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#05-03-2013 - ComFish News Roundup

Opinion
Paddy Waggin'
Vol. 16, No. 9
May 2, 2013 Serving Indian, Bird, Girdwood, Portage, Whittier, Hope, Cooper Landing & Moose Pass
In 2011, U.S. Sen. Mark Begich said, “Bristol Bay is one of Alaska’s most valuable resources and any proposed development within its watershed deserves no less than a rigorous review.” Early in 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency began to do a comprehensive, scientific study to determine the impact of large scale mining in Bristol Bay. They studied it without prejudice. After all, the EPA doesn't talk about policy or regulatory decisions, they just give a scientific assessment on what’s going to happen if Pebble Mine is given the go ahead to.... http://www.turnagaintimes.com/current%20issue/2013-05-02/paddy-waggin.html

Sea otter population more than doubled in ten years May 2, 2013 | Vol. 39, No. 18 (paywall) ... http://www.petersburgpilot.com/story/2013/05/02/news/sea-otter-population-more-than-doubled-in-ten-years/1276.html
Fish processors scale up
May 2, 2013
At Seward Fisheries, plant manager Charles McEldowney has a situation on his hands. Seasonal workers are coming into town but container housing hasn’t been inspected and now there’s a citizens complaint to consider. Some recent arrivals want to move into the company’s campers, but the complaint is a complicating factor and Seward Fire Department wants them inspected. The bunkhouse and hacienda are full and there are no other beds available. “Find out what the penalty is,” McEldowney says into the phone. “Is it a fine or do I get to go to jail?” “It’s not a big problem,” McEldowney insists after a few minutes on the phone while simultaneously consulting with his staff. “It’s.... http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/story/2013/05/02/local/fish-processors-scale-up/1408.html

Stikine Subsistence Closed To Chinook Harvest
By Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska - Juneau | May 2, 2013 - 6:31 pm
It looks like there won’t be a Chinook subsistence fishery on the Stikine River this year. Officials this week closed the annual opening, scheduled for May 15th to June 20th. (The Stikine is a transboundary river flowing from British Columbia to the ocean near Wrangell and Petersburg.) Bob Dalrymple  of the Wrangell Ranger District says the numbers are below what’s.... http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/05/02/stikine-subsistence-closed-to-chinook-harvest/

Southeast Alaska fishermen offer community based seafood
Posted 05/03/2013
by - Cordova Times Staff
Commercial harvesters have expanded deliveries of Gulf of Alaska seafood from Alaskans Own Community Supported Fishery to Anchorage this year, with monthly offerings also arriving to subscribers in Kodiak, Juneau and Sitka. The program, modeled after Community supported agriculture programs that deliver fresh produce from local farmers, offers subscribers the option of four or six monthly deliveries and 20 to 60.... http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1318southeast-alaska-fishermen-offer-community

Fish board seat back up for grabs
Appointment is expected to go to a Bristol Bay resident
Posted 05/03/2013
by - Cordova Times Staff
Seven people have applied to date for a seat on the Alaska Board of Fisheries to which Gov. Sean Parnell must make an appointment by July 1, a spokesman in the governor's office said April 29. Parnell had reappointed veteran commercial fisherman Vince Webster of King Salmon to a third term, but legislators in early April failed to approve the reappointment, after the Kenai River Sportfishing Association urged legislators to turn down Webster. The vote was 30-29. Webster, a drift and set gillnetter in the Naknek and Kvichak district of Bristol Bay, who works for.... http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1318fish-board-seat-back-up-for-grabs

Commercial (Copper River) , subsistence salmon openings announced
MOLLY DISCHNER
May 2, 2013 - 02:32 PM
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, or ADFG, announced certain Yakutat and Prince William Sound salmon fishery openings today.... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Blog-Fish-Bytes/Blogs-2013/Commercial-subsistence-salmon-openings-announced/

