ufa mission: To promote and protect the common interest of Alaska’s commercial fishing industry, as a vital component of Alaska’s social and economic well-being.
Help support Alaska’s #1 private sector employer and protect your fishing business by joining UFA today! Visit ‘Become a Member’ on our website to see the various membership levels and benefits. UFA members receive free subscriptions to National Fisherman and Pacific Fishing.
UFA fond thanks goes to:
Rear Admiral Thomas P. Ostebo for leadership afield and support for
Alaska’s sustainable fisheries, and we welcome Rear Admiral Dan
Abel in the Change of Command for USCG District 17.
Update on SB 71: Governor Parnell signed SB 71 into law on Tuesday. SB 71 is an all-encompassing commercial fisheries bill that began as Senator Micciche’s (R – Soldotna) legislation to fix landing tax timing payments, and ended up including flexibility in salmon cost recovery collections as well as Representative Austerman’s (R – Kodiak) HB 204 which expands the current salmon product development tax credit to include herring and to encourage utilization of the processing waste stream. UFA was honored to support this important legislation.
UFA is also quoted in Senator Micciche’s press release which can be found here.
From the Executive Director:
Between now an November 4th, you will be seeing a lot of information from UFA reminding you to get out and vote. This election cycle is crucial for Alaska and for the seafood industry. In order for your voice to be heard, you must show up to the polls for both the Primary Election (August 19th) and the General Election (November 4th). Alaska makes it easy to vote early and vote absentee so check the schedule below for the dates. The seafood industry is Alaska’s #1 private sector employer, and our numbers make a difference in electing officials. Talk to your friends, neighbors, crew and processors about voting. YOUR VOTE MATTERS, be sure to check the election schedule below for upcoming opportunities to let your voice be heard.See UFA’s July 1st election update here: http://www.ufa-fish.org/update/14/070114.htm
VOTE WHILE YOU FISH!
Important 2014 Alaska Election Dates:
Voter and polling place lookup: https://webapp.state.ak.us/electionsLookup/JSP/
VoterLookupMain.jsp
Voter registration info: http://www.elections.alaska.gov/vi_vr_how.php
*** Polls are open Election Day from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. ***
July 20 – Last day to REGISTER TO VOTE for the August 19th primary election.
Aug 4 – Early and absentee in-person voting begins at many locations throughout Alaska.
Aug 4 – Civilian voters may begin to apply for absentee ballots by electronic transmission.
Aug 9 – Last day to submit your absentee ballot application by mail for the Primary Election.
Aug 18 – Last day to submit your absentee ballot application electronically for the Primary Election.
August 19 – PRIMARY ELECTION DAY
Aug 19 – Deadline for absentee by-mail ballots to be postmarked.
Aug 19 – 8:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time, deadline for electronic transmission absentee ballots to be received.
Oct 5 – Last day to register to vote for the November 4th General Election.
Oct 20 – Early voting and in-person absentee, special needs and by-electronic transmission voting begins.
Oct 25 – Last day to submit your absentee ballot application by mail for the General Election.
Nov 3 – Last day to submit your absentee ballot application electronically for the General Election.
November 4 – GENERAL ELECTION DAYHave a safe and productive fishing season, please feel free to contact us to discuss the issues that are important to you.
Julianne Curry
Executive Director
United Fishermen of Alaska
Office: 907.586.2820
Cell: 907.957.4747
http://www.ufa-fish.org
jcurry@ufa-fish.org
Facebook: facebook.com/UnitedFishermenAK
Twitter: twitter.com/UFA_Fish
Contents
State
1. Sign up for Alaska Board of Fisheries and Board of Game E-mail List
(Even if you were previously receiving it by email or mail)
