Monday, May 20, 2013
SOCKEYE SEASON'S STRONG START
Thursday's 12-hour season opener at the Copper River produced an estimated catch of 82,000 sockeye salmon and 700 Chinook, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Can processors save Oregon pier project?
The port, which has been able to decrease the project's cost another $130,000, finds itself approximately $340,000 short of the overall cost of the project, which could sink without a decision in the near future by the Port Commission.
– Daily Astorian
More: dailyastorian.com
Grant for fishing monitor
Homer-based North Pacific Fisheries Association has received a $147,400 National Fish and Wildlife Foundation Fisheries Innovation Fund grant for a two-year project to use electronic monitoring in the pot and longline cod fisheries.
– Homer News
More: homernews.com
Kenai salmon researcher criticized
What she clearly doesn't understand is that it was the "sport trophy" fish, the world-famous Kenai king salmon, and the people who fish them, that did more than anyone or anything to preserve and protect Kenai habitat.
– Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
Cormorants gobbling Oregon salmon
Increasing numbers of double-crested cormorants are threatening Oregon's burgeoning salmon fishery, and state wildlife managers are unsure how to combat the menace.
– The World
More: theworldlink.com
Inland salmon farming
The floating, open-ocean net pens that produce billions of pounds of artificially colored salmon per year also generate inevitable pollution, disease and parasites.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
More: opb.org
Louisiana sustainable certification
This Louisiana Certified Seafood product is sustainable, traceable, contains no sodium tripolyphosphate, and meets an ever-increasing demand for fresh, quality gumbo-sized shrimp.
– FIS
More: fis.com
Village mourns lost fishermen
A minister of a United Church in a New Brunswick village says the community is in mourning after several weeks marred with tragedy for the local fishing industry, including the death of three fishermen.
– Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
Commercial fishing advocate dies
Frank L. "Baldy" Reynolds, Jr., owner for 50 years of a Lake Erie commercial fishing business, one of the last in the state, who remained on guard against regulatory and environmental threats, died Thursday in St. Charles Hospital.
– Toledo Blade
More: toledoblade.com
Controversial NZ set-net ban
Otago commercial fishermen have reacted with anger to a proposal to extend a ban on set-net fishing around the Otago Peninsula to help preserve yellow-eyed penguin colonies.
– New Zealand Herald
More: nzherald.co.nz
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
BLAZE OFF WASHINGTON COAST
The crew aboard a 314-foot fishing vessel off the Washington coast managed to extinguish an engine room fire originally reported as uncontrolled.
– KOMO, Seattle
More: komonews.com
U.S. Coast Guard photo by Michael Wunderle
Togiak herring
The harvest of herring as part of the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery picked up on Saturday and Sunday.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Volcano cuts flights
Planes haven't made it to Sand Point since Thursday.
– Alaska Public Media
More: alaskapublic.org
B.C. best practices
"You can put all the regulations in place, make all the recommendations, and invoke best practices, but it's really up to the individual. At the end of the day, commercial fishing can be a dangerous occupation."
– Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
Priest against Pebble
An Orthodox priest known for his efforts to mediate disputes between Native communities and business interests has joined a lobbying campaign on Capitol Hill against a potential gold and copper mine in the Bristol Bay area of Alaska.
– E&E Publishing
More: eenews.net
Enviros launch Pebble campaign
The NRDC launched a six-figure advertising effort that features Bristol Bay residents who oppose the proposed Pebble Mine.
– The Hill
More: thehill.com
Retrieving ghost nets
For the past decade, he's been after a different harvest: ghost nets.
– Oregon Public Radio
More: nwpr.org
Fight against rock vomit
The state is looking to hire a contractor to eradicate Didemnum vexillum, also known as "rock vomit," in Whiting Harbor at Sitka.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Fuel cells and fishing
A fuel cell is an electrochemical energy conversion device that converts hydrogen and oxygen into water, and in the process, it produces electricity.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More: sitnews.us
Salmon closure trumps religion
The court found that the state's need to restrict King salmon supersedes the fishermen's right to religious practice.
– Alaska Public Media
More: alaskapublic.org
Wednesday, May 22, 2013
SEINERS DONE AT TOGIAK
The Togiak Sac Roe Herring Fishery is still ongoing but one of the two gear groups has been closed down.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Volcano hurts air traffic
Pavlof Volcano isn't showing signs of slowing down.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Guv signs commercial fishing bills
Gov. Sean Parnell signed off on a new state budget, and it contains several capital items of interest to the commercial fishing community.
– Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Talking Dillingham tax cap
Two things have stood in the way of large barges and other vessels wintering over in town – the lack of large vessel haul out equipment and the lack of a tax cap.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More: thedutchharborfisherman.com
B.C. natural gas port
Pacific Northwest LNG took the next step toward an export terminal island on Lelu Island earlier this week with the awarding of the front-end engineering and design contract.
