Monday, November 1, 2010
Top fish cop moved
The director of federal fisheries law enforcement was moved to another job in the wake of a controversy over alleged excessive fines against commercial fishermen, document shredding and questionable spending from an asset forfeiture fund.
– KeysNet
More:www.keysnet.com
Pebble study languishes
Months after the funding was approved, state legislators still haven't decided how to proceed with a study of the proposed Pebble copper and gold mine.
– Anchorage Daily Mirror
More:www.adn.com
Halibut season ending well
Alaska's halibut fishery closes at noon Nov. 15, and longliners already have caught 97 percent of the 40.3 million pounds of individual fishing quotas issued when the season opened back on March 6.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Election will affect fishing
The Senate election is this week, and the outcome will affect the way fisheries legislation is handled in Washington.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.publicbroadcasting.net
British TV looks at Bristol Bay
BBC’s Nick Rankin reports from Alaska during the wild salmon run and joins commercial and subsistence fishermen who live off this natural resource.
– BBC
More:www.bbc.co.uk
It’s fish, not pork
The Coast Guard and fishing safety training organizations that are in place now will not be able to reach every Alaska skipper and vessel, and without that training and inspection, Alaskans will not be able to fish outside three miles.
– Mark Vinsel, executive director of Alaska Fishermen United, writing in the Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Research paper: Take fewer salmon
A new research paper published by the Society for Conservation Biology suggests that fishing less salmon is the only way to ensure that all wildlife on the west coast can survive.
– Muskeg News, Canada
More:www.muskegnews.com
Court orders change to Inlet discharge permit
A 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals panel has ordered federal regulators to fix a problem in the permit they approved allowing Chevron and other Cook Inlet operators to discharge wastewater into the Inlet.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Fishermen direct-marketing needed
If you're new in town, don't fish, but would like to buy fresh caught Alaska salmon directly from fishermen, it's hard to figure out where to go.
– Juneau Daily News
More:www.juneauempire.com
More women now lobstermen
These ladies, members of a minority female workforce on commercial fishing boats in the northeast, quicken and ease their husbands' job of catching the lobsters on the bottom and getting them to the market.
– Gloucester Times
More:www.gloucestertimes.com
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
Alaska predicts bountiful 2011 pinks
The Department of Fish and Game is forecasting an "excellent" catch of 55 million pink salmon in 2011 in Southeast Alaska.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
King crab could invade Antarctica
Invasions of voracious predatory crabs due to global warming could threaten the unique continental-shelf ecosystems of Antarctica, according to newly published findings.
– Physorg.com
More:www.physorg.com
More salmon = bad news
The number of salmon in the Pacific Ocean is twice what it was 50 years ago. But there is a downside to this bounty, as growing numbers of hatchery-produced salmon are flooding the Pacific and making it hard for threatened wild salmon species to find enough food to survive.
– Environment 360
More:e360.yale.edu
Wild coho re-colonize Oregon stream
For the first time in more than 50 years, wild coho are moving into the upper reaches of Cedar Creek near Sandy.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Alaska now controls mine waste water
The state is quietly taking over a key pollution-prevention program that the federal government has been running for decades.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Sitka Tribe wants strict control of herring roe
The Sitka Tribe of Alaska is asking for better enforcement of rules that prohibit out-of-state residents from harvesting subsistence herring roe.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:kfsk.org
Don’t expect much change in halibut quota
Alaska’s fishing industry will soon get a peek at what next year’s halibut catches might be.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, writing in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
NOAA reassignment questioned
U.S. Senator Olympia J. Snowe (R-Maine), the ranking member of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard, has demanded an explanation why two employees of (NOAA, found by the Commerce Department's inspector general to have committed serious mismanagement infractions against fishermen, have not faced stronger disciplinary action.
– Press release
More:www.savingseafood.org
More sport crabbing in Puget Sound
Four marine areas of Puget Sound will reopen to recreational crab fishing Nov. 15, based on summer catch assessments by the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife that show more crab are available for harvest.
– WDFW
More:wdfw.wa.gov
Closing ports to fishing pirates
A new federal rule will allow NOAA to deny port entry to illegal fishing vessels attempting to enter the U.S.
– Port World
More:www.portworld.com
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Wednesday, November 3, 2010
Jellyfish numbers increasing
New research by marine biologists shows that jellyfish numbers are rising in European waters – including the Irish Sea.
– Afloat
More:www.afloat.ie
Jewelers say no to Pebble Mine
Jewelers from the U.K. and France have joined ranks with U.S. jewelers such as Tiffany & Co. to oppose the construction of a large Alaskan gold and copper mine that could harm one of the world's largest wild salmon habitats.
– Wall Street Journal
More:online.wsj.com
Making money from removed dam
Local economic development and tourism officials hope to turn federal and state grants into financial opportunities on the upper Rogue River following the removal of three dams along a 30-mile stretch.
