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Summary for September 8 - September 12, 2008:

Monday, September 8, 2008

Clipper Seafoods buys Alaska Frontier

Clipper Seafoods, Ltd. on Monday announced the acquisition of Alaska Frontier Company and its three freezer longline vessels, bringing its fleet to a total of seven.
 
“This acquisition of Alaska Frontier Company and its affiliates, which own and operate the Frontier vessels, is an extremely good fit for our company. This gives us a significant increase in production of high-quality Alaska cod,” said Dave Little, president of Clipper Seafoods. “Clipper is looking forward to working together with all of the Alaska Frontier employees and crew to maintain their traditions of excellence.”
 
The fishing vessels Frontier Spirit, Frontier Mariner and Frontier Explorer, acquired in a stock purchase, will continue to operate in the Alaska cod longline fishery.
 
Three 134-foot Frontier vessels, built by Marine Construction & Design Company, will now join Clipper’s four freezer longliners. The vessels are all equipped to process and flash-freeze Alaska cod on board for maximum freshness.
 
The catch is sold around the world by Bering Select Seafoods Company, Clipper Seafoods’s marketing subsidiary. The addition of the Frontier fleet significantly boosts the company’s marketing position with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified Alaska cod.
 
Clipper Seafoods is part of the Freezer Longline Coalition, an alliance of freezer longline companies committed to sustainable fishing practices. The freezer longline sector operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands is the first cod fishery in the world to obtain MSC certification. Certified fisheries are allowed to use the distinctive blue-and-white MSC label on packaging, letting consumers know the seafood is from a sustainable, eco-friendly and well managed fishery.
 
Seattle-based Clipper Seafoods, which has operated since 1987 and has about 100 employees. Alaska Frontier Company, located in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., began in 1989 and has about 70 employees.
 

The purchase was made for an undisclosed price.

 

Alaska salmon updates: Mixed bag

Southeast gillnet, District 1-B: Total cumulative harvest for all species in the section 1-B drift gillnet fishery through statistical week 36 is approximately 1,875 Chinook, 34,100 sockeye which is 30 percent of the 10-year average, 47,500 coho which is 177 percent of the 10-year average, 36,265,000 pinks which is 53 percent of the 10-year average, and 221,965 chum salmon which is 97 percent of the 10-year average. Based on past performance and catch rates in 2008 the Tree Point fishery is on track to catch an above average number of coho and right at the 10-year average for chum salmon. Total catches for both sockeye and pink salmon will be below the 10-year average for 2008.

Southeast gillnet, District 6 and 8: Coho catch rates were very good in both District 6 and District 8 during the three-day opening from August 31 to September 3. Effort was similar to the previous week’s opening, with about 70 gillnetters fishing in the two districts. However, with one additional day of fishing this week, coho harvests increased from around 7,500 during statistical week 35 to close to 18,000 during statistical week 36. Chum salmon harvests also more than doubled with about 7,000 harvested. It is anticipated that the coho gillnet fishery in both districts will extend through September.

Southeast gillnet, District 1:  The total sockeye salmon harvest to date of 116,500 fish is 74 percent of the ten-year average. The total chum salmon harvest to date of 772,900 fish is a record catch for District 11, and nearly two and a half times the 10-year average. The total king salmon harvest of 2,160 fish is 24 percent above the 10-year average, the total pink salmon harvest of 90,100 fish is 74 percent of the 10-year average, and the total coho salmon harvest thus far of 25,100 fish is 87 percent of the 10-year average harvest.

Southeast gillnet, District 15: Below average effort in District 15 netted above average numbers of coho and fall chum salmon. The sockeye salmon catch was below average mostly due to the 6” minimum mesh size restriction placed in the district to minimize this catch to boost escapement of Chilkat Lake sockeye salmon. The total sockeye salmon harvest to date of 32,000, or 25 percent of the previous 10-year average and the lowest harvest on record since 1975. The current cumulative harvest of chum salmon is 980,000 fish. This chum salmon harvest is 1.7 times the 10-year average and the second highest harvest on record. The Chilkat River fall chum salmon return is looking strong with the coho return slightly below average for this date based on fish wheel catch.

Southeast gillnet,Deep Inlet Terminal Harvest area: The Deep Inlet THA was closed effective September 3 due to low numbers of chum salmon broodstock returning to Medvejie Hatchery. Current estimates of broodstock at the hatchery are 40 percent of the 60,000 needed for the season. The THA will remain closed indefinitely until NSRAA has secured the necessary broodstock. Total chum salmon harvests for the season include: gillnet – 217,000; seine – 388,000; troll – 43,000; and hatchery cost recovery – 266,000. – Alaska Department of Fish and Game


Oops! Celebrity restaurant caught

A Michelin-starred restaurant chain part-owned by the actor Robert De Niro is serving endangered bluefin tuna at its London outlets without telling customers, DNA tests have shown.

Undercover investigators targeted the Nobu chain, which has 21 restaurants on four continents and is the haunt of celebrities such as Madonna, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

At three Nobu restaurants in London, investigators from the environmental group Greenpeace ordered tuna dishes described on the menu only by Japanese terms for the cut of the fish they were from.

They asked staff to identify the tuna species used. Samples were later tested to determine the type. Dishes from all three were Atlantic bluefin.

The distinction is important because the Atlantic bluefin and the southern bluefin are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List because of overfishing. Most sushi eaten in Britain is from less endangered species such as yellowfin, but Japanese chefs are known to consider bluefin the most delicious. -- The Telegraph, UK

www.telegraph.co.uk


GOP mantra: ‘Let’s drill’

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- You might be forgiven for concluding the mantra of the Republican Party is "Let's drill!"

From President Bush's televised remarks at the GOP convention to the plastic ID tags the delegates hang around their necks, offshore energy exploration appears to be a top priority.

In fact, "energy independence and lower gas prices" outrank both "building a strong economy and secure nation" and "fiscal accountability" on the cheat sheet of "Republican Pocket Principles" some delegates wear on lanyards.

With polls suggesting that voters may be increasingly receptive to lifting the ban on offshore drilling, the GOP believes it has a winning strategy -- even in Florida, which has long been viewed as staunchly opposed to offshore oil and gas exploration.

Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate has served to underscore the significance Republicans are putting on opening new areas to energy exploration. As governor of Alaska, Palin championed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling -- something even McCain has opposed. – McClatchy News Service
www.ajc.com


Sound familiar?

HENNINGSVAER -- The pristine Lofoten Islands off Norway's far north paint an idyllic image of tranquility, but beneath the surface is a roiling debate over the islands' resources, dividing fishermen, environmentalists and oil companies.

Oilmen spurred by the meteoric rise in oil prices have for some time been eyeing the picturesque archipelago, where high mountains plunge down into the sea.

Norway is currently the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter, but it has seen its production of black gold decline since peaking in 2001. And there have been no major discoveries in recent years to provide a glimmer of hope once its aging, dwindling wells dry up.

"Production from the fields currently producing on the Norwegian continental shelf will be reduced by 50 percent by 2023," says Oerjan Birkeland, exploration manager for StatoilHydro in the far north.

"The region off Lofoten is of interest because we think there is a potential for oil and gas," he adds.

