Monday, May 21, 2012

TIT FOR TAT IN ALBACORE FIGHT

The Canadian government has raised the ire of American tuna fishermen by cutting off their Canadian port privileges just as exploratory talks are set to start over the lucrative Canada-U.S. albacore fishery.

– Victoria Times Colonist

More:www.timescolonist.com

Dismal forecast for Fraser

Only between 1.2 million and 3.8 million sockeye salmon are forecast to return, down from 5 million last year.

More:www.vancouversun.com

Sardine fishery collapsing

A game-changing report recently released by 13 pre-eminent scientists around the world finds that the sardine population off the West Coast is steeply declining and the international sardine fishery is collapsing.

– Salinas Californian

More:www.thecalifornian.com

Farmer destroys diseased salmon

A Clayoquot Sound salmon farm is under a quarantine order and 570,000 salmon are being euthanized following confirmation of a fatal virus.

– Vancouver Sun

More:www.vancouversun.com

Ending halibut bycatch

After years of study and foot-dragging, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council is finally considering reducing the amount of halibut bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska.

– Fairbanks News Miner

More:newsminer.com

Togiak's herring fishery

The Togiak sac roe herring fishery appears to be coming along swimmingly.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

Alaska permit values up and down

The value of Alaska fishing permits has seesawed over the past year with Cook Inlet prices heading upwards and Bristol Bay on the down side.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan

More:www.sitnews.us

Packers still against MSC

Deckboss just received this open letter from Alaska salmon processors "reaffirming" their intent to withdraw from the Marine Stewardship Council certification program.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

EPA spells out Pebble dangers

The possible failure of a dam holding waste from a large-scale mine near the headwaters of one of the world's premier salmon fisheries in Alaska could wipe out or degrade rivers and streams in the region for decades.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

EPA: Bristol Bay fishing big business

Bristol Bay's wild salmon fishery and other natural resources provide at least 14,000 full and part-time jobs and is valued at about $480 million annually. Even at its minimum size, mining the Pebble deposit would eliminate or block 55 to 87 miles of salmon streams and at least 2,500 acres of wetlands – key habitat for sockeye and other fishes.

– Renewable Resourced Coalition

Read the EPA report:yosemite.epa.gov

Tsunami mess worst event

Japan tsunami debris will be worst single pollution event to ever hit west coast of North America, far exceeding Exxon Valdez.

– Energy News

More:enenews.com

Tuesday, May 22, 2012

BYCATCH SALMON TO FEED PEOPLE

A bill that passed in the 2012 Oregon Legislature promises to deliver more fish to the Oregon Food Bank.

– Pacific Fishing correspondent Cassandra Marie Profita reporting in Ecotrope, Oregon Public Broadcasting

More:ecotrope.opb.org

Terrorism and seal bombs

The Homeland Security Agency has decreed that seal bombs are a threat to all Americans and must not be allowed to fall into the hands of terrorists – or gillnetters.

– Cordova Times

More:thecordovatimes.com

Russian boss behind frankenfish

If Americans ever eat genetically engineered fast-growing salmon, it might be because of a Soviet biologist turned oligarch turned government minister turned fish farming entrepreneur.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Managing deep-water fish

The biggest challenge for deep-water fisheries was ensuring that data, which really tell you what is happening in the deep ocean, is available for management decision-making.

– The Fish Site

More:www.thefishsite.com

Stocks rebuilt

Here in Alaska, two species of crab, Pribilof blue kings and Southern Bering Sea Tanners, are considered overfished, while walleye pollock are on the upswing and Bering Sea snow crab are declared rebuilt.

– KMXT, Kodiak

More:www.kmxt.org

Seiners pulled off Togiak herring

The Togiak sac-roe herring fishery is underway, but without the purse seine fleet.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:www.kdlg.org (scroll down)

Fraser fish face fatal factors

Increased numbers of pink salmon, warming ocean temperatures, and salmon farms along migration routes could together be contributing to the long-term decline of Fraser River sockeye, scientists report.

– Vancouver Sun

More:www.vancouversun.com

Salmon farmers blame wild fish

"It is time that the European Commission looked into the governance and regulation of our wild fishery rivers to examine if they are in compliance with habitats and other environmental directives, in particular where any disturbance is caused by works carried out by state agencies which impact on freshwater pearl mussels and sensitive habitats."

– FishNewsEU

More:www.fishnewseu.com

New Alaska to Siberia flights

Russian airline Yakutia Air has been approved by the U.S. and Russian governments to operate scheduled passenger service between Eastern Russia and Alaska.

– AirRussia.US

More:www.airrussia.us

Canada cutting biologists

Canada's only marine mammal toxicologist at the Institute of Ocean Sciences on Vancouver Island is losing his job as the federal government cuts almost all employees who monitor ocean pollution across Canada.

– Victoria Times Colonist

More:www.timescolonist.com

Wednesday, May 23, 2012

FRASER LOOKING BLEAK

There could be an all-aboriginal fishery on the Fraser River this summer, following early predictions that not enough salmon will return to allow for a commercial catch.

– Chilliwack (B.C.) Times

More: www.chilliwacktimes.com

PINPOINT HOME WATER OF FISH

Scientists said they had devised a DNA test to pinpoint the geographical origins of commercial sea fish, in a breakthrough against illegal trawling that threatens fish stocks worldwide.

– Phys.Org

More:phys.org

Good question

Is there or isn't there about a million-and-a-half metric tons of Japanese debris from the March 2011 earthquake and subsequent tsunami headed for Washington state beaches?

