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Fishing groups, consumers and health organizations are launching a final push to prevent genetically modified fish from getting the nod for American dinner plates. During the holidays the Food and Drug Administration issued its environmental assessment concluding that the fish, tweaked to grow at least three times faster than normal, will not have any significant impacts on the human environment and is unlikely to harm wild stocks. The FDA’s environmental green light is the last step before AquaBounty, the creators of so called Frankenfish, c...
There’s lots of movement in Alaska’s salmon permit markets, but sales of catch shares are in a stall. Permit values are up and down depending on region, and interest reflects how the salmon runs have been coming in. for example At Bristol Bay, where sockeye runs for two years have been down and another lackluster season is expected this summer, salmon drift permit values have nosedived from a $165,000 high water mark in 2011 to around $90,000 now. “It’s hard to imagine they will go up a lot with a catch forecast of 16 to 17 million salmon...
Prince William Sound topped all other Alaska regions for salmon catches last year – but not by much. Fishermen in the Sound squeaked by their colleagues in the Panhandle by just 44 fish to get the #1 ranking for the 2012 season. The tally: 34,390,000 salmon crossed the docks at PWS compared to 34,346,000 for Southeast. For the second year running, Southeast Alaska beat out Bristol Bay for the most valuable salmon catch. According to preliminary numbers from the state, Southeast landings totaled $153 million at the docks, compared to $121 millio...
Ask an Alaskan what community is home to the most commercial fishermen and they will respond Kodiak or Dutch Harbor, or maybe Petersburg or Bristol Bay. Wrong! Anchorage ranks #1 for total fishing participation, with 994 permit holders and another 1,216 crew license holders who fish year round. The Anchorage–based fishermen brought home an estimated $52 million from the fishing grounds last year. The Mat-Su Valley with 396 permit holders and 420 fishing crew also is home to more harvesters than many coastal regions. Those are just a few of t...
The 2013 preseason terminal run size forecast for large Stikine River king salmon has been set by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 22,400 fish. A preseason terminal run forecast of this size does not allow for an allowable catch for either the U.S. or Canada. Therefore, no directed fisheries will occur in early May. An in-season terminal run estimate will be produced in late May. If the first in-season estimate is significantly greater than the pre-season forecast, limited directed king salmon fisheries could occur. The forecast...
The Coast Guard recommends that boat owners and operators in Southeast Alaska remain vigilant of the ever changing winter weather when planning their voyage. “The weather here can drastically change without warning,” said Cmdr. Marc Burd, Chief of Response, Coast Guard Sector Juneau. “Prepare for your trip the right way and ensure your boat is seaworthy and can handle current and forecasted sea and weather conditions. Additionally, always file a float plan with a friend or relative and stick to it the best you can.” The majestic waters of Sout...
Halibut catches could be cut by 33 percent next year if proposed numbers get the nod by the International Pacific Halibut Commission next month. That would mean a coast wide harvest of just 22.7 million pounds for fisheries in California, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Alaska’s share of the halibut catch would be 17.4 million pounds, down from about 25 million this year. Unlike past years, staff scientists are not making catch limit recommendations by separate areas. Instead, they are providing “assessment and advice framework...
The “graying of the fleet” continues in Alaska as fewer young folks obtain permits for various fisheries. Data from 2011 show that 45 percent of all Alaska permit holders were between the ages 45 and 60, with an average age of 47. That was roughly twice as many permit holders as there were between the ages of 30 and 44. Crew members were much younger, averaging around 21 years old. There also was a higher incidence of crew members in their mid-30s, dropping off in the older age range. This may b...
The results of a six year study on Western salmon will be unveiled this month and the conclusions are not what people of the region had hoped for. Some background: the Western Alaska Salmon Stock Identification Project (WASSIP) was created in 2006 by a group of eleven signers to a memorandum of understanding including Aleut Corporation, Aleutians East Borough, Association of Village Council Presidents, Bering Sea Fishermen’s Association, Bristol Bay Native Association, Concerned Area M Fishermen, Kawerak, Lake and Peninsula Borough, Tanana Chie...
Alaska salmon sales had lots of ups and downs this summer, but held their own overall in a tough market awash with farmed fish. The wild salmon catch goes to market in many forms such as canned, fresh or frozen, fillets and roe. The state Revenue Department/Tax Division provides quartile reports on first wholesale prices for all of Alaska’s salmon forms by species and region. Its report covering May – August shows lots of wild salmon fillets were tossed on the grill this summer, and people were willing to pay more for them. Alaska pro...
Southeast Alaska received a new Coast Guard cutter last week. Coast Guard Sector Juneau personnel welcomed the crew of the USCG Cutter Chandeleur during a ceremony at the Buoy Deck in Juneau on Friday, Oct. 12. The 110-foot Island Class patrol boat, which can accommodate a crew of 18 personnel, was moved from Miami, Fla., to Alaska to help support the regional response capabilities of the service in Southeast Alaska. “We welcome the crew of the Chandeleur to Alaska,” said Capt. Scott Bor...
State fishery managers are asking for input from Alaskans to help solve the case of disappearing king salmon. A letter went out last week from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell inviting stakeholders to a two day symposium in Anchorage later this month titled ‘Understanding Abundance and Productivity Trends of Chinook salmon in Alaska.’ The stated goal is ‘to increase understanding and develop the most complete research plan possible.’ A draft analysis by a newly appointed fisheries research team represents initial...