2. Opinion: Possible commercial salmon opener panics Kenai dipnetters, but is it really such a bad thing?
3. ADFG posts Chinook News summer newsletter
4. Laine Welch; Bristol Bay sockeyes could exceed forecast by 45 percent
5. ADF&G 2014 Inseason Alaska Commercial Salmon Summary
6. Appeal filed in Cook Inlet fisheries management lawsuit
7. Judge requires CIFF to reimburse state for lawsuit costs
8. State Releases Plan For Maritime Workforce
9. PWSSC Honors Bill and Irene Webber – The Cordova Times
10. Untangling Southeast Alaska’s fisheries – Rasmuson funds interview project
11. R/V Sikuliaq readies for ocean research
12. Bill to Capture Lost State Revenues Becomes Law – HB 306 to sunsets many tax credits
13. HB 143 to Fix Commercial Fishing Temporary Crew Licenses Becomes Law
14. SB 194 signed – Alaska Tourism Marketing Board Created
15. Southeast Transportation Plan posted – comment meetings to come
16. AK DOT 2014-2015 Ferry Schedule
17. Gov. Makes Boards & Commissions Appointments – names Douglas Blumer to CFAB
18. Gov. reappoints Merrigan, Childers, and Rea to North Pacific Research Board
19. Deadline July 16 for AK Sustainable Salmon Fund proposals
Marketing
20. Analyses Confirms that Alaska’s Seafood is Safe from Fukushima Radiation
21. Alaska Seafood and Fukushima Radiation Concerns – ASMI
22. Food-Mood Connection: How You Eat Can Amp Up Or Tamp Down Stress
Federal
23. Former legislator Beth Kerttula named White House Director Of Ocean Policy
24. National Ocean Policy Coalition news:
25. U.S. House adopts Congressman Byrne’s amendment to defund Obama ‘ocean grab’
26. Fox News: Fishing in murky waters: the administration’s secretive oceans policies come under fire
27. Obama proposes vast expansion of Pacific Ocean sanctuaries for marine life
28. Obama goes after black-market fishing, other threats to oceans
29. NMFS Recreational saltwater fishing policy in the works By Molly Dischner Alaska Journal of Commerce
30. NMFS corrects Economics report, seeks more info on sport fishing
31. Comment by Sept 12 on NMFS Recreational Saltwater Fishing Policy – Alaska town hall meeting to be held in October
32. Broker helping with Alaska insurance signups scales back
33. Murkowski J-1 Visa Amendment in Funding Bill Supports Fisheries Industry and Seafood Processors
34. Murkowski Highlights Value of Alaska’s Fisheries and Coastal Communities at International Summit
35. Murkowski Secures Funds for Alaska Fisheries Sustainability through Approps Efforts
36. Murkowski Vows to Keep Fighting for Alaska’s Sustainable Fisheries
37. High Seas Capture – Vessel fishing illegally halted in North Pacific Ocean
38. AFS meeting October 12-24, Juneau – Call for Abstracts by Sept 15 & Film Fest by Oct 1.
39. Comment deadline August 1 on DOC Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Indicator Selection
40. Comment Deadline August 4 on BSAI Amendment 106 AFA vessel replacement
41. Comment deadline August 11 on MARAD AFA vessel regulations
42. Comment deadline August 4 on Amendment 97 GOA non-pollock trawl fisheries Chinook PSC
43. FDA and EPA issue draft updated advice for fish consumption
44. Comment deadline August 12 on Amendment 105 CDQ flatfish quota exchanges
45. Comment deadline July 30 on Amendment 105 CDQ groundfish quota transfers.
46. Comment by August 18 on NOAA Alaska Region Permit Family of Forms
47. NMFS CIE peer review of BSAI Atka Mackerel Stock Assessment, July 29-31, Seattle
48. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee application deadline (received by) July 25
49. Comment Deadline August 15 on ESA Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
50. Comment deadline August 27 on Central North Pacific Humpback Whale delisting & DPS
51. USFWS & NMFS announce final policy on ESA “Significant Portion of its Range”
52. Comment deadline extended to October 9 on ESA Critical Habitat definitions & regs
53. Comment extended to October 9 on ESA Section 4(b)(2) implementation
54. Comment deadline July 30 on NOAA FFP Construction of New Replacement Fishing Vessels
55. Comment deadline September 29 on NEPA Procedures for MSA Fishery Actions
56. USCG Public Workshop on IMO Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters – Aug 14, Seattle
Environmental
57. Judge lets state intervene in Pebble case
