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Monday, August 4, 2008Southeast troll fishery reboundingRegional coho salmon catch rates dropped two weeks ago, most likely due to stormy weather, but rebounded last week to match the 20-year average. Though based on few landings so far, catch rates were above average in the northern inside, central outside area and central inside areas. Southern outside catch rates are improving, yet still below average. Northern outside catch rates are confidential, pending additional landings. Trollers have harvested 59,600 king salmon, 280,200 coho salmon this summer. Effort appears to be similar to last summer, with 823 permits participating. – Alaska Department of Fish and Game
At least one Bristol Bay fisherman disappointedSteve Fite expects he’ll return to Dillingham from his Yakima, Wash., home after next winter to fish for reds in Bristol Bay waters, but it won’t be for the money. He estimates his net haul last year was $8,800, and this year he thinks it will be less. “This is my third season, and this is the worst year we’ve had,” Fite said. But fishing, he says, has got in his blood. That’s why he’ll return. Tim Sands, fish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said commercial fishermen have no reason to be too down on the season. This year’s harvest might seem meager in comparison to the record-setting seasons of recent years, but it’s nothing to shake a fish at. “This was the seventh-largest harvest since 1893 for Nushagak,” Sands said. “But 2007 was the No. 2 harvest, and 2006 was No. 1, so compared to the last few years it was a lot less.” But still, he said, it’s hard to beat No. 7 in 115 years. The season came late this year. Typically the Fourth of July marks the height of the run, but this year things were barely getting started at that time. Cold weather was blamed for the tardy salmon, and Sands pointed to an inordinate number of storms to explain what some say was odd fish behavior. “The impression I got was it ended precipitously,” Sands said. “The back shoulder of the run was a much steeper decline than normal. I think there were so many stormy days that pushed the fish through fast.” Robert Lebovic, a commercial fisherman who winters in Asheville, N.C., said he’s been fishing for kings and reds here 27 years, and he can’t remember ever going home so early. He was among a few stragglers in the Dillingham boatyard on Tuesday, July 22, who hadn’t flown home yet. Many of the fishermen had started migrating to their winter homes the previous week and weekend, and the last batch were generally headed out early in the week of Sunday, July 20. – Bristol Bay Times
Today is Coast Guard DayToday is Coast Guard Day, which commemorates the 1790 beginnings of the U.S. Coast Guard as the Revenue Cutter Service. As the celebration approached, the commanding officers of Air Station Kodiak and Integrated Support Command Kodiak agree that it has been a successful year for Coast Guard operations and they are optimistic about the near future. “It’s been a great year, a busy and challenging year, and the future’s going to be bright,” Capt. Andy Berghorn of Air Station Kodiak said. Berghorn cited the Alaska Ranger rescue in March and other rescue missions throughout the year as evidence of a successful period for the Coast Guard. He also noted the ongoing Arctic Domain Awareness flights from Kodiak and an Arctic awareness deployment planned for Barrow in anticipation of the Coast Guard’s increasing role in the Arctic. – Kodiak Daily Mirror B.C. looks at closed-containment fish farmingGiant tanks, looking as if they were spawned from a liaison between a hot tub and an ice-breaker, could be the answer to escapes of farmed salmon. The provincial and federal governments want to explore closed containment tanks for salmon farms, but so far, research has failed to find any viable, cost-effective closed system. As runs of wild salmon shrink, there are increasing fears that farms in critical wild salmon areas will push wild populations to extinction. Conservation groups say the escape this week of 30,000 Atlantic salmon from a Marine Harvest Canada farm north of Campbell River means more farm fish will be competing for food and habitat with wild fish. "When I heard about it, the first thing that went through my mind was, 'They won't escape from our system,' " said Richard Buchanan of Agri-Marine, a Campbell River company heading a closed containment pilot project. The company abandoned initial plans for aluminum tanks -- which had problems with anchoring and corrosion in salt water -- in favour of laminate tanks with foam-filled