Tuesday, October 1, 2013

NEW TRAWLING TECHNOLOGY

New trawling technology – billed as "the future of sustainable fishing" – has been unveiled to the New Zealand seafood industry at its annual conference in Auckland.

– New Zealand Herald

More:nzherald.co.nz

Naval architect in Ketchikan

Elliott Bay Design Group, the naval architecture and marine engineering firm based in Seattle and New Orleans, has established an office in Ketchikan to meet growing customer demand in Alaska.

– SitNews, Ketchikan

More:sitnews.us

Anglers pay for gillnet prohibition

The price bump is a tit-for-tat in which sports anglers who would be allocated more salmon and steelhead help to pay for increasing hatchery fish for the off-channel areas where commercial gillnetting would continue.

– Henry Miller, reporting in the Statesman Journal, Salem

More:community.statesmanjournal.com

Halibut plan will hurt anglers

Claims that all will be hunky dory next summer for Alaska's halibut charter fisheries is not an assertion that came from the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, the sole angler representative on that federal council told a group of state legislators.

– Craig Medred, reporting for Alaska Dispatch

More:alaskadispatch.com

American Seafoods sells line

American Pride mostly provides branded and private label products to foodservice customers in the commercial and independent restaurant, health care and education markets, as well as doing some export business and sales to U.S. retail markets.

– Globe and Mail, Toronto

More:theglobeandmail.com

More radiation leaks

Tokyo Electric Power Co., operators of the crippled Fukushima nuclear facility, said that around 4 tons of rainwater contaminated with low-level radiation leaked during an operation to transfer the water between the tank holding areas.
 
– Japan Daily Press

More:japandailypress.com

Togiak sockeye bountiful

The run to the westernmost fishing district came in slightly above forecast.

– Mike Mason, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

Changes in weather forecasting

The National Weather Service is rolling out some significant changes to the marine weather forecast for the Bristol Bay region.

– Mike Mason, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham

More:kdlg.org

One look at ObamaCare

A couple of readers – both fishermen – have said this little program helped them better understand the Affordable Care Act. It takes about seven minutes: kff.org/health-reform

Another look

The United Fishermen of Alaska has compiled information and some helpful sites about the Affordable Care Act.

More:Affordable Care Act Additional Info

 

Wednesday, October 2, 2013

B.C. OIL PIPELINE PORT

An Enbridge official says the company expects a decision from the federal government on its proposed Northern Gateway pipeline by mid-2014, meaning the pipeline could be moving oil by 2018.

– Canadian Press

More:cbc.ca

Pebble: Not that bad

In full disclosure, the Pebble Group covered my airfare and hotel costs.

– James Taylor, reporting or Heartland.org

More:news.heartland.org

Government: CLOSED!

The partial shutdown of the federal government is sending serious ripples through the commercial fishing world.

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

More:deckboss.blogspot.com

Changes in Tongass plan

That means users and interest groups will be able to submit suggestions on road-building, logging, stream restoration, and wildlife protection.

– Ed Schoenfeld, reporting for KTOO, Juneau

More:ktoo.org

Tongass sale delay

U.S. Forest Service Regional Forester Beth Pendleton wrote that the sale needs to be reconsidered because of a statement from a former state biologist who says the Big Thorne timber harvest would wreak havoc on the wolf-deer ecological dynamic on Prince of Wales Island and possibly lead to extinction of the island's wolf population.

– Jennifer Canfield, reporting for the Juneau Empire

More:juneauempire.com

B.C. changing climate

Climate change will likely mean warmer, rainier winters in B.C.
 
– Jeff Nagel, reporting for Surrey (B.C) North Delta Leader

More:thenorthernview.com

Salmon over Grand Coulee?

Salmon could one day return to areas above the massive Grand Coulee Dam if the issue gains favor as part of a broad reassessment of the Columbia River Treaty.

– Oregon Public Broadcasting

More:opb.org

B.C. bands fish commercially

Members of the Nanoose First Nation, as well a number of other First Nations along the Salish Sea, are hoping to expand their economic horizons through commercial fishing.

– Robert Barron, reporting in the Nanaimo Daily News

More:nanaimodailynews.com

Fish cops and Coast Guard

The 11th Coast Guard District, the NOAA Office of Law Enforcement, and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife conducted joint boardings Sept. 26 – Oct. 1, 2013, to coincide with the closure of California's commercial salmon season.

– Military.com

More:military.com

Testicle-eating fish near Seattle

Although Pacu are vegetarians – they have molar-shaped teeth and strong jaws that let them crack open tree nuts – they will also eat small fish.

