Blog.HaulingGear.com Archive (8-2008 to 3-2014)

Wrangell: Italian firm might have winning TravelLift bid wrangellsentinel.com November 29, 2012 Planning for the proposed Mariner’s Memorial at Heritage Harbor, and the purchase of a new travel lift for the Marine Service Center were the highlights of the most recent Wrangell Port Commission meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 20. After the selection of Brennon Eagle as the new chairman of the commission, and the seating of Eric Yancey as the newest member, the quorum present got down to business beginning... http://www.wrangellsentinel.com/story/2012/11/29/news/italian-firm-might-have-winning-lift-bid/723.html Halibut Commission looks at possible 30 percent reduction MOLLY DISCHNER Nov 29, 2012 - 04:41 PM Halibut catch limits could be cut more than 30 percent under preliminary numbers discussed at the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s interim meeting Nov. 29. The commission met in Seattle and heard from staff about a new stock assessment model and a new format for harvest ad

Alaska Ranked 6th Best Run State - ktuu.com ktuu.com/news/ktuu-alas… — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) November 29, 2012 Fishing groups object to federal program putting part-time observers on small halibut boats THE ASSOCIATED PRESS November 28, 2012 - 5:01 pm EST KETCHIKAN, Alaska — Alaska fishing groups want the state's congressional delegation to intervene over a federal program that will put observers on a portion of commercial halibut boats next year. The Ketchikan Daily News (  http://bit.ly/V6vj6C ) reports 13 groups sent a letter to the governor and Alaska's congressional delegation seeking assistance. The new North Pacific Groundfish Observer Program was approved Nov. 20 by the National Marine Fisheries Service, an arm of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Starting Jan. 1, biologist observers will be placed on some of Alaska's 1,300 small commercial halibut and sablefish boats to collect harvest data..... http://www.therepublic.com/

Posted by  Larry Yerich, USDA Alaska Public Information Coordinator , on November 28, 2012 at 2:30 PM Saint Paul Harbor in the Pribilof Islands. The Native community will soon receive improved broadband service thanks to USDA funding support. Photo courtesy of Scott Schuette and used with permission of TDX. usda.gov - The significance of a recently awarded USDA  Community Connect Broadband grant  to the predominantly Native town of  Saint Paul, Alaska , can’t really be appreciated until you know about this isolated community on one of the  Pribilof Islands  in the middle of the Bering Sea.  It is not served by the Alaska Marine Highway ferry system and the major shipping routes are 250 miles to the south.  The island is too far from the closest urban centers (more than 700 miles) to reach by light aircraft.  No commercial jet service is available.   Most supplies arrive by charter or flying service while freight arrives by barge, seasonally when the Bering Sea is ice-free.  

Alaska Governor Proposes Salmon Research Initiative 11-27-2012 gov.alaska.gov - November 27, 2012, Kenai, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell today AJOC Cordova Times Peninsula Clarion APRN Murkowski Applauds Loans for Disaster-Struck Fishery Businesses announced that his Fiscal Year 2014 budget will contain $10 million for the first component of a five-year, $30 million comprehensive Chinook Salmon Research Initiative. The research initiative will increase Alaska’s understanding of factors affecting the abundance of Chinook salmon stocks statewide. It will develop strategies to enhance viability and increase returns, using improved information from 12 indicator river systems from Southeast Alaska to the Arctic. The $10 million will complement existing funds in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s operating budget. The department currently spends approximately $14.6 million annually for Chinook salmon-related research and management. The governor’s fisheries initiative

High Wind Warning in Juneau and SE Alaska google.org/publicalerts/a… — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) November 27, 2012 Fish and Game forecasts drop in Bristol Bay salmon The early fishing boats (Photo credit: toddraden ) MOLLY DISCHNER Nov 26, 2012 - 03:07 PM The 2013 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon forecast is out, with a drop in total fish meaning a drop in harvest is likely. Alaska’s Department of Fish and Game is predicting a total of 26.03 million sockeye, which could produce a total harvest of 17.53 million fish, with 16.59 million for Bristol Bay, and 940,000 for South Peninsula fisheries. The department released its 2013 forecast Nov. 26..... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Blog-Fish-Bytes/April-2012/Fish-and-Game-forecasts-drop-in-Bristol-Bay-salmon/ Hatchery king release proposed for Frederick Sound near Petersburg by Matt Lichtenstein November 21, 2012 3:53 pm A plan aimed at establishing a hatchery king salmon return to Frederick Sound near Petersburg is gath

telegraph.co.uk Scientists want new name for mammal-eating orcas Published: November 25, 2012 By DAN JOLING — Associated Press ANCHORAGE, ALASKA — If whale expert John K.B. Ford has his way, school children one day will study a kind of North Pacific killer whale that preys on warm-blooded creatures - mostly harbor seals and sea lions, but also gray whales and seabirds. They roam as far north as the Arctic Ocean and are now known as "transients" to distinguish them from fish-eating "resident" killer whales.Ford and colleagues from Alaska to California want transient killer whales to be declared their own species, and they want them to have a new name: Bigg's killer whales, in honor of Michael Bigg, the researcher whose observations off British Columbia and Washington state led to...... http://www.adn.com/2012/11/25/2703681/scientists-want-new-name-for-mammal.html New book explores maritime history in Alaska's Aleutian Islands J. Pennelope Goforth |

Adapted from Wikipedia's AK borough maps by Seth Ilys. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Alaska biologists pledge to improve fish counting in 2013; Cook Inlet locals want it sooner THE ASSOCIATED PRESS November 24, 2012 - 6:19 pm EST WASILLA, Alaska — Wildlife biologists promise their efforts to revive the sinking number of king salmon will improve with planned updates to their fish counts, but area fishermen want information sooner than that. The decline in king salmon has continued unabated for several years in western Cook Inlet and Matanuska-Susitna area rivers. The Alaska Journal of Commerce reports (http://bit.ly/UZ0YH6) the poor returns have a dual impact: Fishermen and businesses catering to them are hurt financially, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game loses revenue from its tags issued for king salmon. "We need some better information to understand why production is... http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/8b4c1ee867554df7b3940a664c0555de/AK--Cook-Inlet-Salmon