Monday, September 9, 2013
BYCATCH: DON'T BLAME POLLOCK FLEET
The company behind the dumping, the Haida Salmon Restoration Corp., remains committed to ocean fertilization even as it fights the federal government in court over the ensuing investigation.
– Zoe McKnight, reporting for the Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
"Based on available data, the bycatch within the domestic walleye pollock fisheries seems unlikely to have been the primary cause for the recent dramatic declines of Chinook salmon in the AYK region."
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing for his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Salvor sells out
After 40 years in western Alaska, salvager Dan Magone is selling his namesake diving and marine rescue business.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal, reporting on KUCB, Unalaska
More: alaskapublic.org
Arctic fuel spill
A tanker loaded with diesel fuel was holed by an ice floe on the Northern Sea Route.
– Trude Pettersen, reporting in Barents Observer
More: barentsobserver.com
Overfishing in the East
"If you look at a map of the United States and where overfishing is still occurring, it's almost exclusively an east coast problem."
– Kieran Mulvaney, Beta News
More: discovery.com
Rescue off Point Roberts
Good Samaritans rescued five people from a sinking commercial fishing boat off the coast of Point Roberts.
– Caleb Hutton, writing for The Bellingham Herald
More: bellinghamherald.com
Salmon where dam once was
One year after Chinook were sighted — the first in 100 years — in the Elwha River above the site of the former Elwha Dam, adult Chinook again have been spotted above the dam site, about eight miles west of Port Angeles.
– Arwyn Rice, Peninsula Daily News
More: komonews.com
Untangling whale
Marine mammal responders have wrapped-up efforts to try and disentangle a southeast humpback whale after removing more gillnet from the animal late last week.
– Matt Lichtenstein, reporting on KFSK, Petersburg
More: ktoo.org
Talking back to Murkowski
Several tribal leaders from Bristol Bay have responded to allegations made by former Alaska Gov. Frank Murkowski related to the EPA's "Bristol Bay Watershed Assessment."
– Mike Mason, reporting on KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Readying for Big One
As Crescent City Harbor nears the completion of the first tsunami-resistant harbor in the Western Hemisphere, a report released shows why such a burly structure is needed for California's northernmost commercial fishing port.
– Adam Spencer, reporting for the Crescent City Triplicate
More: triplicate.com
Lummi fishing expert
For decades Anderson, who served as the island's postmaster, was also the Lummi Island nerve center for fishing politics.
– Alison Krupnick, writing in Crosscut, Seattle
More: crosscut.com
Tuesday, September 10, 2013
BRISTOL BAY PERMITS HIGHER
The prices of Bristol Bay driftnet fishing permits have been inching upwards.
– Mike Mason, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Blame Mat-Su
But many of those culverts in use in the borough impede the upstream travel of fish.
– Andrew Wellner, reporting for Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman
More: frontiersman.com
American Seafoods downgraded
Now comes news that Moody's, a credit ratings service, is downgrading American Seafoods, which is dragging a lot of debt.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
Lifted to safety
At 2:38 p.m. Coast Guard Sector Humboldt Bay received a garbled mayday call from the Crescent City fishing vessel Kellan A 35 miles west of Punta Gorda that was taking on water in 8-12 foot seas and 20 knot winds.
– Lt. Brian Ward, writing for the Coast Guard
More: dvidshub.net
Grounding in Grays Harbor
The U.S. Coast Guard recently worked with the Washington Department of Ecology to refloat the 44-foot fishing boat Adrianna, which went aground approximately one-half mile south of the entrance to Grays Harbor.
– KXRO, Aberdeen
More: kxro.wordpress.com
Unalaska wants cod open
Managing Pacific cod is complicated, especially since the federal government put restrictions on the Pacific cod fishery to protect an endangered stock of Steller sea lions in 2011.
– Ben Matheson, KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Little new in dam plan
The Obama administration's latest plan for making 14 hydroelectric dams in the Northwest safe for salmon offers no major changes in strategy and continues to rely on habitat improvements to overcome the numbers of fish killed by the dams.
– Daily Astorian
More: dailyastorian.com
Tacoma oil plan dropped
A fuel terminal developer has unexpectedly scrapped a project at the Port of Tacoma that was intended to receive crude oil by rail.
– Tom Banse, reporting for Oregon Public Broadcasting
More: opb.org
Wednesday, September 11, 2013
POT POLLUTION
The Humboldt County Sheriff's Office announced that it busted a pair of marijuana growing operations in the Bridgeville area, resulting in 16 arrests and the destruction of about 1,700 plants.
– Thadeus Greenson, Times Standard, Eureka
More: times-standard.com
Alaska salmon-value record
Alaska's highest value salmon catch was over $700 million in 1988, but that is considered a statistical outlier. Alaska salmon prices were stratospheric, with even pinks fetching nearly $1 a pound.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, SitNews, Ketchikan
More: sitnews.us
More Alaska plane crashes
A rash of small plane crashes late this summer in Alaska has pushed the number of crash related fatalities past last year's total.
– Ellen Lockyer, KSKA, Anchorage
More: alaskapublic.org
Pebble could change economy
The proposed Pebble Mine could make a significant contribution to the Alaska.
– Mike Mason, KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Tongass ruling welcomed
Trout Unlimited welcomed the decision by the U.S. Forest Service to protect sensitive fish habitat in Alaska's Tongass National Forest while allowing for the expansion of a silver mine that is an important regional employer.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More: sitnews.us
Mercury contamination
Mercury accumulation in the ocean fish we eat tends to take place at deeper depths.