Fiberglas walls, Buchanan said. "They combine strength and flotation, similar to ships in ice," he said. The first of four floating tanks, secured to pilings, will be in place in Middle Bay in September, and the remaining tanks will be installed within six months, he said. The $8-million pilot project has received a $2.36-million grant from Sustainable Development Technology Canada, a not-for-profit federal foundation; a matching grant from the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation of San Francisco, which funds projects conserving wild salmon; and $200,000 from the provincially funded Coast Sustainability Trust. Marine biologist Alexandra Morton, who has studied the effect of fish farms and sea lice on salmon in the Broughton Archipelago, believes the government must force salmon farmers to move to closed pens. "They are the only farmers in the world that don't have to shovel manure. Do we really want to sacrifice our wild fish for one industry?" she said. – Nanaimo Daily News
Oregon narrowing sites for marine reservesThis summer, the state is asking Oregonians to recommend specific sites to be considered for marine reserves.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008Port wants to buy Fred Wahl shipyardAfter nearly two hours of discussion and deliberation, including a 22-minute executive session, the Port of Toledo Board of Commissioners narrowly approved a motion to pursue a $3 million general obligation bond to fund the purchase of the Fred Wahl shipyard, plus some of the needed improvements. The property consists of 20 acres of land on four parcels, of which just 8.43 acres are “actually flat and usable,” said consultant John Nelson in outlining a conceptual yard development plan for the port commissioners. – Newport News-Times Fishing ended on Fraser sockeyeThis year's Fraser River sockeye salmon run has been drastically downgraded, ruling out any further sport or commercial fishing. Only aboriginal fisheries for food, social or ceremonial purposes will still proceed and the bands that depend on salmon will get just a fraction of what they had been promised. "It's a pretty somber mood," said Mike Lapointe, chief biologist for the Pacific Salmon Commission. "I think we're ready to call the season to a halt." The 2008 sockeye run was already expected to be low – just 2.9 million salmon were forecast versus more than 10 million in a good year. Early returns looked promising, but the incoming salmon have suddenly dwindled. Brief openings for commercial and sport fishing have been cut off. Lapointe said there's no clear reason why the salmon have come in far below expectations, except that they returned unusually early. The poor returns were concentrated heavily in the Chilko River run, a tributary that made up the bulk of the Fraser's expected summer-run sockeye. Enough fish are expected to make it upriver to fully meet spawning requirements. But 94 native bands along the Fraser River and two dozen more on Vancouver Island – representing half B.C.'s aboriginal population – won't have as much salmon stockpiled for the winter. It's a disaster for the more than 65,000 First Nations people in those communities, said Sto:lo fisheries advisor Ernie Crey. "The numbers paint a picture of a lot of disappointment, hardship and heartbreak," he said. The bands had been promised more than a million sockeye through the food fishery. – BC Local News Brown slime coating nets in Strait of GeorgiaA strange brown slime attributed to some kind of plankton bloom is coating nets on fishing grounds in the Strait of Georgia, which made it near-impossible for many local fishermen to get their share of this year's Fraser River sockeye salmon run. Gillnet fishermen catch their quarry in long, floating curtains of monofilament that don't work if migrating fish can see them. If the brown stuff doesn't clear out in the weeks ahead, other salmon fisheries may also be affected. Fishermen expect a certain amount of debris to accumulate on their nets, but this year is different. Fishers who set their nets during the opening that ended July 31 had little to show for their efforts. There was no immediate information on what kind of organism is causing the problem. It is likely due to this year's unusual weather conditions, with late, heavy snowfall in the mountains feeding a steady runoff into local rivers, pumping nutrients into the sea. The stuff could be heterosigma, a type of brown algae that can kill fish, especially those confined in net pens at salmon farms. During outbreaks in past years, heterosigma has been blamed for the loss of millions of dollars' worth of fish in the region's