Sorted by date Results 401 - 424 of 424
Water ways - With 82% of Alaska’s communities unreachable by roads, water is the way to go. Businesses that serve the marine industry, including ports and harbors, are a lifeline for coastal communities. State economic specialists want to highlight the importance of the marine trade sector, and the jobs it provides, which are often overlooked. In March they launched an online Business Retention and Expansion questionnaire hoping to get feedback from coastal residents on how their marine businesses are faring. “Ship building and repair bus...
The OceansAlaska Marine Science Center has barely opened its doors and tiny oysters are already growing out at the new floating facility at George Inlet in Ketchikan. The 28-acre site was granted to the non-profit by the state and Ketchikan borough in 2006. The Center houses the first home grown source of oyster ‘seed’ for Alaska growers, and aims to be the go to place for mariculture research and training. There are 29 shellfish farms producing in Alaska so far in Southcentral and Southeast regions. The main crop is oysters, with sales val...
The red salmon catch at Bristol Bay is on its way to 20 million fish and will very likely go higher, due to a strong run of more than 30 million fish. The reds were still surging into the region’s five big rivers and should serve to boost the harvest beyond the forecast of nearly 22 million fish. With all the salmon fisheries going on every summer all across Alaska, you might wonder why so much attention is focused on Bristol Bay? The answer can be summed up in two words: sockeye salmon. Bristol Bay’s rivers are home to the largest red sal...
Marine debris trackers are taking to the air any day to get a better idea of where and what is washing ashore from last year’s devastating tsunami in Japan. Best ‘guesstimates’ claim at least 1.5 million tons of debris are afloat on and under the current driven waters that routinely cover Alaska coastlines. The State has funded a $200,000 systematic aerial survey by Airborne Technologies, Inc. of Virginia that will span waters and beaches from Cold Bay to Ketchikan to get a more complete view of the debris problem. “That should give a good pi...
A first ever accounting of bycatch in US fisheries has been achieved by federal scientists in a user friendly report that aims to set a baseline for the accidental takes of fish, marine mammals, seabirds, and other creatures by fishing gear. The National Bycatch Report, based primarily on 2005 data, shows fish landings and estimated bycatch ratios of nearly 400 types of sea creatures by gear type and region. It is part of an effort to track changes in bycatch over time, according to NOAA Fisheries, and to help managers meet mandates to...
Thanks to a nearly $3 million show of support from the state, high tech buoys will soon be measuring ocean acidity levels year ‘round, and Alaska fishermen will play an important role in the research. Basic chemistry proves that ocean waters are becoming more corrosive and it is happening faster in colder waters. The acidity, caused by increasing carbon dioxide emissions, can prevent shells from forming on crabs or oysters and tiny shrimplike organisms essential to fish diets. Alaska’s monitoring project will allow scientists to develop a “se...
Sea otters are expanding throughout Southeast Alaska and dining on crab, sea cucumbers, geoduck clams and more as they go. An ongoing study aims to track the otters, what they’re eating and where they are going – and researchers hope to get ‘grounds truth’ from Southeast residents. For the past two years, Sea Grant marine advisory agents have spearheaded a project to learn more about the region’s sea otter diets and behaviors. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has provided aerial surveys and otter tagging to track their movements around Kupreono...
The value of Alaska fishing permits has see-sawed over the past year with Cook Inlet prices heading upwards and Bristol Bay on the down side. “Cook Inlet had a really good year last year, and they’re expecting another strong fishery this summer. Salmon drift permits have taken off with sales made at $80,000 compared to around $50,000 last year,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer Prices have headed the other way in Bristol Bay. The Bay permits, are not so hot. They ran way up last year on expectations of good fish numbers...
Soccer balls …motorcycles…reminders of the massive tsunami in Japan a year ago are now appearing along Alaska’s coastlines. “It’s safe to say that tsunami debris is here,” said Merrick Burden, director of the Juneau-based Marine Conservation Alliance Foundation. Since January the MCA has been tracking where and the kinds of debris that is coming ashore, and whether it is radioactive (none so far), at Kodiak, Yakutat, Sitka and Craig where the wreckage was first likely to hit. “What we’re finding are wind driven objects like buoys, Styrofo...
It has taken a quarter of a century, but fishery managers are finally poised to take action to reduce the five million pounds of halibut allowed to be taken as bycatch in Gulf of Alaska (GOA) fisheries. Industry watchers are hoping that public comments will sway them to make the largest cuts under consideration. Currently, 2,300 metric tons of halibut bycatch is allowed in the GOA groundfish fisheries. That is further broken down to 2,000mt for the trawl sector and 300mt for hook and line fisheries, primarily the cod fleet. Those are the two f...
Brainstorming over halibut bycatch is the theme of a two day workshop this week in Seattle. Topping the discussions: the methods used to collect bycatch numbers and the accuracy of the data. Setting a precedent: the IPHC and NPFMC working together to reduce the estimated 10 million pounds of halibut taken as bycatch and discarded in Alaska’s fisheries. “As far as I know, this meeting represents a first ever joint effort by the two bodies to meet together to discuss current “science” and/or research,” said Duncan Fields of Kodiak, a membe...
A resurgence of farmed fish and shifting world currencies could shake up salmon markets this year. “There are two trends going into the current salmon season that we haven’t seen for several years,” said Gunnar Knapp, a fisheries economist at the University of Alaska at Anchorage. “Exchange rates look to be weaker, not stronger, and perhaps more importantly, farmed salmon prices, rather than rising or holding steady, have fallen significantly. So we will be selling into a market where there is a lot more competing product available at a lot...
