Monday, October 14, 2013
READYING FOR KING CRAB
Although the federal government shutdown is threatening to delay the opening of the crab season, fishermen – and state biologists – are getting prepared anyways.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Fisherman before Senate
"I'm a small businessman in a big ocean with big bills. I need to go fishing," Colburn said during a Friday hearing of the Senate Commerce Committee.
– Crabber Keith Colburn, quoted by Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
New clinic in Cold Bay
The new clinic will provide emergency and primary care for residents of Cold Bay, False Pass, Nelson Lagoon, and other surrounding villages.
– Jill Rogers, reporting in Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
Fisherman medevaced to Cold Bay
A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew, forward deployed in Cold Bay, medevaced an ailing fisherman from the 210-foot fishing vessel Alaska Juris near Cold Bay Sunday.
– Coast Guard
More: piersystem.com
Barents cod quota
The quota, set to 993,000 tons, is 7,000 tons lower than the all-time high 1 million tons in 2013.
– Thomas Nilsen, reporting or the Barents Observer
More: barentsobserver.com
Alaska processors shun MSC
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) would like to clarify that although the bulk of the Alaska salmon fishery has earned MSC certification, the majority of Alaska salmon processing companies (27 companies in total) will not being selling MSC certified Alaska salmon.
– ASMI
More: campaign.r20.constantcontact.com
Losing money on chum
Though the chum salmon numbers in Kotzebue Sound were exceptionally high this year, the price per pound was exceptionally low, leaving some captains wondering how long they can keep up their summer fishing habit.
– Jillian reporting in the Arctic Sounder
More: thearcticsounder.com
Shutdown hurts towns
But that money doesn't just go to the scientists. Lots of it trickles down into the community.
– Emily Schwing, reporting for KUAC, Fairbanks
More: fm.kuac.org
Another shutdown victim
The General Aviation Manufacturers Association is currently showing a substantial impact to their membership due to the shutdown.
– Coleen Mondor, reporting in the Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
Tuesday, October 15, 2013
SOUTHEAST IS RICHEST SALMON AREA
This year's title of most valuable salmon fishing area in the state belongs to Southeast Alaska, with an all-species harvest value of $219 million.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More: sitnews.us
Liced salmon slaughtered
The Norwegian authorities have recently ordered that two million farmed salmon in the Vikna district of Nord Trondelag be slaughtered with immediate effect after becoming resistant to chemical treatments against sea lice.
– FishNewsEU
More: fishnewseu.com
Gulf of Alaska trawl plan nearer
co-op based on historical associations. Communities are protected through consolidation limits, active participation, and regionalization requirements. All trawl catcher vessels in the program would be 100 percent observed.
– Laura Tanis, communications manager, Aleutians East Borough's Fish News
More: FishNews_101413
B.C. sardines vanish
A $32 million commercial food sardine fishery has inexplicably and completely collapsed this year on the B.C. coast.
– Larry Pynn, reporting in the National Post
More: news.nationalpost.com
Togiak sac roe herring down
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has released the Togiak herring forecast for next year and its down slightly compared to this year's forecast.
– Mike Mason reporting in KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
Some king crabbers open today
Vessels that are set up to harvest community development quota, or CDQ, will be able to start fishing on time, though.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Lauren Rosenthal , reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More: kucb.org
Fight over Ore. hatchery
The agency has cited conservation risk posed by hatchery fish mingling with native fish as a motive for cutting hatchery releases.
– Thomas Moriarty, reporting for the Coos Bay World
More: theworldlink.com
Stubborn tender to be towed
Salvage crews are making final preparations to tow the 78-foot fishing tender Lone Star out of the mouth of the Igushik River.
– Dave Bendinger, reporting for KDLG, Dillingham
More: kdlg.org
New fishing reality show
Hook, Line & Sisters features female fishing duo Sierra and Memry competing in the high-stakes, male-dominated world of commercial fishing as they trek to a remote Alaskan location to earn an entire year's living in just three short months.
– National Geographic
More: screenafrica.com
Wednesday, October 16, 2013
CAL FISHERMEN HAPPY
"People made money. That money is rippling out through the coastal economies."
– Bob Moffitt, quoting a fisherman for Capital Public Radio
More: capradio.org
More time on Columbia
Washington and Oregon adopted three days of coho gillnetting in the Columbia River downstream of Woodland and four nights of commercial Chinook fishing between Woodland and Beacon Rock.
– Allen Thomas, reporting for The Vancouver Columbian
More: columbian.com
Sardine disappearance
Poof! Vanished. Gone.
