Monday, November 8, 2010
Focus on Pebble Mine
On Sunday, the Anchorage Daily News published a package of stories focusing on the proposed Pebble Mine in the Bristol Bay watershed. Below is one link. Click, and it’ll take you to one article. To see other articles in the package, look immediately to the right of the headline.
More:www.adn.com
Catch shares OK – in theory
The catch-share idea has a lot of support in theory. Fishermen have grown increasingly frustrated by regulations that have made fishing more difficult and less profitable.
– Former Pacific Fishing columnist Cassandra Marie Profita for Oregon Public Radio
More:news.opb.org
Tillamook Bar still a killer
The Tillamook Bay bar is notoriously deadly with at least 17 lives lost in the past seven years.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Observers now on 40+ foot boats
After more than a decade of discussion and dickering, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council approved sweeping changes to its observer program at its October meeting to now include all vessels longer than 40 feet.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Thoughts about Alaska’s election
While we wait for state officials to tally all those write-in and absentee ballots from Alaska's oddball U.S. Senate race, here are a few election notes you might have missed.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Selling albacore
Albacore advocates are on a mission to hook grocery shoppers on fresh tuna, and they're luring at least one major retailer.
– Coos Bay World
More:www.theworldlink.com
Keeping jobs on the coast
Once the economic mainstay of both the commercial and recreational fishing industries from California to Washington, salmon have been decimated by decades of habitat destruction, dams, and water diversions.
– Lee Crockett and Zeke Grader, writing in The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Mining meeting hears from fishermen
For the first time, the Alaska Miners Association decided to make fisheries the theme of its week-long annual meeting.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Jerry Brown’s stance on protected areas?
Governor-elect Jerry Brown has not made any public comments to date about what direction his administration will take regarding the implementation and enforcement of Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's Marine Life Protection Act (MLPA) process.
– Indymedia
More:www.indybay.org
Gray whales diminishing again
Sixteen years after the gray whale was taken off the endangered species list, the California Gray Whale Coalition says their numbers are dwindling again and is leading a campaign to protect the marine mammals further declines.
– San Jose Mercury News
More:www.mercurynews.com
Tuesday, November 9, 2010
Eat fish, save a rainforest
If we stopped fishing, we would need to convert a lot of rainforest to agricultural production to cover the 82 million tons of fish landed in 2006 alone.
– Grist
More:www.grist.org
Salmon: Biggest paycheck in 18 years
At a time when many workers are suffering, the state's commercial salmon fishermen have a lot to celebrate: collectively, they got their biggest paycheck in 18 years – $533.9 million, according to the state's preliminary estimates.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Anglers angered by pollock fleet bycatch
Some sport fishermen are seething after a report last month showed more than 59,000 king salmon in the Gulf of Alaska were taken by pollock boats and other commercial fishermen this year.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Enviros want study of frankenfish scheme
Twelve executive officers of some of the nation’s largest environmental organizations requested that the Food and Drug Administration conduct a thorough environmental impact statement before deciding whether to approve the first ever genetically engineered animal for food.
– SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
War on sea squirt
State officials say an invasive species of sea squirt has been found in Sitka’s Whiting Harbor.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:kfsk.org
No cops with fish tax
I read with complete dismay that the City Council raided the Raw Fish Tax to fund two police officers.
– Tom Fisher writing to SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Chile drag fishery ailing
Over-exploitation of jack mackerel, the main commercial species of fish caught in Chile, has caused the decline of the Pacific ocean species and a crisis in the fishing industry. Scientists recommend halving the catch in 2011.
– IPS
More:ipsnews.net
Hawaii OKs deep sea aquaculture
The Board of Land and Natural Resources of the State of Hawaii has granted an application from Hawaii Oceanic Technology for a 35 year lease on the company’s 247 acre deep open ocean aquaculture site, permitted by the same board in October 2009.
