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#02-07-2014 - ComFish News Roundup


Kenai king genetics results ‘unreliable,’ says ADFG
Posted: February 6, 2014 - 12:07pm
By Cristy Fry
The Alaska Board of Fisheries began a marathon 14-day meeting on Upper Cook Inlet salmon fishery issues on Jan. 30, and by mid-day Monday had voted on one of the proposals that most concerned the commercial fleet, No. 103. The first day consisted of  Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff reports... http://homernews.com/homer-news/business/2014-02-06/kenai-king-genetics-results-%E2%80%98unreliable%E2%80%99-says-adfg


Board adopts further restrictions to Cook Inlet setnet fishery
BY RASHAH MCCHESNEY, MORRIS NEWS SERVICE-ALASKA/ PENINSULA CLARION
Published: 2014.02.06 01:38 PM
Emotions ran high Feb. 5 as the Alaska Board of Fisheries deliberated a board-member generated proposal that outlined a new plan to pair restrictions between commercial setnet fishermen and in-river fishers who harvest the struggling Kenai River king salmon stock. As it became clear during deliberations that the board would be making substantive changes to the way the commercial setnet fisheries occur in July and August, more members of the group stood and moved away from the board to the back of the hall leaving the vast majority... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/February-Issue-2-2014/Board-adopts-further-restrictions-to-Cook-Inlet-setnet-fishery/


New Definition for Halibut Guides Could Impact Sports Fisheries
Matthew F Smith, Digital Producer
POSTED: 11:11 PM AKST Feb 06, 2014
ANCHORAGE - A federal agency that oversees halibut and other fish species has revised its definition of sport fishing guides, a decision that is splitting charter fishermen and could have larger impacts on sport fishing in the state. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council on Thursday adopted its new definition for “sports fishing guide services” as it relates to the charter halibut fishery in Southeast and... http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/new-definition-for-halibut-guides-could-impact-sports-fisheries/-/21043658/24344476/-/jbnwfvz/-/index.html


Kodiak: Boro, City Approve Fisheries Analyst Contract
Feb 7, 2014
Brianna Gibbs/KMXT
The city and borough entered the New Year without a fisheries advisor, but they won’t be without one much longer. During its regular meeting last night the borough assembly approved a contract with Heather McCarty of McCarty and Associates for fisheries analyst consulting services. The contract is split between the city and the borough and will send McCarty to various fisheries meetings, including those held by the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council and Board of Fisheries. Borough Manager Bud Cassidy said he’s pleased with the.... http://www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5446

New City Planner Eyes Oil, Fish, Environment
Posted: February 6, 2014 at 12:10 pm
The City of Kenai has a new City Planner, Francis Krizmanich, from Aspen, Colorado... http://radiokenai.net/new-city-planner-eyes-oil-fish-environment/

The Alaska Fisheries Report
Feb 06, 2014
Coming up this week: The Fish Board reverses itself on Kenai River Kings, Kodiak may have found its new fisheries consultant, and the plague of injuries in the fishing fleet gets some scrutiny. All that, and who would’ve thought you could make money fishing for.... http://www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5442

Seward Ship's Drydock nears sale
By Wolfgang Kurtz
LOG Editor
The sale of the locally owned and operated Seward Ship's Drydock business appears to be headed for a final date with the Seward City Council in the near future. Although a deal between SSD owner Jim Pruitt and Seattle's privately-owned Vigor Industrial is reportedly due for a final signature within weeks, any sale has to be set for approval by the council at a noticed meeting. Several contracts between the City and SSD define the majority of the value of any transaction. Contracts covering the lease of the property, operation of the facility as well as maintenance will be taken on by Vigor after city approval. In anticipation of the deal the three parties are fine... http://www.thesewardphoenixlog.com/story/2014/02/06/local/seward-ships-drydock-nears-sale/2315.html


Arctic Commission delivers first report to Legislature
BY ELWOOD BREHMER, ALASKA JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
Published: 2014.02.06 12:18 PM
Sen. Lesil McGuire said she wants 2014 to be the “year of the Arctic” across Alaska during a meeting with other legislators Feb. 4. McGuire, R-Anchorage, and Rep. Bob Herron, D-Bethel, are co-chairs of the Alaska Arctic Policy Commission, which released its preliminary report to the Legislature Jan. 30 following nearly a year of work. “We are, have been and are going to play a key role in Arctic policy as the Arctic is our... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/February-Issue-2-2014/Arctic-Commission-delivers-first-report-to-Legislature/

Alaska SeaLife Center Announces Alaska Ocean Leadership Awards
FEBRUARY 6, 2014 1:50 PM
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – February 5, 2014 – The Alaska SeaLife Center (ASLC) is proud to announce the 2014 Alaska Ocean Leadership Awards. These awards are given annually to individuals and organizations that have made significant contributions to the awareness and sustainability of the state’s marine resources.... http://sewardcitynews.com/2014/02/alaska-sealife-center-announces-alaska-ocean-leadership-awards/