58. Alaska tribes to back EPA in Pebble Mine case
59. BBNC Education Foundation Divests Pebble Mine Gift Shares
60. BB-RSDA Updates Fishermen on the Fight to Stop the Pebble Mine
61. Mining News: Miners regroup in 2014 field season
62. Northern Dynasty accepts more mining claims near Pebble
63. Dillingham to Murkowski: No Pebble Mine
64. BC Mines: Updated Feasibility Study for Brucejack Unuk River Project Confirms Positive Economics
65. Comment deadline July 16 on recertification of Cook Inlet RCAC
66. USCG Final Rule on double hull tankers – two tug escorts required
67. Comment Deadline July 16 on USFWS Classroom Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species
68. Garbage-patch tale as flimsy as a single-use plastic bag
69. Chugach National Forest initiates Land Management Plan revision
Hatchery & Aquaculture
70. Iron, steel in hatcheries may distort magnetic ‘map sense’ of steelhead (& Chinook)
71. Third Annual Juneau Haa–Aani OysterFest – July 19, 2014 2pm to 8pm
Subsistence
72. Herring search spans millennia
73. Herring return to Auke Bay
74. Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Comes to Bethel to Talk Co-Management
75. Interior Proposes Reform of Federal Acknowledgment Regulations
76. Comment deadline extended to July 31 on Native land trusts – removal of Alaska Exemption
& Other…
77. NIOSH New Product Spotlight: Live to be Salty
78. AMSEA Drill Conductor, Stability, Ergonomics and others classes schedule online
79. Laine Welch’s Fish Radio – Items from this week
State
1. Sign up for Alaska Board of Fisheries and Board of Game E-mail List
(Even if you were previously receiving it by email or mail)
“The Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) and the Alaska Board of Game (BOG) are updating their e-mail distribution list. In order to continue receiving e-mail notifications from the BOF and BOG, all users are asked to sign up for the new distribution list.
In addition, we will significantly curtail the number of hard copies mailed. Notices for meetings, regulatory changes, proposals, and call for proposals will be sent electronically for the upcoming 2014-2015 meeting cycle.
We will not transfer over e-mails we currently have on file, therefore you must sign up to continue receiving the information…”
Board of Fisheries and Board of Game Email Subscription Signup:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=process.email
subscription
2. Opinion: Possible commercial salmon opener panics Kenai dipnetters, but is it really such a bad thing?
By Craig Medred, Alaska Dispatch
Kenai River dipnetters appeared to be on the verge of going apoplectic Friday at the news the Alaska Department of Fish and Game might allow an emergency opening of the commercial setnet salmon fishery off the mouth of that river…
Everyone needs to take a deep breath. This is not a simple situation…
Dipnet, sport and commercial fishermen all agreed at the Fish Board meeting this winter that commercial setnetters are entitled to some sockeye. And everyone agreed the Kenai River chinook salmon run is in trouble…
If there is going to be a sockeye setnet fishery with a minimum king take, this is arguably the best time to prosecute that fishery. And until someone comes up with a cleaner way to fish the beaches than exists today, there is going to be some bycatch of kings in any setnet fishery…
But in America’s Great Entitlement State, it seems, everyone has come to expect they’re owed things. In that regard at least, the dipnetters aren’t that much different from the setnetters who have for years believed they are entitled to catch Kenai sockeye.
They’re not. But neither are dipnetters..
http://alaskadispatch.com/article/20140711/opinion-possible
-commercial-salmon-opener-panics-kenai-dipnetters-it-really-such
Related:
Kenai fish managers consider weekend setnet opener in upper Cook Inlet
http://alaskadispatch.com/article/20140710/kenai-fish-managers-
consider-weekend-setnet-opener-upper-cook-inlet
3. ADFG posts Chinook News summer newsletter
Chinook News is designed in newspaper format to highlight the major issues surrounding Chinook salmon in Alaska while giving the reader an overview of what the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is doing to understand and sustainably manage this important resource.
