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#02-02-2014 - ComFish News Roundup

Board of Fisheries hears public testimony
BY MOLLY DISCHNER
Published: 2014.02.01 06:17 PM
Alaska’s Board of Fisheries met in Anchorage today to hear nearly eight hours of public testimony on proposals to change Upper Cook Inlet fisheries management. The board is expected to meet for two weeks to discuss more than 200 proposals that would change various regulations and management plans for Cook Inlet finfish. The meeting began Friday. The board heard from fishermen from nearly every UCI fishery who didn’t want to loose opportunity – and many who were concerned about declining king runs in the area. Much of the testimony was as expected, with stakeholders providing similar testimony to the written comments submitted before the meeting began. A total 234 members of the public... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Blog-Fish-Bytes/Blogs-2014/Board-of-Fisheries-hears-public-testimony/


Fascinating hidden world in cold waters off Alaska
Posted: Saturday, February 1, 2014 1:00 pm
Mary Catharine Martin / Juneau Empire
JUNEAU, Alaska  - Giant Pacific octopi hide beneath rocks, reaching out tentacles to explore a diver. Schools of spawning salmon swim upstream. Prowfish surround the wreck of the Princess Sophia. Recreational scuba diving in Southeast Alaska requires a little more work and offers different challenges than warm-water diving, but those who do it say it provides sights unlike those... http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/fascinating-hidden-world-in-cold-waters-off-alaska/article_c93de984-8b88-11e3-8923-001a4bcf6878.html

China will keep ban on West Coast shellfish 
U.S. geoduck testing falls short of safety standard
columbian.com
By The Associated Press
Published: February 1, 2014, 9:26 PM
BREMERTON (AP) — The Chinese ban of shellfish imports from the U.S. West Coast will continue indefinitely, according to a letter by Chinese officials to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. The Jan. 23 letter raises new question about U.S. health standards for shellfish, the Kitsap Sun reported. It dashes hopes of Washington shellfish harvesters for a quick lifting of the ban after U.S. representatives submitted new information about safety standards along with test results that showed geoducks were safe. Geoducks are large burrowing clams that can fetch up to $50 a pound in Asian markets. The U.S. exported $68 million worth of... http://www.columbian.com/news/2014/feb/01/china-will-keep-ban-on-west-coast-shellfish/

Ketchikan museum fishes for fishing photos
BY MARJORIE CLARK
KETCHIKAN DAILY NEWS
KETCHIKAN, Alaska -- Tongass Historical Museum is soliciting submissions for its new exhibit "First in Fish, Ketchikan's Commercial Fishing Traditions" that will open Feb. 28 and run through the summer tourist season. The new exhibit will feature the history and stories of commercial fishing in Ketchikan. "The point of the project is to be able to tell a more well-rounded story of this great tradition of commercial fishing," Tongass Historical Museum Director Lacey Simpson. Simpson said the museum is looking for personal stories, a present day photo, family heirloom, a story about a specific event, or an artifact related to commercial fishing. "It was an opportunity that we thought would round out a very large story that we have a very small..... http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/02/3908406/ketchikan-museum-fishes-for-fishing.html

2/1/2014
Shipyard projects
Ketchikan's shipyard has widespread support throughout the state.
It will need it to acquire $3 million from the Legislature this session.
But, if it can get this money — money it can't get anywhere else — it will be spent to improve the shipyard's operation, increasing the amount of work that can be done there. Increased work signals a growing business with an encouraging future, and if the businesses in Ketchikan can be described such, then the community is economically well..... http://www.ketchikandailynews.com/free/local-edit-2-1-shipyard

Senators help delay costly flood map changes
Posted: Sunday, February 2, 2014 12:00 am
Andrew Wellner
Posted on Feb 2, 2014
MAT-SU — Saying they wanted to wait for better maps, both of Alaska’s U.S. Senators this week praised passage of legislation they co-sponsored delaying dramatic hikes to flood insurance rates.... http://www.frontiersman.com/news/senators-help-delay-costly-flood-map-changes/article_6d079ffa-8bb7-11e3-ba85-0019bb2963f4.html

Fishing industry Bill targets permits transfers
Proposed legislation to protect due-process rights of the holders of fisheries licenses and permits has passed the Massachusetts House and is on the way to the Senate for deliberation there. The legislation, sponsored by state Reps. Ann-Margaret Ferrante of Gloucester and William Straus of.... http://www.nationalfisherman.com/news-events/top-news/2951-fishing-industry-bill-targets-permits-transfers






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