Monday, September 8, 2014

SALMON FARMING’S ‘SUPER PROFITS’

A price hike of 50% or so in 2013 translated into fat earnings — dubbed ‘super profits’ by analysts — for salmon farmers worldwide, especially in northern Europe.

– Undercurrent News

More:www.undercurrentnews.com


Strong Yukon runs

The Yukon River is having strong runs of silver and chum salmon this fall, giving a boost to fishermen after another tepid summer for king salmon.

– Newsminer.com

More:www.newsminer.com

Ruling affirms Cook Inlet exclusion

A federal judge ruled Thursday to uphold the federal decision to remove Cook Inlet from the salmon fishery management plan.

– Peninsula Clarion

More:peninsulaclarion.com

Conference stirs controversy in Adak, Unalaska

The two cities worry about losing out on economic opportunities stemming from growing interest in the Arctic, especially both communities’ exclusion from the study on funding new ports by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

– Alaska Dispatch News

More:www.adn.com

PWS otters signal ecosystem health

The return of sea otters in force to the Prince William Sound is an indication that the ecosystem is returning to a natural balance. So said Randall Davis, who heads the long term study of the behavioral ecology of sea otters in Simpson Bay, which just finished up a season at Alice Cove.

– Cordova Times

More:www.thecordovatimes.com

No insurance for Crescent City docks

The new docks installed in Crescent City Harbor to replace old floats destroyed by tsunamis will not be insured for tsunamis, a decision harbor commissioners voted on Tuesday.

– Del Norte Triplicate

More:www.triplicate.com

Eight rescued from ‘Superfish’

The U.S. Coast Guard in San Francisco says eight people were rescued from a troubled charter fishing boat while the captain stayed aboard to plug the leak.

– SFGate

More:www.sfgate.com

Groundfish, coho, halibut on PRMC agenda

The Pacific Fishery Management Council will meet Wednesday for a week-long session, Sept. 10-17, in Spokane to address issues related to groundfish, highly migratory species, coastal pelagic species, salmon, ecosystem management and habitat matters.

– The Spokesman-Review

More:www.spokesman.com

CA watershed hammered by drought, diversions

This is an alarming and worrisome development for the third-largest watershed in California. We spoke with Scott Greacen, executive director of Friends of the Eel River, about the factors that led to this situation — primarily California’s beyond-extreme drought but also the warm weather and countless illegal water diversions irrigating our county’s illicit marijuana grows.

– Lost Coast Outpost

More:lostcoastoutpost.com

East Coast fisheries at low ebb

Scientists who participated in an annual survey of Maine and New Hampshire fish stocks say they caught fewer fish than any year since 2006.

– WABI

More:wabi.tv

 

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

PUTTING ALASKA TO WORK AT SEA

The state of Alaska, the University of Alaska and representatives from Alaskan fisheries, seafood and marine industries created a plan to increase the number of in state residents working in maritime careers.

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org


Cook Inlet changes criticized

Like other sectors, Cook Inlet’s drift fleet faced changes this summer as the result of Board of Fisheries action at the Upper Cook Inlet meeting in February — including a change to the allowable fishing area.

– Peninsula Clarion

More:peninsulaclarion.com

Candidate drops fisheries debate

“Surprised and disappointed” was the reaction by U.S. Senator Mark Begich upon learning that his opponent Dan Sullivan has bowed out of an October 1 fisheries debate in Kodiak.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in Sitnews

More:www.sitnews.us

Orca birth off B.C. coast

A killer whale has given birth to a calf in the Salish Sea, first such birth there since 2012.

– Peninsula Clarion

More:www.timescolonist.com

USCG security cutter visits Kodiak

The 418-foot Stratton, the fourth of eight planned Legend Class National Security Cutters, was passing through on its way from its homeport of Alameda, California, to the Arctic Ocean.

– KMXT

More:www.kmxt.org

Residents doubt handling of B.C. spill

Some residents of the small British Columbia community of Likely, downstream from a mine breach say they don't trust that the provincial government is dealing with the disaster.

