Tuesday, May 31, 2011
TRUCKLOAD OF CRAB HIJACKED
A trucker pulled his rig up to a cold-storage warehouse in Los Angeles and picked up a load of Russian king crab that was headed to Seattle. The trucker was supposed to deliver his load on Monday. Instead, he's disappeared — along with some 25,000 pounds of king crab that could wholesale for more than $400,000.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Television crab captain guilty
An Alaska fishing captain who led a crew on the program that spawned the cable TV show "Deadliest Catch" has pleaded guilty to criminally negligent homicide and driving under the influence in a fatal crash.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
CG skipper relieved of command
Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard District, and Capt. Melissa Bert, Commander, Coast Guard Sector Juneau, temporarily relieved Lt. Matthias Wholley from his duties as Commanding Officer of the Cutter Anacapa for loss of confidence in the ability to command.
– Coast Guard
More:www.d17.uscgnews.com
Alaska climate change
"Quinhagak is not like it used to be, you know, a lot of snow," recalled Wassilie Pleasant, a local resident and member of the village Native corporation. "You could even walk onto the tops of the houses because there was so much snow, they were almost covered. Today there is hardly any snow."
– A website concerning climate change compiled by Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program
More:seagrant.uaf.edu
Enhancing urchin populations
In the early 1990s, Maine saw a boom in its sea urchin fishery, fueled by demand from Japan. The boom turned to a bust, and the urchin numbers rapidly declined.
– Maine Public Broadcasting
More:www.mpbn.net
New lift for Auke Bay
The city's Docks and Harbors board is moving forward with a 45-ton hydraulic lift plan for the Statter Harbor/Auke Bay area.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Total catch of Yukon chum
How many fish they will be able to harvest is the big question, and Jack Schultheis, general manager for Kwik'Pak, said he hopes the Alaska Department of Fish and Game will take a more moderate management approach, one that will allow harvesters to bring in more than the 150,000 chums they were allowed to harvest a year ago.
– Tundra Drums
More:www.thetundradrums.com
Paying fishermen to catch plastic
Fishermen will be paid to catch plastic, rather than fish, under bold new plans from the EU's fisheries chief, aimed at providing fleets with an alternative source of income to reduce pressure on dwindling fish stocks.
– Guardian, U.K.
More:www.guardian.co.uk
Alaska tide book errs
"A tide book is like a Bible to a fishermen. It is constantly referenced – they lay their nets down by the tide, they launch by the tide – all their activity is centered around that every day," said Jerry Thompson of Soldotna, publisher of the Alaska Tide Book for 23 years.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing for SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Wednesday, June 1, 2011
SAN DIEGO TUNA FARM
Three decades after San Diego's famed tuna industry crumbled, an Icelandic entrepreneur is attempting to rebuild the city as a world tuna capital.
– San Diego Union Tribune
More:www.signonsandiego.com
Alaska coastal management 'dead'
Alaska's coastal management program appears to be "effectively dead," a leading state lawmaker said Tuesday, with neither the House nor the Senate showing a willingness to budge on their positions.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Fraser stock not protected
A unique population of sockeye salmon identified in 2004 as facing "a high probability of extinction" wasn't given protection under the Species At Risk Act because then federal government was worried about the cost of shutting down fisheries.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
New secretary of commerce
President Obama said he will nominate a California utility executive, John Bryson, to head the Commerce Department.
– New York Times
More:www.nytimes.com
Collapse of wild Atlantic salmon stocks
An international conservation organization is warning that large Atlantic salmon could suffer the same devastating collapse as the cod stocks off Newfoundland unless Canada steps up protection efforts and sets a good example for other nations.
– Canadian Press
More:www.google.com
Longliner shark repellant
Researchers have developed a new type of fishing hook combining shark repellent technologies designed for helping reduce the number of sharks caught in commercial fishing operations, thereby increasing target catches.
