Monday, May 3, 2010
Verdict on Katmai sinking
A Coast Guard Marine Board of Investigation concluded that an "excessively loaded" hold, an unsecured door, and an "imprudent decision" to push into a huge storm contributed to the Oct. 22, 2008, sinking of the Seattle-based Katmai that killed seven crew members.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: www.adn.com
Alaskan skipper called a hero
The captain of a commercial fishing vessel that sank off the coast of Alaska is being called a hero for saving the lives of crew.
– The Maritime Executive
More:maritime-executive.com
Native group renounces exclusive
claim to river
An Alaska Native corporation that claims exclusive fishing rights to a Cook Inlet river has agreed to change a brochure and Web site after a warning from the state.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Spill rekindles memories in Alaska
Communities along the Gulf Coast wondering about what kind of legacy the monstrous oil slick will leave can look no further than the towns along the Alaska coastline that were ravaged by the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Oil affecting seafood market
Oil gushing from an out-of-control well following an April 20 rig blast in the Gulf of Mexico poses a severe threat to the livelihood of Louisiana's commercial fishers, who were allowed to get an early jump on shrimp season Thursday under a special state-government order.
– MarketWatch
More:www.marketwatch.com
Shell to continue Alaskan test drilling
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill could be bad news for Shell's plans to conduct exploratory drilling in the Chukchi Sea this summer, though the Obama administration's position is not exactly clear.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Copper River to open next week
The Copper River District will open for the season on May 13 with a 12-hour fishing period starting at 7 a.m., the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Bandon port to buy old Pacific Seafood plant
Port of Bandon officials are celebrating after reaching a deal to regain control of some key waterfront property. The port agreed to pay $340,000 in three installments for Pacific Seafood Group's big blue building, along with ending PSG's 67-year lease on the underlying port land.
– Coos Bay World
More:www.theworldlink.com/
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Shasta coho runs
terribly weak
Runs of coho salmon on the Shasta River, a key tributary of the Klamath, have been so weak in recent years that state biologists are trapping young fish and moving them downstream in an attempt to improve their odds of survival.
– Pacific Fishing columnist John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times-Standard
More: www.times-standard.com
Little seafood coming from Gulf of Mexico
Commercial and recreational fishing is restricted in the Gulf of Mexico for more than a week because of an oil spill off the Louisiana coast, officials said.
– UPI
More: www.upi.com
To cleanup for BP, fishermen must promise not to sue
The company, which owns the destroyed gulf oil rig that is pumping millions of gallons of crude oil into the waters off Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama, has reportedly been pushing commercial fishermen pitching in with relief efforts to sign settlement agreements capping any claims against the oil giant at $5,000, and reining in future legal action arising from the spill.
– Yahoo News
More: news.yahoo.com
SF judge tells fishermen to prove damage
A federal judge in San Francisco told commercial fishermen and seafood processors to specify how their businesses were harmed last year when the Dubai Star spilled bunker oil in the San Francisco Bay.
– Courthouse News Service
More: www.courthousenews.com
Names released of drown river fishermen
Search boats looking for a third Yakama Nation fisherman presumed drowned on the Columbia River were again rebuffed by heavy weather. Meanwhile, two of the victims of the Friday accident were identified as Jessica Lewis, 29, of Wapato and Wilson LaRoque, 57, of Toppenish.
– Yakima Herald
More: www.yakima-herald.com
NOAA seeks comments on foreign enviro rules
NOAA is requesting public comment on options for implementing parts of the Marine Mammal Protection Act that address the incidental catch of marine mammals in foreign fisheries, including species such as whales and dolphins.
– World Fishing
More: www.worldfishing.net
Opinion: Catch shares are good
Everyone involved in the fishing industry is talking about the government's push toward catch-shares for fishery management. Thirteen fisheries in the U.S. operate under catch share plans. The big three are Alaska halibut and sablefish, which began in 1995, and Bering Sea crab in 2005.
– Jim Stone, writing in The Juneau Empire
More: juneauempire.com
Catch shares: The argument continues
A proposed federal program to allocate portions of commercial fisheries harvests to harvesters, communities and other entities, with a goal of rebuilding and sustaining these fisheries, is coming under increased fire in a debate now spread nationwide.
– Bristol Bay Times
More: thebristolbaytimes.com
New board member for Bristol Bay Development
Here are the results from the recent vote for board members of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.
Seat A (Alaska resident) Robert Heyano: 424 votes, write-in candidate: 1 vote.
Seat D (non-Alaska resident) Nick Lee 412 votes.
Seat G (open residency) Buck Gibbons: 197 votes, Matt Marinkovich: 286 votes
More: www.bbrsda.com
