Monday, October 15, 2012
SERIOUS ALASKA FISHING BEGINS
The state's biggest crab fisheries get underway in the Bering Sea on Oct. 15.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:thedutchharborfisherman.com
Panel uncovers Pebble vulnerabilities
A second week of science panels, aimed at better informing stakeholders about whether a massive mine in Southwest Alaska can co-exist with the world's largest sockeye salmon fishery, is revealing the gaps in research by mine proponents.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Togiak herring fished too hard
"The way it's being fished so aggressively, it's not allowing for the herring to spawn on the kelp here in Togiak.”
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
Proposed preserve in B.C. waters
Whale-watching has become a major tourism draw and a multimillion-dollar industry for southern Vancouver Island. As the whales pass, a fleet of Zodiacs can be seen trailing behind.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Akutan builds
Two big new construction projects were built in Akutan this summer, an airport and boat harbor.
– Bristol Bay Fisherman
More:thedutchharborfisherman.com
CG deploying for winter
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crews are preparing to deploy to forward operating locations in St. Paul and Cold Bay in preparation for the upcoming winter fisheries Monday.
– Coast Guard
More:uscgnews.com
CG rescues two men
The Coast Guard has rescued two men from a sinking fishing boat off the northwest Washington coast.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
CG rescues three fishermen
A Coast Guard helicopter has rescued the three crew members of a fishing vessel that caught fire about 17 miles off the north Oregon coast.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
CG rescues fisherman off Half Moon Bay
The U.S. Coast Guard says crews have cleared up a pollution threat after a fishing boat ran aground near Half Moon Bay early Saturday.
– SanDiego6.com
More:sandiego6.com
CG exercise set for Wednesday
The Coast Guard Maritime Force Protection Unit Banor, Wash., is scheduled to conduct an exercise on Wednesday, Oct. 17, 2012, from 7 a.m. to 4 p.m.
– Coast Guard
More:uscgnews.com
Tuesday, October 16, 2012
PLAYING DOCTOR WITH THE OCEAN
A private company has conducted what is being described as the world's biggest geoengineering experiment off Canada's west coast, dumping tons of iron into the ocean that may have triggered an artificial plankton bloom up to 10,000 square kilometres in size.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
John Winther dies
John Winther, a Petersburg resident and a major figure in Alaska's commercial fishing industry, has died.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Columbia's future on agenda
Discussions that likely will shape the future of lower Columbia River commercial and sport fisheries for years to come are on tap.
– Vancouver Columbian
More:columbian.com
Trailing Alaska's kings
State fishery managers are asking for input from Alaskans to help solve the case of disappearing king salmon.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:sitnews.us
Sea lions vs. sturgeon
Biologists say the sea lions that scoop up fish at the foot of Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River have killed more sturgeon this year than salmon.
– OPB
More:earthfix.opb.org
P'burg OKs Ocean Beauty bunks
Ocean Beauty Seafoods can move forward with plans to replace a deteriorating bunkhouse at its Petersburg plant.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:kfsk.org
Tug stuck
A tugboat is stuck two miles outside of St. Michael in Norton Sound. Both men aboard the vessel are safe onshore and there is currently no fuel leaking.
– AlaskaPublic.org
More:alaskapublic.org
Murky answers about B.C. oil port
Some good questions are being asked, at last, at the Northern Gateway pipeline hearings. Some of the answers from Enbridge officials are pretty pathetic.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:timescolonist.com
NW activist against coal export ports
Many environmental groups and green-minded politicians in the Pacific Northwest are already on record as opposing a wave of export terminals.
– New York Times
More:nytimes.com
Wednesday, October 17, 2012
MORE ON IRON IN OCEAN
A tantalizing dream that the increasingly barren seas can be made whole again is behind a bold – and some might say crazy – "geo-engineering" experiment that unfolded on Canada's West Coast this summer, when an impoverished native village paid to have 100 tons of iron sulphate sprinkled on the ocean.
– Globe and Mail, Toronto
More:theglobeandmail.com
B.C. iron dump illegal
A private company has conducted what is being described as the world's biggest geoengineering experiment off Canada's west coast, dumping tons of iron into the ocean that may have triggered an artificial plankton bloom up to 10,000 square kilometres in size.
– Windsor Star
More:canada.com
Governor owes Columbia fishermen
Our county was instrumental in giving Kitzhaber that razor-thin margin of victory.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
Pollock B ends
Factory trawlers and motherships that make up the offshore sector have taken all of their annual allocation.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
Hatcheries harm wild fish
Recent studies find that steelhead born of hatchery parents in the wild might produce only one-eighth to one-third of the offspring that two breeding wild fish would.
