Monday, September 16, 2013


PEBBLE PROJECT SCRAPPED

Anglo American withdrew on Monday from plans to develop vast open-pit gold and copper mines in one of the last big wild salmon runs in Alaska's Bristol Bay.

– The Guardian

More: theguardian.com

Pink run surges in Fraser

This week, with wave after wave of pink salmon arriving, the fishery was opened and processing plants were quickly overwhelmed by the huge numbers of salmon coming in.

– The Globe and Mail

More: theglobeandmail.com

Columbia River Chinook run nears record

With several weeks left in the strongest part of this year's run, numbers are already close to beating the record set 10 years ago.

– Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

SE Alaska Mine expansion reduced

Trout Unlimited officials are applauding a U.S. Forest Service decision that allows for expansion of a silver mine in Southeast Alaska while protecting sensitive fish habitat within Admiralty Island National Monument.

– Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

Fishing boat salvaged after fire

A commercial gillnet boat damaged by fire has been delivered to Ketchikan.

– Daily Journal

More: dailyjournal.net

Tribal fishing's bounty

Selling Klamath salmon for just one month out of the year is one of the primary sources of income for hundreds of Yurok tribal members, who made close to $3 million last year alone.

– Del Norte Triplicate

More: triplicate.com

'Dead loss' alleged

Wasted salmon, as far as the eye can see, washed up on the dark beaches of Alaska's Naknek River, just before the 35-mile-long waterway opens up into the Kvichak Bayarm of the state's famed Bristol Bay.

– Watchdog.org

More: watchdog.org

Tsunami boat's home voyage

A barnacle-covered fishing skiff that became a symbol of hope for a Japanese town devastated by the March 2011 tsunami is heading home after finding its way to North Coast in April – the first official piece of debris to hit California's shores.

– Times-Standard

More: times-standard.com

Opinion: protect forage fish

When it meets Monday and Tuesday in Idaho, the Pacific Fishery Management Council should step up protection of forage fish.

– San Jose Mercury News

More: mercurynews.com

Opinion: halibut plan will work

The halibut catch sharing plan, or CSP, isn't about conservation. It's about managing the charter halibut resource responsibly so businesses can operate with more certainty.

– Newsminer.com

More: newsminer.com

 

Tuesday, September 17, 2013

COMPANY PULLS OUT OF PEBBLE PROJECT

Anglo American, one of the key backers of the controversial Pebble mine in Alaska's Bristol Bay region, announced Monday that it is withdrawing from the Pebble Partnership – and will take a $300 million hit for doing so.
 

– Alaska Dispatch

More: alaskadispatch.com

Pebble company's stock hits bottom

The financial markets reacted to the news that Anglo American had left the Pebble Partnership by driving the price of the sole remaining partner's stock to an all-time low.

– Alaska Public Media

More: alaskapublic.org

Record season drives permit buying

Alaska's record salmon season has permit brokers hopping as buyers seek to break into or expand their opportunities in many fisheries.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing for The Fish Site

More: thefishsite.com

Pilot project offers observer exemption

The National Marine Fisheries Service is offering vessel owners a chance to avoid having to carry a fishery observer in 2014.

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

More: deckboss.blogspot.com

How fires help salmon

Wildfires typically call to mind flames, smoke, fire lines cut by firefighters in leather boots. But it turns out that wildfires may also help cool water.

– OPB News

More: opb.org

Should CA build twin tunnels?

The delta is at the center of a historic court brawl between farmers and fishermen, and its infrastructure is so challenged that a natural disaster could cut off the flow of water from the area, which would be catastrophic.

– Los Angeles Magazine

More: lamag.com

Alaska ship damaged in Seattle fire

Fire has damaged the 167-foot Bristol Leader fishing ship moored at Pier 91 in Seattle.

– Seattle Times

More: blogs.seattletimes.com

Fishing fest opens

More than 1,000 people were on hand Saturday for the first day of the Commercial Fishermen's Festival.

– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

Giant shrimp an ecosystem concern

A foot-long invasive shrimp species could pose big problems for the US shrimping industry.

– The Inquisitr

More: inquisitr.com

Port of Astoria CEO resigns

As outgoing Port of Astoria Chief Executive Officer Hank Bynaker finished his last day on the job Wednesday evening, the Port Commission discussed how to properly cut ties with him.

– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

 

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

FUTURE'S IN DOUBT FOR PEBBLE

Although Northern Dynasty officials say the company will continue to develop plans for the mine in Southwest Alaska, the state's senators are skeptical.

– Alaska Public Media

More: alaskapublic.org

Pebble survivor moves ahead

The giant mining company Anglo American has pulled its support for the proposed Pebble Mine but the other company in the partnership pledges to continue moving the project toward permitting and development.

– Alaska Public Media

More: alaskapublic.org

Northern Dynasty fields questions

Northern Dynasty Minerals held a conference call with reporters and investors Monday shortly after learning that their partner in the Pebble Mine project was pulling funding and support for the project.

– KDLG

More: kdlg.org

Alaska Coho season extended

A big run of coho salmon in Southeast Alaska means commercial trollers have an extension of the summer fishing season.

– KFSK

More: kfsk.org

Coast Guard cutter back in Kodiak

The Coast Guard high-endurance cutter Munro returned to its Kodiak homeport over the weekend, wrapping up 80-plus days of patrol in the North Pacific Ocean.

– KMXT

More: kmxt.org

Catcher-processor company adds to fleet

Prowler Fisheries, which operates freezer longliners to harvest Pacific cod, black cod and turbot in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska, is adding a freezer longliner to its fleet.