And that is exactly what environmentalists and fishermen do not want to hear.
These waters are home to the world's biggest remaining cod stocks, a species that has been a victim of overfishing in both Europe and North America, as well as the biggest herring stocks. – Agence France-Presse

newsinfo.inquirer.net



Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fraser sockeye at 50-year low

Fraser River sockeye returns appear to be at their lowest ebb in 50 years, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Monday.

This summer's returns already belong to the weakest group in the four-year cycle of migrating Fraser system sockeye -- an average return of 4.4 million of the prized salmon on this cycle since 1958.

This year is 60 per cent below that amount -- 1.7 million fish -- fisheries department's salmon team leader, Paul Ryall, said.

The parent group for this year's return, which migrated into the Fraser system and spawned in 2004, was similarly weak at about 1.9 million fish.

It's not entirely clear what's causing the survival problem -- everything from climate change and shifting ocean currents to ocean acidification have been considered potential culprits.

What is certain is that both Alaskan and Russian sockeye populations are thriving even as B.C.'s struggle, and that Fraser sockeye also continue to exhibit unanticipated migratory behavior - moving out of the ocean and into the Fraser River about five days earlier than usual. – Vancouver Sun

www.canada.com



After ship’s spill, lawmakers introduce new bills

Nearly a year after a Chinese freighter collided with the Bay Bridge, dumping more than 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay, Bay Area lawmakers have succeeded in passing the most sweeping oil spill reforms in California since the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

Eleven of the 13 oil spill bills introduced in Sacramento this year cleared the Legislature by the Aug. 31 deadline, according to a Mercury News analysis.

It remains unclear how many Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign — he hasn't said — or how they will be affected by his promise to veto any bill sent to his desk until lawmakers first approve a state budget. –  San Jose Mercury News

www.mercurynews.com

 

DWI for fisherman, vessel aground

The U.S. Coast Guard cited a commercial fishing skipper for intoxication – although he was under legal limit for drivers.

A Coast Guard boat crew responding to a vessel aground in the Ilwaco (Wash.) Channel cited commercial fishing captain Matthew Donobick for operating a vessel while intoxicated.

The 40-foot tuna boat St. Kristine ran aground with two people and a load of fish aboard at about 9:40 p.m. Saturday. The Coast Guard team, from Station Cape Disappointment, removed Donobick and his crew member from the vessel that evening.

After allegedly spitting on some of the equipment, Donobick submitted to an alcohol breath test, reportedly blowing a 0.073. Although the legal blood alcohol level generally is 0.08, for commercial vessel operators the limit is 0.04, said Bob Coster, civilian search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Group Astoria today.

Coster said Donobrick's age and hometown were unknown. Based in Seattle and registered to St. Kristine Inc., the fishing vessel was refloated Sunday morning and towed in for repairs. – The Daily Astorian



Crash victim former Kodiak rescue swimmer

David Skimin, 38, a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard, was killed Thursday in a helicopter crash near Hawaii.

The chopper, a HH-65 Dolphin, crashed around 8 p.m. while the crew was conducting search and rescue exercises with a 47-foot motorboat.

The reason for the crash is under investigation. The chopper’s fuselage and voice recorder were recovered and are being examined.

Two other crewmembers died in the crash: Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and flight mechanic Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, 27, of Gloucester, Va. The pilot, Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, 42, of Staten Island, N.Y., remains missing.

Skimin was previously stationed in Kodiak before moving to Honolulu. He also served in Galveston, Texas, and San Francisco. – Kodiak Daily Mirror

www.kodiakdailymirror.com



Eureka Ice facing uncertain future

An owner of Eureka Ice and Cold Storage on Monday said that the county has given the business just days to remove the anhydrous ammonia it uses to make ice from its waterfront building, or face millions in fines.

Dennis Hunter said that the company must move the ammonia unit off site, which means shipping 140 customers' frozen goods to the San Francisco Bay area or north to Eugene, Ore., including bait fishermen have bought for the upcoming crab season.

Eureka Ice has for years been the subject of concern for the county Department of Health and Human Service's Environmental Health Division for not producing an earthquake risk assessment for ammonia on site.

Hunter, also a harbor commissioner, said it may take 12 to 15 semi-trailers to move the stored goods from the facility, and that flake ice would not be available for local fishermen. It would be a serious blow to local businesses, he said. – Times-Standard, Eureka

www.times-standard.com



Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pebble promoter: Alaskans want mine

Pebble Partnership Public Affairs Director Sean Magee said that a vote by Alaskans overwhelmingly opposed to a clean-water initiative aimed at the massive copper-gold project demonstrated that Alaska still remain "a pro-mining state."

In a presentation to the Denver Gold Forum, Magee said the project now enjoys "the highest support levels we have seen in the past six months."

Alaska's Ballot Measure 4, the Clean Water Initiative, went down in flames on August 26 as 57.14 percent of the state's voters rejected the measure compared to 42.86 percent who voted in favor. Opponents said Alaska miners feared the possible ramifications of the initiative on existing and future hardrock mines in the state. – Mine Web

www.mineweb.net


Biologist: This year will save a lot of fisheries

NEWPORT -- As fishing communities suffer through the first nearly complete closure of ocean salmon catches, some good news is surfacing off the coast: The Oregon ocean is once again booming with life.

A flush of cold northern water, rich with food, is nurturing a dramatic turnaround in ocean conditions this year, marine experts say. The situation contrasts with poor offshore conditions in recent years that left fish and birds desperate for food and probably contributed to the collapse of Sacramento River salmon, a keystone of Oregon's salmon fishery.

"This will be the year that saves a lot of fisheries," said Bill Peterson, an oceanographer based at Newport's Hatfield Marine Science Center with the NOAA-Fisheries, the federal agency that monitors oceans.

The dose of chilly water from the Gulf of Alaska may also be what is bringing an odd mix of sea creatures onto Oregon's shores this summer. They include young salmon sharks -- a relative of the great white that feeds on salmon -- and a robust clubhook squid, the third-largest squid in the ocean, measuring up to 13 feet long.

Also, the eerie "dead zones" that suffocated marine life along the coast in recent summers have been less pronounced this year, Oregon State University scientists said. – The Oregonian

www.oregonlive.com


Vitamin found in fish protects brain

Vitamin B12, a nutrient found in meat, fish and milk, may protect against brain volume loss in older people, according to a study published in the September 9, 2008, issue of Neurology.

"Many factors that affect brain health are thought to be out of our control, but this study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory," said study author Anna Vogiatzoglou, MSc, with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

"Research shows that vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among the elderly, so more vitamin B12 intake could help reverse this problem. Without carrying out a clinical trial, we acknowledge that it is still not known whether B12 supplementation would actually make a difference in elderly persons at risk for brain shrinkage." – Science Daily

www.sciencedaily.com


Highest honor: Late-night comics target fishing gov

Late-night comedians have long preyed on politics for their jokes. Now they have Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin in their sights. Here's a sample of their recent barbs:

DAVID LETTERMAN
It's Fashion Week here in New York City. Everyone's got fashion fever; in fact, the Statue of Liberty, earlier today, was wearing some of those hip Sarah Palin glasses.
Everyone's out campaigning. Sen. McCain and Sarah Palin were in New Mexico. They were having lunch at a diner. I thought this was so sweet. She was there cutting his meat for him.

Whoa, man, I like that Sarah Palin looks like the weekend anchor on Channel 9. She looks like the hygienist who makes you feel guilty about not flossing. She looks like the relieved mom in a Tide commercial.

And you've got to love this. Sarah Palin is an avid hunter. A vice president who likes guns -- Well, what could go wrong there?