Weak Chinook salmon runs have impacted cultural patterns of food gathering, sport opportunities, and commercial economic activity, and the State of Alaska launched the Chinook Salmon Research Initiative in 2012 to further explore and address the causes for the down turn in production. Over the next five years, the Initiative will study 12 river systems throughout Alaska through the support of Governor Parnell and the Alaska Legislature…
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=chinooknews.main
4. Laine Welch; Bristol Bay sockeyes could exceed forecast by 45 percent
With salmon fisheries going on every summer all across Alaska, you might wonder why so much attention is focused on Bristol Bay. The answer can be summed up in two words: sockeye salmon.
Bristol Bay is home to the largest red salmon runs in the world and sockeye is Alaska’s most valuable salmon fishery by far. In most years, well over one-third of Alaska’s total earnings from salmon fishing stem from Bristol Bay.
Whereas other fishing regions like Copper River, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Southeast and the Alaska Peninsula might get sockeye catches ranging from 1 million to 5 million fish, Bristol Bay’s harvests can reach into the 20 million to 40 million range. “The Bay” also has the most salmon fishermen, with more than 2,800 active permit holders.
Fishermen were expecting to catch about 17 million reds at Bristol Bay this summer, but it could blow past that by the time you read this. Catches already were topping two million a day and by July 4, the harvest was at 14 million — with another surge of sockeyes on the way. Salmon trackers already were predicting that the run of sockeyes homing in to Bristol Bay could top 38 million, 45 percent over the preseason forecast.
Alaska’s statewide sockeye catch this summer is pegged at nearly 34 million, a 14 percent increase over 2013. The total salmon catch this year is projected at 133 million fish, down 47 percent from last year’s record haul. (Summed up in two words: pink salmon.)
http://www.adn.com/node/1596711?sp=/99/171//
5. ADF&G 2014 Inseason Alaska Commercial Salmon Summary
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyfishery
salmon.bluesheetsummary
6. Appeal filed in Cook Inlet fisheries management lawsuit
The Cook Inlet Fisherman’s Fund is appealing the court decision that upheld the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s 2013 management of Cook Inlet salmon fisheries.
The fisherman’s fund, or CIFF, filed an appeal with the Alaska Supreme Court June 10, according to CIFF attorney Bruce Weyhrauch.
Next the record in the case must be prepared, and a transcript of the proceedings provided to the court, and then CIFF can file its opening brief.
CIFF sued the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in July 2013, asserting that fisheries managers did not follow Cook Inlet salmon management plans appropriately that year and caused harm to commercial fishermen.
After hearing oral argument May 29, Anchorage Superior Court Judge Andrew Guidi granted the state’s motion for summary judgment on June 2. He wrote in his final decision that there was no evidence that ADFG had “exceeded its authority in executing the emergency plan promulgated by the Alaska Board of Fisheries. Specifically, the fund has failed to articulate any concrete way in which the department overstepped its management authority other than the claim — already rejected on motion for preliminary injunction — that the fund’s fishermen were entitled to 51 hours of extra fishing time by law.”
Weyhrauch listed seven points of appeal in the Supreme Court filing, asserting that the court erred at each step of the way, including when it granted ADFG’s motion for summary judgment and denied CIFF’s request for injunctive relief, constitutional claims, tort claims and discovery.
http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/June
-Issue-4-2014/Appeal-filed-in-Cook-Inlet-fisheries-management-l
awsuit/
7. Judge requires CIFF to reimburse state for lawsuit costs
By Molly Dischner, Alaska Journal of Commerce
A judge ruled Wednesday that a commercial fishing group should pay part of the State’s cost for the lawsuit regarding management of the Cook Inlet salmon fisheries in 2013…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/
Breaking-News-2013/Judge-requires-CIFF-to-reimburse-state-
for-lawsuit-costs/
8. State Releases Plan For Maritime Workforce
A new plan released by state this spring identifies the highest work force needs around Alaska for seafood harvesting, processing, fishery management as well as ship operations and repair. The plan also lists steps forward to fill those jobs.
