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#12-27-2012 - ComFish News Roundup

Silver Bay to open Bristol Bay plant in ’14
by Mike Mason, KDLG
December 26, 2012 12:16 pm
Sitka-based Silver Bay Seafoods has acquired property in Bristol Bay for a new processing operation there. The company plans to sell shares in the operation to raise the $25-million needed for construction. Beginning in 2014, Silver Bay hopes to process large portions of the Bristol Bay driftnet salmon fishery, and the Togiak sac-roe herring fishery.... http://www.kcaw.org/2012/12/26/silver-bay-to-open-bristol-bay-plant-in-14/

Planning for Kake – Petersburg Intertie has begun
December 27, 2012
Planning and preliminary design work has begun for a new electrical transmission line intertie that would extend west across the Tongass National Forest, from the Petersburg area to Kake on Kupreanof Island. According to Project Manager for the Intertie, Mark Schinman, the Kake – Petersburg Intertie would transmit power to Kake at either 69 or 138 kilovolts and consist primarily of single wood pole structures. Schinman also explained that two primary alternative routes are being considered. The two routes generally follow previously... http://www.petersburgpilot.com/story/2012/12/27/news/planning-for-kake-petersburg-intertie-has-begun/884.html / http://www.fs.fed.us/nepa/project_content.php?project=31761

Chum Salmon WASSIP Information Presented to the Alaska Board of Fish
12/26/12
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently released some very detailed genetic information and analysis of chum salmon in Western Alaska. The members of the Alaska Board of Fisheries received an overview of the information during their “Bristol Bay” meeting that was held earlier this month in Naknek. KDLG’s Mike Mason covered the meeting and filed this report. (3:07)... http://www.kdlg.org/news/archive.php?id=2401

Complaint Filed in U.S. District Court Challenging Fisheries Monitoring Program
The Boat Company files complaint on behalf of
commercial, recreational and subsistence fishermen
December 26, 2012
(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska - The Juneau-based Boat Company has filed a complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Alaska challenging the National Marine Fisheries Service’s (NMFS) program for monitoring discard (bycatch) in large volume trawl fisheries. The complaint, filed on December 21st, requests that the court remand the Final Rule to NMFS for the purpose of developing a monitoring... http://www.sitnews.us/1212News/122612/122612_complaint.html

FDA Report on Frankenfish Alarming
Begich Calls on Alaskans to Make Public Their Opposition to GE Salmon
December 26, 2012
(SitNews) - U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Oceans and Fisheries, blasted the December 21st announcement by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) on its draft report finding that genetically engineered salmon holds “no significant impact” on the environment or public health. “The notion that consuming Frankenfish is safe for the public and our oceans is a joke,” Begich said. “I will fight tooth and nail with my Alaska colleagues to make sure consumers have a clear choice when it comes to wild and sustainable versus lab-grown science projects.” Sen. Begich ( D-AK) has been protesting against the FDA’s march in favor of genetically modified salmon since he came to the Senate. Begich is calling on all Alaskans to participate in the ongoing public comment period and let the FDA know how they feel about Frankenfish..... http://www.sitnews.us/1212News/122612/122612_frankenfish.html

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 26, 2012
Southeast Alaska Gillnetters Struggling with Observer Program
Commercial harvesters in the Southeast Alaska salmon drift gillnet fishery, mandated for observation under the federal Marine Mammal Protection Act, say changes are needed in the program because it’s disrupting their fishery. “It’s just a colossal waste of money,” said B.J. King, a veteran commercial fisherman from Kent, Washington. “They’re not telling us what they’re really after. “I was observed twice this year, and it wasn’t a very pleasant experience,” he said. He realizes observers are just trying to do their job, but having somebody operating a small vessel 10 feet off the back of your boat when you are trying to clean the net off, counting fish....... http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2012/12/southeast-alaska-gillnetters-struggling.html

Story last updated at 1:08 PM on Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Aren't we willing to protect salmon?
The anadromous stream ordinances originated with Drew Scalzi, during his tenure on the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly. At the time we knew it didn't begin to go far enough to protect the peninsula's very precious resource, the salmon, but it was a start, and concentrated on the Kenai and other major rivers. As assembly member Bill Smith recently pointed out, in spite of the ordinance that controls what can and cannot occur along the.... http://homernews.com/stories/122612/letters_protect.shtml

Wednesday, December 26, 2012
Story last updated at 12/26/2012 - 4:12 pm
Southeast History: Baranof Island's Redfish Bay Cannery
By Pat Roppel | Capital City Weekly
The Baranof Packing Company moved its cannery to Redfish Bay in 1891 from Redoubt Bay near Sitka. By this time, Redoubt's operator, Captain L. H. Smith, knew there were more prolific streams than Redoubt Lake. It has been fished heavily for many years. Redfish Bay, located on the Pacific Ocean side of Baranof Island, is close to many other fjords. A creek would provide operational water and had potential for making power..... http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/122612/ae_1081108012.shtml

Camera gives Canadian researchers a glimpse of undersea Arctic life
CBC News | Eye on the Arctic | Dec 26, 2012
Data is now streaming live from the Arctic sea floor near Cambridge Bay in Canada's eastern Arctic territory of Nunavut. A team from Ocean Networks Canada, based at the University of Victoria, installed the undersea monitoring station in September. Dr. Kim Juniper spoke at the Arctic Net Conference in Vancouver on Dec. 14. He said the observatory is already generating interest among scientists who want to use the site for their own work.... http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/camera-gives-canadian-researchers-glimpse-undersea-arctic-life

Why risk lucrative salmon fishery to line British trousers at expense of Alaskans?
Courtenay Gomez & Kim Williams | Dec 26, 2012
Over the last few weeks, the Bristol Bay Times has been reviewing the recently released Peer Review of the Environmental Protection Agency's Watershed Assessment concerning the proposed Pebble Mine. Much attention has been made of this assessment and the peer review process, both here in Alaska and across the entire country. As a quick refresher, in order to ensure a thorough assessment of the Bristol Bay watershed, EPA scientists gathered information from numerous sources including the State of Alaska, Federal Government, Alaska tribes, scientific institutions, published journals, peer-reviewed... http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/why-risk-lucrative-salmon-fishery-line-british-trousers-expense-alaskans














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