JAY LENO
You know, when Governor Palin was giving her speech the other night, the teleprompter broke and she had to keep going from memory. That happened to Joe Biden once, but with him, he talked so long, the teleprompter shot itself.

BILL MAHER
When they were vetting her for this job, like three seconds ago, she said, quote, I'm not making this up, "What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" Let me field that for you, Sarah. They start wars, they enrich their friends, they subvert the Constitution, and they shoot people in the face. That's what the vice president does.

I think this is pertinent because McCain has been running this campaign based on "We're at war, it's a dangerous world out there. The Democrats don't get that. I, John McCain, am the only one standing between the bloodthirsty al-Qaidas and you. But if I die, this stewardess can handle it."

Are you kidding me, the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Yeah, that's who you want in the White House during a time of crisis. When she got a phone call at 3 in the morning, it was because a moose had gotten in the garbage can.

CONAN O'BRIEN
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is out on the campaign trail, and today she attended a rally in Wisconsin. The Alaska governor said she was thrilled to visit Wisconsin, because she's never been to the Deep South.

Oprah Winfrey is in the middle of a scandal today, because she is refusing to have Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin on her show. The friction started because Palin said if she was elected she'd be the most powerful woman in the country, and Oprah said, "The hell you will." – Anchorage Daily News

www.adn.com


Al Burch hospitalized for brain tumor

Friends in Kodiak tell me Al Burch, an institution in Alaska’s trawl industry, has been in Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for removal of what turned out to be a benign brain tumor.

Burch is said to be doing well and might soon head for home, where crewmen from his boats have built a wheelchair ramp onto his house. – Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy writing in the Anchorage Daily News


Thursday, September 11, 2008

So, who’s the best candidate for commercial fishermen?

Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy’s day job is at the Anchorage Daily News, where, among other duties, he writes a blog concerning commercial fishing. In looking for some indication of the presidential candidates’ stances on fishing, he found a story in Sport Fishing magazine.

The magazine had sent out questionnaires to the candidates. John McCain did bother responding. Barack Obama did. His contribution is below. (By the way, the next issue of Pacific Fishing magazine attempts to determine which candidate holds more promise for commercial fishermen.)

Sport Fishing: Would an Obama administration do anything to change the present system of federal fisheries management, largely governed by eight regional fishery-management councils with oversight by the National Marine Fisheries Service, within the Department of Commerce? If so, how would it change this system? If not, why not?

Obama: The regional fishery-management councils were established as a unique test of federal-stakeholder co-management. As such, they serve a critical role in designing fishery-management plans that are regionally and fishery appropriate, as well as fair to the various industry participants. However, many stakeholders have stated they have lost confidence in the council appointments and decision-making process, and that is not good for the future of fishery management. I would take a very hard look at council system membership, staffing, structure and rules to ensure that ethics and other legal requirements are being met – and exceeded – and seek expert recommendations on reforms that could help the council system work better to meet the needs of today’s fishery conservation and management. That would include looking at funding, as well as the training and preparation of council members and staff to meet future needs.
Read more: community.adn.com


Study: Eat fish, have healthier babies

A study just released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds moms who eat more fish, as well as moms who breastfeed the longest, have babies with better physical and mental development.

“This is a huge study that looked at how eating fish during pregnancy affected over 25,000 infants” said Jennifer Wilmes, registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). “Researchers found moms who ate fish at least three times a week had babies who did a better job of achieving milestones – from crawling to putting words together.”
 
A release from Harvard University Medical School says, “These findings provide further evidence that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and compounds in breast milk are beneficial to infant development.”

“This research is the latest in a series of studies that show just how important the nutrients in fish are to child development,” said Wilmes. “The challenge now is getting this up-to-date information in to the hands of doctors, dietitians and women at large in order to combat the misinformation about seafood we see so often.”

Regarding traces of mercury in fish, according to Harvard the study concluded, “…consumption of three or more weekly servings of fish was associated with higher development scores, so in this case the nutrient benefits of prenatal fish appeared to outweigh toxicant harm.”

The work was funded in part with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. – National Fisheries Institute press release


The fish that lays the golden egg

Southeast's chum caviar: delicate, mysterious and often disdained

This time of year, a few ravaged chum females are still wandering up local streams to spawn. Their flesh is nearly worthless, but their eggs, at least outside Alaska, are liquid gold.

A slit to the belly of one, and her unskeined eggs fall out in a slightly bloody, translucent orange stream. Once brined, the milky eggs clarify and turn orange. They are soft, the tongue can lightly feel the shell, the salty honey releases in a tiny explosion -- if you go for that sort of thing, which most Americans don't.

Elisabeth Babich, owner of Northern Keta Caviar, sends nearly all her chum salmon caviar to Europe.

"Just don't call it bait," said Babich, who has heard that enough already. "You have to call it caviar."
 
Roe "drives a lot of the economics of the salmon business," according to Tom Sunderland, marketing director for Seattle-based Ocean Beauty Seafoods Inc.

Because of a law against wanton waste, the caviar makers have to buy the whole chum salmon and do something with it. Northern Keta, for example, has it processed in Sitka (since there's no fishmeal plant in Juneau) and sells it in 1,000-pound totes overseas, where it appears as cheap frozen protein portions in China or the Ukraine.

But the flesh is an afterthought, the eggs have primacy.

Caviar prices rise and fall like stocks, and they've been up the last two years, Babich said. A bucket of Northern Keta goes for about $660 now.– Juneau Empire
Read more: juneauempire.com


Eureka Ice and Cold Storage out of business

Eureka Ice and Cold Storage began offloading hundreds of pounds of anhydrous ammonia, effectively beginning the facility's closure, according to the company.

The move comes after months of increasing concerns voiced by county environmental health officials, city fire and building departments and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company's closure will leave the area without a place to store large amounts of frozen bait, crab and fish, or a major source of ice for the fishing fleet and other businesses.

Dennis Hunter, whose family owns Eureka Ice, said, “I would say at this point that is the only decision we could make,” said Hunter, who is also a harbor commissioner.

About 2,500 pounds of anhydrous ammonia must be removed, and Hunter said 24-hour security will be in place until it is removed from the premises. – Eureka Times Standard
Read more: www.times-standard.com


Mystery disease on Klamath stumps biologists

Young salmon continue to struggle with disease in the Klamath River as biologists try to figure out how the epidemic of recent years can be controlled.

Pathologist Scott Foott with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's California-Nevada Fish Health Center briefed county supervisors about the abnormal rate of infection in fish by two parasites that are rife in a particular stretch of the river. The infected fish die at extraordinarily high rates when exposed to the parasites in a 60-mile stretch of river downstream of Iron Gate Dam, Foott said.

Some 54 percent of juvenile salmon in the river are infected with the parasite Ceratomyxa shasta this year, Foott said, with even more plagued by Parvicapsula minibicornus. The parasites affect the intestines and kidney. For comparison, only about 10 percent of young fish are infected in other rivers where C. shasta is present, he said.

”It's when things get out of balance that there's a problem,” Foott said. – Eureka Times-Standard
Read more: www.times-standard.com

 

Friday, September 12, 2008

Fishing still banned in Donut Hole

Representatives from several nations met Sept. 1-3 in Kaliningrad, Russia, to talk about the possibility of pollock fishing in the Donut Hole, a zone of international water in the middle of the Bering Sea.

