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#08-30-2013 - ComFish News Roundup

msc.org
Copper River Seafoods will bail from MSC
Posted 08/29/2013
by - Margaret Bauman
Copper River Seafoods, the Alaska-owned seafood manufacturer and marketer with roots in Cordova, will withdraw support of a London-based certification program in 2014, after learning Prince William Sound is still adrift in the assessment process..... http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1335copper-river-seafoods-will-bail-from-msc


3:37 PM THU AUGUST 29, 2013
Interior Secretary Sally Jewell Will Visit King Cove on Friday
aleutianseast.org
By MIKE MASON
The Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Interior will visit King Cove and Cold Bay Friday to gather information about the proposed road between the 2 communities. Back in February the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service released a final Environmental Impact Statement evaluating the proposed land exchange that would allow a one-lane gravel road to be built between King Cove and Cold Bay through the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge. The preferred alternative in the EIS was to not allow the land exchange to go forward. That’s still the position of the Fish and Wildlife Service but the.... http://kdlg.org/post/interior-secretary-sally-jewell-will-visit-king-cove-friday

Alaska seafood industry contributes almost USD 16 billion to US economy
UNITED STATES
Thursday, August 29, 2013, 23:20 (GMT + 9)
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) has published a report entitled Economic Value of the Alaska Seafood Industry, which analyses the impact of Alaska’s seafood industry on the economy of the United States. The report, issued by Alaska-based research firm the The McDowell Group, points out that "seafood is Alaska's most valuable renewable resource and, with responsible stewardship, jobs created by the industry can be passed down from.... http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?monthyear=&day=29&id=63205

Unalaskans Question Funding for Arctic Research
By Lauren Rosenthal
Thursday, August 29 2013
A lot more scientific research is needed if the United States wants to beef up its presence in the Arctic. The U.S. Arctic Research Commission met in Unalaska this week to figure out what work takes priority. But as KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, locals were mostly concerned with how the government plans to pay for it all. Because they were in Unalaska, the US Arctic Research Commission tailored their conversation around two major industries in the Bering Sea region -- maritime shipping, and fishing. The Arctic’s been closed to fishing until there’s better research on.... http://kucb.org/news/article/unalaskans-question-funding-for-arctic-research/

State Blocks $15 Million Hoonah Dock Grant
By Ed Schoenfeld, CoastAlaska - Juneau | August 28, 2013 - 4:58 pm
State officials say they’ll withdraw funding for a $15 million Hoonah dock unless the Southeast city changes its location. The money was appropriated by the Legislature, in part to support the town’s Icy Strait Point tourist attraction, 40 air miles west of Juneau...... http://www.alaskapublic.org/2013/08/28/state-blocks-15-million-hoonah-dock-grant/


10:56 AM THU AUGUST 29, 2013
The Damaged All-Tide Dock in Dillingham has Been Repaired and is Open for Business
By MIKE MASON
The dock in Dillingham that’s been fully or partially closed since August 8 has been repaired and is now open for business. KDLG’s Mike Mason reports...... http://kdlg.org/post/damaged-all-tide-dock-dillingham-has-been-repaired-and-open-business

NOAA reviewing ESA protections for humpback whales
By Lisa Phu
Posted on August 30, 2013 at 6:13 am
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will initiate an in-depth review into whether the North Pacific humpback still needs protection under the Endangered Species Act. A group of Hawaiian fishermen submitted a petition to de-list the whale in April and NOAA released its first finding Thursday. NOAA has determined the petition submitted by the Hawaii Fishermen’s Alliance for Conservation and Tradition has enough substantial information to justify taking a deeper look. Humpback whales have been designated endangered since 1970...... http://www.ktoo.org/2013/08/30/noaa-reviewing-esa-protections-for-humpback-whales/

Rescuers unable to free entangled humpback
August 29, 2013
An entangled humpback whale continues to remain snared in a gill net despite a two day effort last weekend to free the animal. Don Holmes with the Marine Mammal Center in Petersburg received a call Friday morning about the snared whale in Frederick Sound. He and other volunteers were granted permission from the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association to assess the situation. “We found that the whale was completely wrapped on the flukes with the lead line draping across the back of the animal,” Holmes said. Holmes and the others decided something needed to be done rather than standby. Holmes said the whale was still active because it had only...... http://www.petersburgpilot.com/story/2013/08/29/about-town/rescuers-unable-to-free-entangled-humpback/1627.html

Let's prioritize wild Alaska salmon
By Heather Hardcastle
August 29, 2013
2013 is turning out to be a banner year for salmon in Southeast Alaska. This year’s staggering salmon returns are a reminder the Tongass is the country’s preeminent salmon forest. As Forest Service Chief Tom Tidwell tours Southeast Alaska this week, I urge him to do all he can to ensure the nation’s largest national forest is managed with wild salmon as the highest priority. As of today, more than a whopping 92 million salmon weighing almost 283 million..... http://www.sitnews.us/0813Viewpoints/082913_heather_hardcastle.html

AVTEC plans first ice navigation program
August 29, 2013
The White House is setting Arctic policy. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is investigating locations for an Arctic port. Hundreds of ships per year are passing through the Northern Sea Route over the Russian Arctic. And, until the Kulluk grounding, oil exploration in Arctic waters was ramping up. The Arctic is becoming a busy place. Officials at the Alaska Vocational Technical Center, or AVTEC, in Seward hope to do their part in helping the State of Alaska lead Arctic activity by starting the nation’s first ice navigation program for marine pilots and captains..... http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/story/2013/08/29/education/avtec-plans-first-ice-navigation-program/1793.html

The Alaska Fisheries Report
Aug 29, 2013 http://www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4997

August 29, 2013 at 10:38 AM
Pinks still moving in big numbers through Strait of Juan de Fuca
Posted by Mark Yuasa
Those who want to track the pink salmon returns need to just look toward the Strait of Juan de Fuca off the southeastern side of Vancouver Island. It is at this location where the Pacific Salmon Commission in conjunction with the Fraser River Panel conduct weekly updates on the sockeye.... http://blogs.seattletimes.com/reeltimenorthwest/2013/08/29/pinks-still-moving-in-big-numbers-through-strait-of-juan-de-fuca/

Fisheries and Oceans says Fraser River sockeye numbers up from 2009
BY KEVEN DREWS, THE CANADIAN PRESS AUGUST 29, 2013
VANCOUVER - A population of Fraser River sockeye salmon that had dwindled to such alarming numbers it prompted a federal inquiry is showing signs of improvement, says a spokesman with Fisheries and Oceans Canada. About 1.4 million to 1.6 million sockeye out of an estimated run of 10..... http://www.theprovince.com/news/Fisheries+Oceans+says+Fraser+River+sockeye+numbers+from+2009/8850177/story.html