Monday, September 22, 2014
ALASKA LEADS IN STOCK COUNTS
An analysis by the Government Accountability Office released Friday found wide variations in how frequently fish stock assessments are conducted, chiefly based on geography. Counts in Alaska, for example, far outnumber those in the Gulf of Mexico or in the Atlantic.
– Montgomery Advertiser
More:montgomeryadvertiser.com
Cordova fish tax proposed
"A lot to digest" was the consensus earlier this week at a meeting of the Cordova Fisheries Advisory Committee. Created to advise City Council on issues related to the commercial fishing industry, the committee was taking its first look at a recently proposed 1% municipal raw fish tax.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
End run around Russian ban
Although Norwegian fish has been banned from entering Russia, it is still finding its way in to Russia through Belarus.
– The Fish Site
More:thefishsite.com
Salmon diplomacy in Kenai
Last week, a group of people from Russia came to visit the Kenai Peninsula. They were here not to discuss the geopolitical situation, but something more important - Pacific salmon conservation and management.
– Peninsula Clarion
More:peninsulaclarion.com
New, improved Xtratufs
Sean O'Brien is the Global Director for Xtratuf. He says that the boots are better than ever.
– Alaska Fish Radio
More:alaskafishradio.com
Fisherman's film probes fish farm impacts
Sara Pozonsky, a lifelong Alaska fisherman and owner of Wild Alaskan Salmon Company, believes salmon farms are a perilously overlooked environmental catastrophe, and she's launched an advocacy effort highlighted by a film to nudge the issue into the spotlight.
– Alaska Dispatch News
More:adn.com
Salmon comeback at Half Moon Bay
For three years, The Coastsiders have raised 1 million baby salmon in net pens at the harbor and then released them to the ocean. The fish are now returning as chrome-bright adult salmon at a time when nobody expected it.
– SFGate
More:blog.sfgate.com
Japan-led coalition cuts tuna catch
The situation is so dire that Japan's Fisheries Agency felt compelled to announce in March it would cut the country's allowable haul of Pacific immature bluefin tuna by 50 percent in 2015. The agency followed this up by lobbying other countries fishing in the region to do likewise, and this month succeeded in obtaining their agreement.
– Aljazeera
More:aljazeera.com
Debate emerges over sanctuary expansion
President Obama's proposal in June to expand a marine sanctuary around seven U.S.-controlled islands and atolls in the central Pacific Ocean drew immediate praise from scientists and conservationists, but has since sparked opposition from representatives of the tuna industry, including fishermen in Hawaii who say it would threaten their livelihood.
– National Geographic
More:nationalgeographic.com
Tuesday, September 23, 2014
NMFS RELEASES OBSERVER PLAN
The National Marine Fisheries Service has released this draft plan for how the agency intends to assign fishery observers to vessels taking part in Alaska's groundfish and halibut fisheries during 2015.
– Pacific Fishing Editor Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Huge response to EPA's Pebble restrictions
Over 160-thousand official public comments have been received by the EPA regarding their proposed restrictions on the controversial Pebble Mine. However, it's expected that once the numbers are tallied hundreds of thousands of comments, both pro-and-con, will be submitted.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Warming waters linked to wind
A new study released Monday found that warming temperatures in Pacific Ocean waters off the coast of North America over the past century closely followed natural changes in the wind, not increases in greenhouse gases related to global warming.
– ABC News
More:abcnews.go.com
Senator: Alaska will have say on MSA
Sen. Mark Begich says the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Act will not be moving forward without Alaska's input.
– KCAW
More:kcaw.org
Opinion: NPFMC plan must reduce bycatch
At the end of the day, despite the council's best efforts, thousands of kings and millions of pounds of halibut continue to be taken from the Gulf as trawl bycatch. This is wasted resource.
More:adn.com
Sockeye diversion troubles WA fishermen
U.S. fishing crews can thank a blob of warm water for their lackluster haul this summer. Specifically, a 100 meter deep layer of warm water that built up due to an extended period of very mild weather over the Pacific Ocean.
– The Seattle Globalist
More:seattleglobalist.com
Coho catch jumps PWS total
Commercial fishermen in Prince William Sound caught another 142,000 silver salmon over the seven-day period ended Sept. 15, lifting the preliminary season catch of coho to 549,000 fish.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Opinion:
Nutrition harmed by mercury scare tactics
Of all the scattered skirmishes in the ongoing food wars — from soda sizes to trans fats — the activist-led attack on seafood is unique. That's because if you stop eating those other foods, nothing bad is going to happen to you. But if you stop eating seafood, you're actually putting yourself at risk.
– Forbes
More:forbes.com
Wednesday, September 24, 2014
HUGE SUPPORT FOR PEBBLE RESTRICTIONS
Alaskans alone sent roughly 20,000 comments supporting the proposed protections.
– Sitnews
More: www.sitnews.us
Fisheries debate looms
Incumbent US Senator Mark Begich and his opponent Dan Sullivan will face off in the first hour of the debate, followed in a second hour by forty-two year veteran of the US House of Representatives, Don Young, and Democratic newcomer Forrest Dunbar of Cordova.
– Alaska Fish Radio
More:www.alaskafishradio.com
New leadership for North Pacific Seafoods
A high-level executive with Trident Seafood’s is switching companies. John Garner is set to become the new Chief Operating Officer for North Pacific Seafoods early next month.