The conclusion was the same as for the past several years – no commercial harvest allowed in 2009.

The pollock biomass in the deep Aleutian Basin is still too small to allow for fishing under a 1995 international agreement on pollock management in the central Bering Sea, said Loh-Lee Low, a U.S. fisheries scientist.

China, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Russia and the United States are parties to the international agreement. China, however, did not send a representative to Kaliningrad conference.

The next conference is scheduled for next summer in Portland.

The Donut Hole takes its name from its shape at the center of the Bering, beyond the 200-mile limit of any nation.

The zone used to produce prodigious catches of pollock well in excess of 1 million metric tons from 1986 through 1989, according to U.S. figures.

 – Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy writing as The Highliner in the Anchorage Daily News
Read more: community.adn.com

 

Marine protected areas I

The health of our ocean is vital to our regional economy, local ecology and collective well-being. Our coastal waters are a cherished public resource, and their protection will take our combined efforts.

As a swimmer, a surfer and a scientist, I have seen the degradation of our ocean firsthand. I see the trash on our beaches, swimmers getting sick from dirty water and barren rocks where kelp forests should thrive. And I know how very important it is that we address the many problems that our oceans face before it's too late.

Southern Californians love our ocean, and right now we are at risk of loving it to death. Coastwide, fishermen are catching less than half of what they did in 1990 and the fish they do catch are 45 percent smaller. In order to fix this problem, we need to get proactive about ocean health, which means both continuing our work to improve water quality, and creating a balanced, science-based network of Marine Protected Areas.
 
Marine Protected Areas are like underwater parks, open for visitation, appreciation and enjoyment. They protect key habitat so that marine life can recover, but still leave the majority of the ocean open to fishing and other commercial and recreational activities.
 
Studies of MPAs around the world have shown that when one relatively small area is protected from harvest, the fish and wildlife there multiply, becoming bigger, more fertile, and more resilient. Those healthy animals then bolster populations
for miles around.

By providing a place for marine life to thrive, MPAs give people a chance to experience healthy ocean ecosystems. Some of the best snorkeling, diving and wildlife-watching sites are found in protected areas, like the Channel Islands and Point Lobos here in California.

To successfully establish refuges for marine life and habitat, the people who use these resources need to be involved. Over the next year, local business owners, divers, surfers, kayakers, commercial and sport fishermen and conservationists will work to develop a plan for ocean protection.

Our coastline is our natural heritage and our livelihood. But the ocean is not an infinite resource. It requires careful stewardship, and it's time our generation stepped up and committed to sustainable management.

Marine Protected Areas will help ensure that future generations experience the same bounty we've enjoyed. The Marine Life Protection Act is the tool that is bringing MPAs to the South Coast, and I encourage everyone to get involved. Learn about the process, attend a meeting, and make sure your voice is heard. –Shelley Luce, executive director of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, writing in the Los Angeles Daily News
Read more: www.caloceans.org  


Marine protected areas II

Two years ago, President Bush set a new standard for global ocean protection when he created the world's largest no-take marine protected area in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The White House recently announced another group of sites in U.S. waters that will be assessed for protection as marine monuments or sanctuaries.

While a hopeful sign for ocean conservation, monument or sanctuary designation alone does not necessarily convey strong protection and could allow commercial and recreational fishing, oil and gas exploration or deep-sea mining. However, if these sites are designated as no-take reserves, where all extractive activity is excluded, it would be one of the most significant environmental achievements of any U.S. president.

Included in the list is an Arizona-sized section of ocean covering a portion of the famed Mariana Trench, in the Western Pacific. As the deepest canyon on Earth, at almost 36,000 feet, it could swallow Mount Everest with room to spare. It houses an array of rare, underwater mud volcanoes and some of the most unusual deep-sea creatures on Earth.

Another proposed site is Rose Atoll, off American Samoa, a nesting area for the threatened green sea turtle and home to the rare giant clam. The final location, holding five times as many coral species as found in the Florida Keys, surrounds seven Central Pacific islands.

The White House announcement gave no hint of the actual protection contemplated. If the president bows to the inevitable pressure from industrial interests, and leaves these unique areas open to activities that could well damage them, he will miss a historic opportunity. But if he designates them as no-take marine reserves, and provides adequate resources for their management, he will leave a legacy of ocean parks akin to that of Theodore Roosevelt, who created some of America's most beloved parks on land.

The world's oceans are critical to the health of the global environment. They help regulate our climate, generate much of the air we breathe and detoxify and recycle pollutants. Moreover, they support millions of jobs, produce a significant amount of animal protein for people worldwide and provide a source of enjoyment and beauty to all. Yet they are rapidly deteriorating. Overfishing, pollution and excessive development of coastal areas are taking a serious toll on ocean systems worldwide.

Compared with land, a remarkably small percentage of the world's oceans are protected from destructive activity. While no-take reserves are not a panacea for all marine environmental problems, science has demonstrated they are an invaluable tool in protecting diverse oceanic habitats.

Marine reserves -- properly created, managed and funded -- can reinvigorate oceans to the benefit of all stakeholders. They generate tourism, increase the abundance of fish and other marine life, help us better understand how healthy marine ecosystems function and protect undiscovered species that could benefit humankind.

The establishment in 2006 of the world's largest marine reserve in Hawaii was a remarkable step. The president now has the opportunity to expand that legacy by fully protecting some of the largest and most pristine areas left in U.S. waters. If he does that, Bush will have protected more of the world's oceans in the form of reserves than any other person in history, and will have led the nation into a new era of ocean conservation. – Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Grou, and Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs at the National Geographic Society, writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Read more: seattlepi.nwsource.com



Astoria port veteran to retire

Ron Larsen, who led the agency through a difficult transition after former director Peter Gearin was fired last year, has announced his decision to retire.

Larsen has managed operations at the Astoria Regional Airport for much of his 17 years at the Port. He has been hailed for his work in securing a $3.6 million state transportation enhancement grant to help the Port and the city of Newport launch passenger air service between the coast and Portland.
 
This year, Larsen was one of four finalists for the permanent position of executive director, which went to former Port of Tillamook Bay director Jack Crider, who was hired in June. – Daily Astorian



Pacific Fishing photog honored

We’re pleased – well, kinda – to announce that Pacific Fishing magazine’s chief photographer, Klas Stolpe, has been honored by the Photographic Center Northwest.

We say “kinda” because Klas didn’t win because of any of the stirring photographs you’ve seen on most covers of the magazine. Rather, the judges like a photo of ballerina slippers.

His photo has been selected as one of 75 selected for the center’s annual benefit auction. Submissions for the even came from around the world. The dinner auction begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 at the Photographic Center Northwest near Seattle Univerisity. Tickets are $140.

More information can be found at www.gala.pcnw.org.

Monday, September 8, 2008

Clipper Seafoods buys Alaska Frontier

Clipper Seafoods, Ltd. on Monday announced the acquisition of Alaska Frontier Company and its three freezer longline vessels, bringing its fleet to a total of seven.
 
“This acquisition of Alaska Frontier Company and its affiliates, which own and operate the Frontier vessels, is an extremely good fit for our company. This gives us a significant increase in production of high-quality Alaska cod,” said Dave Little, president of Clipper Seafoods. “Clipper is looking forward to working together with all of the Alaska Frontier employees and crew to maintain their traditions of excellence.”
 