– Vancouver Sun

More:www.vancouversun.com

EPA offers Pebble webinar

Region 10 of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is offering an online webinar on Sept. 9 and Sept. 10 to provide a brief overview of the Clean Water Act Section 404 (c) proposed determination for the Pebble deposit in Southwest Alaska.

– Cordova Times

More:www.thecordovatimes.com

Whaling shadows Iceland seafood

A new poll reveals that more than four out of five people are unlikely to purchase seafood products from Icelandic fishing companies, such as HB Grandi, which have links to whaling.

– Fish News EU

More:www.fishnewseu.com

Gulf of Maine hit by warming

Imagine Cape Cod without cod. Maine without lobster. The region's famous rocky beaches invisible, obscured by constant high waters. It's already starting to happen. The culprit is the warming seas — and in particular the Gulf of Maine.

– CBC News

More:www.cbc.ca

 

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

OPEN MARKETS LIMIT RUSSIAN IMPACT

Because of robust markets elsewhere for some of the products favored by Russians — like salmon caviar — the showdown may be more about politics than economics.

– KCAW

More:www.kcaw.org


B.C. fishers push for higher salmon catch

Joy Thorkelson is wondering who will stand up for the commercial fishing industry in light of another dismal season on the North Coast.

– Northern View

More:www.thenorthernview.com

Monitoring system prevents vessel flooding

To the rescue: a simple monitoring system on doors and hatches with inputs displayed in the wheelhouse.

– Alaska Fish Radio

More:www.alaskafishradio.com

Seiners endorse incumbent senator

Another prominent commercial fishing organization has thrown their support behind incumbent U.S. Senator Mark Begich in his quest for another term. 

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org

West Coast bait line rule proposed

Federal fisheries managers have proposed a new rule requiring West Coast commercial fishermen who unroll long lines of baited hooks on the ocean bottom also put out long lines of fluttering plastic to scare off seabirds trying to steal the bait.

– SFGate

More:www.sfgate.com

Ferry probably killed humpback

A medical examination has concluded that the female humpback whale found dead off the shores of Kodiak in July was killed by a ship strike, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

– Alaska Dispatch News

More:www.adn.com

Norway cod price up, volume down

The value of exports of Norwegian codfish in August was NOK 824 million (USD 132.2 million), an increase of NOK 67 million (USD 10.7 million) or 9 per cent, compared to last August. According to figures from the Norwegian Seafood Council, this was accompanied by a decrease in the exported volume of 4 per cent.

– Fish Information Services

More:www.fis.com

Study forecasts Fraser oil spill impact

The environmental recovery from a “full bore” oil pipeline rupture into the lower Fraser River could take up to five years. 

– Vancouver Sun

More:www.vancouversun.com

Alaska salmon catch at 148 million fish

Preliminary updates from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game show that the Alaska commercial salmon harvest reached 148,116,000 fish by Sept. 9, and the catch total keeps slowly climbing.

– Cordova Times

More:www.thecordovatimes.com

 

Thursday, September 11, 2014

UNUSUAL WARMING IN GULF OF ALASKA

Government scientists say they are "watching a persistent expanse of exceptionally warm water spanning the Gulf of Alaska that could send reverberations through the marine food web."

– Pacific Fishing Editor Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss

More:deckboss.blogspot.com



Columbia salmon short of forecast

Fall Chinook salmon returns to the Columbia River are big this year, but appear tracking short of the forecasted record-high.

– The Columbian

More:www.columbian.com

Storm system headed for Bristol Bay

A large storm system is expected to roll through the Bristol Bay region later this week. The system will likely result in some heavy rain and strong winds. 

– KDLG

More:kdlg.org

Kodiak-based research ship spills oil

An oily sheen in Women’s Bay has been traced to the NOAA research ship Rainier docked at Nyman Peninsula on the Kodiak Coast Guard base.

– KMXT

More:www.kmxt.org

Ruling: fishermen may have been illegally searched

A family of commercial fishermen who say wildlife agents have a vendetta against them may have an illegal-search case, the 9th Circuit ruled.

