Monday, June 25, 2012
BIG OIL TO USE ADAK
The former naval base at Adak on Adak Island in the Aleutian Chain will be operated as a logistics support terminal for the oil and gas industry offshore Alaska’s North Slope.
– Petroleum News
More:www.petroleumnews.com
Acidification and oyster firm
A Willapa Bay shellfish company is shifting some of its business to Hawaii because of ocean acidification that scientists believe is killing tiny oyster larvae in shellfish farms along Washington's coast.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
W. Alaska revolts over kings
A revolt against the scientific management of Alaska fisheries has erupted in Western Alaska where villagers have decided they simply cannot abide closures ordered by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to protect a disastrous run of king salmon to the Kuskokwim River.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:www.alaskadispatch.com
King salmon closures on Kasilof
Due to increasingly dire numbers for king salmon returns, the commercial fishery is just the latest victim in a series of ongoing closures around the state.
– Alaska Dispatch
More:www.alaskadispatch.com
Chinook problems in ocean
Widespread failures of king salmon returns indicate the problem isn't freshwater-based, such as not enough adult spawners in the prior generation, or a loss of eggs from some kind of river catastrophe.
– McClatchy News Service
More:www.mcclatchydc.com
California needs otter law
The U.S. economy remains in such dire straits that Congress barely has had time to introduce a bill to exclude sea otters from migrating into Southern California waters.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More:www.sfgate.com
Salmon forecast vs. actual
Here are the numbers as compiled by Nickinovich and Associates:www.northwestfisheries.org
Fishing industry stabilizes Southeast
A panel of commercial lenders said tourism and commercial fishing have helped stabilize the southeast Alaska economy following the nationwide economic meltdown of 2008.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Pebble: Write a letter
“I urge fellow readers to publicly comment on the mine during the 60-day comment period. The EPA has the authority to restrict the disposal of mine waste if it presents a significant threat to Bristol Bay salmon and the people and businesses that depend on them.”
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
Cordova gives away salmon
On one day each year, the commercial fishing fleet with the support of local processors and tenders, donate a portion of their catch to be shared with the elders of our community.
– Cordova Times
More:www.thecordovatimes.com
NMFS mum on charges filed
The head of the National Marine Fisheries Service in Alaska, whose advice is alleged to have played a role in the state criminal charges filed against an applicant for a seat on the International Pacific Halibut Commission, won’t talk about his involvement in the matter.
– Alaska Journal of Commerce
More:www.alaskajournal.com
Tuesday, June 26, 2012
THANK A COMMERCIAL FISHERMAN
The curse of Alaskan reality TV has many down south thinking the Deadliest Catch is the norm in the industry.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Waiting for word on pollock B
Pollock B season is now two weeks in, but fishermen and plant managers are still trying to get a sense of how lucrative this summer will be.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Setnetters gain some respect
Drifters have always looked down on the set netters who work in the mud and pull by hand.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
More info from Port Moller fishery
The data from the Port Moller Test Fishery is starting to come out more frequently, and over the weekend the Alaska Department of Fish and Game released genetic information about the sockeye caught as part of the test fishery.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
New building in Naknek
Community leaders gathered in Naknek to cut the ribbon on the so far more than $10 million dollar project at the Port of Bristol Bay.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
To 'authorize' water pollution
Ashfield said the existing Fisheries Act, considered to be Canada's strongest environmental protection law, has "long played an important role in preventing pollution of Canadian waters." But he suggested it needed to be changed since it doesn't provide enough options allowing industry to disrupt or contaminate fish habitat.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Target for tsunami debris
The beaches between Coos and Winchester bays might collect more tsunami debris than other Oregon beaches this summer.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
Japanese fishermen venture out
'The past year has been long and hard, but the thing is, I never once gave up on being a fisherman.'
