Monday, July 18, 2011
GOOD BASE PRICE ON BRISTOL BAY
Deckboss hears a major Bristol Bay processor, Yardarm Knot, has posted a base price of $1 a pound for sockeye, plus 15 cents for chilled fish.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
Bristol Bay catch short
The Bristol Bay sockeye catch is coming up well short of forecast. The harvest through Thursday stood at 20.4 million reds, with 8.5 million taken in the Naknek-Kvichak District.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Wesley Loy, writing in his blog: Deckboss
More:deckboss.blogspot.com
CG tenders gather in Juneau
The Annual District Buoy Tender Roundup began in Juneau as nine U.S. Coast Guard buoy tenders from Alaska, Washington, Oregon, and British Columbia gather to study, train and compete in skills they will use in their various ships and on the waterways they sail.
– Juneau Empire
More:juneauempire.com
Yukon subsistence cut
Federal managers have limited subsistence fishing on the Yukon River because this summer's king salmon run is weaker than average.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Oregon boat aground
No one was injured when a 52-foot wooden-hulled fishing boat ran aground early Saturday morning, but the Coast Guard crew that was first on the scene had to turn around and go back to dock to get smaller boat in order to rescue the three people on board.
– KVAL, Eugene
More:www.kval.com
Aboard a doomed tug
If I took the tug to all stop, the barge would quickly blow away from her (and me). But having no choice in the matter, I did just that.
– gcaptain.com
More:gcaptain.com
Fight against frankenfish
Alaska's congressional delegation is keeping up its battle to keep genetically modified salmon off the market.
– Dutch Harbor Fisherman
More:www.thedutchharborfisherman.com
Farming sea cucumbers
The male red sea cucumbers were spawning already, induced by water, light and temperature manipulations conducted by Charlotte Regula-Whitefield and hatchery director Jeff Hetrick.
– Peninsula Clarion
More:peninsulaclarion.com
Bristol Bay tourism
At the edge of the Arctic lies a primordial land where immense tectonic plates collide.
– Indian Country Today Media network
More:indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com
NPR discovers Columbia sea lions
Each summer thousands of salmon can be seen shooting upstream at the mouth of the Columbia River in Oregon and into Washington state. Sea lions congregate there. They think of the salmon migration as a buffet.
– NPR
More:www.npr.org
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
ALASKA CATCH ROUNDUP
Here's a roundup of catches and prices for some of Alaska's fisheries.
– Laine Welch
More:Bristol Bay bummer
Escapement in Bristol Bay
The 2011 sockeye salmon run to Bristol Bay is most definitely going to come in well below the preseason forecast, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game made most of the escapement goals for the area rivers.
– KDLG, Dillingham
More:kdlg.org
Record Kenai sockeye run
A huge stampede of red salmon into the Kenai River set a record Sunday at the upstream fish counter – an exclamation point for a weekend of hot fishing in Cook Inlet and for dipnetters at the river's mouth.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Aleutian earthquake
The Saturday quake was powerful enough to be felt as far as Akutan. However, its impact on area residents was minimal.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Brookings grounded boat
The U.S. Coast Guard has hired a contractor to remove a fishing vessel that ran aground Saturday in the Chetco River near the north jetty in Brookings.
– The World, Coos Bay
More:theworldlink.com
New Canadian Coast Guard boats
The Hon. Keith Ashfield, minister of Fisheries and Oceans, officially introduced three new Coast Guard ships in British Columbia to the Canadian Coast Guard fleet.
– Rupert Daily On Line
More:www.rupertdaily.ca
Top goal: Save baitfish
After decades of struggling to keep iconic species such as salmon and whales from going extinct, marine scientists are now focusing on sardines, squid and other forage fish that form the biological linchpin of the California Current.
– SignonSanDiego.com
More:www.signonsandiego.com
Drones to monitor Alaska sea lions
Greg Walker is looking to fly in places where blue sky and runways are in short supply.
– Alaska Journal
More:www.alaskajournal.com
Wednesday, July 20, 2011
COD FLEET HAPPY WITH QUOTAS
The Pacific cod fishery is a month into B-season, and the freezer longline fleet is fishing at an even pace under a quota system.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Salmon farms, herring and sea lice
Sea lice on herring this small (they are about 4cm long) were never reported before salmon farms arrived.
– Alexandra Morton
More:alexandramorton.typepad.com
Fraser sockeye report
The migration of Early Stuart sockeye through the marine assessment areas continues to decrease while the migration of Early Summer-run sockeye is increasing.
– Pacific Salmon Commission
More:www.psc.org
More citations on Bristol Bay
Alaska State Troopers this past week reported a number of new citations issued for violations in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery.
– Bristol Bay Times
More:thebristolbaytimes.com
Program traces fish to consumer
The end result is Thisfish.info, an online seafood traceability system that connects fishermen with consumers and takes some of the murkiness out of North America's fish distribution industry.
