Monday, March 4, 2013
HUGE JUMP IN ALASKA SALMON
Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are forecasting a large increase in commercial salmon catches in 2013 – up from 129 million fish in 2012 to 179 million fish in 2013 – due to the projected increase in pink salmon harvests.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Feds to pay for NE observers
Federal fishery managers told beleaguered New England fishermen that they'll try to cover the millions it costs to hire required at-sea catch monitors.
– The Oregonian
More:oregonlive.com
Petersburg plant to function
Tom Sunderland of Ocean Beauty Seafoods tells Deckboss the company plans to open its Petersburg cannery for this year's salmon season.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Educate consumers
The science-based management of Alaskan fisheries has proved over time to be sustainable and is generally embraced (awkward man hug) by the fishermen.
– Photographer Corey Arnold writing in The New York Times
More:nytimes.com
Eulachon fishing closed
The federal closure coincides with an Alaska Department of Fish and Game emergency order closing all state waters to subsistence and personal-use eulachon fishing.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:krbd.org
Astoria fest guilt
The case against the former director of the Commercial Fishermen's Festival ended with a guilty verdict on three of the four counts charged against the defendant.
– Oregon Public Radio
More:opb.org
SF herring outlook good
A state biologist said the future is promising for herring, which were hurt by several dry years, the 2007 Cosco Busan oil spill, poor food conditions in the ocean, and occasional El Niño ocean-warming currents.
– San Jose Mercury News
More:mercurynews.com
Pebble foes want new plan
Bristol Bay residents concerned over the state's proposed revisions to an area management plan that could ease development of a massive mining say they plan to submit their own alternative plan before the April 4 public comment deadline.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Money in dogs
Deckboss was checking out the state's review of the 2012 salmon season and ran across a remarkable figure: $85 million. That's the estimated dockside value of the chum salmon catch in Southeast Alaska.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Falling on one's sword
Sometimes, it's best to leave well enough alone. In Friday's Wrap, we had an item with this headline: "Adak plant closed this year." And it was wrong. The Icicle folks were only planning for a summer closure. So, we corrected our blunder in a fashion that implicated KTOO, the public radio station in Juneau. Then we heard that the implication was in error. So, for the record, KTOO only carried a report about Icicle thinking of closing the Adak plant. Everyone happy now?
Tuesday, March 5, 2013
WASHINGTON GILLNETTERS TO COURT
Gillnet fishermen filed a petition asking Washington's Superior Court to review recent Columbia River policy changes.
– Daily Astorian
More:dailyastorian.com
Shark bycatch permits
Scientists conducting shark research and commercial fishermen who may unintentionally net sharks must apply for permits to be exempt from the law.
– Santa Cruz Sentinel
More:santacruzsentinel.com
Fishing in the NY Times
The New York Times is having a written debate about commercial fishing and its tradeoffs. Catch it at:nytimes.com
Optimism for 2013 salmon
Scientists and fishermen are hoping this year's salmon season will be a repeat of the robust 2012 season, the best year since a sudden crash of the Chinook salmon population in 2007 forced a two-year moratorium on fishing.
– Santa Rosa Press Democrat
More:pressdemocrat.com
Fighting invasive species
Aquatic invasive species are a well-known problem in Alaska, and it's high time for such action here, in perhaps the most marine and freshwater-dependent state in the country.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Guv wants port work
As the Alaska state legislature starts its budget hearings, Sen. Mark Begich is offering his own request: Put $2 billion toward ports infrastructure.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:alaskapublic.org
King crab hatchery success
Crab researchers at the Seward Marine Center said that Kodiak red king crab stocks they cultured are starting to hatch their larvae.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Growing with smoked goods
A decade ago, Fred West at the Tustumena Smokehouse in Soldotna, made his money processing sport and commercially caught fish from Cook Inlet.
– Peninsula Clarion
More:peninsulaclarion.com
Opening on ASMI board
The sudden replacement of Dennis Guhlke as chief executive of Icicle Seafoods Inc. creates a vacancy on the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Let EPA deal with Pebble
The EPA is responsible for overseeing the Clean Water Act and has responded to the request in a fair, unbiased way.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
RUNAWAY RIG IN UNALASKA
Several dozen people gathered on the beach in Unalaska to watch as Shell’s damaged drill rig was towed into port.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
East side inlet setnets
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is now looking for a contractor to "identify differences in the migration patterns of Chinook and sockeye salmon" in the eastside setnet fishery and "determine potential alternative management strategies to reduce Chinook harvests."
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, reporting on his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Astoria festival sentence
Ronald Kay Williams was sentenced to nearly four years in prison in Clatsop County Circuit Court.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
Petersburg eyes otter bounty
A proposed bounty on sea otters drew some criticism from the public followed by no discussion at all from the Petersburg Borough Assembly.
– KFSK, Petersburg
More:www.kfsk.org
Cut for ADF&G?
A House Finance Subcommittee had recommended a $550,000 reduction from the governor’s proposed budget for the Commercial Fisheries Division in Southeast.