salmon farms. But Rose Ann Cattolico, a heterosigma expert at the University of Washington, said the phenomenon fishermen were describing sounded more like a diatom bloom, since diatoms are more prone to stick to nets. – Bellingham Herald Jellyfish winning race to survivalBARCELONA, Spain -- Burgeoning jellyfish populations in coastal waters around the world is proof oceans are being impacted by global warming and overfishing, Spanish experts say. Many coastal waters in Spain, New York, Australia, Japan and Hawaii are filled with more jellyfish now than ever before, The New York Times reported. "These jellyfish near shore are a message the sea is sending us saying, 'Look how badly you are treating me,'" said Dr. Josep-María Gili of the Institute of Marine Sciences of the Spanish National Research Council in Barcelona, Spain. Overfishing of predators such as tuna, sharks and swordfish has resulted in increased numbers of jellyfish, the Times said. Scientists say because jellyfish survive best in damaged habitats, pollution and global warming are also contributing to their increase. "Human-caused stresses, including global warming and overfishing, are encouraging jellyfish surpluses in many tourist destinations and productive fisheries," the U.S. National Science Foundation said. – UPI Japanese fleet cuts back tuna fishingAbout 230 Japanese vessels will stop fishing for periods totaling more than two months over the next two years. Tuna stocks globally have fallen dramatically in recent years as more people opt to eat sushi and sashimi in an effort to be more healthy. The suspension is expected to cut Japan's catch of tuna by 5 percent. "The main reason for our suspension is sluggish fishing offshore," the co-operative said in its website. The suspension will mean that almost two-thirds of Japan's longline tuna vessels will stay ashore for short periods at a time over the next two years. The BBC's Chris Hogg in Tokyo says that in itself will not be enough to restore stock levels, but Japan says coordinating the action with similar bodies in China, South Korea and Taiwan will maximize its impact. Japan has by far the largest tuna fleet in the world and the Japanese are the world's biggest consumers of fish. – BBC Wednesday, August 6, 2008Northwest pesticide-fish lawsuit settledSEATTLE – A coalition of fishing and environmental groups have settled a lawsuit with the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the federal agency charged with protecting threatened and endangered salmon and steelhead. Pebble Mine developer has checkered recordA London-based mining company comprising half the partnership hoping to develop the Pebble site north of Iliamna has a poor track record when it comes to environment protection, worker safety and human rights, according to a study commissioned by a group opposed to the mine. Anglo American PLC, which joined the Canadian corporation Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd. in 2007 to form the Pebble Partnership, has a century-long long history of managing major mining operations, mostly in Africa, but also in other places including Ireland and the United States. The report, "Anglo American's Track Record: Rhetoric or Reality," was written by corporate researcher Philip Mattera and commissioned by a group representing Native corporations, commercial fishing companies, sportsmen, conservation interests and businesses committed to the protection of the Bristol Bay watershed, as well as the Renewable Resources Coalition. The study reports "a series of problems with regard to environmental protection, worker safety, community impacts and human rights" around the world. Among the specific examples of Anglo's problems included in the study were:
To read the entire report, go to www.eyeonpebblemine.org. -- Kenai Peninsula Clarion California boat arrested for fishing in marine reserveA 58-foot fishing boat in the Carrington Point Marine Reserve off Santa Rosa Island has been apprehended for illegally catching 907 pounds of sardines and 89,831 pounds of market squid. The fish sold for $31,450, which is being held by the California Department of Fish and Game Preservation Fund until legal proceedings have concluded. The U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Blackfin and California Department of Fish and Game terminated the voyage of the vessel on Friday and escorted the craft to Ventura Harbor. A vessel is allowed transit through a marine reserve with catch on board, however, fishing gear is not supposed to be deployed in the water while moving through a state marine reserve, according to the U.S. Coast Guard. It is