Pacific Fishing - Fish Wrap Archives August 10, 2009

Monday, August 10, 2009

Fishermen fear petrale sole may be listed

One of the most valuable Pacific groundfish is at risk of being labeled overfished -- a nightmare scenario for the West Coast commercial trawl fleet.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Cassandra Profita, writing for The Daily Astorian

Read more: www.dailyastorian.com

Fuglvog drops out of consideration for NMFS chief

Arne Fuglvog has dropped out of the hunt for the top job at the National Marine Fisheries Service.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing as Deck Boss.

Read more: deckboss.blogspot.com

Columbia gillnetters moved upstream

State fisheries officials have moved the commercial fleet out of the Columbia River estuary a day early due to high catches of Chinook salmon.

– Vancouver Columbian

Read more: www.columbian.com

Consumers warned of weak Fraser sockeye run

According to SeaChoice's 2009 assessment for wild B.C. salmon, Skeena River sockeye and pink salmon that are selectively caught in the river, and Fraser River pink salmon have been identified as better alternatives for wild salmon this year. If the origin of the fish you're buying is not clear, it might be the right time to try sablefish or sardines.

– North Shore (B.C.) News

Read more: www2.canada.com/northshorenews

Alaska seafood buyer said to have no license

On Aug. 7, Alaska Wildlife Troopers issued a summons to Tonka Seafoods of Petersburg for purchasing commercially caught fish while having no code plates and no fisheries business license.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing as Deck Boss.

Read more: deckboss-thebrig.blogspot.com

California ends fish-killing dredge mining

EUREKA — After years of fighting, the Karuk Tribe feels it got a major win that will help protect vulnerable fish populations.

– Contra Costa Times

Read more: www.contracostatimes.com

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

Cash your Exxon check

It turns out a bunch of the plaintiffs who havereceived punitive damages payments from Exxon have not bothered to cash their checks yet!

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

After Alaska sacrifices, Yukon catches Chinook

The story of Yukon River king salmon returns this year follows a plot line first described by Charles Dickens — “it was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

– Fairbanks News-Miner

Read more: newsminer.com/news
or see the next issue of Pacific Fishing for an in depth report

Pinks disappoint in Prince William Sound

The season's biggest disappointment might be the Prince William Sound pink salmon fishery. So far it's been a royal bust.

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

Judge gives feds one more month on Columbia plan

A federal judge Monday gave the Obama administration another month before saying where it stands on the Bush administration's strategy for balancing endangered salmon against federal hydroelectric power production in the
Columbia Basin.

– The Daily Astorian

Read more: www.dailyastorian.com

Oregon ports offer fish gear disposal

Newport has joined Garibaldi as the first port communities in Oregon to participate in an innovative partnership to provide a cost-free way for fishermen to dispose of old fishing gear. – Lincoln City News-Times

Sacramento Chinook comeback would make jobs

The American Sportfishing Association, the trade association representing the sport fishing industry, has released economic information indicating that a full recovery of California’s Central Valley Chinook salmon runs can potentially provide $5.7 billion in new economic activity for the state and the creation
of 94,000 new jobs.

– Fly Rod and Reel

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Fraser sockeye run vanishes

The Fraser River sockeye have all but vanished in what is emerging as perhaps the worst year ever for the Pacific salmon fishery.

More than 90 per cent of the run that was expected to enter the river and head upstream to spawn is now missing in action. – Port Hardy (B.C.) Gazette

NY Times editorial: Chart a new course with the Columbia

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration must notify a federal court next month whether it will do what is necessary to save endangered salmon in the Pacific Northwest. The decision will tell us a lot about how the administration sees its obligations under the Endangered Species Act. The Bush team evaded its responsibilities with amazing acts of legal casuistry.

– New York Times

North Pacific council to listen to villagers

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has felt some heat in recent months from residents of western Alaska, chiefly over the issue of the Bering Sea pollock trawl fleet's incidental catches of Yukon River king salmon.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his new blog: Deck Boss

Akutan fishing vessel salvaged

The clean-up and salvage of the F/V Icy Mist is almost complete. The 58-foot boat went aground on Akutan Island on February 25, 2009.

–Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska

Personal used king crab fishery opens

A crab fishery that's been closed for two years opened recently with limited fishing grounds and reduced catch limits.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened the red and blue king crab personal-use fishery in limited areas of Southeast Alaska on July 29.

– Juneau Empire

N. Cal residents decry protected area fast track

The Marine Life Protection Act Initiative is stirring up the waters of the North Coast. While the possibility of more fishing restrictions is enough to raise interest, the most recent controversy centers around the formation of a Science Advisory Team (SAT).

– Crescent City Triplicate

Beached fishing boat stays put

Attempts to free the grounded tuna fishing vessel Lori Ann (ex Little Linda) near Newport, Ore., were unsuccessful Tuesday.

