Monday, July 15, 2013
CHUM BYCATCH LIMITS POLLOCK FLEET
They're avoiding areas that have produced the largest amount of chum salmon so far.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal on KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Bristol Bay price: $1.50
As large portions of the fleet pull their boats and book flights out of the Bay, the processors have started posting prices.
– Mike Mason on KDLG, Dillingam
More: kdlg.org
NW trawl buyback refinancing
Legislation aimed at alleviating the financial hardship of a federal loan that has been weighing on Pacific Coast groundfish fisherman for nearly a decade has moved one step closer to passing.
– Eureka Times Standard
More: times-standard.com
Omega 3 not panacea
What's good for the heart may not be so healthy for other organs says the latest study that links omega-3 fatty acids to an elevated risk of prostate cancer.
– Time
More: healthland.time.com
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report
The Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for Sunday includes the latest information on the prices being offered by the major processors and an update on the response to the sunken tender Lone Star. We also tour the Icicle Wood River plant and hear about a new vessel that will be entering the Bering Sea long-line fleet.
– Mike Mason on KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Wal-Mart shuns Alaskan salmon
The nation's largest retailer has said it will not sell Alaska seafood if it is not labelled as "sustainably managed" by the London-based Marine Stewardship Council.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch writing Fish Factor
More: thefishsite.com
Don't trust Pebble plutocrats
As has been the case for years with Pebble and its promoters, too often they talk out of both sides of their mouth, especially when it comes to the commercial fishing industry.
– Robin Samuelsen, writing in the Anchorage Daily News
More: adn.com
Another voice against Pebble
We shouldn't threaten that investment by building a mine that could wipe out an entire salmon fishery.
– Rep. Rick Larsen in the Bellingham Herald
More: bellinghamherald
Bristol Bay passes 15 million
Commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay hauled in another 268,000 sockeye on Friday to push the season total to just over 15 million fish.
– Mike Mason on KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Medevac near Juneau
A Coast Guard Station Juneau 45-foot Response Boat-Medium crew medevaced an ailing mariner from a fishing vessel south of Juneau Sunday.
– Coast Guard
More: piersystem.com
Klamath: Running on empty
The Klamath Basin straddles Oregon and California and comprises an area larger than nine American states.
– The Oregonian
More: oregonlive.com
Tuesday, July 16, 2013
WHO GETS THE CHINOOK?
The commercial fishermen donate heavily and lobby extensively to maintain control over our fish, while we continue to sit quietly on the shore, watching the last few kings swim up the river.
– Fairbanks News Miner
More: newsminer.com
Fraser Panel plans
The Fraser River Panel of the Pacific Salmon Commission has developed management plans for 2013 Fraser River sockeye and pink salmon fisheries in Panel Area waters.
– Pacific Salmon Commission
More: psc.org
Adak oil spill a crime
The state of Alaska has filed criminal charges against Aleut Enterprise, a subsidiary of the Aleut Corp., over a fuel spill in Adak.
– Stephanie Joyce, KUCB, Unalaska
More: alaskapublic.org
Catcher-freezer in Kodiak
The U.S. Intrepid is one of two catcher/processor vessels owned by Fishermen's Finest, an independent American fishing company with offices in Seattle.
– Brianna Gibbs, KMXT, Kodiak
More: kmxt.org
Studying Gulf of Alaska
More than 40 scientists from 11 institutions are searching for answers as part of a five-year study of the gulf's vast ecosystem.
– Ed Schoenfeld, KTOO, Juneau
More: ktoo.org
Coast Guard to Kotzebue
The Coast Guard opened its seasonal forward operating location in Kotzebue in preparation for the anticipated increase of maritime activities in Western Alaska and the Bering Strait.
– Coast Guard
More: piersystem.com
Golden king quota
The state announced Aleutian Islands golden king crab quotas.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Raising Dillingham wreck
A unified effort has begun to remove a sunken fishing vessel loaded with 35,000 pounds of salmon from the Igushik River near Dillingham.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Hatchery fish kill
Many young salmon and steelhead — about half of the fish that were to be released next spring — were killed when a pump failed at the Lower Elwha Klallam fish hatchery.
– Seattle Times
More: seattletimes.com
Fraser Native fishery ends
The early Stuart run is quite threatened.
– The Progress, Chilliwack, B.C.
More: theprogress.com
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
BRISTOL BAY STRAGGLERS
Another 94,000 sockeye were harvested Monday in Bristol Bay as large portions of the setnet and driftnet fleets have wrapped up their effort for the season.
– Mike Mason reporting on KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
CG rescues stroke victim
The Jayhawk crew safely hoisted the 61-year-old man, reportedly suffering from stroke-like symptoms, from the 273-foot fishing vessel Island Enterprise.
– Anchorage Daily News
More: adn.com
MSC changes buying patterns
Whether buying a tin of tuna or a Michelin-starred meal, shoppers choosing MSC-labeled seafood are helping to create a wave of sustainable fishing practices around the world.
– MSC
More: msc.org
Farmers like minister pick
Gail Shea has returned as Canada's Minister of Fisheries and Oceans after Keith Ashfield stepped down from the position due to illness, and it's an appointment that has been welcomed by the B.C. Salmon Farmers Association.
– FishNewsEU
More: fishnewseu.com
Judge OKs Klamath shutoffs
A Klamath County judge denied requests Tuesday to stop the enforcement of water rights in the area.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
More: opb.org
Fraser update
The Fraser River Panel met Tuesday to receive an update on the migration of Fraser sockeye and review the status of migration conditions in the Fraser River watershed.