– www.fishnewseu.com
More:www.fishnewseu.com
Alaska honors biologists who died on duty
Gov. Sean Parnell and Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Denby Lloyd dedicated a memorial plaque in honor of department employees who lost their lives studying, protecting and managing Alaska's fish and game resources.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Wednesday, November 10, 2010
Big hike in pollock stocks
The National Marine Fisheries Service has posted its draft assessment of the eastern Bering Sea pollock stock, and it indicates we could see a big increase in the commercial catch limit for 2011.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Bycatch report was wrong
Yesterday, we linked to an Anchorage Daily News report that, it turns out, was wrong. The article said that Chinook salmon, taken as bycatch by the Aleutian pollock fleet, had to be dumped dead back into the water. The article mentioned the waste involved, plus insisted that no parts of the fish could be used for scientific study. But Fish Wrap’s team of ace reporters did some nosing around Tuesday afternoon and discovered:
-
Salmon taken as bycatch by the pollock fleet are retained and donated to SeaShare, a charity that helps feed needy Americans. It’s a program that has been ongoing since 1994.
-
Samples of salmon for scientific study are taken by onboard observers.
Oddly, the newspaper didn’t correct such errors. However, in today’s edition, it had this to say: “A story on Page B-1 Tuesday about the Gulf of Alaska king salmon bycatch incorrectly identified Kip Thome as author of the blog Tholepin. He is not.”
Feds charge subsistence abuse
U.S. Fish and Wildlife agents say hundreds of pounds of subsistence caught salmon are being sold illegally by subsistence users, but residents disagree.
– KTUU, Anchorage
More:www.ktuu.com
Fish bank deal to help seafood business
The Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank (CFAB) recently announced details of a partnership agreement it had signed with the Export-Import Bank of the United States, which is sure to pave the way for businesses throughout Alaska to improve their export sales.
– Star Global Tribune
More:starglobaltribune.com
Device may have saved Edmund Fitzgerald
Thirty-five years ago the carrier Edmund Fitzgerald sank in one of the worst storms recorded on Lake Superior. Now, a device will be tested that would warn ships about rogue waves.
– BusinessNorth.com
More:www.businessnorth.com
Tainted smoked salmon recalled
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation has requested the recall of a batch of smoked salmon from a Fairbanks producer after it found a shipment contaminated with a pathogen.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Truce in Adak war?
The dispute between Adak Seafood and its reluctant landlord, Aleut Enterprise, appears to be sailing toward resolution.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
(Scroll down.)
Fisherman medevaced in Bering Sea
Coast Guard Air Station MH-60 Jayhawk rescue helicopter crew deployed in Cold Bay diverted from a training flight near Dutch Harbor to medevaced a 26-year-old male who reportedly suffered head injuries aboard the 58-foot fishing vessel Cape Reliant 55 miles northeast of Dutch Harbor at 4:20 p.m. Tuesday.
– Coast Guard
More:www.uscgalaska.com
Pacific Fishing contributor opens business
LeBlanc Government Relations has been launched in Washington, D.C., by Justin LeBlanc, who occasionally contributes to Pacific Fishing magazine. LGR provides federal government relations services to firms and organizations from the Pacific Northwest, particularly Washington state, and in the following public policy arenas: commercial fisheries and marine affairs, life sciences, and municipal issues.
More:www.jleblancgr.com
Thursday, November 11, 2010
California D. crab good for opener
The local Dungeness crab season, which officially starts Monday, looks to be quite excellent. Certainly better than recent years.
– San Francisco Chronicle
More: www.sfgate.com
Some NE fishermen profit from quota
A small but influential association of Cape Cod commercial fishermen, granted access to a disputed, oversized portion of the harvest when the New England groundfishery was converted to a catch shares system last year, has been leasing out much of its allocation for profit, according to a market report posted by the government.
– Gloucester (Mass.) Times
More: www.gloucestertimes.com
Australia fishermen worry over Pew group
The Pew Environment Group in the U.S. has been working with anglers to campaign for a ban on commercial long-lining in the Gulf of Mexico.