– The Oregonian
More:oregonlive.com
Hatchery wins federal approval
A federal agency has approved an operating plan for Oregon's controversial Sandy Hatchery while promising to review its decision if too many hatchery-raised salmon stray into wild fish spawning grounds.
– The Oregonian
More:oregonlive.com
New U of A boat launched
Hundreds of people endured wind and rain to attend the christening and launch ceremony for the 261-foot vessel, the first built for the National Science Foundation in more than three decades.
– University of Alaska
More:sfos.uaf.edu
Ocean Beauty meets standards
All of Ocean Beauty's production, distribution, storage, warehouse and labeling locations were assessed by Global Trust, and were found to meet the requirements of this standard in accordance to the requirements of ISO/IEC Guide 65.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Deadline for mandatory exams
The deadline for the Coast Guard's mandatory commercial fishing vessel safety examinations for vessels that operate more than three miles from the territorial sea baseline went into effect Tuesday.
– Coast Guard
More:uscgnews.com
Thursday, October 18, 2012
FLIES WITH THAT?
Seafood raised on pig feces and crawling with flies is being sold to U.S. consumers, according to a new report.
– ABC News
More:abcnews.go.com
Xtratuf: The next chapter
After shining the spotlight on the declining quality of Xtratuf boots after its manufacturer, Honeywell, moved production to China, Sen. Mark Begich may have found some common ground with the beleaguered boot-maker: both believe the U.S. corporate tax rate is too high.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:sitnews.us
Finned tool against farm sea lice
They say that every creature on the planet has a purpose, that every animal has a reason to be here.
– Coaster News, Canada
More:thecoaster.ca
Pebble: Not worth gamble
What is different about the Pebble Mine is its sheer scale, the inherent risks involved, and the fact that it is situated smack in the middle of the Bristol Bay watershed.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Columbia: Conservation, not allocation
Battles over allocation distract us from the real work at hand – to restore salmon populations to abundant levels.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
Alaska mariculture grows
A small mariculture industry for Alaska – oyster farming for the most part – has been developing in fits and starts for years, and a small group of dedicated seafood entrepreneurs are working away at it, convinced the business can succeed.
– Alaska Journal
More:alaskajournal.com
Chasing fish pirates
The U.S. Coast Guard and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans recently conducted joint patrols of the high seas under Operation Drift Net which took place from Sep. 19 to Oct. 6.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:sitnews.us
Alaska wants Tongass land
The Parnell administration wants to put 2 million acres of the Tongass National Forest into a state-managed logging trust.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:alaskapublic.org
Ocean iron dump criticized
Scientific controversy continues to rage over the experiment, which was designed to increase food for young salmon and pay for it by selling carbon credits.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:timescolonist.com
Cal water war stall salmon
Indian tribes on the Klamath River, including the Yurok Tribe, are crying foul about federal management of flows on the Scott River.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:triplicate.com
Friday, October 19, 2012
IRON DUMP? BAD!
Marine scientists and other experts have assailed the experiment as unscientific, irresponsible, and probably in violation of those agreements, which are intended to prevent tampering with ocean ecosystems under the guise of trying to fight the effects of climate change.
– New York Times
More:nytimes.com
Go fish, save fish
The good news is that many large commercial fisheries are already benefiting from the improved management of the last decade.
– New York Times
More:nytimes.com
Irrigators killing fish
More than 70 percent of juvenile salmon migrating to the Pacific from the Lemhi drainage were trapped — in times of median river flows — before diversions were screened.
– Kansas City Star
More:kansascity.com
Farmed fish susceptible to disease
This rising demand has made fish farming the fastest growing food industry on Earth. But it's not easy to keep farmed fish healthy.
– TheFishSite
More:thefishsite.com
Enviros claim danger in lice
A anti-fish farming activist's campaign that coaxed Sobeys to pull whole Atlantic salmon from its stores in response to concerns over sea lice is an unjustified scare tactic, says an expert in fish health.
– The Guardian, Canada
More:theguardian.pe.ca
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week: The Alaska Chapter of the American Fisheries Society will meet in Kodiak next week; don't forget the Chinook symposium in Anchorage, and more on the fisherman's former favorite footwear fiasco. Also, pollock B season is about over while Bering Sea crab gets going.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Ketchikan might abolish boat tax
Ketchikan City Council might follow the Borough's lead and repeal the city's boat tax.
– KRBD, Ketchikan
More:krbd.org
Huge Togiak herring forecast
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is forecasting 30,056 tons of herring will be available for harvest in next spring's Togiak sac roe fishery.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
To use Dillingham waste heat
The idea of using the surplus waste heat from the power plant in Dillingham to produce cold water or ice during the summer was brought up at Tuesday night's Nusahgak Cooperative Board meeting.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