The fishing vessels Frontier Spirit, Frontier Mariner and Frontier Explorer, acquired in a stock purchase, will continue to operate in the Alaska cod longline fishery.
 
Three 134-foot Frontier vessels, built by Marine Construction & Design Company, will now join Clipper’s four freezer longliners. The vessels are all equipped to process and flash-freeze Alaska cod on board for maximum freshness.
 
The catch is sold around the world by Bering Select Seafoods Company, Clipper Seafoods’s marketing subsidiary. The addition of the Frontier fleet significantly boosts the company’s marketing position with Marine Stewardship Council (MSC)-certified Alaska cod.
 
Clipper Seafoods is part of the Freezer Longline Coalition, an alliance of freezer longline companies committed to sustainable fishing practices. The freezer longline sector operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands is the first cod fishery in the world to obtain MSC certification. Certified fisheries are allowed to use the distinctive blue-and-white MSC label on packaging, letting consumers know the seafood is from a sustainable, eco-friendly and well managed fishery.
 
Seattle-based Clipper Seafoods, which has operated since 1987 and has about 100 employees. Alaska Frontier Company, located in Mountlake Terrace, Wash., began in 1989 and has about 70 employees.
 

The purchase was made for an undisclosed price.


Alaska salmon updates: Mixed bag

Southeast gillnet, District 1-B: Total cumulative harvest for all species in the section 1-B drift gillnet fishery through statistical week 36 is approximately 1,875 Chinook, 34,100 sockeye which is 30 percent of the 10-year average, 47,500 coho which is 177 percent of the 10-year average, 36,265,000 pinks which is 53 percent of the 10-year average, and 221,965 chum salmon which is 97 percent of the 10-year average. Based on past performance and catch rates in 2008 the Tree Point fishery is on track to catch an above average number of coho and right at the 10-year average for chum salmon. Total catches for both sockeye and pink salmon will be below the 10-year average for 2008.

Southeast gillnet, District 6 and 8: Coho catch rates were very good in both District 6 and District 8 during the three-day opening from August 31 to September 3. Effort was similar to the previous week’s opening, with about 70 gillnetters fishing in the two districts. However, with one additional day of fishing this week, coho harvests increased from around 7,500 during statistical week 35 to close to 18,000 during statistical week 36. Chum salmon harvests also more than doubled with about 7,000 harvested. It is anticipated that the coho gillnet fishery in both districts will extend through September.

Southeast gillnet, District 1:  The total sockeye salmon harvest to date of 116,500 fish is 74 percent of the ten-year average. The total chum salmon harvest to date of 772,900 fish is a record catch for District 11, and nearly two and a half times the 10-year average. The total king salmon harvest of 2,160 fish is 24 percent above the 10-year average, the total pink salmon harvest of 90,100 fish is 74 percent of the 10-year average, and the total coho salmon harvest thus far of 25,100 fish is 87 percent of the 10-year average harvest.

Southeast gillnet, District 15: Below average effort in District 15 netted above average numbers of coho and fall chum salmon. The sockeye salmon catch was below average mostly due to the 6” minimum mesh size restriction placed in the district to minimize this catch to boost escapement of Chilkat Lake sockeye salmon. The total sockeye salmon harvest to date of 32,000, or 25 percent of the previous 10-year average and the lowest harvest on record since 1975. The current cumulative harvest of chum salmon is 980,000 fish. This chum salmon harvest is 1.7 times the 10-year average and the second highest harvest on record. The Chilkat River fall chum salmon return is looking strong with the coho return slightly below average for this date based on fish wheel catch.

Southeast gillnet,Deep Inlet Terminal Harvest area: The Deep Inlet THA was closed effective September 3 due to low numbers of chum salmon broodstock returning to Medvejie Hatchery. Current estimates of broodstock at the hatchery are 40 percent of the 60,000 needed for the season. The THA will remain closed indefinitely until NSRAA has secured the necessary broodstock. Total chum salmon harvests for the season include: gillnet – 217,000; seine – 388,000; troll – 43,000; and hatchery cost recovery – 266,000. – Alaska Department of Fish and Game


Oops! Celebrity restaurant caught

A Michelin-starred restaurant chain part-owned by the actor Robert De Niro is serving endangered bluefin tuna at its London outlets without telling customers, DNA tests have shown.

Undercover investigators targeted the Nobu chain, which has 21 restaurants on four continents and is the haunt of celebrities such as Madonna, Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio.

At three Nobu restaurants in London, investigators from the environmental group Greenpeace ordered tuna dishes described on the menu only by Japanese terms for the cut of the fish they were from.

They asked staff to identify the tuna species used. Samples were later tested to determine the type. Dishes from all three were Atlantic bluefin.

The distinction is important because the Atlantic bluefin and the southern bluefin are listed as critically endangered by the International Union for the Conservation of Nature's Red List because of overfishing. Most sushi eaten in Britain is from less endangered species such as yellowfin, but Japanese chefs are known to consider bluefin the most delicious. -- The Telegraph, UK

www.telegraph.co.uk


GOP mantra: ‘Let’s drill’

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- You might be forgiven for concluding the mantra of the Republican Party is "Let's drill!"

From President Bush's televised remarks at the GOP convention to the plastic ID tags the delegates hang around their necks, offshore energy exploration appears to be a top priority.

In fact, "energy independence and lower gas prices" outrank both "building a strong economy and secure nation" and "fiscal accountability" on the cheat sheet of "Republican Pocket Principles" some delegates wear on lanyards.

With polls suggesting that voters may be increasingly receptive to lifting the ban on offshore drilling, the GOP believes it has a winning strategy -- even in Florida, which has long been viewed as staunchly opposed to offshore oil and gas exploration.

Sarah Palin's selection as John McCain's running mate has served to underscore the significance Republicans are putting on opening new areas to energy exploration. As governor of Alaska, Palin championed opening the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to drilling -- something even McCain has opposed. – McClatchy News Service
www.ajc.com


Sound familiar?

HENNINGSVAER -- The pristine Lofoten Islands off Norway's far north paint an idyllic image of tranquility, but beneath the surface is a roiling debate over the islands' resources, dividing fishermen, environmentalists and oil companies.

Oilmen spurred by the meteoric rise in oil prices have for some time been eyeing the picturesque archipelago, where high mountains plunge down into the sea.

Norway is currently the world's fifth-biggest oil exporter, but it has seen its production of black gold decline since peaking in 2001. And there have been no major discoveries in recent years to provide a glimmer of hope once its aging, dwindling wells dry up.

"Production from the fields currently producing on the Norwegian continental shelf will be reduced by 50 percent by 2023," says Oerjan Birkeland, exploration manager for StatoilHydro in the far north.

"The region off Lofoten is of interest because we think there is a potential for oil and gas," he adds.

And that is exactly what environmentalists and fishermen do not want to hear.
These waters are home to the world's biggest remaining cod stocks, a species that has been a victim of overfishing in both Europe and North America, as well as the biggest herring stocks. – Agence France-Presse

newsinfo.inquirer.net



Tuesday, September 9, 2008

Fraser sockeye at 50-year low

Fraser River sockeye returns appear to be at their lowest ebb in 50 years, Fisheries and Oceans Canada said Monday.

This summer's returns already belong to the weakest group in the four-year cycle of migrating Fraser system sockeye -- an average return of 4.4 million of the prized salmon on this cycle since 1958.