Alaska Marine Highway
Alaska Marine Highway (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Alaska Marine Highway Celebrates 50 Years
May 01, 2013
(SitNews) Ketchikan, Alaska - Since its start 50 years ago, the Alaska Marine Highway System has grown to connect an area covering 3,500 miles and 35 port communities, from Alaska to Canada to Washington. Now in its 50th year, the Alaska Marine Highway has grown to 11 vessels and averages 330,000 passengers and 110,000 vehicles a year.
In the Beginning
The story of the Alaska Marine Highway System starts with three men who had a dream to provide dependable marine transportation between Alaska’s coastal communities. In 1948, Haines residents Steve Homer, Ray and Gustav Gelotte set up a company named Chilkoot Motorship Lines and purchased the MV Chilkoot, an ex-US Navy landing craft. The MV Chilkoot was 121 feet long with a beam of 33 feet and drew 3.5 feet when loaded. It could carry a maximum of 14 cars but the passenger accommodations were very poor as it remained in its original Navy configuration. After some initial work in Toledo Oregon, removing gun tubs and.... http://www.sitnews.us/0513News/050113/050113_amhs.html


5:13 PM THU MAY 2, 2013
Construction of the Wood River Bridge Could Get Started Next Year
By MIKE MASON
Work to construct the long-awaited bridge across the Wood River, to connect the north and south shores of Aleknagik, could get underway in 2014. That's if the last couple of roadblocks to the project can be removed. KDLG's Mike Mason has the details..... http://www.kdlg.org/post/construction-wood-river-bridge-could-get-started-next-year

Fisheries
1:26 PM THU MAY 2, 2013
"Status of U.S. Fisheries Report" Released
By MIKE MASON
A new report shows that one fish stock in Alaska is rebuilt while another is subject to overfishing. KDLG's Mike Mason reports.... http://kdlg.org/post/status-us-fisheries-report-released

Russia and US strengthen their efforts for fisheries research and management
UNITED STATES
Friday, May 03, 2013, 03:10 (GMT + 9)
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) and the Federal Agency for Fisheries of the Russian Federation have now signed a Joint Statement on enhanced fisheries cooperation so as to address the current issues related to a higher pressure on the fishing resources and with the impact on the climate changes and ocean conditions. Both countries have been working together for a long time on the conservation, management and optimal use of the shared fishing resources but the current..... http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=3&id=60537

Can Salmon Farming Be Sustainable? Maybe, If You Head Inland
by ALASTAIR BLAND
May 02, 2013 3:19 PM
Is salmon farming ever sustainable? For years, many marine biologists have argued that the floating, open-ocean net pens that produce billions of pounds of salmon per year also generate pollution, disease and parasites. In some places in western Canada, the open-ocean salmon farming industry has been blamed for the collapse of wild salmon populations in the early 2000s — though other research has challenged that claim. But now, a few salmon farms have moved inland, producing fish in land-locked cement basins..... http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2013/05/02/180596020/can-salmon-farming-be-sustainable-maybe-if-you-head-inland

Juneau celebrates seafood industry at Maritime Festival May 19
Fish Radio
May 3, 2013
When Alaskans think of Juneau, they don’t usually think of commercial fishing.
Cut: Many people in our state and here in Juneau, even though they live here don’t recognize or appreciate how important our seafood industry is to our community..... http://www.alaskafishradio.com/juneau-celebrates-seafood-industry-at-maritime-festival-may-19/

Unalaska: Longer Runway in Sight, But Not Bigger Planes
By Stephanie Joyce
Thursday, May 02 2013
Construction season is underway in Unalaska, and contractors are back at work on the $28 million project to extend the airport runway. KUCB’s Stephanie Joyce toured the construction site, and has this report on the project’s progress.... http://kucb.org/news/article/longer-runway-in-sight-but-not-bigger-planes/

Opposing the Jones Act from a Hawaiian Perspective [VIDEO]
BY GCAPTAIN STAFF ON MAY 2, 2013
Continuing with the Jones Act theme we’ve seen this week, here are two views from Hawaiians opposing the Jones Act. In this first video, Reason TV sits down with Ken Schoolland, professor of economics at Hawaii Pacific University and scholar at the Grassroot Institute, to talk about the Jones Act.... http://gcaptain.com/this-hpu-professor-opposes-the-jones-act/