– Digital Journal
More:www.digitaljournal.com
Overfishing of baitfish
Anchovies and sardines are just as vulnerable to overfishing as sharks and tuna, according to a new study led by Stanford University researchers.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Lots to lose if fish farms pollute
Alaska has a lot to lose if factory fish farms get established and pollute the waters and spread disease to the wild fish.
– Eatdrinkbetter.com
More:eatdrinkbetter.com
Don't say we didn't warn you
Mavens of popular culture have approached Fish Wrap with an offer that may be too good to ignore. They have offered the entire Wrap Family stardom in the highly remunerative field of rap "music." That is, unless we get more subscribers to Fish Wrap. (Fish Rap. Has a nice ring to it, don't you think?) Tell your co-workers and friends. The price remains, as always, free.
Subscribe:Pacific Fishing's Fish Wrap
Thursday, June 2, 2011
HALIBUT LONGLINER – UNDER SAIL
Among the big commercial fishing boats in the Homer harbor, one halibut longliner stands out: the F/V Inua, Homer's only motorsailing commercial fishing boat.
– Homer News
More:www.homernews.com
Commerce appointment under fire
You knew that just about anyone President Barack Obama nominated to be the new Secretary of Commerce would be under attack almost immediately by Republicans. But you probably wouldn't have guessed that a few lawmakers in Obama's own party would also be slamming the decision.
– WickedLocal.com, Boston
More:blogs.wickedlocal.com
Elwha dams shut down
The end of an era arrived Wednesday with the final shutdown of two dams on the Elwha River.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Foiling fish fraud – molecularly
Molecular technologies could now be used to foil fishing fraud and boost traceability by determining the origin of even processed products like canned fish, said scientists from the European Commission.
– Food Production Daily
More:www.foodproductiondaily.com
CG looking north to Arctic
As sea ice melts, Alaska's Coast Guard is looking north to an Arctic future.
– KTUU, Anchorage
More:articles.ktuu.com
Palins buy Arizona house
Sarah Palin has confirmed that she is part of a company that purchased a home north of Phoenix, but she said she hasn't moved from Alaska.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Plankton turns Sitka Sound reddish
Public officials in Sitka from the police to the Department of Environmental Conservation have been taking calls about a reddish brown tint in bay waters during the last week.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Unalaska runway extension eyed
Extending the runway would make the airport safer for larger planes, giving them more leeway if they overshoot or undershoot their landing. The comments offered during the public hearing supported this extension.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Friday, June 3, 2011
PALIN AGAINST QUOTA BACK EAST
Palin used the opportunity to rail against recently tightened fishing regulations, which she said have hit New Hampshire fishermen especially hard because the state's coastline was so short.
– Politico
More:www.politico.com
Divorcing quota from actual fishing
It is particularly concerned that a market allowing small fishing fleet to buy and sell "quota" has been infiltrated by traders with "no connection" to the fishing industry.
– The Herald, U.K.
More:www.thisisplymouth.co.uk
Copper River reds to half-million pounds
Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at Cordova said that brings the season totals to date to 11,000 kings, 758,200 sockeye and 10,800 chum, or, by weight, 209,500 pounds, 4,589,000 pounds and 70,400 pounds respectively.
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
More fish for other predators
The state Assembly passed a bill that would enact new protections for small ocean fish at the lower end of the food chain by placing a value on leaving them in the water.
– L.A. Times
More:latimesblogs.latimes.com
Report from Alaska fish commish
"We're doing a lot of things right and you can look at our wildlife and our fish populations and I think that the Department of Fish and Game can be proud of the work that they're doing," she said.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Appointments to fishery councils
The Obama administration has made its latest appointments to the fisheries management councils.
– NOAA
More:www.nmfs.noaa.gov
A look at Alaska's coastal forests
A new report published by the USDA Forest Service's Pacific Northwest Research Station presents summaries of current southeast and south-central Alaska forest topics, ranging from carbon and forest products to lichens and invasive species.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week in this first show of June, Togiak herring turned out well, new ways to estimate populations might mean a red king crab season in Southeast some day again, and spring cleaning the Dutch Harbor way.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