This year is 60 per cent below that amount -- 1.7 million fish -- fisheries department's salmon team leader, Paul Ryall, said.

The parent group for this year's return, which migrated into the Fraser system and spawned in 2004, was similarly weak at about 1.9 million fish.

It's not entirely clear what's causing the survival problem -- everything from climate change and shifting ocean currents to ocean acidification have been considered potential culprits.

What is certain is that both Alaskan and Russian sockeye populations are thriving even as B.C.'s struggle, and that Fraser sockeye also continue to exhibit unanticipated migratory behavior - moving out of the ocean and into the Fraser River about five days earlier than usual. – Vancouver Sun

www.canada.com



After ship’s spill, lawmakers introduce new bills

Nearly a year after a Chinese freighter collided with the Bay Bridge, dumping more than 50,000 gallons of bunker fuel into San Francisco Bay, Bay Area lawmakers have succeeded in passing the most sweeping oil spill reforms in California since the Exxon Valdez spill in 1989.

Eleven of the 13 oil spill bills introduced in Sacramento this year cleared the Legislature by the Aug. 31 deadline, according to a Mercury News analysis.

It remains unclear how many Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger will sign — he hasn't said — or how they will be affected by his promise to veto any bill sent to his desk until lawmakers first approve a state budget. –  San Jose Mercury News

www.mercurynews.com

 

DWI for fisherman, vessel aground

The U.S. Coast Guard cited a commercial fishing skipper for intoxication – although he was under legal limit for drivers.

A Coast Guard boat crew responding to a vessel aground in the Ilwaco (Wash.) Channel cited commercial fishing captain Matthew Donobick for operating a vessel while intoxicated.

The 40-foot tuna boat St. Kristine ran aground with two people and a load of fish aboard at about 9:40 p.m. Saturday. The Coast Guard team, from Station Cape Disappointment, removed Donobick and his crew member from the vessel that evening.

After allegedly spitting on some of the equipment, Donobick submitted to an alcohol breath test, reportedly blowing a 0.073. Although the legal blood alcohol level generally is 0.08, for commercial vessel operators the limit is 0.04, said Bob Coster, civilian search and rescue controller at Coast Guard Group Astoria today.

Coster said Donobrick's age and hometown were unknown. Based in Seattle and registered to St. Kristine Inc., the fishing vessel was refloated Sunday morning and towed in for repairs. – The Daily Astorian



Crash victim former Kodiak rescue swimmer

David Skimin, 38, a rescue swimmer with the U.S. Coast Guard, was killed Thursday in a helicopter crash near Hawaii.

The chopper, a HH-65 Dolphin, crashed around 8 p.m. while the crew was conducting search and rescue exercises with a 47-foot motorboat.

The reason for the crash is under investigation. The chopper’s fuselage and voice recorder were recovered and are being examined.

Two other crewmembers died in the crash: Lt. Cmdr. Andrew Wischmeier, 44, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and flight mechanic Petty Officer 2nd Class Joshua Nichols, 27, of Gloucester, Va. The pilot, Cmdr. Thomas Nelson, 42, of Staten Island, N.Y., remains missing.

Skimin was previously stationed in Kodiak before moving to Honolulu. He also served in Galveston, Texas, and San Francisco. – Kodiak Daily Mirror

www.kodiakdailymirror.com



Eureka Ice facing uncertain future

An owner of Eureka Ice and Cold Storage on Monday said that the county has given the business just days to remove the anhydrous ammonia it uses to make ice from its waterfront building, or face millions in fines.

Dennis Hunter said that the company must move the ammonia unit off site, which means shipping 140 customers' frozen goods to the San Francisco Bay area or north to Eugene, Ore., including bait fishermen have bought for the upcoming crab season.

Eureka Ice has for years been the subject of concern for the county Department of Health and Human Service's Environmental Health Division for not producing an earthquake risk assessment for ammonia on site.

Hunter, also a harbor commissioner, said it may take 12 to 15 semi-trailers to move the stored goods from the facility, and that flake ice would not be available for local fishermen. It would be a serious blow to local businesses, he said. – Times-Standard, Eureka

www.times-standard.com



Wednesday, September 10, 2008

Pebble promoter: Alaskans want mine

Pebble Partnership Public Affairs Director Sean Magee said that a vote by Alaskans overwhelmingly opposed to a clean-water initiative aimed at the massive copper-gold project demonstrated that Alaska still remain "a pro-mining state."

In a presentation to the Denver Gold Forum, Magee said the project now enjoys "the highest support levels we have seen in the past six months."

Alaska's Ballot Measure 4, the Clean Water Initiative, went down in flames on August 26 as 57.14 percent of the state's voters rejected the measure compared to 42.86 percent who voted in favor. Opponents said Alaska miners feared the possible ramifications of the initiative on existing and future hardrock mines in the state. – Mine Web

www.mineweb.net


Biologist: This year will save a lot of fisheries

NEWPORT -- As fishing communities suffer through the first nearly complete closure of ocean salmon catches, some good news is surfacing off the coast: The Oregon ocean is once again booming with life.

A flush of cold northern water, rich with food, is nurturing a dramatic turnaround in ocean conditions this year, marine experts say. The situation contrasts with poor offshore conditions in recent years that left fish and birds desperate for food and probably contributed to the collapse of Sacramento River salmon, a keystone of Oregon's salmon fishery.

"This will be the year that saves a lot of fisheries," said Bill Peterson, an oceanographer based at Newport's Hatfield Marine Science Center with the NOAA-Fisheries, the federal agency that monitors oceans.

The dose of chilly water from the Gulf of Alaska may also be what is bringing an odd mix of sea creatures onto Oregon's shores this summer. They include young salmon sharks -- a relative of the great white that feeds on salmon -- and a robust clubhook squid, the third-largest squid in the ocean, measuring up to 13 feet long.

Also, the eerie "dead zones" that suffocated marine life along the coast in recent summers have been less pronounced this year, Oregon State University scientists said. – The Oregonian

www.oregonlive.com


Vitamin found in fish protects brain

Vitamin B12, a nutrient found in meat, fish and milk, may protect against brain volume loss in older people, according to a study published in the September 9, 2008, issue of Neurology.

"Many factors that affect brain health are thought to be out of our control, but this study suggests that simply adjusting our diets to consume more vitamin B12 through eating meat, fish, fortified cereals or milk may be something we can easily adjust to prevent brain shrinkage and so perhaps save our memory," said study author Anna Vogiatzoglou, MSc, with the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom.

"Research shows that vitamin B12 deficiency is a public health problem, especially among the elderly, so more vitamin B12 intake could help reverse this problem. Without carrying out a clinical trial, we acknowledge that it is still not known whether B12 supplementation would actually make a difference in elderly persons at risk for brain shrinkage." – Science Daily

www.sciencedaily.com


Highest honor: Late-night comics target fishing gov

Late-night comedians have long preyed on politics for their jokes. Now they have Alaska's Gov. Sarah Palin in their sights. Here's a sample of their recent barbs:

DAVID LETTERMAN
It's Fashion Week here in New York City. Everyone's got fashion fever; in fact, the Statue of Liberty, earlier today, was wearing some of those hip Sarah Palin glasses.
Everyone's out campaigning. Sen. McCain and Sarah Palin were in New Mexico. They were having lunch at a diner. I thought this was so sweet. She was there cutting his meat for him.