The maritime industry is Alaska’s largest private employer with more than 70,000 jobs across the four sectors. More than 50,000 of those are in commercial fishing and seafood processing. But employers have told the state that the supply of skilled workers is not meeting demand – and that’s where this document comes in.
“The Alaska maritime workforce development plan really represents a way to really look at the workforce development system, from the k-12 education system, post-secondary education, any specific occupational training and then what employers are demanding, what kinds of skill sets they need and figuring out ways to bridge those two systems so that the education and training system is delivering workers with the right skill sets at the right time,” said Wanetta Ayers, business partnerships director with the state’s Department of Labor…
http://www.alaskapublic.org/2014/06/16/state-releases-plan
-for-maritime-workforce/
AK Department of Labor Maritime Workforce Development Plan
http://labor.alaska.gov/maritimeplan/
University of Alaska Fisheries, Seafood and Maritime Initiative page:
http://www.alaska.edu/fsmi/
9. PWSSC Honors Bill and Irene Webber – The Cordova Times
The Prince William Sound Science Center has announced the recipients of the 10th Annual PWSSC Fisheries Achievement Award: Bill and Irene Webber…
After some very lean years when seining was closed in the early 70s, Bill became a co-founder of PWS Aquaculture Corporation. Many credit the aquaculture corporation for being a source of stability in this region, as well as a driver of international trade, and for that, we have founders like Bill Webber to thank…
http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/14232014-pwssc
-fisheries-achievement-award-bill
10. Untangling Southeast Alaska’s fisheries – Rasmuson funds interview project
Rasmuson grant fuels Amanda Compton’s interview-based radio project
Ask Amanda Compton why she is documenting the experiences of Southeast Alaska fisheries workers, and you’d best carve out some time for her answer…
“I guess I just have this inherent fascination with uncovering a tangle, whether it’s figuring out an industry or how something works — and then telling other people about it,” Compton said. “I want to figure out how these fisheries and parts of these fisheries work, and to tell the story through the lens of someone in particular — through this family that lives at a hatchery, through this guy that runs a boat that has people jumping off to dive for sea cucumbers, through this woman who runs a tender, through this skipper that plays the ukulele. That’s going to make it more approachable and that’s going to make it more interesting to people and make my job more fun — and harder too. To me, harder is more fun.”
http://chat.juneauempire.com/art/2014-06-19/untangling-southeast-
alaskas-fisheries#.U8Ma60BBrFw
11. R/V Sikuliaq readies for ocean research
By Molly Dischner, Alaska Journal of Commerce
Next summer, there’ll be a new ship docking in Dutch Harbor and Nome on its way to the Arctic. But first, the research vessel Sikuliaq is headed to Honolulu for its inaugural research cruises.
This summer, the 261-foot oceanographic research vessel will make its way from the Great Lakes to the Pacific via the St. Lawrence Seaway and the Panama Canal, stopping for testing and research along the way. By February 2015, it is expected to arrive in its homeport of Sewar
The University of Alaska Fairbanks will operate the ship, but it is owned by the National Science Foundation, and scheduling research cruises is done in conjunction with the University National Oceanographic Laboratory System, or UNOLS, said Dan Oliver, the marine superintendant at UAF’s Seward Marine Center…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/June-
Issue-4-2014/R-V-Sikuliaq-readies-for-ocean-research/
12. Bill to Capture Lost State Revenues Becomes Law – HB 306 to sunsets many tax credits
Monday, July 7, 2014, Fairbanks, Alaska – Representative Steve Thompson’s bill to save the state millions of dollars in “lost” revenues tied to indirect expenditures was signed by Alaska Governor Sean Parnell today. House Bill 306 helps the state capture lost revenues incurred through indirect expenditures, like waiver of fees or credits used against a corporate tax…
The Alaska Dept. of Revenue will report to legislators at every First Session of each new legislature, on indirect expenditures, and then the Legislative Finance Division will analyze the report for each department on a schedule laid out in the bill. The analysis will factor in whether an item is of monetary benefit to the state, meets the legislative intent, estimate of the foregone revenue, and economic effect, among others.
