Pacific Fishing - Fish Wrap Archives | October 19

Monday, October 19, 2009

Humboldt squid found off N. Vancouver Island

Hundreds of Humboldt squid washed up on the shores of Port Hardy Bay early Saturday morning. The squid, which were about four or five feet in length, were first found by workers at the Keltic Seafoods fish processing plant.

– North Island Gazette, Port Hardy, B.C.

Alaskan Pride sinking story told

Late Tuesday last week, Capt. Mike Worthington was running the 55-foot Alaskan Pride tender near Funter Bay, about 15 miles south of Point Retreat in Chatham Straits. "Everything's fine – then all of sudden, everything's not fine," said the fisherman from Kake.

– Juneau Empire

California experience: Fishermen will lose grounds

Local fishermen and boat captains are on the hook to lose much of their financial catch because of a program to help protect more marine life along the coast. No matter which of the three proposals state wildlife officials select, San Diego's passenger fishing fleet and commercial fishermen will suffer disproportionately.

– San Diego Union-Tribune

Alaska Natives to focus on subsistence

Alaska Native leaders expect the push for rural subsistence hunting and fishing rights to resurface this week as a major theme at the state's largest gathering of the state's indigenous people.

– Anchorage Daily News

EU calls for sharp cut in cod harvest

The European Union's executive body is calling for sharp cuts in the amount of cod fishermen can catch next year, pointing to estimates that the fish is close to extinction in some major fishing areas around Europe.

– Atlanta Journal-Constitution

San Francisco battles sea lion invasion

San Francisco loves its sea lions. But a sea lion population explosion has forced port officials to begin dispensing tough love.

– San Francisco Chronicle

NOAA says fishermen must use VMS

A request by Bolinas, Calif., fishermen for an immediate exemption from a costly monitoring device requirement has been denied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA). The requirement for the on-board Vessel Monitoring System (VMS) was extended to hook-and-line fisherman last year, placing further strains on small commercial fishermen already beset by a slew of regulations.

– Point Reyes (Calif.) Light

Kodiak describes its salmon aquaculture plan

The Kodiak Regional Aquaculture Association (KRAA) held a meeting in the Kodiak Refuge Visitor Center to present information to the community regarding the 20-year Comprehensive Salmon Plan (CSP).

– Kodiak Daily Mirror

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

Dutch Harbor to be busy next year

The Obama administration has given conditional approval to Shell Oil's plan to explore two of its leases in the Beaufort Sea next summer and fall, federal regulators said Monday.

– Anchorage Daily News

Read more: www.adn.com/money

Trident lawyer enters Adak Fisheries bankruptcy case

I see Anchorage attorney David Oesting yesterday entered his firm's appearance in the Adak Fisheries bankruptcy case. The firm is representing Trident Seafoods, which has been mentioned as a potential buyer of the Adak processing plant.

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

Read more: deckboss.blogspot.com

Monterey Bay Aquarium releases ‘Super Green’ list

The nutrition experts say eat more fish. But then marine scientists say the oceans are being depleted and many species are increasingly threatened. What's a healthful eater who cares about the planet to do?

One answer is to eat from the Monterey Bay Aquarium's "Super Green" list of seafood that's good for people and the planet. It's part of the aquarium's "State of Seafood" report.

– Los Angeles Times

Read more: latimesblogs.latimes.com/booster_shots

Alaskans sell salmon at Natives conference

In the shadow cast by the towering Dena'ina Civic and Convention Center, a husband and wife stood behind a blue cooler. They were selling smoked salmon, $20 for a 1-pound bag, and just about everyone heading inside to the First Alaskans Institute/AFN Elders and Youth Conference was stopping to ask the price.

– Alaska Dispatch

Read more: www.alaskadispatch.com/special

ASMI sets conditions for MSC involvement

Here's the letter the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has sent laying out its conditions for becoming the Marine Stewardship Council's new "client" for salmon certification.

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

Read more: deckboss.blogspot.com

CG training in Juan de Fuca Strait

The Coast Guard is participating in joint exercises with U.S. and Canadian naval forces in Washington area waters through Oct. 24.

Naval vessels will be seen practicing maritime security in and around the Strait of Juan de Fuca and in area coastal waters. Helicopters and other aircraft may be seen overhead as their crews familiarize themselves with the unique geography of the region.

The exercise is designed to strengthen military-to-military relationships and improve readiness and interoperability between U.S. and Canadian forces.

Some aspects of the exercise will be visible to the public.

– Coast Guard

Read more: www.piersystem.com

We need your help

Pacific Fishing magazine is putting together another article about how the Internet may be used by the seafood industry. This time, we’re interested in Twitter. If you’re using tweets, let us know.

Send an e-mail to donmcmanman@gmail.com.

Thanks.

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

No fishing, and it’s your fault

Detractors of Rep. Devin Nunes have often called the Visalia Republican a water boy for corporate agribusiness in the San Joaquin Valley. Last week in Congress, he didn’t disappoint. Seeking to waive EPA restrictions on pumping water from the Sacramento Delta, Nunes offered to straighten us all out on “this whole salmon fishing issue."

“A lot of people are probably watching out there and wondering, well, are these salmon fishermen really out of work? The truth is that the salmon fishermen can still fish; they just can’t fish for salmon."

– Sacramento NewReview.com

Read more: www.newsreview.com/sacramento

Bad news, good news in sustainability report

The state of ocean life is still in decline, but the tide may be turning in the push for sustainably fished and farmed seafood, according to a benchmark report released by the Monterey Bay Aquarium.

Called “Turning the Tide: The State of Seafood,” the report documents the continuing threat of overfishing and environmental change, but it also highlights positive efforts by chefs, food suppliers, consumers, businesses and governments that have helped reverse some of the damage done.

