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

Accept the risen Jesus into your life. Even if you have been far away, take a small step towards him: he awaits you with open arms. — Pope Francis (@Pontifex) March 31, 2013 Wild Alaska Salmon. It sells! #oregon twitter.com/alaskatravelgr… — Scott McMurren (@alaskatravelgrm) March 31, 2013 FAA now backing low cost sat-trackers @ spot_messenger (Globalstar) & spidertracks (Iridium) 4pilots alaskadispatch.com/article/201303… Our turn re: AIS? — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) March 31, 2013 Laine Welch: Federal plan in the works to reduce bycatch | Laine Welch | ADN.com adn.com/2013/03/30/284… — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) March 31, 2013 McClatchyDC/ADN: Defining Alaska Sen. Begich: Centrist or liberal? adn.com/2013/03/30/284… Categorizing Begich depends adn.com/2013/03/30/284… — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) March 31, 2013 In Denial | The meltdown of the climate campaign - The Weekly Standard (deep analysis) weeklystandard.com

530pm Update: Fishery closed.. Low harvest level. Mixed fish etc. The Sitka Sound Herring Fishery is now open! (10 minutes ago) Click to hear what it sounded like in Sitka on the radio 10 minutes ago. Quick note. It doesn't matter what time it is on your watch. The fishery opens when he says it is on the air. Update: @JuneauTek with Ustream footage from his phone! Video streaming by Ustream

2pm update.. Fishing for herring in Sitka is happening at at 410pm! (North of town) 1pm update ..  ADF&G moments ago on VHF Radio. Sitka Sound Herring may happen this afternoon! ADF&G biologist on channel 10 in Sitka now. Low chance of herring fishing today. 18 miles of active spawn. Next update at 1pm. HG Description unavailable (Photo credit: dno1967b ) McDonald's Pulls McBites From Menu By Lauren Rosenthal Friday, March 29 2013 McDonald’s bet on their new Fish McBites to help lift the company out of financial doldrums this winter. The gamble didn’t pay off: The new product didn’t sell very well, and it’s going to be pulled from the menu at the end of March. But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, the McBites experiment wasn’t a total flop -- at least, not for Alaskan fishermen....... http://kucb.org/news/article/mcdonalds-pulls-mcbites-from-menu/ Halibut commission director discusses catch levels, bycatch by Joe Viechnick

This is a eight-photo panorama of Cook Inlet's Turnigan Arm, a few miles south of Anchorage, Alaska. The tide's out. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Date: March 29, 2013 uscg.mil - Coast Guard examines Mobile Offshore Drilling Units bound for Cook Inlet, Alaska ANCHORAGE, Alaska – Coast Guard inspectors conducted certificate of compliance  examinations in Homer and Port Graham early this week  on two mobile offshore drilling units that plan on conducting operations in Cook Inlet. Inspectors from Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, Marine Safety Detachment Homer and Marine Safety Unit Texas City successfully examined the vessels to verify compliance with applicable international and Federal regulations. The Endeavour – Spirit of Independence was satisfactorily examined in Homer over Saturday and Sunday at which time the vessel received a Coast Guard Certificate of Compliance. The Spartan 151 was satisfactorily examined in Port Graham on Tuesday and was also issued a Coast Gu

Well done sir..... Senator Fred Dyson - Good Friday Floor Speech from AlaskaSenateMajority on Vimeo .