Whoa, man, I like that Sarah Palin looks like the weekend anchor on Channel 9. She looks like the hygienist who makes you feel guilty about not flossing. She looks like the relieved mom in a Tide commercial.

And you've got to love this. Sarah Palin is an avid hunter. A vice president who likes guns -- Well, what could go wrong there?

JAY LENO
You know, when Governor Palin was giving her speech the other night, the teleprompter broke and she had to keep going from memory. That happened to Joe Biden once, but with him, he talked so long, the teleprompter shot itself.

BILL MAHER
When they were vetting her for this job, like three seconds ago, she said, quote, I'm not making this up, "What is it exactly that the VP does every day?" Let me field that for you, Sarah. They start wars, they enrich their friends, they subvert the Constitution, and they shoot people in the face. That's what the vice president does.

I think this is pertinent because McCain has been running this campaign based on "We're at war, it's a dangerous world out there. The Democrats don't get that. I, John McCain, am the only one standing between the bloodthirsty al-Qaidas and you. But if I die, this stewardess can handle it."

Are you kidding me, the mayor of Wasilla, Alaska? Yeah, that's who you want in the White House during a time of crisis. When she got a phone call at 3 in the morning, it was because a moose had gotten in the garbage can.

CONAN O'BRIEN
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is out on the campaign trail, and today she attended a rally in Wisconsin. The Alaska governor said she was thrilled to visit Wisconsin, because she's never been to the Deep South.

Oprah Winfrey is in the middle of a scandal today, because she is refusing to have Republican VP candidate Sarah Palin on her show. The friction started because Palin said if she was elected she'd be the most powerful woman in the country, and Oprah said, "The hell you will." – Anchorage Daily News

www.adn.com


Al Burch hospitalized for brain tumor

Friends in Kodiak tell me Al Burch, an institution in Alaska’s trawl industry, has been in Providence Alaska Medical Center in Anchorage for removal of what turned out to be a benign brain tumor.

Burch is said to be doing well and might soon head for home, where crewmen from his boats have built a wheelchair ramp onto his house. – Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy writing in the Anchorage Daily News


Thursday, September 11, 2008

So, who’s the best candidate for commercial fishermen?

Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy’s day job is at the Anchorage Daily News, where, among other duties, he writes a blog concerning commercial fishing. In looking for some indication of the presidential candidates’ stances on fishing, he found a story in Sport Fishing magazine.

The magazine had sent out questionnaires to the candidates. John McCain did bother responding. Barack Obama did. His contribution is below. (By the way, the next issue of Pacific Fishing magazine attempts to determine which candidate holds more promise for commercial fishermen.)

Sport Fishing: Would an Obama administration do anything to change the present system of federal fisheries management, largely governed by eight regional fishery-management councils with oversight by the National Marine Fisheries Service, within the Department of Commerce? If so, how would it change this system? If not, why not?

Obama: The regional fishery-management councils were established as a unique test of federal-stakeholder co-management. As such, they serve a critical role in designing fishery-management plans that are regionally and fishery appropriate, as well as fair to the various industry participants. However, many stakeholders have stated they have lost confidence in the council appointments and decision-making process, and that is not good for the future of fishery management. I would take a very hard look at council system membership, staffing, structure and rules to ensure that ethics and other legal requirements are being met – and exceeded – and seek expert recommendations on reforms that could help the council system work better to meet the needs of today’s fishery conservation and management. That would include looking at funding, as well as the training and preparation of council members and staff to meet future needs.
Read more: community.adn.com


Study: Eat fish, have healthier babies

A study just released in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition finds moms who eat more fish, as well as moms who breastfeed the longest, have babies with better physical and mental development.

“This is a huge study that looked at how eating fish during pregnancy affected over 25,000 infants” said Jennifer Wilmes, registered dietitian with the National Fisheries Institute (NFI). “Researchers found moms who ate fish at least three times a week had babies who did a better job of achieving milestones – from crawling to putting words together.”
 
A release from Harvard University Medical School says, “These findings provide further evidence that omega-3 fatty acids found in fish and compounds in breast milk are beneficial to infant development.”

“This research is the latest in a series of studies that show just how important the nutrients in fish are to child development,” said Wilmes. “The challenge now is getting this up-to-date information in to the hands of doctors, dietitians and women at large in order to combat the misinformation about seafood we see so often.”

Regarding traces of mercury in fish, according to Harvard the study concluded, “…consumption of three or more weekly servings of fish was associated with higher development scores, so in this case the nutrient benefits of prenatal fish appeared to outweigh toxicant harm.”

The work was funded in part with a grant from the National Institutes of Health. – National Fisheries Institute press release


The fish that lays the golden egg

Southeast's chum caviar: delicate, mysterious and often disdained

This time of year, a few ravaged chum females are still wandering up local streams to spawn. Their flesh is nearly worthless, but their eggs, at least outside Alaska, are liquid gold.

A slit to the belly of one, and her unskeined eggs fall out in a slightly bloody, translucent orange stream. Once brined, the milky eggs clarify and turn orange. They are soft, the tongue can lightly feel the shell, the salty honey releases in a tiny explosion -- if you go for that sort of thing, which most Americans don't.

Elisabeth Babich, owner of Northern Keta Caviar, sends nearly all her chum salmon caviar to Europe.

"Just don't call it bait," said Babich, who has heard that enough already. "You have to call it caviar."
 
Roe "drives a lot of the economics of the salmon business," according to Tom Sunderland, marketing director for Seattle-based Ocean Beauty Seafoods Inc.

Because of a law against wanton waste, the caviar makers have to buy the whole chum salmon and do something with it. Northern Keta, for example, has it processed in Sitka (since there's no fishmeal plant in Juneau) and sells it in 1,000-pound totes overseas, where it appears as cheap frozen protein portions in China or the Ukraine.

But the flesh is an afterthought, the eggs have primacy.

Caviar prices rise and fall like stocks, and they've been up the last two years, Babich said. A bucket of Northern Keta goes for about $660 now.– Juneau Empire
Read more: juneauempire.com


Eureka Ice and Cold Storage out of business

Eureka Ice and Cold Storage began offloading hundreds of pounds of anhydrous ammonia, effectively beginning the facility's closure, according to the company.

The move comes after months of increasing concerns voiced by county environmental health officials, city fire and building departments and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. The company's closure will leave the area without a place to store large amounts of frozen bait, crab and fish, or a major source of ice for the fishing fleet and other businesses.

Dennis Hunter, whose family owns Eureka Ice, said, “I would say at this point that is the only decision we could make,” said Hunter, who is also a harbor commissioner.

About 2,500 pounds of anhydrous ammonia must be removed, and Hunter said 24-hour security will be in place until it is removed from the premises. – Eureka Times Standard
Read more: www.times-standard.com


Mystery disease on Klamath stumps biologists

Young salmon continue to struggle with disease in the Klamath River as biologists try to figure out how the epidemic of recent years can be controlled.

Pathologist Scott Foott with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's California-Nevada Fish Health Center briefed county supervisors about the abnormal rate of infection in fish by two parasites that are rife in a particular stretch of the river. The infected fish die at extraordinarily high rates when exposed to the parasites in a 60-mile stretch of river downstream of Iron Gate Dam, Foott said.

Some 54 percent of juvenile salmon in the river are infected with the parasite Ceratomyxa shasta this year, Foott said, with even more plagued by Parvicapsula minibicornus. The parasites affect the intestines and kidney. For comparison, only about 10 percent of young fish are infected in other rivers where C. shasta is present, he said.