also unlawful to take marine species in a marine reserve for any purpose, including recreation or commercial fishing, the U.S. Coast Guard said in a news release. – Ventura County Star Floods worry interior Alaska fishermenFAIRBANKS -- Interior Alaska fisherman are worried that recent flooding will harm king salmon eggs deposited in rivers. Female salmon dig holes called redds in gravel river bottoms to lay eggs before male fish fertilize them. Virgil Umphenour, owner of Alaska Interior Fish Processors Inc. in Fairbanks, said eggs may be affected by flooding. "If you have high water and super fast current, the eggs will just go down the river as she's laying them," Umphenour said. State fisheries biologists do not know what effect flooding will have on king salmon spawning in the Chena and Salcha rivers. The flood coincided with the peak of spawning. Bering Sea parcel off limits to bottom draggersNearly 180,000 square miles of the northern and western Bering Sea will be closed to bottom trawling starting on Aug. 25. The new regulation enacted by the National Marine Fisheries Service protects areas that have not previously been affected by the fishing method. Thursday, August 7, 2008Salmon season for UnalaskaUNALASKA – Unalaska's commercial salmon season opened over the weekend with four fishing vessels seeking pinks in Unalaska and Makushin bays. The area has opened to commercial salmon fishing every year since the early 1980s, but Alaska Department of Fish & Game biologist Forrest Bowers says it's not always fished. Kenai River sockeye escapement lowKENAI RIVER -- For the second time in less than a week, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has tightened restrictions on Kenai River's sport fishing waters. The number of harvested red salmon will be reduced to one per day and one in possession starting at 12:01 a.m., Wednesday, upstream of the sonar that counts salmon on Mile 19. The sonar is located approximately two river miles downstream of the Sterling Highway bridge in Soldotna. The sockeye salmon management goal for the Kenai is 750,000 to 950,000 reds past the sonar by the time the run starts to end in mid-August. As of Sunday, fewer than 500,000 had made it past the sonar, even with Fish and Game's reduction in commercial fishing. – Anchorage Daily News Direct Marketing: Telling your storyTake a look at a press release from a family operation on the Oregon Coast. Energy help one step closer for AlaskansJUNEAU -- The Alaska House of Representatives late Tuesday passed a nearly $1 billion spending bill that includes funding for a potential $1,200 "resource rebate" for Alaskans plus preparations toward a natural gas pipeline. The bill now moves to the Senate, which must act on it before the special legislative session ends tonight. The bill that passed Tuesday night on a 34-3 vote is an appropriations bill and doesn't necessarily mean the $1,200 rebate is assured. The full Legislature first will need to pass separate energy relief legislation that includes the rebate, and right now lawmakers in the House and Senate are far apart on their ideas for how to help Alaskans struggling with high fuel and other energy costs. Some lawmakers don't support subsidies and a $1,200 rebate, the amount Gov. Sarah Palin originally proposed. During a hearing in the House Finance Committee on Tuesday, Fairbanks Republican Rep. Mike Kelly called such aid "morphine and welfare payments." Handouts don't build "self-reliance and character," Kelly said, they just let people sleep in and put off energy problems for another day. He argued the state ought to spend its money on projects such as the Susitna hydroelectric dam or a road to Nome. – Anchorage Daily News Skeena sockeye numbers improvingSockeye numbers in the Skeena River have been better than was feared earlier this summer, as the daily limit for sockeye salmon among North Coast sport anglers has increased. The daily limit for sockeye increased to four fish per day in the mainstream waters of the Skeena River from the mouth upstream to the confluence with the Kispiox River. – Prince Rupert Daily News
Friday, August 8, 2008 35 Southeast seiners accept buyoutThe consolidation trend continues in Alaska’s commercial fishing fleets. The 35 permits represent 8.4 percent of the 415 permits eligible for the consolidation program. The average amount going to those selling out is $82,020. A second, larger buyout for Southeast seiners might be conducted before next summer’s salmon season, said Rob Zuanich, a buyout organizer. The goal of the buyout is to reduce the fleet’s size, strengthening the potential for profitable fishing among the remaining permit holders. Here’s a summary of the seiner buyout including the list of people surrendering their permits. – Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy writing as The Highliner for the Anchorage Daily News