– Courthouse News Service

More:www.courthousenews.com

Fish-blocking WA dam removed

Last week, explosives destroyed the last piece of the once 210-foot tall Glines Canyon Dam, returning the river to its wild state. The blast was part of a three-year effort to remove the Elwha and Glines Canyon dams, which had blocked fish from swimming upstream for more than a century.

– NOAA

More:www.habitat.noaa.gov

Russian company challenges import ban

A Russian fish-processing firm has filed a lawsuit against the Government with the Supreme Court due to the resolution to ban import of fish and other foodstuffs from Norway, EU, US and other countries. The firm states this measure is harming its business.

– Fish Information Services

More:www.fis.com

White House warned against fishing ban

John Podesta, the Obama administration’s climate and energy czar, got a blunt warning this week that a plan to cut off all fishing in a huge, U.S.-controlled tract of the Pacific Ocean would have devastating economic effects in the region, and would cede geopolitical advantages to China and other Pacific powers.

– Fox News

More:www.foxnews.com

CA farmers question fish protection

Environmental protections for endangered salmon in California’s rivers and streams are drawing complaints from drought-stricken farmers who say water that could be pumped to them is allowed to empty into the ocean.

– Bloomberg

More:www.bloomberg.com

Clarification: The Sept. 8 edition of Fish Wrap included a misleading headline. In a Sept. 7 Coast Guard response to a fishing vessel taking on water in the Bolinas area of California, the charter boat Superfish actually assisted in the rescue and was not the vessel in distress as the headline implied. We apologize for any confusion.

 

Friday, September 12, 2014

PACIFIC FISHING WELCOMES NEW EDITOR

Pacific Fishing, the business magazine for fishermen, is pleased to announce veteran fisheries journalist Wesley Loy will assume the editor’s chair of the 35-year-old media enterprise.Read more here.

 


U.S. FISHING WORTH $90 BILLION

Taken together, commercial and recreational fishing contributed nearly $90 billion to the U.S. economy in 2012, according to Hamilton Project data, including over 1.5 million jobs for American workers.

– Business Insider

More:www.businessinsider.com

CA squid migrate north

Commercial squid fishermen from Southern California were drawn to the North Coast by following squid that were driven out of their typical habitat by a rise in ocean water temperatures.

– Times-Standard

More:www.times-standard.com

Fisheries meetings loom

Fall means it is time for fish meetings that shape all of the management and oversight for Alaska’s fisheries.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, reporting for Alaska Fish Radio

More:www.alaskafishradio.com

Storm system swamps SW Alaska

The storm system making its way up the southwestern coast of Alaska is bringing rain and high winds. This is a large weather front. Very large.

– Alaska Public Media

More:www.alaskapublic.org

Alaska Fisheries Report

Coming up this week, Alaskans won’t get to hear the Republican candidate for Senate’s take on fisheries, West Coast fishermen may be required to scare birds off, and more tests for radiation from Fukushima, all coming up on the Alaska Fisheries Report. 

– KMXT

More:www.kmxt.org

Dam removal opens fish migration

Two years ago, we worked with partners to remove a dam from Hostler Creek in northern California—this summer, we saw fish swimming upstream. 

– NOAA

More:www.habitat.noaa.gov

Icelandic cod on the rise

Exports of Icelandic cod so far this year, along with prices, are continuing to rise, the latest Marko Partners Seafood Intelligence Report shows.

– Fishupdate.com

More:www.fishupdate.com

Western ‘Megadrought’ feared

A new study warns that the chances of western states in the U.S. experiencing a multi-decade 'megadrought'—not seen in historical climate records in over 2,000 years—has a much higher chance of occurring in the decades ahead than previously realized.

– Common Dreams

More:www.commondreams.org

Opinion: support of Pebble unacceptable

Congressman Don Young recently reiterated his support for the "Regulatory Certainty Act of 2014," a bill designed to allow the Pebble Mine to go forward. His support of this bill to eliminate the 404(c) power and lend a hand to the Pebble Mine is unacceptable. 

– Bristol Bay Times

More:www.thebristolbaytimes.com

 



The Life | Resources