Mindy Heyano - F/V Lady Mindy: youtu.be/nFlnf4R1kTs via @ youtube — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) March 29, 2013 Responsible Fisheries Management of Alaska: youtu.be/8r-DUvSNJ3M via @ youtube — Hauling Gear #Alaska (@haulinggear) March 29, 2013 News Releases By Date Alaska seafood processors settle with EPA for Clean Water Act waste discharge violations Release Date: 03/28/2013 Contact Information: Hanady Kader, EPA Public Affairs yosemite.epa.gov (Seattle--March 28, 2013) Two seafood processors operating in Alaskan waters failed to comply with Clean Water Act permits that regulate seafood waste discharges, according to settlement agreements with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency . Aleutian Leader Fisheries and Salamatof Seafoods agreed to settle the violations with EPA in separate agreements and pay fines. “Clean Water Act permits protect Alaska’s important marine habitat and the ocean food chain,” said Jeff KenKnight, manager of the National Pollutant Disch

Sitka Area Office 7:00 a.m. Yesterday, March 28, the second opening of the Sitka Sound herring sac roe fishery occurred from 2:00  p.m. until 5:30 p.m. in an large area of northern Sitka Sound north of 57° 07.00’N. latitude, south of 57° 10.95’ N. latitude, and east of a line from the northernmost tip of Crow Island to the southeasternmost tip of Kresta Point, including all waters of Katlian Bay. The preliminary harvest for this opening was 3,600 tons. On March 27, approximately 2,100 tons were harvested for a total harvest to date of 5,700 tons. This leaves approximately 5,850 tons remaining of the 11,549 guideline harvest level. Five roe samples taken yesterday indicated very high quality herring throughout the area opened with mature roe recoveries ranging from 12.3% to 15.9% and average weights of 184 grams to 211 grams. The first spawn was recorded during yesterday’s aerial survey with a total of 2.2 nautical miles of intense spawning mostly on the south and east sides

Real things still matter..   Just keep your gear in shape and fish on.. HG  

Herring opens: Seiners start in on 11,549 tons by Ed Ronco, KCAW March 27, 2013 2:04 pm This story was last updated at 6:29 p.m. Some 48 seiners went fishing for herring this afternoon in the waters off Sitka. The first opening of Sitka’s lucrative and fast-paced commercial herring fishery began at 3 p.m. and ended at 6:05 p.m. The fishing appeared to be slow-going in the first opener. After nearly two hours of.... http://www.kcaw.org/2013/03/27/sitka-sac-roe-herring-opens-today-3-p-m/ One of our all time favorites.... Real and raw.. Uploaded in 2007 by Jason .. Begich: Shipping riskier than drilling in Arctic Posted: Wednesday, March 27, 2013 2:48 pm | Updated: 4:53 pm, Wed Mar 27, 2013. Associated Press | 1 comment ANCHORAGE, Alaska - More than 250 vessels operated last year in the Arctic Ocean and made 480 transits through the Bering Strait, and the increasing traffic poses more of a threat than Arctic offshore drilling, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said Wednesday..... http:

English: Mount Verstovia, Alaska, USA. (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Sitka Area Office Time: 8:00 a.m. Yesterday, March 27, the Sitka Sound herring sac roe fishery was opened from 3:00 p.m. until 6:05 p.m. in an area southwest of a line from the easternmost tip of Bieli Rock to the westernmost tip of Makhnati  Island, north of 57° 02.40’ N. latitude and east of 135° 29.97’ W. longitude. The preliminary harvest for  this opening was approximately 2,100 tons. Vessel and aerial surveys conducted yesterday indicated herring were beginning to move from offshore areas into the island groups to the south of Middle and Kasiana Islands. Large numbers of whales continue to be seen in the offshore areas as well. No spawning has been recorded as of March 27. Herring were seen in shallow waters on the southeast side of Kasiana Island during the aerial survey. The plan for tomorrow is to continue vessel and aerial surveys and to conduct test sampling to monitor herring distribution and roe

Alaska salmon MSC re-certification pushed back to July ASMI March 27, 2013, 8:48 am Undercurrent News The Marine Stewardship Council’s re-certification of the Alaskan salmon fishery has been pushed back by more than two months, to July 16. The US fishery, which catches around 287,000 metric tons of salmon a year, was initially scheduled to be re-certified by May 1. The delay has been due to “illness and team member travel”, the MSC said...... http://www.undercurrentnews.com/2013/03/27/alaska-salmon-msc-re-certification-pushed-back-to-july/ Orca Bay Seafoods Receives Chain Of Custody Certification From Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute by Orca Bay Seafoods Posted: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 at 3:15PM EDT Orca Bay Seafoods has been awarded certification in Chain of Custody from ASMI (Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute) by successfully meeting the requirements of the FAO-Based Responsible Fisheries Management (RFM) Chain of Custody Certification standard administered by Global

