Monday, August 20, 2012

MANDATED VESSEL INSPECTION

The U.S. Coast Guard is giving commercial fishermen a heads up that, beginning in mid-October, the vast majority of commercial fishing vessels will be mandated to have a safety inspection.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

Hitting weak Fraser stocks

A First Nations commercial fishing operation on Kamloops Lake is set to proceed in September despite grave concerns about sockeye returns in the Fraser River system.

– Kamloops (B.C.) News

More:www.kamloopsnews.ca

Not knowing risks of B.C. oil port

While Prime Minister Stephen Harper says the fate of Enbridge’s proposed pipeline from the Alberta oilsands to tankers on the British Columbia coast will be based on science and not politics, documents show some of that science isn’t forthcoming.

– Chronicle Herald, Halifax

More:thechronicleherald.ca

Seals plague NE fishermen

Fishermen and others on Nantucket say a large increase in seals is fouling ponds and crowding out fishing.

– Boston Globe

More:www.boston.com

Another Cleveland blast

It’s been on watch for the better part of the past two years, and in June it blew ash 35,000 feet high.

Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska

More:kucb.org

Fight over Alaska coastal management

A loud campaign over a ballot measure to provide management of coastal projects in Alaska has attracted two former governors on opposite sides -- and big money from industry trying to kill it.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Wesley counts salmon

The little pink salmon is the big story at this point in the season.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More: deckboss.blogspot.com

Tale of seiner sinking

About 20 minutes later the captain of the boat, Jacob Lundli, smelled smoke.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Pebble = jobs

The group behind a controversial gold and copper mine proposal in Alaska is conducting a full-scale economic analysis of the project, hoping the promise of a job boom will grab national attention and shift the debate away from concerns about potential harm to the state’s fishing industry.

– The Hill

More:thehill.com

Threat of Pebble Mine

Our commercial fishery has operated sustainably for 130 years, and the people of this region have harvested salmon here for thousands of years.

– The Hill

More:thehill.com

 

Tuesday, August 21, 2012

GREAT WHITES EATING SALMON

"Joe had about 8 pounds of the salmon left on the hook. The shark got the rest."

– L.A. Times

More:latimesblogs.latimes.com

Keeping farms out of Alaska

A state law banning finfish farming will be rendered useless in offshore waters if Alaska does not restore its coastal management program.

– SitNews, Ketchikan

More:www.sitnews.us

Pinks pile in

Commercial harvests picked up steam again for the week ending Aug. 17, as the humpy catch rose to nearly 54.8 million fish, boosting the statewide harvest to more than 107 million salmon of all species.

– Cordova Times

More:www.thecordovatimes.com

Stop exporting Sacramento water

The biggest threat to this estuarine paradise is the volume of freshwater exported south from the delta.

– San Francisco Chronicle

More:www.sfgate.com

Protecting Alaska coral

Trawling can destroy many square miles of corals in a single day.

More:www.sacbee.com

Crewman fished from drink

The Coast Guard says a member of a fishing vessel crew survived after falling overboard without a lifejacket in the frigid waters of Prince William Sound.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

Drilling in Bristol Bay

A new report from an Alaska conservation group calls for putting the seafood rich waters of Bristol Bay permanently off limits to offshore drilling for oil and gas.

– Cordova Times

More:www.thecordovatimes.com

Wave energy buoys

Federal officials have given the green light to begin installation of 10 electricity-generating buoys off the Oregon Coast, clearing the way for what will be the first wave energy station in the United States.

– Eugene Register Guard

More:www.registerguard.com

Drones spot salmon-eating birds

It's being called the "dawn of drone ecology," as unmanned aerial vehicles are skimming over skies across several continents to photograph orangutans, protect rhinos in Nepal, and study invasive aquatic plants in Florida.

– Sci-Tech Today

More:www.sci-tech-today.com

Looking for mushy halibut

In recent months some fishermen in Alaska have reported catching halibut described as mushy.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

 

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

YOU HAVE A DEADLY JOB

Four years running, from 2007 to 2010, the Bureau of Labor Statistics ranked commercial fishing as the most dangerous occupation in the United States.

– Mother Jones

More:motherjones.com

Bad news on the Fraser

B.C.'s sockeye salmon situation hasn't improved much since last week when commercial fishermen were told they will not likely be allowed to drop nets in the Fraser River this summer.

– CKNW, Vancouver

More:cknw.com

Nuke levels sky high

The figure is 258 times the level of cesium the government deems safe for consumption, indicating that radioactive contamination in the area remains serious more than a year after the nuclear crisis started.

– Japan Times

More:japantimes.co.jp

Akutan hovercraft arrives

The hovercraft that will link the village of Akutan with its new airport made the trip down from Cold Bay last week.

– KUCB, Unalaska

More:kucb.org

Coastal measure draws big bucks

A loud campaign over a ballot measure to provide management of coastal projects in Alaska has attracted two former governors on opposite sides – and big money from industry trying to kill it.

– Juneau Empire

More:juneauempire.com

Tsunami boat in B.C.

"We saw something that looked odd on the beach, and lo and behold."