The department and agency review schedule is: 2015 – Fish and Game..
The tax credit sunsets are staggered as well: 2016 – Winn Brindle Scholarship Tax Credit, Salmon Utilization Tax Credit; 2018 – Film Tax Credit, all education tax credits; 2020 – CDQ Tax Credit and Salmon Production Tax Credit.
House Majority press release:
http://www.housemajority.org/2014/07/08/bill-to-capture-lost-state-
revenues-becomes-law-2/
13. HB 143 to Fix Commercial Fishing Temporary Crew Licenses Becomes Law
Tuesday, July 8, 2014, Soldotna, Alaska – Alaska Governor Sean Parnell today signed a bill by Rep. Paul Seaton to fix a loophole in state law relating to temporary commercial fishing crew “dude” licenses. House Bill 143 will limit crew to purchasing a single temporary license per year, instead of buying numerous temporary licenses…
http://www.housemajority.org/2014/07/08/bill-to-fix-comm-fish-
temporary-crew-licenses-becomes-law/
HB 143 online: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/28/Bills/H
B0143Z.PDF
14. SB 194 signed – Alaska Tourism Marketing Board Created
July 10, 2014, Anchorage, Alaska – Continuing his commitment to grow Alaska’s tourism economy and create more opportunities for Alaskans and Alaska businesses, Governor Sean Parnell today signed several bills into law, including Senate Bill 194, legislation establishing the Alaska Tourism Marketing Board within the Department of Commerce, Community, and Economic Development. Among other things, the board will be charged with encouraging the expansion and growth of Alaska’s visitor industry and maximizing the number of Alaskans employed in tourism. Senator Lesil McGuire sponsored the legislation.
Governor Parnell also signed other legislation…
Governor Parnell press release:
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/press-room/full-press-release
.html?pr=6895
SB 194 online: http://www.legis.state.ak.us/PDF/28/Bills/SB0194Z.PDF
“… (b) The board consists of 21 members as follows:
(1) 18 members appointed by the governor who are members of the leading statewide nonprofit tourism association and who represent different segments of the tourism industry and company sizes and the following regions of the state…
(2) the commissioner of commerce, community, and economic development or the commissioner’s designee;
(3) one member of the senate appointed by the president of the senate, who shall serve ex officio as a nonvoting member of the board; and
(4) one member of the house of representatives appointed by the speaker of the house of representatives, who shall serve ex officio as a nonvoting member of the board.
Alaska Travel Industry Association home page: http://alaskatia.org/
15. Southeast Transportation Plan posted – comment meetings to come
The Department of Transportation has released a draft transportation plan for the region and will soon be holding meetings to present it to the public and gather comments. No schedule yet, but in the meantime, you can review the document here:http://dot.alaska.gov/sereg/projects/satp/index.shtml.
16. AK DOT 2014-2015 Ferry Schedule
DOT released the final winter 2014-2015 schedule… View it online at: www.ferryalaska.com.
17. Gov. Makes Boards & Commissions Appointments – names Douglas Blumer to CFAB
July 10, 2014, Anchorage, Alaska – Governor Sean Parnell today announced appointments to the Alaska Oil and Gas Conservation Commission, Alaska Industrial Development and Export Authority/Alaska Energy Authority, Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank Board of Directors, and Citizens’ Advisory Commission on Federal Areas…
Governor Parnell appointed Douglas Blumer to the Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank Board of Directors. The board manages assets of the bank and selects the officers of the bank.