– Fraser Panel
More: psc.org
Chefs warned of Pebble Mine
The Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association (BBRSDA) has partnered with leading national retailers and chefs to raise awareness about Bristol Bay sockeye, about the commercial fishing families who harvest the world largest salmon run, and about the threat to their businesses posed by the proposed Pebble Mine.
– BBRSDA
More: Bristol Bay Report
Another proposed Alaska mine
Most rare elements come from China, but a new mine in Alaska could shift the balance.
– Public Radio International
More: pri.org
Don't scrap endangered act
Then the Endangered Species Act is a necessary tool – all too often, the only tool – for repairing 150 years of damage done to salmon-producing watersheds.
– The Oregonian
More: oregonlive.com
Alaska seafood spokesman
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute proudly announces its partnership with Nordic skiing World Champion Kikkan Randall. ASMI and Randall will work together to promote the health and fitness benefits of Alaska seafood.
– ASMI
More: pressroom.alaskaseafood.org
Thursday, July 18, 2013
B.C. BLAMES ALASKAN FISHERMEN
A near record-low sockeye salmon run for Skeena River fisheries has cut off the catch in B.C., but conservation groups say Alaskan fishermen are not pulling in their nets, making the problem worse.
– CBC
More: cbc.ca
What happened to Skeena fish?
Skeena River sockeye salmon are returning in desperately low numbers this summer, causing concern among conservationists for the future of one of BC's largest and most diverse salmon runs.
– Marketwire
More: marketwire.com
Boat fire kills
Fire investigators still don't know exactly what started a fire on a fishing vessel that killed a Kipnuk fisherman and badly burned his two brothers.
– Ben Matheson, KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Aleutian bait herring open
Three seiners are participating this year, one each for Trident, Westward, and Peter Pan.
– Audrey Carlsen, KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Drones over the Pacific
"They're wonderful tools. They have the potential to change the way scientists do marine monitoring."
– The Oregonian
More: oregonlive.com
'Are we going to die today?'
Tragedy and Courage on the Bering Sea, the gripping story of the fire and explosion that destroyed the 190-foot fishing vessel Galaxy on Oct. 20, 2002, and the heroic rescue efforts that saved 23 of 26 men and women on board that day will be screened on Alaska public television on Wednesday, July 24, at 8 p.m. and 11 p.m., Thursday, July 25, at 11 a.m. and 5 p.m., and Sunday, July 28, at 7 p.m.
More: 360north.org
Farmed salmon to China
Scottish farmed salmon has proved very appealing to the Chinese market, with sales of £9m in the first year alone.
– FishNewsEU
More: fishnewseu.com
Verdict for marbled murrelets
Judge Heller of the King County Superior Court ruled that the Washington State Department of Natural Resources violated the State Environmental Policy Act by prematurely attempting to allow logging on lands that have been protected for consideration in a long term conservation plan.
– Seattle Audubon Society
More: seattleaudubon.org
Two weeks to defuel tender
The effort to remove the fuel from the sunken fishing tender Lone Star was scheduled to begin Wednesday afternoon.
– Mike Mason, KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Friday, July 19, 2013
SALMON PRICE BALLOONS
Alaska seafood processors saw a substantial rise in average wholesale prices for pink, chum, and coho salmon roe prices in the first four months of 2013, a state Department of Revenue report confirms.
– Margaret Bauman, writing in the Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Cause of processor fire
Investigators say that routine maintenance done on the roof of the Pacific Coast Seafood plant in Warrenton was responsible for a massive fire there in early June.
– Oregon Public Radio
More: opb.org
Bristol Bay fishermen pleased
A sharp rise in the price that fish processors pay for red salmon helped turn a so-so season on Alaska's productive Bristol Bay into a profitable one.
– Margaret Bauman, writing in Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
Cook Inlet lawsuit
A coalition of commercial fishermen have sued the Alaska Department of Fish and Game over its management of the 2013 sockeye run and requested that the court compel the fish and game commissioner to allow up to 51 hours of extra fishing periods for Upper Cook Inlet setnetters.
– Rashah McChesney, writing in the Peninsula Clarion
More: peninsulaclarion.com
CG drag fishing boat home
Two U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboats partnered with the cutter Fir to assist a drifting fishing vessel with a jammed rudder 10 miles West of Copalis Beach, Wash.
– The Daily Astorian
More: dailyastorian.com
Bristol Bay scratch fishing
Commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay hauled in another 53,000 sockeye on Wednesday to push the season total to above 15.5-million fish.
– Mike Mason, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Salmon fishermen relief nearer
Relief funds for last summer’s king salmon fisheries disasters on the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers has taken one step closer to reaching fishermen in the region.
– Angela Denning-Barnes, reporting for KYUK, Bethel
More: alaskapublic.org
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week: Chum bycatch is high early in the Bering sea; In Bristol Bay, even though the run didn’t meet expectations, prices are up for sockeye; a whole bunch of scientists put their minds to work on the Gulf of Alaska, and a commentary – yes, we have those – from Brian Lynch of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association.
– Jay Barrett of KMXT, with help from Lauren Rosenthal in Unalaska, Coast Alaska’s Ed Schoenfeld in Juneau and KDLG’s Mike Mason in Dillingham
More: kmxt.org
Bristol Bay marketer
Recently the organization made up of all the driftnet permit holders in Bristol Bay hired someone specifically focused on marketing the bay’s sockeye. (PS: It’s Beth Poole, who moves from Copper River-Prince William Sound. She’ll continue writing an occasional column for Pacific Fishing.)
– Mike Mason, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Comment on halibut plan
The National Marine Fisheries Service is taking public comment until Aug. 12 on the proposed halibut catch sharing plan.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com