– Vancouver Sun

More:vancouversun.com

Salmon study is 65 years old

When the University of Washington launched its Alaska Salmon Program 66 years ago, researchers were tasked with determining why Alaska's sockeye salmon catches had declined over two decades from 22 million fish per year to 10 million.

– University of Washington

More:washington.edu

Changes to Togiak herring rules

When the Alaska Board of Fisheries holds their meeting focused on Bristol Bay in December, they will consider several proposed changes to the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

Weatherman praised for Kodiak show

Roker and staff from Al Roker Entertainment received the award for exceptional advocacy of the Coast Guard through broadcasts of The Weather Channel's popular primetime series "Coast Guard Alaska."

– Coast Guard

More:uscgnews.com

Arctic ice disappears

It is more likely than not that the sea ice withdrawal in the Arctic Ocean will break all records this summer.

– Alaska Public.org

More:alaskapublic.org

 

Thursday, August 23, 2012

FORGET FRASER STOCKS

Fishery managers say the Fraser River sockeye run isn't strong enough this year to allow any commercial fishing or recreational angling.

– Surrey (B.C.) Leader

More:www.surreyleader.com

Examining sea otter damage

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service Director Dan Ashe will be visiting Southeast Alaska to discuss the impacts of sea otter predation on subsistence, commercial and recreational fisheries in Southeast Alaska.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan

More:www.sitnews.us

Canadian mine spews

Concerns and frustration are growing on both sides of the border in response to Chieftain Metals' closure in June of the water treatment plant at the Tulsequah Chief site.

– SitNews, Ketchikan

More:www.sitnews.us

Unalaska fixes TWIC problem

"The TWIC card for us costs $3,000 because of the two trips."

– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska

More:kucb.org

Guv gets new fish advisor

Gov. Sean Parnell named Stefanie Moreland to the position of senior adviser for fisheries, oceans and Arctic policy.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

Undersea Oregon video

Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife has developed a video lander that captured this amazing footage of the fish swimming around a rocky reef at Stone Wall Bank, 10 to 15 miles off the coast of Newport.

– Oregon Public Radio's Ecotrope

More:ecotrope.opb.org

Sportie solution to Kenai crowding

I believe we can pursue a path of common sense and reason that would allow all salmon user groups to benefit from the implementation of sound fisheries management.

– Kenai Peninsula Clarion

More:peninsulaclarion.com

Jobs on Bristol Bay

Jobs are being put on the fast track in Bristol Bay, with a focus on careers that go hand in hand with the region's culture and economy: commercial fishing and seafood processing.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in the Capital City Weekly, Juneau

More:www.capitalcityweekly.com

New app points to Bristol Bay salmon

Bristol Bay is home to the largest sockeye run in the world, and now a new custom app on Facebook is helping salmon lovers everywhere find this healthy, delicious fish right in their neighborhoods.

– Equities.com

More:www.equities.com

Turnagain belugas stranded

About 20 endangered beluga whales freed themselves after being stranded for several hours on the mudflats of Turnagain Arm, a law enforcement officer said Wednesday.

– Anchorage Daily News

More:www.adn.com

 

Friday, August 24, 2012

PUBLIC OPINION AGAINST B.C. OIL PORT

The proposed Northern Gateway pipeline's unpopularity in B.C. – even among Conservatives – may have provided a "motivation" for Prime Minister Stephen Harper's west coast MPs to convince the government to distance itself from the project.

– Vancouver Sun

More:vancouversun.com

Albacore plentiful

Tuna are plentiful, prices are down, and the weather is nice in Charleston.

– Coos Bay World

More:theworldlink.com

Moving against Columbia gillnets

Oregon is moving ahead with a proposed phase-out of commercial gillnetting along the Columbia River.

– Oregon Public Broadcasting

More:opb.org

Alaska wants it both ways

On the one hand, Alaska Attorney General Michael Geraghty has told EPA to steer clear of Pebble Mine. On the other hand, he just asked EPA to clean up the Red Devil mine.

– National Resources Defense Council

More:switchboard.nrdc.org

Kodiak salmon winding down

The daily pink salmon harvest has been slowly, but steadily, declining over the past two weeks, after a peak catch of nearly 1 million on August 10.

– KMXT, Kodiak

More:kmxt.org

American Seafoods fights weight fine

Measuring fish aboard a factory trawler isn't a simple task.

– KUCB, Unalaska

More:kucb.org

Saving your own life

"I believe that fishermen want to be safe," says National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health epidemiologist Jennifer Lincoln, who's based in Alaska. "They just want things to be practical. They want the solutions to really address the hazards that exist."

– Anchorage Daily News

More:adn.com

Last Bristol Bay fisheries

The final commercial fishery of the season in the near-shore environment of Bristol Bay is the fishery targeting pinks and coho in the Togiak District.

– KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

Newport boat near sinking

The Coast Guard responded to a vessel taking on water near Yaquina Bay, Ore., Wednesday. 

– Coast Guard

More:uscgnews.com

Alaska Fisheries Report

Coming up this week: Radiation is still being found in high levels in fish around the Fukushima nuclear plant in Japan; environmentalists are asking NOAA to protect more coral gardens in Alaska waters; and why you rarely hear the word "fisher" on this radio show about people fishing.

– KMXT, Kodiak

More:www.kmxt.org

 


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