Reporter at the Nome finish line of the 2007 Iditarod Trail Sled Dog Race. Reporter identified by Flickr commenter lancehankins as "Megan Baldino, Channel 2 News (KTUU-TV, Anchorage)". (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) KTUU to construct new Anchorage building Published: March 26, 2013 Updated 20 hours ago ........ The planned building will be located at the intersection of 40th Avenue and Denali Street and will feature a high-definition television studio to serve viewers across the state, according to KTUU ( http://is.gd/LHGo9t )......... http://www.adn.com/2013/03/26/2840724/ktuu-to-construct-new-anchorage.html Senator Egan asks FCC for more info Allow over-the-air stations to air grievances Posted: March 26, 2013 - 10:01pm  |  Updated: March 27, 2013 - 12:07am By RUSSELL STIGALL JUNEAU EMPIRE Sen. Dennis Egan has asked the Federal Communications Commission to take a deeper look at General Communication Incorporated’s intent to purchase low-power Southeast stati

By Dan Carpenter ready.alaska.gov Channel 2 News 7:33 p.m. AKDT, March 26, 2013 ANCHORAGE, Alaska .......... The alert (around 9:45 a.m. Alaska time) will originate in Palmer at the Alaska Tsunami Warning Center and be transmitted using several methods, including the Emergency Alert System and NOAA Weather Band frequencies. With the anniversary of the 1964 "Good Friday" earthquake, Alaskans are being urged to learn where....... http://www.ktuu.com/news/ktuu-test-of-tsunami-warning-system-planned-20130326,0,4138126.story If you're up here in Alaska (coastal) please keep your ear to the rail and report the results of the test to > http://ready.alaska.gov/survey If you have an extra VHF in the wheelhouse please turn it to the NOAA WX channel to pick up the Tsunami test. Team HG

Picture Source: U.S. National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (Photo credit: Wikipedia ) Sitka Area Office Time: 5:00 p.m. The fishery was put on 2-hour notice effective 11:00 a.m., March 25. There was no fishery today. This morning the department conducted a vessel survey aboard the R/V Kestrel. This survey covered areas  north of Sitka including along the road system up to Old Sitka Rocks, the waters west of Crow Island and  along the Kruzof Island shoreline south of Inner Point. The island passes south of Middle Island were also  surveyed. A very large body of herring was seen west of Bieli Rock along with a number of large schools seen offshore southeast of Inner Point. Scattered schools were also seen in shallower waters in the Crow Pass area, within the smaller islands south of Middle Island, and around the south and west sides of  Kasiana Island. No herring or spawn was seen during the morning aerial survey. Two test samples were  taken today with the fol

Resolution on genetically modified salmon passes Posted: Tuesday, March 26, 2013 6:33 am Associated Press JUNEAU, Alaska - The Alaska Legislature has passed a resolution calling upon the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to further investigate the effects of producing genetically engineered salmon. HJR5, by Rep. Geran Tarr of Anchorage, also....... http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/article_2c1d865c-9622-11e2-8ec4-001a4bcf6878.html http://deckboss.blogspot.com/2013/03/legislature-passes-anti-ge-salmon.html March 26, 2013, 4:19 pm Trident’s reduced sodium smoked salmon reaches ‘critical mass’ Jeanine Stewart Industry competitors got a peak at a new creation from US giant Trident Seafoods last week – a wild Alaska sockeye cold-smoked consumer pack with reduced sodium. Trident, the largest seafood company in the United States, showed the product for the first time in a trade show setting at the Boston seafood show. “We launched it in the fall, and we’re Trident’s reduc