”It's when things get out of balance that there's a problem,” Foott said. – Eureka Times-Standard
Read more: www.times-standard.com

 

Friday, September 12, 2008

Fishing still banned in Donut Hole

Representatives from several nations met Sept. 1-3 in Kaliningrad, Russia, to talk about the possibility of pollock fishing in the Donut Hole, a zone of international water in the middle of the Bering Sea.

The conclusion was the same as for the past several years – no commercial harvest allowed in 2009.

The pollock biomass in the deep Aleutian Basin is still too small to allow for fishing under a 1995 international agreement on pollock management in the central Bering Sea, said Loh-Lee Low, a U.S. fisheries scientist.

China, Japan, South Korea, Poland, Russia and the United States are parties to the international agreement. China, however, did not send a representative to Kaliningrad conference.

The next conference is scheduled for next summer in Portland.

The Donut Hole takes its name from its shape at the center of the Bering, beyond the 200-mile limit of any nation.

The zone used to produce prodigious catches of pollock well in excess of 1 million metric tons from 1986 through 1989, according to U.S. figures.

 – Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy writing as The Highliner in the Anchorage Daily News
Read more: community.adn.com

 

Marine protected areas I

The health of our ocean is vital to our regional economy, local ecology and collective well-being. Our coastal waters are a cherished public resource, and their protection will take our combined efforts.

As a swimmer, a surfer and a scientist, I have seen the degradation of our ocean firsthand. I see the trash on our beaches, swimmers getting sick from dirty water and barren rocks where kelp forests should thrive. And I know how very important it is that we address the many problems that our oceans face before it's too late.

Southern Californians love our ocean, and right now we are at risk of loving it to death. Coastwide, fishermen are catching less than half of what they did in 1990 and the fish they do catch are 45 percent smaller. In order to fix this problem, we need to get proactive about ocean health, which means both continuing our work to improve water quality, and creating a balanced, science-based network of Marine Protected Areas.
 
Marine Protected Areas are like underwater parks, open for visitation, appreciation and enjoyment. They protect key habitat so that marine life can recover, but still leave the majority of the ocean open to fishing and other commercial and recreational activities.
 
Studies of MPAs around the world have shown that when one relatively small area is protected from harvest, the fish and wildlife there multiply, becoming bigger, more fertile, and more resilient. Those healthy animals then bolster populations
for miles around.

By providing a place for marine life to thrive, MPAs give people a chance to experience healthy ocean ecosystems. Some of the best snorkeling, diving and wildlife-watching sites are found in protected areas, like the Channel Islands and Point Lobos here in California.

To successfully establish refuges for marine life and habitat, the people who use these resources need to be involved. Over the next year, local business owners, divers, surfers, kayakers, commercial and sport fishermen and conservationists will work to develop a plan for ocean protection.

Our coastline is our natural heritage and our livelihood. But the ocean is not an infinite resource. It requires careful stewardship, and it's time our generation stepped up and committed to sustainable management.

Marine Protected Areas will help ensure that future generations experience the same bounty we've enjoyed. The Marine Life Protection Act is the tool that is bringing MPAs to the South Coast, and I encourage everyone to get involved. Learn about the process, attend a meeting, and make sure your voice is heard. –Shelley Luce, executive director of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission, writing in the Los Angeles Daily News
Read more: www.caloceans.org  


Marine protected areas II

Two years ago, President Bush set a new standard for global ocean protection when he created the world's largest no-take marine protected area in the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands. The White House recently announced another group of sites in U.S. waters that will be assessed for protection as marine monuments or sanctuaries.

While a hopeful sign for ocean conservation, monument or sanctuary designation alone does not necessarily convey strong protection and could allow commercial and recreational fishing, oil and gas exploration or deep-sea mining. However, if these sites are designated as no-take reserves, where all extractive activity is excluded, it would be one of the most significant environmental achievements of any U.S. president.

Included in the list is an Arizona-sized section of ocean covering a portion of the famed Mariana Trench, in the Western Pacific. As the deepest canyon on Earth, at almost 36,000 feet, it could swallow Mount Everest with room to spare. It houses an array of rare, underwater mud volcanoes and some of the most unusual deep-sea creatures on Earth.

Another proposed site is Rose Atoll, off American Samoa, a nesting area for the threatened green sea turtle and home to the rare giant clam. The final location, holding five times as many coral species as found in the Florida Keys, surrounds seven Central Pacific islands.

The White House announcement gave no hint of the actual protection contemplated. If the president bows to the inevitable pressure from industrial interests, and leaves these unique areas open to activities that could well damage them, he will miss a historic opportunity. But if he designates them as no-take marine reserves, and provides adequate resources for their management, he will leave a legacy of ocean parks akin to that of Theodore Roosevelt, who created some of America's most beloved parks on land.

The world's oceans are critical to the health of the global environment. They help regulate our climate, generate much of the air we breathe and detoxify and recycle pollutants. Moreover, they support millions of jobs, produce a significant amount of animal protein for people worldwide and provide a source of enjoyment and beauty to all. Yet they are rapidly deteriorating. Overfishing, pollution and excessive development of coastal areas are taking a serious toll on ocean systems worldwide.

Compared with land, a remarkably small percentage of the world's oceans are protected from destructive activity. While no-take reserves are not a panacea for all marine environmental problems, science has demonstrated they are an invaluable tool in protecting diverse oceanic habitats.

Marine reserves -- properly created, managed and funded -- can reinvigorate oceans to the benefit of all stakeholders. They generate tourism, increase the abundance of fish and other marine life, help us better understand how healthy marine ecosystems function and protect undiscovered species that could benefit humankind.

The establishment in 2006 of the world's largest marine reserve in Hawaii was a remarkable step. The president now has the opportunity to expand that legacy by fully protecting some of the largest and most pristine areas left in U.S. waters. If he does that, Bush will have protected more of the world's oceans in the form of reserves than any other person in history, and will have led the nation into a new era of ocean conservation. – Joshua Reichert, managing director of the Pew Environment Grou, and Terry Garcia, executive vice president for mission programs at the National Geographic Society, writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer
Read more: seattlepi.nwsource.com



Astoria port veteran to retire

Ron Larsen, who led the agency through a difficult transition after former director Peter Gearin was fired last year, has announced his decision to retire.

Larsen has managed operations at the Astoria Regional Airport for much of his 17 years at the Port. He has been hailed for his work in securing a $3.6 million state transportation enhancement grant to help the Port and the city of Newport launch passenger air service between the coast and Portland.
 
This year, Larsen was one of four finalists for the permanent position of executive director, which went to former Port of Tillamook Bay director Jack Crider, who was hired in June. – Daily Astorian



Pacific Fishing photog honored

We’re pleased – well, kinda – to announce that Pacific Fishing magazine’s chief photographer, Klas Stolpe, has been honored by the Photographic Center Northwest.

We say “kinda” because Klas didn’t win because of any of the stirring photographs you’ve seen on most covers of the magazine. Rather, the judges like a photo of ballerina slippers.

His photo has been selected as one of 75 selected for the center’s annual benefit auction. Submissions for the even came from around the world. The dinner auction begins at 5:30 p.m. on Sept. 27 at the Photographic Center Northwest near Seattle Univerisity. Tickets are $140.

More information can be found at www.gala.pcnw.org.