Monday, August 23, 2010
Fishermen fight over Fraser run
In a stunning turnaround, sockeye salmon have returned to Osoyoos Lake in the B.C. Interior at levels not seen in more than 60 years.
—Globe and Mail, Toronto
Conservation group endorses Murkowski
Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, has announced the endorsement of the Marine Conservation Alliance.
—Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot
Bill would delay Cal protected area process
As local representatives head into a final round of meetings on drafting marine reserves for the North Coast, they may be close to an agreement on a unified proposal that will be submitted to state rule makers.
—Pacific Fishing correspondent John Driscoll, writing in the Eureka Times-Standard
Court rejects Cal farmer maneuver
The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco rejected an attempt by corporate agribusiness to strip protected status from wild steelhead rainbow trout in California's Central Valley.
—IndyBayMedia
More:www.indybay.org
California troll season disappointing
The 2010 salmon season has been a big disappointment. Both recreational and commercial fishermen report they are finding very few fish in the ocean.
—Willis (Calif.) News
More:www.willitsnews.com
Tuesday, August 24, 2010
More about shoddy NOAA enforcement
The fines were also used to pay for foreign travel unrelated to cases and for exorbitant purchases by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's Office of Law Enforcement. Inspector General Todd Zinser's office also found the police force had purchased more vehicles, 202, than the 172 officers it had on the force, along with what a brochure described as a "luxurious" undercover police boat.
—Goucester Times
More:www.gloucestertimes.com
Fishing aids Alaska economy
With the nation still struggling to pull itself out of recession, Alaska is in the welcome —but decidedly unusual —position of having one of the nation's strongest economies. The continued strength of seafood prices, even in the face of a recession, is somewhat remarkable, said Eric Norman, vice-president and general manager at Taku Fisheries/Smokeries in Juneau.
—Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Coastal ShoreBank to merge
ShoreBank Pacific and OneCalifornia Bank of Oakland, Calif., announced a merger this weekend after federal regulators seized ShoreBank's corporate sibling in the Midwest.
—Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
B.C. sockeye management called bumbling
The Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District has sent a letter to the Minister of Fisheries and Oceans, blasting bureaucrats for their bungling of the local sockeye fishery.
—Westcoaster, Port Alberni, B.C.
More:www.westcoaster.ca
FrankenFish next step for farmers
A genetically engineered salmon that reaches market weight in half the usual time could help solve worldwide food shortages, a Massachusetts company says.
—UPI
More:www.upi.com
FDA orders pickled fish recall
NY Fish Inc. of New York City is recalling NY Fish Brand (cold) Smoked Herring, discovered by New York State Department of Agriculture and Markets Food Inspectors during a routine inspection. The product was found to be uneviscerated prior to processing.
—FDA news release
More:www.fda.gov
Humpback whale casualty of ship
A deceased humpback whale sighted near Tenakee Springs last week likely died as a result of injuries from a vessel strike, say NOAA Fisheries scientists who performed a necropsy on the carcass.
—NMFS
More:alaskafisheries.noaa.gov
Oops!
The article we included yesterday, headlined “Fishermen fight over Fraser run,” was in error. The lake in question, Osoyoos Lake, is in the Columbia watershed, not the Fraser. Sharp-eyed Christina Burridge of the B.C. Seafood Alliance caught the error. Thanks.
Wednesday, August 25, 2010
Adak takes a sea lion licking
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council this week is reviewing the federal government’s new fishing restrictions to protect endangered Steller sea lions. One casualty of the restrictions could be Adak, a former military base turned fishing town in the Aleutians.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy’s Deckboss blog
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
First nation plans second geoduck fishery protest
A Vancouver Island first nation is threatening to disrupt the geoduck fishery again, saying it will use a flotilla of boats to make it too dangerous for divers to harvest the ugly but profitable shellfish if the federal government reopens the area for commercial activity.
– The Globe and Mail
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
Hot pinks in Prince William Sound
Seiners set a record for one week’s catch of pink salmon.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy’s Deckboss blog
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Sockeye back with a splash in Fraser River
With the estimated sockeye salmon stocks now at 14 million and expected to rise, the Department of Fisheries and Oceans is considering opening another commercial salmon fishery on the Fraser later this week.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Cold case: Troopers revisit Bristol Bay fisherman’s murder
He was stabbed dead – in an attack no one has admitted witnessing – in the parking lot of a crowded bar one summer night 28 years ago, apparently during a robbery over the cash he earned fishing.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Distant Aleutians LORAN tower is done
Last week, the U.S. Coast Guard demolished the tallest structure on Attu Island – a 625-foot LORAN tower.
