Monday, July 26, 2010
SE Alaska fishermen pleased with price
Prices are currently hovering around 70 to 75 cents per pound for chums and coho, or $1 dressed for coho and 30 cents for pinks. Sockeye salmon are the prized catch, fetching $1.70.
– Juneau Empire
Sockeye price roundup
Prices for sockeye were up across Alaska: The average base at Kodiak is $1.49 a pound, up from $1.11 last year. At Prince William Sound, gillnetters were getting $2.25, up from $1.72. In Southeast, sockeye brought $2, an increase of about 75 cents from last year. Back at Bristol Bay, the dockside value of this year's sockeye fishery could reach $170 million, an increase of more than $40 million from last year. The Bristol Bay sockeye salmon catch provides two-thirds of the value of Alaska's total statewide salmon harvest.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch
Kenai sockeye confound low predictions
Kenai River sockeye salmon fishing is continuing to fool the experts. Early reports of a decrease in red salmon populations were apparently far from being correct.
– The Examiner
More:www.examiner.com
Nice sockeye run on Vancouver Island
Fisheries and Oceans Canada have almost doubled its original Stamp Somass sockeye prediction, but First Nations are still left out of the picture.
– Westcoaster, B.C.
More:www.westcoaster.ca
Wind hampering albacore fleet
Tuna season kicked off a few weeks ago here on the South Coast, but even though there is a ton of tuna to be caught, mother nature is putting a slight damper on things.
– KCBY, North Bend
More:www.kcby.com
'Organic' farmed fish? It's Orwellian
The proposal by the Canadian General Standards Board and the organic aquaculture working group at Fisheries and Oceans Canada to give the "organic stamp of approval" to B.C. farmed salmon raised in open-net pens is nothing short of Orwellian.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Sports groundfish fishery limited
The fishery beyond the 20-fathom line is closed in order to minimize catch-and-release mortality of yelloweye rock fish.
– Coos Bay World
More:www.theworldlink.com
Coast Guard lifts stroke victim
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter aircrew from Air Station Sitka safely medevaced a 83-year old woman reportedly suffering from symptoms of a stroke off the Sitka-based 44-foot fishing vessel Annie B in the vicinity of Gedney Harbor, 53 miles southeast of Sitka Saturday.
– Coast Guard press release
More:www.piersystem.com
Polar Sea refloated
The crew of the 58-foot Kodiak-based fishing vessel Polar Star was able to repair the hull and refloat the vessel in Geographic Harbor Friday after running aground Tuesday morning in Shelikof Strait.
– Coast Guard press release
More:www.piersystem.com
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Alaska fishing vessel hard aground
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew from Cordova responded to the Seattle-based 100-foot fishing vessel Cape Cross, which went aground at 5 a.m. in Main Bay in Prince William Sound Monday.
– Coast Guard press release
More:www.piersystem.com
Unexpected sockeye in Kenai
An unexpected rush of red salmon to the Kenai River is proving a boon for sport and commercial fishermen.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
EPA administrator visits Alaska
Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa P. Jackson is in Alaska this week to meet with the Pebble Limited Partnership in Anchorage, then travel to Dillingham to hold a listening session with local, economic, and tribal groups.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:www.thedutchharborfisherman.com
Pebble mine backers misleading
Executives with Pebble Limited Partnership and some of their high-profile supporters, like former House Speaker Gail Phillips, have recently made misleading statements about the location and potential impacts of the proposed Pebble Mine.
– Jack Stanford, writing in the Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Dishonest sports fisherman
The "In My Opinion" segment July 14, headlined "The Seafood Watch Ratings: Taking a closer look at salmon," presented an opinion so devoid of honest examination that it left me wondering what motivated the author, Bryan Irwin.
– Raymond Collins of Newport, writing in The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
PCBs in salmon
If there's any one food that exemplifies British Columbia's cuisine, it would have to be Pacific wild salmon.
– Vancouver Courier
More:www.vancourier.com
Canadian CG gets new hovercraft
The Sea Island Canadian Coast Guard base in B.C. is getting a $27.3-million hovercraft, the federal government has announced.
– BCLocalNews
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Killing Klamath salmon
Government agencies mandated to protect the public trust have been disabled by political interests. Confronted with listing salmon as “endangered,” they seem to have had a stroke.
– Ellen Taylor resides in Petrolia writing in the Eureka Times Standard
Indians continue protected area fight
It's been a long battle for Native American tribes attempting to maintain their fishing rights in the face of the Marine Life Protection Act and they seem to have gained ground recently.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:www.triplicate.com
New bill would limit trawlers
A draft reauthorization of the National Marine Sanctuaries Act, circulated for comment by a California congresswoman, contains anti-fishing language that would bar commercial trawling in the nation's 14 sanctuaries.
– Gloucester Times
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Alaska fishing vessel hard aground
A Coast Guard MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew from Cordova responded to the Seattle-based 100-foot fishing vessel Cape Cross, which went aground at 5 a.m. in Main Bay in Prince William Sound Monday.
– Coast Guard press release
More:www.piersystem.com
Alaska fishing vessel still aground
Responders have placed containment boom around a sheen leaking from a grounded fishing vessel in Prince William Sound, the Coast Guard said.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Disaster money for Yukon king fishermen
The House has passed a 2010 supplemental appropriations bill that includes $5 million requested by U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, to help mitigate the Yukon River Chinook salmon fishery failure.
