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On March 19, 2014 HaulingGear enabled 24/7 live comfish newsfeeds on our front page at www.HaulingGear.com ! Enjoy! Click image to view  http://www.haulinggear.com

#03-07-2014 - ComFish News Roundup

Oral argument scheduled for denial of setnet initiative
BY MOLLY DISCHNER, ALASKA JOURNAL
Published: 2014.03.06 11:37 AM
Oral argument in the Alaska Fisheries Conservation Alliance appeal of Lt. Gov. Mead Treadwell’s decision to not certify a proposed ballot initiative to ban setnetting is scheduled for April 22 in Anchorage. The alliance, or AFCA, wants to ask voters whether to ban setnets in urban parts of the state. If the initiative made it on to the ballot and passed, it would eliminate setnetters in Cook Inlet. Treadwell denied the initiative petition in January based on a Department of Law opinion that found it was a prohibited appropriation of state resources. AFCA, however, has said that the effort is conservation-focused, and filed an appeal of... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/March-Issue-2-2014/Oral-argument-scheduled-for-denial-of-setnet-initiative/
Senate hears from North Pacific on MSA reauthorization
BY MOLLY DISCHNER, ALASKA JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
Published: 2014.03.06 11:37 AM
While commercial users generally said the Magnuson-Stevens Act is working, subsistence and recreational fishers asked for a louder voice in the management process at a congressional hearing regarding the law up for reauthorization this year. The Senate Subcommittee on Oceans, Atmosphere, Fisheries, and Coast Guard held a hearing Feb. 27 to gather Alaska and North Pacific perspectives on the Magnuson-Stevens Act reauthorization currently underway. The act, or MSA, regulates management of federal fisheries from three miles to 200 miles offshore, including in the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska. It was implemented in 1976, and most recently updated in 2006. Now it’s up for reauthorization, with amendments likely. The House Natural Resources Committee released their draft in December. Sen. Mark Begich, chairman of the Senate oceans subcommittee, said the Senate draft... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/March-Issue-2-2014/Senate-hears-from-North-Pacific-on-MSA-reauthorization/

Kinneen likely to replace Olson on North Pacific council
BY MOLLY DISCHNER
Published: 2014.03.06 02:23 PM
 Gov. Sean Parnell has nominated Nome resident Simon Kinneen to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Kinneen has worked for Norton Sound Economic Development Corp., or NSEDC, for 14 years and served on various fish-related bodies, including the council's advisory.... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Blog-Fish-Bytes/Blogs-2014/Kinneen-likely-to-replace-Olson-on-North-Pacific-council/
Pebble veto would be unprecedented use of 404c power
BY ELWOOD BREHMER, ALASKA JOURNAL OF COMMERCE
Published: 2014.03.06 11:38 AM
The Environmental Protection Agency set a potentially unprecedented process in motion when it began work on Feb. 28 to preemptively block Pebble mine as an effort to protect Bristol Bay fisheries. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy said in a formal statement the agency was initiating action to invoke its authority to veto the proposed Iliamna-area copper-gold mine under the seldom-used Section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. The regional U.S. Army Corps of Engineers handles Section 404 permit applications for all...... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/March-Issue-2-2014/Pebble-veto-would-be-unprecedented-use-of-404c-power/
Mat-Su thanks fish board, commission, opposes setnet ban
BY MOLLY DISCHNER
Published: 2014.03.06 02:11 PM
Earlier this week, the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Assembly recognized two bodies for fisheries work. At its March 4 meeting, the assembly honored members of its Fish and Wildlife Commission for their hard work on fisheries issues. The assembly also unanimously passed a resolution thanking the.... http://www.alaskajournal.com/Blog-Fish-Bytes/Blogs-2014/Mat-Su-thanks-fish-board-commission-opposes-setnet-ban/

3/6/2014
Resolve geoduck issue
No one is questioning China’s inherent right to protect its food supply, but China’s decision to ban all bivalve shellfish from Alaska, Washington State, Oregon, and Northern California is an overreaction. On Dec. 3, China informed the U.S. — somewhat cryptically, because it gave few specifics — that it was banning all shellfish from Alaska and the Pacific Northwest after it received geoducks that, it said, failed safety tests. Over time, China clarified that it detected an unacceptable level of the toxin that causes paralytic shellfish poisoning in geoducks from the Middle Gravina Island harvest area near Ketchikan, and it detected unacceptable levels of arsenic in geoducks from.... http://www.ketchikandailynews.com/free/local-edit-shellfish-3-6

The Alaska Fisheries Report
Mar 6, 2014
Coming up this week, millions of salmon eggs are destroyed in a Southeast hatchery fire, as fishermen start thinking about herring, we’ve got the pre-season forecast for Togiak, and.... http://www.kmxt.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5592

DOT Offers Details on Proposed Road Link to Juneau (video)
Project could cost up to $500 million
Adam Pinsker, Multimedia Political Reporter
POSTED: 08:30 PM AKST Mar 06, 2014
Juneau - For decades, Juneau residents have discussed ways to build road access out of town -- and the Alaska Department of Transportation has revived a plan to construct a road between Juneau and Skagway. There are two plans on the table. One option would build a road on the western side of the Lynn Canal, terminating in Haines. Drivers would have to take a short-range Alaska Marine Highway System ferry.... http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/dot-offers-details-on-proposed-road-link-to-juneau/24853860

Captain Keith is chasing crabs — not drama
Thursday, 06 March 2014
Melissa Wood
Though crowds were thick at the Maine Fishermen's Forum last weekend, in some places they formed an extra tight knot. Chances are that within that cluster you'd find a familiar face. Keith Colburn, captain of the Wizard and star of the reality TV show "Deadliest Catch," was in town. The story of how he came to be in Maine is interesting in itself. Colburn is an avid.... http://www.nationalfisherman.com/blogs/coastlines/3110-captain-keith-is-chasing-crabs-not-drama

Human skull found in crab pot is February's top story... http://www.nationalfisherman.com/news-events/top-news/3046-human-skull-found-in-crab-pot-near-westport

Shipping Execs: EPA’s Low-Sulphur Fuel Rule Will Hurt The Environment and Short Sea Shipping
BY GCAPTAIN STAFF ON MARCH 6, 2014
The EPA was directed to set standards for radi...
(Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Shipping industry leaders told Members of Congress on Tuesday that higher fuel costs associated with upcoming low-sulphur fuel limits in North American Emission Control Areas could actually hurt the environment and the economy by forcing the movement of goods by less environmentally-friendly means. Congressional leaders heard Tuesday from shipping industry representatives Rod Jones and Bill Terry about the well-intentioned new shipping fuel requirement from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), set to take effect in 2015, whose flawed design may actually spur increased onshore air pollution and higher shipping costs, as well as increased shipping.... http://gcaptain.com/shipping-execs-epas-low-sulphur-fuel-rule-will-hurt-the-environment/