Farmed fish no better for you than a doughnut?Fish has become a go-to staple for Canadians who want to have a healthy diet. So it may come as a surprise to learn that eating farmed tilapia, a widely consumed fish that has been steadily growing in popularity, may be no better than dining on bacon, hamburgers or doughnuts. New U.S. research has found that farmed tilapia have low levels of omega-3 fatty acids - and surprisingly high levels of potentially detrimental omega-6 fatty acids. It is a finding that could have serious implications for people who suffer from arthritis, asthma and other illnesses or allergies because the omega-6 fatty acids may cause inflammation, which can damage blood vessels and vital organ tissue, according to the findings, published in last month's Journal of the American Dietetic Association. Omega-6 fatty acids are considered to be essential and must be obtained through diet because they can't be produced by the body. But consuming too much omega-6 can contribute to cancer, asthma, depression and heart disease, among other ailments. Excessive consumption of omega-6 is common in many Western diets, according to the University of Maryland Medical Center. By contrast, omega-3 fatty acids are considered good for health because they help to lower the levels of LDL (low-density lipoprotein), also known as "bad" cholesterol, in the blood. Tilapia, a lean white fish with a mild taste, is the second-most cultivated fish in the world, after carp, according to Fisheries and Oceans Canada. While China is the world's leading producer of tilapia, British Columbia and Nova Scotia also produce it on a commercial scale. The department said Toronto is North America's largest market for live tilapia, and the World Aquaculture Society predicts that production will rise steadily because of increased demand for the fish. "For individuals who are eating fish as a method to control inflammatory diseases such as heart disease, it is clear from these numbers that tilapia is not a good choice," according to the study, conducted by researchers from the Wake Forest University School of Medicine in North Carolina. The study singled out tilapia raised on fish farms as having high levels of the potentially dangerous omega-6 fatty acids. Although researchers didn't compare farmed tilapia with wild tilapia, they noted significant discrepancies between farmed tilapia and other types of farmed fish. For instance, they found that farmed tilapia contained less than half a gram of omega-3 fatty acids per 100 grams, while farmed salmon and trout had nearly three and four grams per 100 grams, respectively. At the same time, farmed tilapia contained significantly larger amounts of omega-6 acids -- higher than the levels found in doughnuts, pork bacon and hamburgers made with 80-per-cent lean ground beef. – Globe and Mail, Toronto Tilapia escaping from Northwest fish farmsFor whatever reason, it's a good year for tilapia in the Snake River. Jason Arneson of Boise caught a new state record tilapia on Monday, breaking the previous record set in March. Arneson's fish weighed 4.71 pounds, and measured 16 inches long with a girth of 16 inches. He caught it above Swan Falls Dam. Tilapia are a non-native fish that are grown in commercial hatcheries near the Snake River, and some escape into the river. Jeff Dillon, fish biologist for the Idaho Department of Fish and Game's Nampa office, said F&G and Idaho Power biologists occasionally find tilapia in the Snake River when they're doing fish surveys. Tilapia are a tropical fish that can survive in the Snake River near hot springs or other sources of warm water, but it's unlikely they could ever start a self-sustaining population in the river, Dillon said. Tilapia can't survive in water colder than 40 degrees, Dillon said. – Idaho Stateman Managers should be smart when protecting loggerheadsCORVALLIS, Ore. – Efforts to reduce the number of loggerhead turtles killed as bycatch by commercial fisheries should focus on protecting those with the highest “reproductive values,” according to the authors of a newly published study. New cold storage opens in WestportA grand opening ceremony gave the public its first look at a 95,000-square-foot cold storage facility built by Ocean Cold, a subsidiary of Ocean Gold Seafoods, on Firecracker Point in the Marina district in Westport, Wash.
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