BRISTOL BAY:
As lobbying fight intensifies, Pebble deploys a new weapon -- a politically savvy CEO
Manuel Quiñones, E&E reporter
E&E Daily: Thursday, February 6, 2014
Thomas Collier, the Washington, D.C.-based attorney tapped to lead the Pebble copper and gold mining development in southwestern Alaska, is already crafting his plan of action. Collier is stepping in to become Pebble LP's CEO in the wake of layoffs and other downsizing, including the company's parting ways with some Washington lobbyists... http://www.eenews.net/stories/1059994130

4:49 PM THU FEBRUARY 6, 2014
First Quantum Partners With Millrock on Chigniks Copper, Gold Exploration
By DAVE BENDINGER
KDLG
Through a joint venture agreement, Candian-based FQM has agreed to fund the initial exploration of three key sites on the Alaska Peninsula.... http://kdlg.org/post/first-quantum-partners-millrock-chigniks-copper-gold-exploration

House GOP bill aims to end ‘secret science’ in EPA rulemaking
Published February 07, 2014 FoxNews.com
Republican lawmakers in the House are pushing legislation that would prohibit the Environmental Protection Agency from proposing new regulations based on science that is not transparent or not reproducible. The Secret Science Reform Act, introduced Thursday by Rep. David Schweikert, R-Ariz., would bar the agency from proposing or finalizing rules without first disclosing all "scientific and technical information" relied on to support its proposed action. "Public policy should come from public data, not based on the whims of far-left environmental groups,” Schweikert said in a statement. “For far too long, the EPA has approved regulations that have placed a crippling financial burden... http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/02/07/house-gop-bill-aims-to-end-secret-science-in-epa-rulemaking/

 USCG Rolling Out AIS Aids to Navigation: Are They Safe AND Secure?
BY EDITORIAL ON FEBRUARY 6, 2014
gCaptain
By Captain Richard Madden - There are new buoys – and is some cases virtual buoys – coming to a U.S. port near you.  First seen in the port of Mombasa, Kenya almost two years ago, AIS-assisted buoys (Real AIS ATON) – physical buoys with an AIS transmitter installed – will be rolled out in select areas on an experimental basis by the U.S. Coast Guard.  These will be... http://gcaptain.com/uscg-ais-aton-navigation/

 Finnish foreign minister weighs in on Nordic model and the Arctic
Mia BennettEye on the Arctic
February 5, 2014
Finland has a smaller profile in the Arctic than its neighbor to the west, Norway. Whereas Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg declared at last month’s Arctic Frontiers conference that the Arctic will continue to be “most important foreign policy area” for her country, Finland’s most important foreign policy area is arguably Russia, with which it shares a long border..... http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140205/finnish-foreign-minister-weighs-nordic-model-and-arctic
What makes a marine protected area effective?
Protected areas indicate large fish populations have dropped by over 80 percent.
by Allie Wilkinson - Feb 6 2014, 11:10am AST
Even though there are about 5,000 marine protected areas (MPAs) around the planet, less than two percent of the world’s oceans are fully protected. The number of MPAs is increasing rapidly, but the benefits they generate are still difficult to predict. It would be nice to know if the ones we've already created are effective. With such a small percentage of our seas set aside for safekeeping, understanding what makes an MPA effective becomes critical for conservation. A team of researchers, led by Graham J. Edgar from the University of Tasmania, set out to uncover the factors that determine an MPA's success. As a byproduct of these efforts, they learned that successful MPAs better protected large fish, which were.... http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/02/what-makes-a-marine-protected-area-effective/

Fish Wrap: Herring spawning can be a plentiful bounty if you time it right
By Alastair Bland
IJ correspondent
POSTED:   02/06/2014 03:56:41 PM PST
When Sausalito resident Frank Ketcham wakes up at dawn and hears the barking of sea lions and the cry of gulls, he knows they're in: the herring. Massive schools of the sardine-sized fish have been surging into San Francisco Bay in recent weeks to spawn along the rocky shorelines, as they do each winter, before disappearing back out the Golden Gate again. The fish lay and fertilize their eggs so abruptly and rapidly that a bay or cove alive with the frantic frenzy of a herring spawn one afternoon may be silent the next morning. But anglers who hit the.... http://www.marinij.com/sports/ci_25079684/fish-wrap-herring-spawning-can-be-plentiful-bounty
06/02/2014
Unimak Maritime Group Russian salmon verified Friend of the Sea sustainable and socially accountable
Friend of the Sea (FOS) has announced the certification of Ozernovskii Rybokonzervnyi Zavod, Rybholkam Ltd and Tymlatskiy Rybokombinat Co. Ltd, partners of Unimark Maritime Group, for sockeye and pink salmon fisheries in Kamchatka, Eastern Russia. The audit was run by an accredited international certification body and based on Friend of the Sea’s strict social and environmental requirements. Salmon stocks in the area are neither overexploited nor overfished, as a strict system of quotas is in place, controlled by the Russian Fisheries Agency. Auditors confirmed the fisheries do not negatively impact spawning and... http://www.friendofthesea.org/IT/news-doc.asp?CAT=1&ID=675
 
















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