– New York Times
More:www.nytimes.com
Alaskans seek new exec director
The search is on for a new executive director at United Fishermen of Alaska.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Members of Pacific and North Pacific councils
The Commerce Department announced the appointment of 30 new and returning members to the eight regional fishery management councils that partner with NOAA's Fisheries Service to manage ocean fish stocks.
– NOAA
More:www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Wednesday, June 27, 2012
A 10-HOUR HALIBUT SEASON
The commercial halibut season lasts only 10 hours, so fishermen have one shot to make this year count.
– Coos Bay World
More:theworldlink.com
W. Bristol Bay escapement spikes
The escapement of sockeye salmon to several rivers in the Western Bristol Bay region spiked upwards prompting some limited commercial fishing time.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Huge Columbia sockeye return
Sockeye continue to flood into the Columbia River.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Oil search brings noise
As the Arctic Ocean's ice cover declines in summer and oil companies move in with ships, drilling equipment, and seismic surveys, what used to be a mostly very quiet home for whales and other marine animals is getting a lot louder.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Less oil business for Unalaska?
It's not yet clear whether that will mean less business for Unalaska.
– KUCB
More:kucb.org
Southeast kings good so far
While other parts of Alaska are seeing disappointing returns of king salmon, Southeast's Chinook runs have been coming in close to expectations, for the most part.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:www.kfsk.org
Tidal energy in Cook Inlet
A new project recently launched in the inlet might bring the promise of tidal energy a few steps closer to reality.
– Alaska Public
More:www.alaskapublic.org
Kodiak casualty sails away
The 174-foot landing craft left, under tow, for Seward.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Bristol Bay analysis
For decades the staff with the University of Washington's Fisheries Research Institute has been conducting research on Bristol Bay's abundant sockeye resource.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Industry lobbied hard for council seat
A large industry contingent lobbied strongly for Cross over fellow nominee Lori Swanson, who was Washington Gov. Christine Gregoire's top pick.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Nanaimo ignoring commercial fishermen
A Nanaimo fisherman says he is ready to resort to civil disobedience to get the Nanaimo Port Authority and contractor Pacific Northwest Marine Group to pay attention to the plight of the fishing industry in Nanaimo.
– Canada.com
More:www.canada.com
Thursday, June 28, 2012
KING SHORTAGE ALL OVER
Poor king salmon returns have hit Alaska statewide, causing closures or limits in all king salmon fisheries, including subsistence.
– Homer News
More:homernews.com
Don't blame king bycatch
Representatives from both commercial and sport fishermen say more may be behind this year's poor salmon returns than just the accidental netting of unwated salmon, known as commercial bycatch.
– KTUU, Anchorage
More:www.ktuu.com
Like your job?
The Kodiak survey asks fishermen to rank how satisfied they are with various aspects of fishing and compare it to 20 years ago.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in the Capital City Weekly
More:www.capitalcityweekly.com
Canadian regulators laid off
Controversial changes to Canada's fisheries laws hit home for public servants as the government announced it will reduce staff and centralize habitat offices.
– Chronicle Herald, Halifax
More:thechronicleherald.ca
Sporties report mushy halibut
Saltwater fishery officials are reporting a resurgence of a mysterious condition that's bound to turn the stomachs of fishers – mushy halibut syndrome.
– Kenai Peninsula Clarion
More:peninsulaclarion.com
Pebble miners respond to EPA
"While officials from the EPA Region 10 office in Seattle have regularly claimed that the Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment is not 'about the Pebble Project', any serious or casual reader of the report or the voluminous media coverage it has generated will know this is patently untrue."
– PR News Wire
More:www.marketwatch.com
Warmer waters aid hatchery
Warmer waters are doing well unto young hatchery salmon.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:www.kfsk.org
Trawling for plastic
The plastics industry has introduced a trawling net specially fitted to fish plastic waste out of the sea.
– Copenhagen Post
More:cphpost.dk
New Petersburg ice house
Trident is putting the finishing touches on new building on the waterfront in downtown Petersburg.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:www.kfsk.org