– The Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

The essence of survival

Organizers said the course emphasizes the relationship between equipment, training and attitude, otherwise known as the 'survival triangle.'

– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

Editorial: Alaska crab threat worrisome

Even if Dungeness are more resilient, acidification impacts on Alaska crab species will have ripple effects even this far south.|
 
– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

Portrait of a fisherman

Rick Wood has made a living fishing in Alaska for almost 40 years. Despite the hazards and the hardships, he can't imagine doing anything else.

– Crosscut.com

More: crosscut.com

'Bio-bank' to store fisheries parasites

The Marine Research Institute from Vigo, Spain has launched the first world bio-bank which collects, stores and will distribute samples of marine parasites and associated bio-molecules.
 
– MercoPress

More: en.mercopress.com

 

Thursday, September 19, 2013

NEW LAW TARGETS CERTIFICATION

Legislation introduced by Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska on Sept. 18 would prohibit federal agencies from using certification schemes when considering or labeling any domestic seafood catch as sustainable.

– The Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

Coast Guard aids adrift fishing vessel

The crew of the Coast Guard Cutter Anacapa assisted the crew of the fishing tender Express after it suffered an engine casualty in the Gulf of Alaska, 70 miles west of Hoonah, Tuesday.

– dvids

More: dvidshub.net

NOAA in Bristol for community info

A team of social scientists from NOAA's Alaska Fisheries Science Center will be in Bristol Bay this week and next, looking to talk with folks around several communities in an effort to gather information that could be useful for fisheries management decisions in the future.
 
– KDLG

More: kdlg.org

Seattle fire damages Alaska longliner

An early morning fire aboard a 167-foot freezer-longliner at Pier 91 in Seattle damaged the galley area, but all crewmembers were evacuated without injury, a spokesman for Bristol Bay Economic Development Corp. said.

– The Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

Nushagak Sockeye overview

The man who makes the day to day management decisions for the commercial salmon fisheries in the Nushagak District provided a brief season summary during a meeting earlier this week in Dillingham. 

– KDLG

More: kdlg.org

NMFS holds off on seal lion removal

The National Marine Fisheries Service is still taking a wait-and-see approach to Petersburg's sea lion problem in the harbors.
 
– KFSK

More: kfsk.org

PDF payout: $900

The number on every Alaskan's mind was announced Wednesday morning by acting Revenue Commissioner Angela Rodell, in Anchorage. This year's Alaska Permanent Fund dividend (PFD) payout is $900.
 
– Alaska Dispatch

More: alaskadispatch.com

Klamath Task Force's slow progress

A task force working on an agreement for sharing scarce water in the Klamath Basin has made progress on securing low-cost power for irrigators but will need more time to complete its work, officials said Wednesday.

– U-T San Diego

More: utsandiego.com

Trawlers bargain for Monterey Sanctuary access

Oceana is proposing reopening sections to trawling in coming years on the condition that new closures be made in federal water fisheries outside of the bay, where highly vulnerable ecosystems have been discovered.

– Good Times

More: gtweekly.com

Gulf Snapper off 'red list'

The Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program – the most well-known sustainable seafood program in the United States – announced this week that it has removed the Gulf of Mexico commercial red snapper fishery from its "Avoid" list and now classifies it as a "Good Alternative."
 
– PerishableNews.com

More: perishablenews.com

 

Friday, September 20, 2013

SE ALASKA'S RECORD SEASON

It's been a record year for commercial fishermen in Southeast Alaska, with more than 100 million salmon
caught in the region for the first time ever.

– JuneauEmpire.com

More: juneauempire.com

Banner sac roe herring season for Togiak

This year's Togiak sac-roe herring fishery featured more participation and a larger quota compared to recent years.

– KDLG

More: kdlg.org

Feds seek input on halibut bycatch limits

Federal fisheries officials are seeking public input through Oct. 17 on a plan that would tighten limits on how much halibut bycatch can be harvested by the commercial groundfish fleet in the Gulf of Alaska.

– Cordova Times

More: thecordovatimes.com

NOAA awards bycatch reduction grants

In September 2013, NOAA Fisheries awarded 16 grants totaling nearly $2.4 million as part of its Bycatch Reduction Engineering Program.
 
– NOAA Fisheries

More: nmfs.noaa.gov

Alaska Fisheries Report

Southeast fishermen get extra time to target coho this month, NOAA wants your feedback on Amendment 95, we've got a review of this summer's Yukon fisheries, and the backlash over a cartoon.

– KMXT

More: kmxt.org

New operator for Adak processor

The Aleut Corporation today announced that its subsidiary, Aleut Fisheries, LLC has entered into a twenty-year Lease Agreement with Adak Cod Cooperative, LLC to operate its Adak, AK seafood processing facility.

– From a press release posted by Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, in his blog: Deckboss

More: deckboss.blogspot.com

CA water's over-allocation

Although the Trinity flows mightily into the Klamath River each year, much of the river's water is siphoned off, part of California's massive restructuring of the state's natural water flows.

– North Coast Journal

More: northcoastjournal.com

Breaches help Columbia River salmon

During high tide, the increased access for fish traveling to the other side will lessen the force of water at existing openings, allowing them to get in and out much easier.

– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

High arctic probed for new fishery

The Arctic Fishery Alliance has a new locally owned vessel in the high Arctic at the moment looking into the possibility of a commercial fishery there.

– CBCNews

More: cbc.ca

Fundraiser for fishing vessel

The F/V Stephanie, a wooden fishing boat built in 1917, is currently sitting abandoned in Humboldt Bay. Let the record show that the Humboldt Bay Maritime Museum is not OK with this.

– Lost Coast Outpost

More: lostcoastoutpost.com