For the first time ever, seafood industry reps were invited to brief policy makers in Congress on jobs and economic opportunities. Last Thursday the group presented a panel discussion called ‘Seafood Jobs in America’ to the Senate Oceans Caucus and an audience of 80 people. According to Seafood.com, it included representatives of twelve senators and even one from the White House, plus a large contingent from the environmental NGO community. Alaska Senators Lisa Murkowski and Mark Begich both made opening remarks at the event. “Nobody else...
Fishermen in the world’s largest salmon fishery at Bristol Bay are getting good grades for improving the quality of their salmon, and it’s boosting their bottom line. Starting in 2008, two projects have tracked fish quality based on specific handling practices, and given individual fishermen scores on their improvements (or not). “The two studies go hand in glove. First you get a score and understand where you are, and secondly, if you wish to improve, then you can start changing the way you handle your fish out on the water to bring your score...
The Pacific halibut fishery gets underway on March 17 and if the dynamic of supply and demand holds true, there will be an upward push on prices. The coast wide halibut catch was reduced by more than 18% this year to 33.5 million pounds, following a 19% cut to the catch last year. Alaska’s share of the harvest is 25.5 million pounds. That will be shared by roughly 2,200 Alaska longliners who hold quota shares of the halibut catch. Fresh halibut of the season will undoubtedly fetch over $6/lb at major ports. The average price for halibut d...
State fishery managers project a lower Alaska salmon harvest this year, due to an expected decrease in those hard to predict pinks. The total catch forecast by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game is 132 million salmon, down 25% from the 177 million fish taken in 2011. The statewide breakdown is 120,000 Chinook salmon (in areas outside Southeast, where catches are dictated by treaty with Canada); 38.4 million sockeye salmon, a decline of 4%; 4.3 million coho (similar to last year); 19 million chums, 12% higher; and 70.2 million pinks,...
It’s a mixed bag in America in terms of bankrolling ‘the best available science’ for our nation’s fisheries. Based on the preliminary federal budget released last week, funds for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration went from $4.7 billion to $5.5 billion, an increase of about $750 million. Within the NOAA budget, funding for the National Marine Fisheries Service comes in at $1 billion - a drop of $15 million from its actual budget for the last fiscal year. Out of NMFS’ FY13 budget, $174 million will fund science and man...
Over half of all fishing fatalities are due to vessels going down, and most of the boats sink because of flooding. The sinkings of the Alaska Ranger and Katmai in 2008, for example, in which12 men died, both stemmed from flooding through open hatches. Those and other sinkings highlighted the need for an alert that provides immediate status of all openings aboard fishing boats. To the rescue: a simple electronic monitoring system on doors and hatches that sends signals to the...
Alaskans were surprised to learn (from the Anchorage Daily News’ Alaska Ear, of all places) that there is a new and very different mission statement posted by the Department of Natural Resources on the State of Alaska website. The old ‘statement of policy’: “To develop, conserve and enhance natural resources for present and future generations.” The new mission statement: “To responsibly develop Alaska‘s resources by making them available for maximum use and benefit consistent with the public interest.” Questions about the mission shift...
As expected there will be less halibut available for fishermen to catch this year – an 18% drop to 33 million pounds, to be split among fisheries along the west coast, British Columbia and Alaska. That follows a 19% cut to the catch last year. The announcement was made at the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s annual meeting last week in Anchorage. Alaska always gets the lion’s share of the catch, which this year will be 25.5 million pounds. Driving the fishing decreases: Pacific halibut stocks continue a decade long decline, t...
An array of 19 new seafood products will compete for top honors at the annual Symphony of Seafood contest, and the crowd will choose the popular People’s Choice award. The Symphony began nearly two decades ago as a way to celebrate innovation and introduce new Alaska seafood products. The event provides an even playing field for Alaska’s major seafood companies and small ‘mom and pops, such as Tustamena Smokehouse in Kasilof with its salmon bacon. “It is the most wonderful stuff. It doesn’t taste fishy; it just tastes like wonderful low fat ba...
Most people don’t know that 40 years ago Alaska pioneered the use of sonar to track salmon runs, or that state fishery managers operate 15 sonar sites on 13 rivers from Southeast to the Yukon. The goal of making Alaskans more aware of one of Alaska’s most important fish counting tools has been accomplished with the launch of new web based project that lets visitors see three types of sonar in action. The site explains that traditional tools such as weirs and counting towers can be used to count salmon in clear, narrow streams, but not in wi...
The Bering Sea snow crab fishery is picking up steam earlier than usual as the fleet scrambles to get the catch before rapidly encroaching sea ice shuts them down. About 25 boats are out on the water so far, soon to be joined by 60 or so more as the forecast calls for continued frigid weather and high winds. Although the fishery opens by regulation October 15, most crabbers usually wait until mid-January to begin dropping pots. The snow crab catch was boosted 64% this season to nearly 80 million pounds. Boats left without settling on a price,...
Alaska’s seafood industry continued its mission to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from rail belt regions who tend to overlook its economic significance. How important is the seafood industry to Alaska and the nation? At a glance: 62% of all U.S. seafood landings come from Alaska, as does 96% of all U.S. wild- caught salmon. Seafood is by far Alaska’s #1 export, valued at nearly $2 billion (next in line: zinc and lead exports at $785 million); and Alaska ranks 9th in the world in terms of global seafood production. The...