– Restaurant News

Read more: www.nrn.com

No good news from Sacramento system

Fall's Chinook salmon run on Battle Creek could produce even fewer fish than the dismal returns that last year blocked commercial salmon fishing.

As of Oct. 12, federal scientists had counted about 5,800 salmon caught on video by cameras submerged in the creek, said Jim Smith, project leader at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's Red Bluff office.

"Last year at the same time we'd counted 9,800," he said. "So far this is not encouraging."

– Redding Record Searchlight

Read more: www.redding.com/news

B.C. fishermen consider bankruptcies

Prince Rupert city councillor and United Fishermen and Allied Worker’s Union representative Joy Thorkelson says she is concerned many in the North Coast fishing fleet will have to turn to bankruptcy after a dismal season for the commercial fishery, particularly those who work as gillnetters.

– Northern View, Prince Rupert, B.C.

Read more: www.bclocalnews.com

A new future for aquaculture?

Aquaculture just seems to be one of those words that really riles up environmentalists, and with good reason -- the effects of pollution from fish farms are well documented.

– The Ecologist

Read more: www.theecologist.co.uk/News

Activist teaches lessons learned in oil spills

In the 20 years since the Exxon Valdez oil spill, Cordova resident Riki Ott has devoted herself to raising awareness about Prince William Sound's ongoing environmental, social and financial problems.

– Juneau Empire

Read more: www.juneauempire.com/stories

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Northwest hake fishery now
MSC certified

The U.S. Pacific hake fishery has been independently certified as well-managed and sustainable according to the internationally recognized sustainability standard of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC), an organization established by the World Wildlife Fund.

The largest fishery on the West Coast, the U.S. Pacific hake midwater trawl fishery is conducted in federal waters that extend out to 200 miles off the coasts of Washington, Oregon and California. The fish is also known as Pacific whiting in many international markets.

– Pacific Whiting Conservation Cooperative press release

Astoria port votes against floating processors

The Port of Astoria Commission is taking a stand against a proposed change in state law that would raise the status of fish processing vessels – large ships with on-board facilities for cutting, freezing and packing fish.

Port leaders worry the Oregon Department of State Lands rule change will allow floating processors to compete with land-based fish processing companies.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Cassandra Marie Profita, writing in The Daily Astorian

Ocean protection bodies gather on Grays Harbor

Dozens of government agencies, non-profit groups and regular people who just have an interest in protecting or using the ocean’s resources gathered at Grays Harbor College to figure out ways they can work together to create a blueprint for how to use the ocean.

“Do we want to see wind-power or wave energy up and down our coast?” County Commissioner Al Carter said, after addressing the day-long event at Grays Harbor College’s Bishop Center. “That’s just one issue of many that’s being addressed.

– The Daily World, Grays Harbor

Small herring fishery off Kodiak

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is allowing permit holders to conduct a commercial herring food/bait fishery at the Eastside District and the South Afognak District under a set of guidelines.

– Kodiak Daily Mirror

‘Explorer’ likes marine protected areas

On Thursday, a state task force could recommend meaningful protections for crucial parts of the ocean off Southern California. Or it could settle for far too little.

In the 50 years I've been exploring the world's oceans, I've seen drastic changes. Many of the marine species we depend on for food and other products have been decimated -- existing now at only about 10% of their previous levels. And as marine life has disappeared, commercial fishing operations have faltered or failed.

– Sylvia Earle, an explorer-in-residence with the National Geographic Society, writing in the Los Angeles Times

Food prices could triple

Food prices could more than triple by 2050 as the climate changes, according to a new report from the International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). The report, Climate Change: Impact on Agriculture and Costs of Adaptation, was developed for inclusion in two reports for the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank.

– International Food Policy Research Institute

Friday, October 23, 2009

Anti-fish farm leader notes anomalies in Fraser returns

Anti-aquaculture crusader Alexandra Morton has written to a Canadian federal fisheries manager about odd return patterns for some Fraser River sockeye runs and other sockeye in lower British Columbia.

Read the letter: alexandramorton.typepad.com

Alaska renews drive to recycle nets

Alaska’s on-again, off-again, experiment with recycling worn-out fishing nets is on once more. CoastWise Alaska reports on how five coastal Alaska communities have jump-started net recycling efforts.

– CoastWise Alaska

Read, or listen, to more: seagrant.uaf.edu

Cal protected area recommendation delayed

A state blue-ribbon panel failed to reach agreement Thursday on proposed fishing restrictions for the 250-mile Southern California coastline after a marathon hearing that had environmentalists sparring with fishing interests over control of slivers of beach and ocean habitat.

– Los Angeles Times

Cuts in Columbia sturgeon catch coming

Lower Columbia River sturgeon numbers are on the decline, with potentially 40 percent cuts in sport and commercial fishing looming for 2010 and beyond.

– Vancouver (Wash.) Columbian

Slimy foam killing NW shorebirds

A slimy foam churning up from the ocean has killed thousands seabirds and washed many others ashore, stripped of their waterproofing and struggling for life.

– The Oregonian

Department of Public Ridicule

Your editor, while graced with uncommonly good looks and impeccably high journalistic standards, does occasionally err. The most recent of these rare events occurred Thursday when Mr. Fish Wrap was looking for a mug shot of a hake and grabbed a photo that showed something other than a hake.

This caused Jan Jacobs of American Seafoods to wonder, not only about our accuracy, but our taste:

“That is the worst picture of a hake I’ve ever seen, if that even is a hake. Couldn’t you have found something a little less ugly?”

So, please consider this a correction and a vow to never err again. However, I cannot guarantee the aesthetic beauty of all fish we portray.