– Fishing World, Australia
More: www.fishingworld.com.au
China to farm Chinook salmon
The tank will then be stocked with Chinook salmon from Canadian ova, marking the first time that this type of Pacific salmon will be grown in closed containment in Chinese waters.
– MarketWire
More: www.marketwire.com
Lisa keeping her lead in recount
The Lisa Murkowski wristbands seem to have worked, as early numbers Wednesday from the Election Division teams counting write-in ballots for her U.S. Senate seat show excellent spelling by Murkowski supporters.
– Juneau Empire
More: www.juneauempire.coml
Kodiak gillnetting on agenda
Among the topics that will be hashed out at the Board of Fisheries meeting that starts in Homer on Monday are proposals to open up areas of the outer coast of the Kenai Peninsula, the Barren Islands, and Resurrection Bay to drift gillnetting for salmon.
– Homer News
More: www.homernews.com
Crescent City sees water spout
A possible water spout was spotted off of Pebble Beach Drive on Sunday evening.
A water spout is basically a small tornado over the ocean.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More: www.triplicate.com
Navy restricted in NW Coast training
The U.S. Navy must shut down sonar use if marine mammals are spotted near training exercises and take other precautions when using the sound-wave technology or explosives off the Northwest coast, NOAA's Fisheries Service said.
– Coos Bay World
More: www.theworldlink.com
Panel: Kill more Columbia sea lions
Oregon and Washington should kill more California sea lions at Bonneville Dam next year to test whether the states' 3-year-old controversial "lethal-take" program can actually meet its goal of reducing sea lion consumption of wild salmon, a key task force concluded Wednesday.
– The Oregonian
More: www.oregonlive.com
Friday, November 12, 2010
Oregon moving on marine reserves
Oregon's efforts to establish a string of fishing-free marine reserves off its biologically rich coast surged forward this week, though not without resistance from fishermen and crabbers who worry that expanded reserves will hurt business.
– The Oregonian
More:www.oregonlive.com
Read the Bristol Bay 2011 forecast
It looks like another banner year for Bristol Bay in 2011. Forecasts predict a total run of 46.28 million sockeye, with the biggest component heading for the Kvickak-Naknek system. If all goes as predicted – a rarity for Bristol Bay – there should be a total catch of 27.74, similar to this year's harvest.
– ADF&G
More:Bristol Bay in 2011
Euro panel cuts cod catch by half
The European Commission has adopted its fishing opportunities proposal for 2011 setting levels of total allowable catch (TAC) and fishing effort for the Atlantic, the North Sea, and international waters regulated by a Regional Fisheries Management Organization.
– fishnewseu.com
More:www.fishnewseu.com
U of W ends salmon run program
After 60 years in operation, the School of Aquatic and Fishery Sciences (SAFS) is discontinuing its research salmon run program. Budget cuts and new directions in fisheries research motivated the decision to phase out the tradition over the next four years.
– University of Washington Daily
More:dailyuw.com
Sarah's Alaska
Sarah Palin may be able to see Russia from her house. Come Sunday, you'll be able to get an extended look at her from your living room.
– USA Today
More: www.usatoday.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Fishermen get a half-billion-dollar payday for this summer's salmon catch; the Bering Sea pollock assessment may lead to a 50 percent increase in next year's total allowable catch; and, we meet the new spokesman for ASMI.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Higher commercial fishing fees
With a possible budget shortfall of up to $20 million on the horizon, the Washington state Department of Fish and Wildlife may be forced to make even more reductions in staff, facilities, and fisheries in the next year.
– The Peninsula Daily News
More:www.peninsuladailynews.com
Sales of subsistence salmon
An undercover investigation has found that many Yukon River subsistence fishermen sell smoked salmon strips.
– Juneau Empire
More:www.juneauempire.com
Sea lice spreading farther
Sea lice from fish farms appear to have spread to wild salmon in a much wider area of coastal B.C. than previously believed, a newly published study concludes.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