The 50-foot vessel was unable to be re-floated using the high tide and remains aground on Nye Beach.
A Coast Guard search and rescue team from Station Yaquina Bay, Ore., responded and ensured that the two crew members were brought safely onshore. There were no reports of injury.

– Coast Guard press release

Read more: www.piersystem.com

Thursday, August 13, 2009

E. Cook Inlet fishery close to finish

Last Thursday, eastern Cook Inlet commercial fishermen harvested 8,300 sockeye salmon, which is less than 1 percent of the 890,000 total harvested this year

– Kenai Peninsular Clarion

Read more: www.peninsulaclarion.com

Great prizes in Alaska photo contest

Pacific Fishing magazine and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute are holding an Alaska commercial fishing photo contest – with some nice prizes.

The winner will receive two tickets for anywhere Alaska Airlines flies. Second will get a $1,000 gift certificate from Wesmar. Third place comes with a $500 gift certificate from Redden Marine Supply.
Every entrant will receive a free Plante’s Knife and Sheath, a $22.95 value.

All you have to do is go to www.pacificfishing.com and click on the contest banner. Deadline is Oct. 15.

Dutch butts out

Unalaska's smoking ban went into full effect this week. Smoking is no longer allowed in any public spaces, including businesses, restaurants, and bars.

– Pacific Fishing columnist Anne Hillman, reporting from Unalaska for KUCB

Read more: www.publicbroadcasting.net

The mystery of missing Fraser sockeye

Scientists and others are scrambling to determine what happened to millions of sockeye salmon that defied their predictions and failed to return to the Fraser River this summer, leading to the closure of all the sockeye fishing on the river for the third year in a row.

– CBC

Read more: www.cbc.ca

No charges yet for Yukon protest fishery

Several subsistence fishermen who fished the Yukon River illegally in protest of strict regulations still haven't faced charges, six weeks after they publicly boasted about it.

– KTUU, Anchorage

Read more: www.ktuu.com

California poacher to pay $10,000

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration announced that the owners and operators of the commercial fishing vessel Risa Lynn will pay a $10,000 civil penalty as a settlement in an illegal-fishing case within a marine-protected area in the Channel Islands National Marine Sanctuary.

– Los Angeles Times

Read more: latimesblogs.latimes.com

Friday, August 14, 2009

Report: Alaska seas turning acidic faster than tropics

The same things that make Alaska's marine waters among the most productive in the world may also make them the most vulnerable to ocean acidification. According to new findings by a University of Alaska Fairbanks scientist, Alaska's oceans are becoming increasingly acidic, which could damage Alaska's king crab and salmon fisheries.

– Science Daily

Read more: www.sciencedaily.com

Gov. Parnell seeks disaster funds for Yukon River fishermen

Gov. Sean Parnell is seeking to secure federal disaster relief for Yukon River residents. Parnell urged the U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke to declare a fishery disaster due to poor returns of king salmon on the Yukon River.

– Seward Phoenix Log

Read more: www.thesewardphoenixlog.com

Columbia gillnetters have good openings

Commercial gillnetters had three blockbuster salmon openers on the Columbia River this month, and the Buoy 10 sport fishery is picking up fast.

Fishery managers were expecting the commercial fleet to catch 5,300 Chinook in three nights; instead they landed close to 9,300.

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

Read more: www.dailyastorian.com

Opinion: Beware closure of California waters

Our community is being carefully fed lies to justify closing large areas of our local state marine waters. You could lose access forever to shore-side and open-ocean fishing, clamming, and driftwood-gathering areas — and possibly even local beaches through a state process controlled by private interests that is currently unfolding in our area.

– Kenyon Hensel, writing in the Crescent City Triplicate

Read more: www.triplicate.com

Cosco Busan operator to pay $10 million fine

The Hong Kong-based company that operates the cargo ship that caused a 2007 oil spill in San Francisco Bay pleaded guilty Thursday to criminal charges.

Fleet Management Ltd. pleaded guilty to charges of obstruction, making false statements and negligent discharge of oil, and agreed to pay a $10 million fine under a deal reached with prosecutors. A federal judge still must approve the deal.

– Coos Bay World

Read more: www.theworldlink.com

Greenpeace after Atlantic cod fishery

Greenpeace has launched an ad campaign on buses and a billboard in Halifax and on a billboard in Ottawa that reads: “There’s probably no cod. Now let’s stop overfishing and think of the future.”

The simple message highlights the growing and devastating problem of overfishing. Atlantic cod are a perfect case in point: if you overfish a species faster than it can rebuild itself to a healthy population size, you run the risk of fishing it to extinction.

– Greenpeace

Read more: www.greenpeace.org

<<< TOP >>>