– Tundra Drums
More:www.thetundradrums.com
Fisherman sentenced for ax murder
A Chignik Lake man who beat a friend to death with an ax during a drunken argument over who was the better fisherman was sentenced this week to serve 35 years in prison, according to the Anchorage district attorney.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:community.adn.com
More sockeye to Vancouver Island
The big seiners returned for another shot at the sockeye run Monday. They began a 24-hour fishery, which could be extended. More than 260,000 sockeye have already been caught in commercial fisheries.
– WestCoaster, B.C.
More:www.westcoaster.ca
Aleutian sea lion announcement soon
The federal government as soon as Thursday might unveil its long-awaited "biological opinion" on the endangered Steller sea lion.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Make salmon official B.C. fish
Wild Pacific salmon are widely recognized for their iconic representation of British Columbia; they are a precious inheritance and an important legacy to pass to future generations.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Remembering Columbia River gillnetters
It's one of the most recognized boats on the Columbia River, and there are plenty of books about its fisheries, but you'd have a hard time finding a book about the gillnet boats themselves.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Too few Yukon kings to reach Canada
It doesn’t appear enough Yukon River king salmon will reach Canada to fulfill Alaska’s obligation as part of an international treaty.
– Fairbanks Daily Miner
More:www.newsminer.com
Logging back on Kodiak
Sitka spruce logs are piling up at Lash Dock this month as part of the first log harvest project on Kodiak Island since the market plummeted in 1997.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Vital plankton disappearing
Phytoplankton, which are responsible for half of the world's primary production and are the basis of all marine ecosystems, have been declining for more than 100 years, perhaps the result of rising sea temperatures, according to a study published in this week's Nature – a cause for concern about the health of the Earth's oceans.
– The Scientist.com
More:www.the-scientist.com
Fuel removed from grounded AK boat
The salvage company R and R Diving began removing fuel from the fishing vessel Cape Cross as efforts continue to secure the vessel and minimize any potential environmental impact.
– Coast Guard press release
More:www.piersystem.com
Unalaska harbor received fed dollars
News about funding for the Carl E. Moses small boat harbor: $11 million in federal stimulus money is going toward the completion of the project.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Sea lion protection hurts humans
People might wonder what sea lions have to do with senior centers and after-school programs.
– Arctic Sounder
More:www.thearcticsounder.com
Whale found on cruise ship bow
The docking of the Sapphire Princess in Juneau was delayed when a deceased whale was discovered on the cruise ship's bulbous bow.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Helping Robinson Crusoe fishermen
North Pacific fishing groups are leading an ambitious effort to save a South Pacific fishing town named Robinson Crusoe.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in the Homer Tribune
More:wwww.homertribune.com
Friday, July 30, 2010
B.C. black cod certified sustainable
The Canadian sablefish fishery off the coast of British Columbia has earned Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification following independent assessment to the MSC standard for sustainable, well-managed fisheries.
– MSC press release
More:www.msc.org
NOAA to change slush fund oversight
NOAA released a formal Corrective Action Plan for its Asset Forfeiture Fund, to ensure that monies collected from fisheries enforcement penalties are properly accounted for and used.
– NOAA press release
More:www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Villagers object to Pebble Mine
One by one, representatives of a dozen Southwest Alaska communities stood to tell the head of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency of the threat they feel the massive Pebble Mine prospect would pose to their way of life.
– Cordova Times
More:www.thecordovatimes.com
B.C. aquaculture may turn to cockles
B.C.'s next commercial aquaculture species is lying on the beach waiting to be discovered.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Gulf survivor invited on Deadliest Catch
Moved by the tragedy of the events and affects of the Gulf Coast BP oil spill, Deadliest Catch Captain Wild Bill Wichrowski of the F/V Kodiak has announced he is seeking to hire a Gulf Coast resident affected by the oil spill qualified to join his crew to fish the 2010 king crab season.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Gulf of Mexico fishing reopens
Louisiana fisheries officials reopened wide swaths of state coastal waters to commercial fishing late Thursday, permitting fishermen to catch finfish and shrimp off most of the eastern and southwestern coasts.
– Los Angeles Times
More:www.latimesblogs.latimes.com
Spill raises questions on B.C. oil port
News that a pipeline operated by Enbridge has spilled more than three million litres of oil into a Michigan river has left British Columbians deeply concerned about the company's plan to run a twinned pipeline from the Alberta tarsands to the port of Kitimat, say New Democrats.
– Rupert Daily On Line
More:www.rupertdaily.ca
Cook Inlet fish camp burns
A commercial fishing camp owned by Charles "Chuck" Smith on Kalifornsky Beach Road suffered an estimated $160,000 in damages from a fire.
– Kenai Peninsula Clarion
More:www.peninsulaclarion.com
B.C.'s Fraser an industrial river
The Fraser River provides more than just a scenic natural backdrop to an afternoon picnic. The following is a series of snapshots of industries that rely on the waterway.
– BCLocalNews
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Tasmanians look to gillnetting
The Minister for Primary Industries and Water Bryan Green said a major study now underway into gillnetting would help determine future management of Tasmanian's scalefish fishery.
– Government of Tasmania
More:www.media.tas.gov.au