– The Olympian

More:www.theolympian.com

Badmouthing EPA

A pro-development luncheon sponsored by Alaska business groups and featuring Gov. Sean Parnell among the speakers became a vehicle Tuesday to rally against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Goodmouthing EPA

The Environmental Protection Agency's draft assessment on potential mining impacts in the Bristol Bay watershed concluded what common sense already told us -- mining a prospect like Pebble likely will kill some salmon habitat, even without an event like the catastrophic failure of a tailings dam.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Fisherman medevaced

A Coast Guard helicopter safely hoisted an ailing crewman off the longliner Polaris.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

Canada court could halt fisheries reform

Fisheries and Oceans Canada acknowledges its reputation and capacity to protect the nation's water are at risk because of a "change agenda" that could be overturned in court.

– Victoria Times Colonist

More:www.timescolonist.com

Fish farmer ends massacre

A Vancouver Island salmon farm says it has now emptied a site that was quarantined because of a virus.

– Vancouver Sun

More:www.canada.com

Astronaut endorses MSC salmon

Dutch astronaut André Kuipers has shown his support for the Marine Stewardship Council while on board the International Space Station.

– FishNewsEU

More:www.fishnewseu.com

Canadian crab seeks MSC certification

The Newfoundland and Labrador snow crab (Chionoecetes opilio) fishery, the province's highest value fishery, has entered into independent, third-party assessment in the Marine Stewardship Council's certification program.

– MSC

More:www.msc.org

Survival suits for kids

Commercial salmon fishing in Alaska is often a family affair, with kids joining parents onboard. There is a problem that pops up though, with very young children and the requirement for immersion or survival suits for everyone onboard a commercial fishing boat.

– KMXT, Kodiak

More:www.kmxt.org

Protect baitfish

Forage fish are the cornerstone of our ocean's food web.

– Seattle Times

More:seattletimes.nwsource.com

Thursday, May 24, 2012

Virus hits another salmon farm

A virus has infected a Bainbridge Island salmon farm, forcing the owners to begin culling and destroying infected fish.

– Pacific Fishing

More: pacificfishing.com

Still more herring to be caught

Commercial fishermen participating in the Togiak sac roe herring fishery still have thousands of tons of herring to harvest to approach the quota.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More: kdlg.org (scroll down)

Copper River report

Gillnetters caught another 219,000 red, or sockeye, salmon at the Copper River on Monday.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More: deckboss.blogspot.com

Searching for deadly snakehead

Provincial environment staff packed up their gear and headed out in an attempt to capture the elusive frankenfish purported to be lurking in a lagoon in Burnaby's Central Park.

– Victoria Times Colonist

More: www.timescolonist.com

Atlantic dogfish catch up

The catch limit for commercial fishermen targeting dogfish has increased by more than 5 million pounds over last year, a significant increase that reflects the abundance of the species.

– South (Massachusetts) Coast Today

More: www.southcoasttoday.com

Grant for gillnetter observing

The North Pacific Fisheries Association, a local commercial fishing organization in Homer, was awarded $65,000 by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation to develop electronic monitoring in federal fisheries off Alaska.

– Homer Tribune

More: homertribune.com

Norway vows to fight lice

“This is why we stopped the increase in production capacity in 2010 and this is why the sea lice situation will be a central factor when we evaluate the possibility for growth this year.”

– FishNewsEU

More: www.fishnewseu.com

Outrage north of the border

The Animal Health Act, expected to be passed into law by month's end, expressly over-rides B.C.'s Freedom of Information Act, duct-taping shut the mouths of any citizens – or journalists – who would publicly identify the location of an outbreak of agriculture-related disease such as the deadly bird flu.

– Vancouver Province

More: www.theprovince.com

Why it’s an outrage

This comes from Dan Barr, president, Bristol Bay Driftnetters Association. “Not only does it sound like there are infectious diseases in B.C. farmed salmon but now the government wants to make it illegal to talk about it. How horrible is this?”

Second fish farm disease quarantine

A second salmon farm in B.C. is now under an official quarantine over concerns about a virus.

– Vancouver Sun

More: www.vancouversun.com

Friday, May 25, 2012

Anti-frankenfish measure fails

A vote on the floor of the U.S. Senate turned back an amendment by Alaska Sen. Lisa Murkowski to require a comprehensive study before genetically engineered salmon can be sold to consumers.

– KFSK, Petersburg

More: www.alaskapublic.org

Taku mine permit delayed

British Columbia environmental officials say a permit for a road to the Tulsequah Chief Mine will be delayed.

– KTOO, Juneau

More: www.ktoonews.or

Bad weather for Togiak fishery

The Togiak sac roe herring fishery has been plagued this season by unfavorable weather, ice, and a herring biomas that began to spawn very quickly.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More: kdlg.org

New airline to Aleutians

Starting this summer, Anchorage-based Grant Aviation will be flying to Atka and Nikolski as part of the federal government’s Essential Air Service program.

– KUCB, Unalaska

More: kucb.org

Ocean preserves seem positive

"This study provides the first conclusive evidence that larval supply from marine reserves generates important recruitment subsidies to both fished and protected areas."

– Phys.Org

More: phys.org

Alaska Seafood Report

Coming up this week, the families of five commercial clam diggers killed last summer are suing Pacific Seafoods, Copper River’s salmon season has opened with the expected fanfare and more, plus, another installment of Fish In Space!

– KMXT, Kodiak

More: www.kmxt.org

Alaska permit values see-saw

The value of Alaska fishing permits has see-sawed over the past year with Cook Inlet prices heading upwards and Bristol Bay on the down side.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch writing in the Wrangell Sentinel

More: www.wrangellsentinel.com

Early price on Copper River

Fishing industry sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the price paid to fishermen on the first opener was about $4 a pound for sockeyes and $6 for kings.

– Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

Flood of tsunami debris

Very few people recognize and appreciate the scale of the environmental disaster that is about to befoul the western North American coastline, particularly Alaska's.

– Anchorage Daily News

More: www.adn.com