– Northern View, Prince Rupert
More: thenorthernview.com
Latest on American Seafoods
Just because American Seafoods has been accused doesn't mean it has to simply roll over and pay the weighty fines.
– Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Banana taboo
You should absolutely never bring bananas on a fishing trip.
– NOLA.Com
More: nola.com
Iceland refutes MSC
The Marine Research Institute of Iceland and Iceland Responsible Fisheries also play an important role in providing scientific evidence and setting strong standards to ensure the health of the stock.
– FishNewsEU
More: fishnewseu.com
MSC hits mark
Western tuna salad bearing the MSC ecolabel is now available in most Migros stores in Switzerland. It is the 20,000th product in the world to come from a MSC-certified sustainable fishery.
– MSC
More: msc.org
Antique ex-processor awaits its fate
The iconic Washington State Ferry that spent 20 years as a seafood processor in Kodiak's Gibson Cove changed hands quietly late last year.
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
Thursday, May 23, 2013
B.C. OBJECTS TO OBSERVERS
The DFO is requiring a new monitoring regime aboard salmon fishing vessels that includes the purchase of a $300 log book to record bycatch and the spotting of whales, turtles, and birds, as well as having to hire an on-board monitor service provider to track the vessel's activities.
– Prince Rupert Northern View
More: thenorthernview.com
Cal salmon record price
“If you get into them, you catch pretty well. But right now there’s not a lot of fish in the bay.”
– Monterey County Weekly
More: montereycountyweekly.com
Runaway rig hearing begins
The man who was in charge of the Shell drilling rig Kulluk when it went aground New Year’s Eve testified at a Coast Guard hearing that he had never done a winter tow in Alaska, but he thought they were prepared for the weather ahead when they left Dutch Harbor to cross the Gulf of Alaska.
– Alaska Public Media
More: alaskapublic.org
Why small packers flourish
A woman involved in the seafood processing industry is trying to shed some light on why one area of Bristol Bay has a thriving small seafood processing industry while another area has no small processors at all.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Native fishermen guilty
A Bethel judge has ruled against some of nearly two dozen Yup’ik Eskimo fishermen cited for illegally fishing king salmon in the Kuskokwim River during a poor run last year.
– Juneau Empire
More: juneauempire.com
Togiak herring closed
The cumulative Togiak sac roe herring purse seine harvest has reached 20,256 tons, representing 96.3 percent of the quota, and the fishery has been closed for the remainder of the 2013 season, state fisheries officials said.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Yen falling
It's hovering near 102 yen per dollar — more than 20 per cent weaker relative to the dollar and the euro than it was six months ago.
– Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
Cross-border crab fight
A Tsawwassen First Nation fisherman caught with $4,000 worth of Dungeness crab about 700 meters south of the Point Roberts border has found himself embroiled in a court case that could have broad implications for First Nations fishing rights.
– South Delta (B.C.) Leader
More: southdeltaleader.com
Copper River re-opener
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists say the next commercial opening of the Copper River District for wild salmon harvests is anticipated to be on Monday, May 27.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Washington state’s fish bill
The bill requires all fresh, frozen or processed fish and shellfish to be labeled by its common name as defined by the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife.
– Wall Street Journal
More: blogs.wsj.com
Friday, May 24, 2013
FISH OBSERVERS ATTACKED
Attacks against independent monitors of U.S. fishing fleets more than doubled between 2007 and 2011.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Pebble miners question seal listing
Pebble officials allege that listing the Iliamna Lake seals under the Endangered Species Act could have an impact on a range of activities, including subsistence.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Selling sport Dungeness
Several people face charges following a commercial fisheries investigation by the Oregon State Police Fish and Wildlife Division.
– Lincoln City (Ore.) News Guard
More: thenewsguard.com
Tribe fires iron-dumping guy
The Haida Salmon Restoration Corp., the group responsible for releasing 100 tons of iron sulfate in the international waters off Haida Gwaii, says it has also dumped its lead scientist Russ George.
– Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
Eat fish, live healthily
Men who eat large amounts of beef or pork daily face a heightened risk of diabetes.
– Japan Times
More: japantimes.co.jp
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, things are starting to wind down in Togiak; more Kuskokwim fishermen are found guilty of king fishing during a closure, and fishing for zombies.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More: kmxt.org
‘Hell bent’ to kill fishing
The federal government seems hell bent on getting rid of the commercial fishery.
– Northern View, Prince Rupert
More: thenorthernview.com
Ouster raises questions
By far, the biggest topic for commercial fishermen this year was the ouster of Vince Webster from the Board of Fisheries.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Mat-Su and fish research
ADFG’s proposed work includes enumerating and tagging fish in freshwater streams and rivers, habitat work to mitigate beaver dams and eradicate Northern pike, and developing a genetic baseline as the first step toward understanding salmon migration.
– Alaska Journal of Commerce
More: alaskajournal.com
See you Tuesday
We won’t have a Fish Wrap on Monday, May 27, because of Memorial Day observances. We’ll be back on Tuesday, May 28. See you then.