– Medford (Ore.) Mail Tribune
More:www.mailtribune.com
Lisa winning in Alaska
The numbers looked favorable for U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, who was forced to run as a write-in candidate after losing the Republican primary to Joe Miller.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Fish oil no help for Alzheimer’s
Several studies have noted a lower incidence of Alzheimer's disease among people who regularly eat fish or take supplements containing DHA, a fish oil fatty acid.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Fish farmers retreat landward to escape disease
A high-tech Singapore farming company is about to open the first onshore tank farm for salt-water fish cultivation.
– New York Times
More:www.nytimes.com
Astoria sponsors gear collection
The Oregon port of Astoria is the latest addition to the Fishing for Energy initiative, the program providing commercial fishermen a cost-free way to recycle old and unusable fishing gear.
– Fishing for Energy
More:www.prnewswire.com
Cal fishing as old as gold mining
Commercial salmon fishing has been a vital part of California's business since before the Gold Rush. I've been a part of that business since 1972, when I started fishing salmon off the state's north coast.
– Monterey County Herald
More:www.montereyherald.com
Thursday, November 4, 2010
Charter outfit cited for poaching
A Sitka fishing lodge and one of its fishing boat skippers have been cited for log book and bag limit violations connected to a 2009 charter fishing trip.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Biologists study favorite pollock feed
Marine scientists are prowling the Bering Sea to learn how climate affects minute sea creatures and the lucrative fishery that depends on them.
– Nature
More:www.nature.com
Kings return to Russian River
Chinook salmon are returning to the Russian River this year in numbers that biologists see as a positive sign for the recovery of the fish.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More:www.pressdemocrat.com
In Homer, Fish Board to look at
hatchery costs
Topics include fishing season dates, bag and possession limits for king salmon and other species, closed waters, and cost-recovery harvest for salmon enhancement programs.
– Homer News
More:www.homernews.com
New England learns halibut tips
West Coast fisheries biologist Steven J. Kaimmer traveled to Stonington, Maine, recently to share his Pacific halibut fishery research and management experience with fishermen and scientists at Penobscot East Resource Center’s dockside headquarters.
– Fenceviewer.com
More:fenceviewer.com
More trouble for Adak
The local electric utility – TDX Adak Generating – is asking state regulators to approve a 136 percent rate increase for all residential and commercial customers.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
King crab fishery slower than in 2009
The Bristol Bay red king crab season has been open for about two and a half weeks now, and approximately 6 million pounds have been landed.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
Opinion: Stellar sea lion close to extinction
The Steller sea lion of the North Pacific have been in danger of extinction, depletion or as a threatened species for a long time.
– George Pletnikoff, writing in the Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:www.thedutchharborfisherman.com
Fisherman medevaced west of Grays Harbor
The Coast Guard performed a medevac of an injured crewmember from a fishing vessel approximately 40-miles west of Grays Harbor, Wash.
– Coast Guard
Friday, November 5, 2010
NOAA pushing more catch shares
NOAA released a national policy encouraging the consideration and use of catch shares, a fishery management tool that has shown it can help rebuild fisheries and sustain fishermen, communities, vibrant working waterfronts and culturally important fishing traditions.
– NOAA
More:www.noaanews.noaa.gov
Radio: Alaska Fisheries Report
This week, NOAA’s top cop has been demoted, there’s controversy over commercial fishermen giving away roe-on-hemlock for free in Sitka, and community of Petersburg looks to maintain its fishing industry lifestyle. All that and what was your harbormaster up to last week?
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Sacramento Chinook returning
The numbers of fall run Chinook salmon returning to spawn in the Sacramento River and its tributaries to date are significantly better than the record low returns of last year, although the numbers are well below the banner run of 2002 when nearly 800,000 fish returned to the system.
– Indybay.org
More:www.indybay.org
Sound familiar?
A family of commercial fishermen in St. Bernard Parish is frustrated by gridlock and delay. They want to know why it's taking so long to be compensated for their losses tied to the Deepwater Horizon oil spill.
– WDSU
More:www.wdsu.com
WESMAR moves into Australia
WESTMAR (Western Marine Electronics) has confirmed the appointment of Source Marine of Hope Island, Queensland, Australia, as its newest manufacturer’s representative in Australia.
– World Fishing
More:www.worldfishing.net
UFA supports Alaska hatcheries
Two resolutions passed by United Fishermen of Alaska [UFA] call for the fishing industry and state leaders to continue working together to further Alaska’s salmon hatchery program and to support funding for deferred maintenance projects at the 11 state-owned salmon hatcheries.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
‘Revenge’ winter in Alaska
According to AccuWeather.com, the winter forecast for Alaska is a “revenge of winter” affair.
– Kodiak Daily Mirror
More:www.kodiakdailymirror.com
Columbia sturgeon numbers down
Legal-size sturgeon in the lower Columbia River appear to be at their lowest number since the early 1990s and sport-fishing success its poorest in almost 20 years.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
