early morning it was totally underwater.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
Togiak herring show
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has spotted herring in the Togiak District, which means the start of the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery is likely just days away.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
CG on Bristol Bay
A representative with the U.S. Coast Guard flew into Dillingham last week to brief commercial fishermen about what to expect this season.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
B.C. Oil Coast
The project would see a refinery built to turn bitumen into synthetic crude oil, with Helin saying First Nations have "unequivocally told us they don't want bitumen being shipped either through the provincial waters."
– Northern View, Prince Rupert
More:thenorthernview.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, a Washington based fishing company is reminded not to drag in the Eastern Gulf, there was a pretty good payday during the second round of pollock roe auctions in Seattle, and there'll be more information about marine science than you ever imaginedpresented at a symposium in Kodiak this week.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Building fish ladders
Northwest American tribes and Canadian First Nations presented a united front to restore salmon above Grand Coulee Dam on the Columbia River and to southern Idaho via the Snake River.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:opb.org
Combining fish agencies
A bill that would make the Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission a division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game got an introductory hearing in the Legislature April 19, with the expectation that commercial fishermen and other stakeholders will consider the idea for possible enactment next session.
– Alaska Journal of Commerce
More:alaskajournal.com
Judge orders oil drilling plan
Interior's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management must complete the new analysis of the record-setting $2.66 billion lease sale and submit it for court approval before any new Chukchi Sea drilling is allowed, U.S. District Court Judge Ralph Beistline said.
– EyeontheArctic, Canada
More:eyeonthearctic.rcinet.ca
Selling polar oil
Sovkomflot's special designed, ice-classed tanker Mikhail Ulyanov last week loaded 70,000 tons of what from now on is branded as ARCO (Arctic Oil).
– Barents Observer, Norway
More:barentsobserver.com
CG seeks answers in death
According to a review board, faulty equipment and work practices developed by the crew of the cutter Waesche put Petty Officer Travis Obendorf in harm's way.
– Alaska Public Media
More:alaskapublic.org