– KFSK, Petersbjrg
More:www.kfsk.org
Two rescued in B.C. sinking
Two people have been rescued after their fishing boat sank in the Strait of Georgia off Point Grey early this morning.
– Vancouver Sun
More:www.vancouversun.com
Against coal port
If the Gateway Pacific Terminal is built at Cherry Point it’s expected at full capacity to annually export 48 million tons of coal.
– Oregon Public Radio
More:earthfix.opb.org
More tsunami junk
A 17-foot fiberglass boat washed up two miles north of the Sunset Beach approach. Now, the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is working to identify the species found on the vessel.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
Where’d the fish go?
San Francisco Bay used to be the biggest commercial fishing center on the West Coast, but now only herring are netted in its waters commercially for human consumption.
– Marin Independent Journal
More:www.marinij.com
Oregon names fish blocks
They join such fish-busting powerhouses as the Snake River’s Hell’s Canyon Dam and the North Santiam’s Detroit Reservoir on the state’s new prioritized list of 534 dams, culverts or other fish-passage blockages state biologists would like to see fixed or removed.
– Oregon Public Broadcasting
More:earthfix.opb.org
Thursday, March 7, 2013
FIGHTING ALIENS
Aquatic invasive species are a well-known problem in Alaska, and it's high time for such action here, in perhaps the most marine and freshwater-dependent state in the country.
– Homer Tribune
More:homertribune.com
B.C. herring
The herring run seems to be holding steady for the fourth-straight year and good catches are anticipated this season.
– Nanaimo Daily News
More:www2.canada.com
Bristol Bay water assessment
A harvester group supported by over 100 commercial fishing organizations and business around the country is asking the federal government to release its updated draft Bristol Bay watershed assessment by March 19.
– Cordova Times
More:thecordovatimes.com
Federal fish tracing system
The U.S. Congress is creating a national seafood traceability system that could combat rampant seafood mislabeling, after a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers re-introduced the Safety and Fraud Enforcement for Seafood Act.
– Fish Update
More:fishupdate.com
Starring in reality program
He is one of three boat captains featured on the show as they fish for salmon during a tight timeline in Cook Inlet.
– Whidbey News Times
More:whidbeynewstimes.com
Another reality program
"We're exploring the personal side of the fish harvesting industry, telling a story about the fish harvesters, their community and ultimately how seafood makes its way to the consumer's plate.
– The Fish Site
More:thefishsite.com
A monster fish
A monster northern bluefin tuna was winched onto dry land last night in front of hundreds of onlookers at Whitianga and it could signal an equally sizeable paycheck for the trio who hauled it aboard.
– Whangarei Leader, New Zealand
More:stuff.co.nz
St. George Harbor
After decades of lobbying and planning, a project to overhaul the boat harbor on St. George Island is finally moving forward.
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:kmxt.org
Derelict vessels
Alaska's derelict and abandoned boats and ships may appear to be little more than an eyesore, but insufficient mechanisms to monitor and clean them up could lead to an environmental disaster, costing the state millions of dollars in the long run.
– Kenai Peninsula Clarion
More:peninsulaclarion.com
Farmed vs. wild
The science is complex, the environmental picture cloudy at best, and the pollutants in question are completely unpronounceable.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Friday, March 8, 2013
BOUNTY FOR DEAD OTTERS
It's already drawing opposition from environmental groups and the federal marine mammal protection agency.
– KTOO, Juneau
More:ktoo.org
B.C.'s oil coast
A clear majority of British Columbians are in support of constructing a West Coast refinery to process refined petroleum products.
– Northern View, Prince Rupert
More:thenorthernview.com
Fish McBites failure
McDonald's new Fish McBites failed to hook enough diners to get the fast-food chain's U.S. sales growing in February.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:adn.com
Fillet-O-Fish success
The Atlantic-cod based lunch item is consumed at a rate of 300 million a year — 23 percent of them are sold during Lent, and we can thank the Catholics in Ohio and a struggling businessman for the fast food classic.
– Smithsonian.com
More:blogs.smithsonianmag.com
Value of seafood
The seafood industry — harvesters, seafood processors and dealers, seafood wholesalers, and retailers — generated $129 billion in sales impacts, $37 billion in income impacts and supported 1.2 million jobs in 2011, the most recent year included in the report.
– Phys.Org
More:phys.org
Debris and invasive species
Invasive species are hitchhiking to the west coast of North America on debris from the March 2011 Japanese tsunami and it could be years before it is known which species will take hold and how much damage they will do.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:timescolonist.com
Inland salmon farms
Canada should support the development and expansion of closed containment salmon farming and explore transitioning the aquaculture industry away from ocean-based net pens, according to a committee report tabled in the House of Commons.
– Vancouver Sun
More:vancouversun.com
Blame herring fishermen
The B.C. Shellfish Growers Association believes that the herring that have been discovered in predator netting off Denman Island is likely the result of the commercial herring fishery.
– CTV, Vancouver
More:ctvvancouverisland.ca
Fish pirate ship destroyed
They sold the vessel for scrap.
– KUCB, Unalaska
More:kucb.org