– Clare Leschin-Hoar, reporting for Take Part
More: takepart.com
Cutting halibut mortality
As regulations tighten on the size of sport-caught halibut on charter boats in Alaska, sport fishermen are faced with a challenge of how to tell the size of a halibut without pulling it out of the water and applying a measuring tape.
– Carey Restino, reporting for the Homer Tribune
More: homertribune.com
Reporting from China
Long-time Alaska fisheries journalist Bob Tkacz recently attended the second annual World Congress of Mariculture and Fisheries in Hangzhou, China.
– Jay Barrett reporting for KMXT, Kodiak
More: kmxt.org
Creature from the deep
Because oarfish dive more than 900 meters deep, sightings of the creatures are rare and they are largely unstudied.
– Vancouver Province
More: theprovince.com
New type of trawl net
New commercial fishing technology from New Zealand may soon put an end to the global problem of bycatch, where non-targeted species are caught up in the nets of commercial fishermen.
– Scientific American
More: scientificamerican.com
Fish safety in lawsuit
How much fish is safe to eat? That's the key question in a federal lawsuit.
– Bellamy Pailthorp, reporting in KPLU, Seattle
More: kplu.org
Thursday, October 17, 2013
ALASKA ECO-LABELING QUESTIONED
The seafood marketing arm for the State of Alaska is trying to head off questions from retailers, wholesalers, and fish buyers about eco-labels covering Alaska salmon.
– KDLG
More: kdlg.org
Salmon season tops $691 million
As expected, Alaska's 2013 salmon catch is one for the record books.
– Homer Tribune
More: homertribune.com
B.C. probes fishing impacts
The Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society has long-standing concerns about the impact of commercial fishing on sponges in the Strait of Georgia, especially bottom trawling and prawn traps, and is pushing Fisheries and Oceans Canada to implement commercial fishing closures to protect the reefs from further damage.
– Vancouver Sun
More: vancouversun.com
Kodiak helicopter moves to Cold Bay
Air Station Kodiak has moved one of its MH-60 Jayhawk helicopters to Cold Bay in anticipation of the winter fisheries in the Bering Sea.
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
Feds dampen crab season
Tuesday was the official opening of Alaska's king crab season. But as KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal reports, hundreds of fishermen were stuck in port, waiting for the federal government to reopen and issue their crab permits.
– KUCB
More: kucb.org
Opinion: pit mining will disrupt ecosystem
A healthy salmon population supports a complex food web consisting of more than 40 species of wildlife from beluga whales and bears to bald eagles and rainbow trout. And this life-giving ecosystem is what is at stake if an open pit mining operation is allowed to move forward and destabilize the region.
– Juneau Empire
More: juneauempire.com
Friday, October 18, 2013
SHUTDOWNS' END FREES CRABBING PERMITS
Agency employees are back at work following the government shutdown, and they're hustling to prepare the permits necessary for Bering Sea red king crabbers to begin their season.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog, Deckboss
More: deckboss.blogspot.com
B.C. mine could impact SE Alaska
More than 60 fishermen, environmentalists, Tlingit and Haida Central Council representatives and concerned citizens packed the Silverbow Inn's back room Wednesday night to hear about the potential impact some British Columbia mines may have on Southeast Alaska fisheries and tourism.
– Juneau Empire
More: juneauempire.com
Fast CA squid season
California Fish and Wildlife will shut down market squid fishing, also known as, calamari, five months before it normally does.
– Central Coast News
More: kionrightnow.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, only CDQ boats got to go crabbing when the season opened Tuesday because of the since-resolved federal government shutdown, we get a report from the World Congress of Fisheries, and, just how hot pink was your summer? All that, and has the bearded fisherman jumped the shark?
– KMXT
More: kmxt.org
F/V Lone Star lifted, towed
Almost four months after it sank near Dillingham, the fishing tender Lone Star has been lifted off the bottom and is on its way to Unalaska.
– KUCB
More: kucb.org
Non-residents getting more Alaska fishing permits
A new report indicates that more and more non-residents hold commercial fishing permits in Alaska.
– KDLG
More: kdlg.org
New processor for Adak
Fish processing will return to far-flung Adak, according to city manager Layton Lockett.
– Alaska Dispatch
More: alaskadispatch.com
Where have the big fish gone?
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.
– KATU.com
More: katu.com
OR trawling ban sought
In tandem with the Ocean Conservancy and Natural Resources Defense Council, Oceana will ask federal regulators next month to bar trawling in 12 new areas off Oregon, totaling 1,300 square miles offshore from Tillamook, Lincoln City, Newport and Yachats.
– OPB News
More: opb.org