– Hawaii 24/7
More: hawaii247.com
No-fish zones a worry
Recreational and commercial fishermen and coastal business should be very concerned about an effort by the South Atlantic Fishery Management Council to create more no-fishing zones off North and South Carolina, Georgia, and east Florida in a misguided reaction to radical environmental groups that are pushing for extraordinary and unjustifiable protections for two deep-water grouper species.
– Tom Swatzel, Island Packet, South Carolina
More: islandpacket.com
Seattle's fishing heritage
Today, we take it for granted that Seattle is homeport to a large Alaska fishing fleet and a related multi-billion dollar fish and maritime industry.
– Knute Berger, Crosscut, Seattle
More: crosscut.com
Video swoons over fisheries
Beyond the catch laws, Alaska has implemented further measures to ensure population stability.
– Ali Rosen, Huffington Post
More: huffingtonpost.com
Thursday, September 12, 2013
ACIDIFICATION THREATENS ALASKA CRAB
New research earlier this year shows that Bristol Bay red king crab — the supersized monster that has come to symbolize the fortunes of Alaska's crab fleet — could fall victim to the changing chemistry of the oceans.
– Seattle Times
More: apps.seattletimes.com
Fishing wreck's oil removed
It is unclear when the wreckage of the F/V Six will be pulled out of the Cook Inlet, however a U.S. Coast Guard-led team cleared the vessel of any remaining oil-based pollutants on Tuesday.
– Peninsula Clarion
More: peninsulaclarion.com
Flatfish assessed for eco-certification
Alaska's flatfish fishery, in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands, and Gulf of Alaska, has entered into assessment by Global Trust Certification, in a program sponsored by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Pacific Seafoods fire closes street
Shelikof Street in downtown Kodiak was closed for a time yesterday evening as the Kodiak Fire Department responded to a fire in a workshop owned by Pacific Seafoods.
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
Are cold water fish doomed?
According to a recent study in Nature, scientists say many species of cold-water fish have already been affected by rising global ocean temperatures and may be among the first major casualties of climate change.
– Gimby.org
More: gimby.org
Alaska pursues LNG
In the wake of criticism about Gov. Sean Parnell's willingness to work with a Japanese group interested in buying Alaska's natural gas, state officials announced on Wednesday that the state has signed a memorandum of understanding with a Japanese bank known as a leading financier of liquefied natural gas projects.
– Alaska Public Media
More: alaskadispatch.com
Aquaculture cost cut sought
It may shock you to hear that 85 percent of the fish consumed in this country comes from overseas. But a Brookings company hopes to reverse that number by drastically cutting the cost of feeding fish and encouraging more fish farms here.
– Keloland.com
More: keloland.com
Molasses fish kill
Thousands of fish are expected to die in Honolulu waters after a leaky pipe caused 1,400 tons of molasses to ooze into the harbor and kill marine life, state officials said.
– The Commercial Appeal
More: commercialappeal.com
Opinion: catch limits work
A congressional hearing on the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act examined a new report from the National Academies on the law's effectiveness in rebuilding depleted fish populations.
– National Geographic
More: newswatch.nationalgeographic.com
It's deadly in Oz, too
Commercial fishing has beaten truck driving and farming to claim the dubious honor of Australia's most dangerous job.
– Ninemsn
More: news.ninemsn.com.au
Friday, September 13, 2013
MSC 'BLACKMAIL' CRITICIZED AT HEARING
Alaska Congressman Don Young brought up certification schemes such as MSC's, during a Natural Resources Committee hearing this week. Young questioned fishing industry officials and scientists about the certifications.
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
Poll shows support for Bristol mining ban
Nearly 63 percent of voters polled are in favor of a likely 2014 ballot initiative that would prohibit mining in Bristol Bay, according to an opinion poll released by Anchorage-based Hays Research Group.
– JuneauEmpire.com
More: juneauempire.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Walmart officials seem sound open to accepting Alaska salmon – even without MSC approval; Bristol Bay gillnetting permits are increasing in prices, even though this summer didn't live up to expectations, and the fella who's towed more grounded fishing boats off the rocks than almost anyone, sells his company – but doesn't retire.
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
Alaska's Walmart Pushback
With more than four-dozen seafood processors and others now committed to another sustainability certification program sponsored by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, the fishermen and the state of Alaska are asking Walmart to reconsider its commitment to purchase only MSC-certified seafood.
– Cordova Times
More: thecordovatimes.com
Pinks far exceed B.C. forecasts
Fisheries on Kamloops Lake and the Thompson River are open again as a better-than-expected return of pink salmon swim through rivers and lakes, the DFO's area manager said Wednesday.
– Times-Colonist
More: timescolonist.com
Low silver salmon run on Yukon
Preliminary sonar estimates of silver salmon entering the Yukon River point to the second-lowest passage numbers on record.
– Newsminer.com
More: newsminer.com
Lawmaker: release water for Klamath salmon
The water allocation conflicts in the Klamath River Basin are exacerbated by the constant legal battles waged by corporate farms in the Central Valley against the interests of those who rely on salmon on the North Coast of California.
– Times-Standard
More: times-standard.com
Sockeye bycatch feared on Fraser
A huge number of pink salmon returning to the Fraser River has conservationists warning that the temptation to fish them heavily could still threaten at-risk sockeye salmon.
– The Surrey Leader
More: surreyleader.com
Alaska DNR commissioner resigns
Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Dan Sullivan announced his resignation Thursday morning, increasing speculation he'll make a bid as a Republican to unseat U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska.
– Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