– KUCB radio
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
Nontoxic muck determination keys effort to remove Klamath dams
Federal scientists have confirmed a California agency’s findings that the sediment trapped behind four Klamath River dams is largely uncontaminated, a critical determination if the removal of those dams is to go forward.
– Eureka, Calif., Times-Standard
More:www.times-standard.com
Louisiana shrimpers get back to work
Shrimpers began trawling big stretches of Louisiana coastal waters Monday as the fall season got under way, in the latest sign that the Gulf of Mexico's fishing industry is starting to bounce back from a massive oil spill.
– Wall Street Journal
More:online.wsj.com
Thursday, August 26, 2010
Fraser sockeye continue to amaze
In 40 years of dropping nets into Washington waters, Ray Forsman has never experienced fishing like this past week.
– Seattle Times
More:seattletimes.nwsource.com
Sockeye prices falling
The bonanza of sockeye salmon in B.C. is expected to result in lower prices for the highly prized fish, with relative bargains expected within days.
– CBC
Read More:www.cbc.ca
Fishermen distressed over Mukowski performance
Deckboss believes it's safe to say Alaska's commercial fishing industry is feeling somewhat distressed over the strong possibility that U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski has lost her job.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Money sought for Oregon jetty work
Standing on the North Jetty at Tillamook Bay, U.S. Sen. Ron Wyden called for the release of billions of dollars in the federal Harbor Maintenance Trust Fund to pay for badly needed work on other jetties along the Oregon coast.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian
N. Cal close on protected area agreement
As local representatives head into a final round of meetings on drafting marine reserves for the North Coast, they may be close to an agreement on a unified proposal that will be submitted to state rule makers.
– Pacific Fishing correspondent John Driscoll, writing for the Redwood Times
More:www.redwoodtimes.com
West Coast NOAA ship commissioned
Federal officials have commissioned NOAA Ship Bell M. Shimada, a state-of-the-art research vessel that will study a wide range of marine life and ocean conditions along the West Coast.
– NOAA press release
More:www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Sea lice research gets Canadian money
Sea lice vaccine research and a First Nations closed-containment aquaculture project were among six to receive almost $638,000 in funding from Fisheries and Oceans in Campbell River.
– Canada.com
More:www.canada.com
Fishing aids Alaska economy
With the nation still struggling to pull itself out of recession, Alaska is in the welcome – but decidedly unusual – position of having one of the nation's strongest economies. The continued strength of seafood prices, even in the face of a recession, is somewhat remarkable, said Eric Norman, vice-president and general manager at Taku Fisheries/Smokeries in Juneau.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Coastal ShoreBank in merger
ShoreBank Pacific and OneCalifornia Bank of Oakland, Calif., announced a merger after federal regulators seized ShoreBank's corporate sibling in the Midwest.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
Friday, August 27, 2010
Growing Fraser bonanza tests processors
Based on the growing numbers, the first major commercial fishery on the Fraser in four years will likely be extended next week. But the overriding question is whether B.C.’s fishing industry still has the capacity to process such a monumental harvest.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:www.theglobeandmail.com
Are B.C. managers competent?
You've got to wonder whether a review should be ordered into the operations of the Department of Fisheries and Oceans. Last year, DFO scientists predicted more than 10 million sockeye salmon would return up the Fraser River only to have just 1.4 million return — the worst Fraser River sockeye run in 50 years. Then, they were surprised when 17.5 million pinks returned.
– The Province, Vancouver
More:www.theprovince.com
Local businesses want say in Alaska management
While commercial fishermen and industry are having a strong year, some local businesses say losses in the beginning of the season due to fishermen leaving the flats early on for the Sound have hurt the bottom line and more could be done to protect the city's business interests.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Aussies target winch safety
Commercial fishing vessels will be targeted by a new safety campaign to improve safety and raise awareness of the use of capstan and windlass winches.
– Sunshinecoast.com, Queensland, Australia
More:www.mysunshinecoast.com.au
Kenai halibut charters to be cut
New requirements for halibut charter operations will cut the fleet by more than a third in Southcentral Alaska next year.
– Kenai Peninsula Clarion
More:www.peninsulaclarion.com
Black rockfish back in Strait of Georgia
Black rockfish are back off Lighthouse Park and breeding successfully after overfishing wiped them out from the Strait of Georgia, the Vancouver Aquarium has found.
– The Province, Vancouver
More:www.theprovince.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
The comment period for the sea lion BiOp is extended, the pink salmon catch in Prince William Sound is now an all-time record, and ghost fishing in Southeast.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Russian River meets escapement
A late surge of red salmon up the Russian River has allowed the clear-water stream that flows into the Kenai River to meet its minimum escapement goal for the fish that fuels a frenzy among anglers each summer.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