October is National Seafood Month – and it also marks the start of one of the busiest months for Alaska’s fishing industry. The state’s biggest crab fisheries get underway in the Bering Sea on October 15 – the Bristol Bay red king crab catch will hold steady at 7.8 million pounds, while the snow crab harvest has taken a dip to 66.3 million pounds, down from about 80 million pounds last season. The St. Matthew Island blue king crab fishery is also down a bit to 1.6 million pounds. Hundreds of divers in Southeast Alaska are plying the depths...
Starting on Oct. 16 the U.S. Coast Guard will begin requiring all commercial fishing vessels that operate more than three miles from shore to have completed a mandatory Coast Guard dockside safety examination. The requirement, which is a regulatory change, came about as a result of the passage of the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 by Congress. The change will affect commercial fishing fleets across the nation, and the Coast Guard is currently undertaking outreach efforts to make operators aware of the change before the October deadline....
At least 1.5 million tons of debris from Japan’s 2011 tsunami is still afloat, and at least half of it is expected to hit Alaska’s coastline. The region from Yakutat to Gore Point off the Kenai Peninsula will likely see the heaviest debris piles, but Southeast Alaska and other areas will see chunks of junk as well. Those are conclusions of a fascinating new report by Washington Sea Grant titled Debris Accumulation Scenarios in Washington State from the March 2011 Tohoku Tsunami. The Sea Grant report, authored by Ian Miller and Jim Brennan, says...
Dutch Harbor-Unalaska held onto the title of the nation’s top fishing port for the 15th year in a row, with over 700 million pounds of fish and crab crossing the docks there last year, a 36% increase from 2010. New Bedford, Massachusetts remained as the priciest port with landings, mostly scallops, worth nearly $370 million at the docks. Dutch Harbor ranked second again for seafood value at $207 million, an increase of $44 million The numbers come from the annual Fisheries of the United States Report just released by NOAA Fisheries. Overall, t...
Alaska fishermen are feeling the squeeze of lower prices at the same time that their operating costs continue to spiral upwards. For halibut, in a reversal of trend and fortune, prices have dropped by 70 cents a pound in recent weeks. Dock prices usually peak from September until the halibut fishery closes in November, but that is not the case this year — overstocked freezers and resistance from buyers have put a downward press on fish prices. “Buyers simply aren’t buying,” said several Alaska fish processors. Prior to the start of the season...
As Alaska’s salmon season winds down, selling the bulk of the harvest gears up for seafood companies that purchased the pack. “This is the season for negotiations, you might say,” said salmon guru Gunnar Knapp, longtime fisheries economist at the University of Alaska/Anchorage. “You never know the price until the product is actually sold.” The salmon season runs on different tracks starting with sockeye, and fish sales have varying schedules and market patterns throughout the year. Plus, salmon markets depend on the species and how they are...
Salmon season is winding down and it’s still a guess if the statewide catch will reach the 132 million fish forecast. Achieving that all comes down to those hard to predict pinks, whose catch makes up more than half of the total harvest. “I think it’s going to be close. It all depends on what happens with the pink salmon runs in the three major producing areas: Prince William Sound, Kodiak and Southeast,” said Geron Bruce, assistant director of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game’s commercial fisheries division. This summer a catch of 70.2 mill...
Jobs are being put on the fast track in Bristol Bay, with a focus on careers that go hand in hand with the region’s culture and economy: commercial fishing and seafood processing. “The fishery is our largest industry; it’s the backbone of the economy here,” said Patty Heyano, Program Development Director for the Bristol Bay Native Association in Dillingham. “So it made a whole lot of sense to concentrate on that. It seemed like we could make the biggest impact in the shortest amount of time because the industry is already here.” Heyano is r...
Alaska has more coastline than all of the other US states combined, but unlike all those other states, Alaskans have no say in how their coasts are managed or developed. If Outside and foreign corporations have their way, that’s how it will remain. A successful coastal zone management program has been in place since the 1970s, but the program expired last year when lawmakers and Governor Parnell failed to agree on its extension. Despite constant criticism of “the feds” always trying to butt into Alaska’s business, the state surrendered authori...
Alaska State fishery managers have determined that a mile-long oil sheen northwest of Sitka is from a fishing boat that sank earlier this month. The F/V Evening Star, a 50-foot seiner home-ported in Ilwaco, Wash., sank on Aug. 2 in nearly 60 feet of water during a fishing trip in Slocum Arm, which is about 40 miles northwest of Sitka. The vessel was reported at the time to have had as much as 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel aboard. According to witnesses on board, the vessel capsized while pulling...
Kodiak fishermen are a happy lot, but they are also anxious about the future of their industry. Those are some of the early findings of an ongoing survey that focuses on the social and cultural perceptions of the fishing life in Kodiak and how things have changed over two decades. The survey is part of a multiyear project titled Social Transitions and Wellbeing in Kodiak Fisheries and Communities by Courtney Carothers, an assistant professor UAF’s School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Carothers lived for more than a year in Kodiak villages to...
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...
Wrangell scoutmaster Don Roher works with Matt Covalt on his kayak merit badge requirements at the Wrangell Pool. Covalt will be the first Alaskan scout to earn the badge....