– The Province, Vancouver
More:www.theprovince.com
Dungie fishing in Alaska
About 7 to 8 million pounds of Dungies come out of the state's summer and fall fisheries, with about 1 million pounds from Kodiak and the bulk from Southeast.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Laine Welch, reporting in SitNews, Ketchikan
More:www.sitnews.us
Fight over listing Klamath kings
A group that represents irrigators in the Klamath Basin is fighting environmentalists' attempt to have Klamath River Chinook salmon listed under the Endangered Species Act.
– Capital Press
More:www.capitalpress.com
Aground near Angoon
The 100-foot fishing vessel Oregon, based in Lopez, Wash., has run aground in Kelp Bay off Chatham Strait near Angoon in Southeast Alaska.
– Anchorage Daily News
More:www.adn.com
Thursday, July 21, 2011
INLET SOCKEYE RUSH CONTINUES
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is opening extra fishing days for commercial fishermen to harvest the record flow of red salmon headed for the Kenai River to spawn.
– Homer Tribune
More:homertribune.com
Editorial: Trawl damage
The damage done by the trawler is a setback. But it is a graphic reminder of the damage and destruction from this kind of fishing, the lack of environmental protection and the limited enforcement of existing rules.
– Victoria Times Colonist
More:www.timescolonist.com
Pollution solution: Pollock bones
Alaskan pollock is usually the faux stand-in for crab meat or the main ingredient in fast-food fish sandwiches. But now the flaky fish is moving into a new realm — as part of the solution to one of the nation's longest-running toxic waste problems.
– New York Times
More:www.nytimes.com
Not a bomb, but part of a boat
The missile-like object found on John Brown's Beach in Sitka earlier this month is a dud. In fact, it's not a missile at all, but rather a piece of aluminum pipe, most likely off the back of a commercial fishing boat.
– KCAW, Sitka
More:kcaw.org
Judge shuns tribe in irrigation battle
A Siskiyou County Superior Court official has denied the efforts by an American Indian tribe, environmentalists and fishermen to intervene in a lawsuit over water permits between agricultural interests and state fish managers.
– Redding (Calif.) Record Searchlight
More:www.redding.com
Mexico bests U.S. in tuna dispute
The World Trade Organization has sided with Mexico in a two-decade long trade battle with the U.S. over whether Mexico's tuna fish is "dolphin safe," Mexican officials said.
– Wall Street Journal
More:online.wsj.com
Mayday off San Francisco
At approximately 7:50 p.m., the Coast Guard Sector San Francisco Command Center received a distress call from the vessel Two Sons, a 31-foot commercial fishing vessel, that was taking on water with two people on board.
– Coast Guard
More:www.pacificareainfo.com
Aleutian volcano stirs
Mount Cleveland is heating up once again. The Alaska Volcano Observatory issued an advisory alert today, saying that their satellites have detected increased thermal activity.
– Pacific Fishing columnist Alexandra Gutierrez, reporting for KUCB, Unalaska
More:www.kucb.org
Friday, July 22, 2011
NOAA UNVEILS HALIBUT SHARING PLAN
NOAA's Fisheries Service is seeking public comment on a draft rule, called a catch sharing plan, designed to sustainably manage the halibut stock in southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska.
– NOAA
More:alaskafisheries.noaa.gov
Fishing heats up in Southeast
Commercial seine fishing boats from Southeast and the Pacific Northwest could be seen working the waters near Juneau for pink and chum salmon in recent weeks as officials announced area openings.
– Juneau Empaire
More:juneauempire.com
Alaska Fisheries Report
Coming up this week, one man has an idea why the Bristol Bay sockeye season came up so short this year; a new study shows Frankenfish can breed with wild salmon if they get loose; and what if the charter halibut fleet could buy commercial halibut quota?
– KMXT, Kodiak
More:www.kmxt.org
Oregon marine reserves move ahead
Under the leadership of State Rep. Jean Cowan, the Oregon Coastal Caucus, and Oregon Gov. John Kitzhaber, the state is moving forward with the recommendations of the Ocean Policy Advisory Council to establish marine reserves at Otter Rock, Redfish Rocks, Cape Perpetua, Cascade Head, and Cape Falcon.
– Daily Astorian
More:www.dailyastorian.com
Boat repaired, then destroyed
Steven Niedorf spent every penny he had to repair his commercial fishing boat, Josias, after it was damaged in the March tsunami.
– Crescent City Triplicate
More:www.triplicate.com
Unfried fish finds fans
Total seafood and fried seafood servings have been declining for several years while servings of non-fried seafood have increased over the last two years.
– Perishable News
More: www.perishablenews.com
Sporties complain of commercial nets
"The Vancouver based seine fleet is allowed to come in and vacuum up all of the fish — at absolutely no benefit to the valley."
– BCLocalNews
More:www.bclocalnews.com
Kodiak feeds French chefs
Kodiak is showing some of France's most renowned chefs how we harvest seafood around the island - and how we love to cook it.
– Anchorage Daily News
Read more:www.adn.com
Mexican sardine fishery certified
Mexico's largest fishery by volume, the Pacific sardine fishery in the Gulf of California (Sardinops sagax), has been certified following independent assessment to the MSC standard for sustainable, well-managed fisheries.
– MSC
More:www.msc.org