– Hunter Stuart, reporting in the Huffington Post

More:huffingtonpost.com

 

Thursday, October 3, 2013

SPORTIES PAY FOR GILLNET BAN

The fee of up to $9.75 a year (or $1 tacked on to the cost of a one-day license) is part of a package adopted by the Oregon Legislature that would phase out the use of commercial, non-tribal gillnets on the main Columbia channel.

– Henry Miller, reporting for the Salem Statesman Journal

More:statesmanjournal.com

Anglers blame gillnets

Some anglers say they're seeing fewer of the giant fish being caught in the Vernita area and they wonder if the trophies are being targeted by downstream commercial gillnet fisheries.

– Rich Landers, reporting in the Spokane Spokesman Review

More:spokesman.com

Sea lion kill OK'd

An appeals court has upheld killing sea lions that eat too many salmon at Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River.

– The Oregonian

More:oregonlive.com

Raising Dillingham tender

Salvage crews successfully moved the partially submerged fishing vessel Lone Star toward shallow water in the Igushik River near Dillingham.

– Coast Guard

More:piersystem.com

Lynden-Northland merger OK'd

An Anchorage superior court judge has approved a deal allowing Lynden Inc. to buy out its shipping competitor, Northland Services.

– Jeremy Hsieh, reporting for KTOO, Juneau

More:ktoo.org

Canada unready for spill

If a tanker were to spill oil off the coast of British Columbia today, the federal government would not have the resources to handle a large-scale disaster, warns B.C. Premier Christy Clark.

– Susana Mas, reporting for CBC News

More:cbc.ca

Tangle on the Columbia

Even with a chance at late returning coho salmon, few commercial gillnet fishermen will be out with tangle nets on the Columbia River in the next two weeks.

– Ted Shorack, reporting for The Daily Astorian

More:dailyastorian.com

Iron dumpers make case

It appeared members of the local group grew less skeptical and more convinced that the dumping of some 120 tons of iron sulfate and iron oxide into the ocean.

– David Burke Dburke reporting in the Squamish (B.C.) Chief

More:squamishchief.com

Lodge charged with poaching

A Southeast Alaska fishing and lodge company is facing criminal charges after a trooper camped out near the lodge for two days and observed lodge employees violating numerous fish and wildlife regulations, including the intentional feeding of black bears.

– Sean Doogan, reporting for Alaska Dispatch

More:alaskadispatch.com

Two Cal fishermen innocent

Two Santa Barbara brothers accused of violating federal laws related to a no-fishing zone off San Miguel Island beat the charges when a federal judge determined that the government presented insufficient evidence to prove the crime.

– Matt Kettmann, reporting for the Santa Barbara Independent

More:independent.com

 

Friday, October 4, 2013

SALMON BOULISM FEARED

Big Blue Fisheries of Sitka is recalling all of its vacuum-packaged smoked salmon and cod products because they were not properly cooked and may be contaminated with Clostridium botulism, the bacteria that cause botulism.

– Food Safety News

More: foodsafetynews.com

No St. Matt crabbing

There will be one fewer fishery to go after when the Bering Sea crab harvest kicks off this month.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska

More: kucb.org

Progress on Dillingham tender

Efforts to recover the vessel have been hampered by strong tides and currents that have basically been burying the Lone Star deeper and deeper into the mud.

– Mike Mason reporting for KDLG, Dillingham

More: alaskapublic.org

Alaska Fisheries Report

Coming up this week: How the federal shutdown is affecting NOAA Fisheries and the National Weather Service. Thanks to Obamacare, being a fisherman is no longer considered "a pre-existing condition." And, we have the latest in our on-going series of stories about people smuggling fish in their pants.

– KMXT, Kodiak

More: kmxt.org

Air pollution on B.C. Oil Coast

With a 50 percent increase in sulfur dioxide emissions already approved for an expanded aluminum smelter in Kitimat, a study of further emission impacts is urgently needed.

– Tom Fletcher, reporting for The Northern View, Prince Rupert

More: thenorthernview.com

Harvest in warm Superior

Lake Superior's chilly waters used to be too cold in most spots for walleye to live, but, spurred by warmer runoff and less ice, the lake has warmed far faster than predicted over the last five decades. 

– Ben Bienkowski, reporting in the Scientific American

More: scientificamerican.com

Tahoe crayfish harvest

Gov. Jerry Brown signed Assembly Bill 165, which repealed an existing law that banned the sale or purchase of crawfish taken from Lake Tahoe.

– Tahoe Daily Tribune

More: tahoedailytribune.com

Climate could worsen water wars

Researchers believe climate change will impact the availability of water across the West. And when that happens, conflicts among farmers, ranchers, and other water users can only increase, an expert in water law predicts.

– The Daily Astorian

More: dailyastorian.com

Why a fisherman?

There have been a number of times over the course of my 38-year career as a fisherman when I have questioned my choice of occupations.

– Rick Wood, writing in Cross Cut

More: crosscut.com