– KDLG
USDA assistance includes seafood
US Department of Agriculture officials met in Anchorage with Alaskan businesses Tuesday to discuss exporting of products.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Fairbanks holds Bristol Bay Forever forum
Supporters at the forum said the hope is to give voters a greater opportunity to participate in decisions that could have major changes on the economy and environment of the Bristol Bay region.
– Newsminer.com
More:www.newsminer.com
CA marks progress of estuary restoration
A host of landowners, scientists, conservationists and politicians gathered in Fortuna this week to hear the progress on three projects designed to balance wildlife and habitat restoration with land management practices to protect landowners and farmers in the fertile Eel River Valley.
– Times-Standard
More:www.times-standard.com
Homer primed for large vessel haul-out
Harbor Master Bryan Hawkins and a Vessel Haul-Out Task Force spent the past year looking at the next logical step: A heavy vessel haul out that allows repairs on boats bigger than 70 tons.
– Homer Tribune
More:homertribune.com
Work starts on controversial B.C. marina
The start of construction follows intense public debate over the suitability of the marina in Victoria Harbour. The number of slips was reduced by half as opponents rallied against the marina, maintaining it would affect views, it was too big and would reduce safety in a busy harbour filled with everything from paddlers to the large Coho ferry.
– Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Opinion: Ecosystem approach works
Some of the fisheries management councils are adopting this approach. In Alaska, home to some of our nation’s most prized commercial fisheries, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council tracks trends in the environment to help guide decisions about catch limits.
– National Geographic
More:newswatch.nationalgeographic.com
Thursday, September 25, 2014
PUSH FOR GM SALMON APPROVAL
A group of 90 scientists and biotechnology execs from around the world are pushing President Obama to expedite approval of genetically modified salmon for US markets.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, reporting for Alaska Fish Radio
More:alaskafishradio.com
Pollock population hike
It looks like there could be a lot more Pollock in the Bering Sea than compared to last year. NOAA released a statement Wednesday noting that the preliminary survey results indicate a nearly 60-percent increase in walleye Pollock biomass.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Pacific cod shortage
Supplies of Pacific cod are short at the moment and Chinese processors are reporting limited to zero inventories of raw material and finished products.
– The Fish Site
More:thefishsite.com
$142,175 penalty in UniSea settlement
UniSea Inc., which operates a major seafood processing plant at Dutch Harbor, has settled a case involving alleged Clean Air Act violations.
– Pacific Fishing Editor Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Lower Columbia fishing time expanded
Nine additional nights and five days of commercial salmon fishing in the lower Columbia River were adopted on Wednesday by Washington and Oregon officials.
– The Columbian
More:columbian.com
Fishermen assist crab pot removal
A group of fishermen collaborating with the University of California, Davis, are working to remove the lost crabbing gear from the ocean and sell it back to the original owners under what they hope will be an economically sustainable model for future cleanups.
– Phys.org
More:phys.org
Opinion: Speak out against Pebble
If you haven't seen the video footage, by all means Google "Polley mine disaster." It's a jolting wake-up call, to say the least. We simply cannot let that happen here.
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
Obama finalizes huge marine reserve
The revamped expanded Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument will cover 490,000 square miles – an area roughly three times the size of California – and will become the largest marine preserve in the world.
– SFGate
More:sfgate.com
Consumers warned off UK wild salmon
Consumers should avoid eating UK salmon that has been caught in the wild because of concerns over its sustainability, conservationists have said.
– Western Morning News
More:westernmorningnews.co.uk
Friday, September 26, 2014
PEBBLE CHALLENGES EPA
The legal showdown between the Environmental Protection Agency and the group behind the giant Pebble mining prospect near Bristol Bay is coming to a head, with the first oral arguments in one case set for Friday morning in Anchorage and the recent filing of a second lawsuit that claims the agency illegally colluded with mine foes.
– Alaska Dispatch News
More:adn.com
Sitka bidding war
Board members expressed an interest in seeing a compromise between Silver Bay and Alaska Pacific & Packing that might put both businesses in the park.
– KCAW
More:kcaw.org
'Seafood fraud' quantified
One in three seafood samples is mislabeled in the US and global fraud abounds as well, according to studies by Oceana.
– The Fish Site
More:thefishsite.com
Alaska Pollock name change sought
When you buy Alaska pollock at the store, there's a nearly 40 percent chance the fish was caught in Russian waters, U.S. pollock producers say. As a result, Alaska's congressional delegation on Tuesday asked the Federal Drug Administration to change the market name from "Alaska pollock" to simply "pollock."
– KTUU
More:ktuu.com
Fishing district annexation process launches
The City of Dillingham is looking at trying again to annex the local commercial fishing district into the city limits. The process officially got started Wednesday night with a public hearing.
– KDLG
More:kdlg.org
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, a Haines fisherman is safe after his boat sinks out from under him; a mixed decision in an Unalaska murder trial, and Western Alaska Natives ask for increased bycatch reduction. All that, and learning to love salmon caviar, coming up on the Alaska Fisheries Report.
– KMXT
More:kmxt.org
Klamath dam company offers its water
Dam owner and northwestern power giant PacifiCorp announced Thursday that it will allot 16,000 acre-feet of water from two of its Klamath Project reservoirs to the federal government over the next month to ease effects of drought on irrigators in the Klamath Basin and possibly those of fish in the main stem Klamath River.
– Times-Standard
More:times-standard.com
BP spill's lasting impacts
Commercial catches for several varieties of seafood have decreased since the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, Louisiana Department of Wildlife and Fisheries officials said.
– Houmatoday.com
More:houmatoday.com