Blumer, of Anchorage, is the Alaska sales manager for NC Power Systems and has been a commercial fisherman for 15 years. He grew up in the farming business and currently owns and manages two family farms. Blumer is one of two director seats appointed by the governor…
Governor Parnell press release:
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/press-room/full-press-release.
html?pr=6894
18. Gov. reappoints Merrigan, Childers, and Rea to North Pacific Research Board
Governor Parnell re-nominated Dorothy Childers, Gerry Merrigan, and Caryn Rea to the North Pacific Research Board, whose members are appointed by the U.S. Secretary of Commerce. The board recommends marine research initiatives relating to fisheries and marine ecosystems in the North Pacific Ocean, Bering Sea, and Arctic Ocean.
Childers, of Anchorage, is the associate director of the Alaska Marine Conservation Council. She holds a bachelor’s degree from the State University of New York. Childers is re-nominated to an environmental representative seat.
Merrigan, of Petersburg, has been a member of the North Pacific Research Board since 2005 and is a past member of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (NPFMC) and the Pacific Salmon Commission. He has fished commercially since 1984 in the salmon troll and halibut fisheries in Southeast Alaska, as well as Bristol Bay and False Pass…
Governor Parnell Press Release:
http://gov.alaska.gov/parnell/press-room/full-press-release
.html?pr=6864
19. Deadline July 16 for AK Sustainable Salmon Fund proposals
Alaska Online Public Notice:
http://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.asp
x?id=171443
Marketing
20. Analyses Confirms that Alaska’s Seafood is Safe from Fukushima Radiation
JUNEAU — The Alaska departments of Environmental Conservation (DEC) and Health and Social Services (DHSS) have received results from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on radiation testing of Alaska seafood. The results confirm information from federal, State and international agencies that seafood in the North Pacific and Alaska waters poses no radiation related health concerns to those who consume it.
The FDA is the lead U.S. agency in food safety. The agency has been monitoring radiation in both domestic and imported foods and determined that there have been no levels of Fukushima radiation in those foods that would pose a public health concern. However, Alaskans have insisted on Alaska-specific sampling and data. DEC and DHSS developed a sampling plan and coordinated with the FDA for them to analyze several Alaska fish species that are known to migrate from the western Pacific Ocean and that are harvested by commercial, recreational and subsistence fishers.
“We heard concerns from our neighbors, friends and other citizens throughout Alaska about the possible contamination of Alaska fish with the radiation releases from the Fukushima disaster,” DEC Environmental Health director Elaine Busse Floyd said. “We did not expect to find any problems with Alaska seafood based on federal monitoring of domestic and imported foods. However, we felt that it was important to assist the FDA by developing a sampling plan and obtaining Alaska fish to be tested. The data reassures us and other Alaskans for whom seafood is such a critical part of life in Alaska.”
The testing found no detections of the Fukushima-related radioisotopes Iodine-131, Cesium-134, or Cesium-137. There was some detection of background or naturally-occurring radiation. The results indicate no appreciable risk from any tested radionuclide in these fish. DEC and DHSS have posted the findings on their websites.
All samples were analyzed by standard techniques routinely used by the FDA to evaluate food safety. The fish samples were composites, containing tissue from several fish, and were collected using a statistical protocol. Samples were collected across the state from the Aleutian Islands/Bering Sea to Southeast Alaska…
DEC press release:
or http://www.iphc.int/documents/adfg/Alaska_Seafood_Radiatio
n_Safe_6-27-14.pdf
Data Charts: http://www.iphc.int/documents/adfg/Radiation_Not
_Detected_in_Fish_Charts_6_27_14.pdf
21. Alaska Seafood and Fukushima Radiation Concerns – ASMI
http://pressroom.alaskaseafood.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/06/
Response-to-Fukushima.pdf
22. Food-Mood Connection: How You Eat Can Amp Up Or Tamp Down Stress
… “You can either be good at weathering stress or you can be brittle. And omega-3s make your stress system more flexible,” Hibbeln says. He points to showing that omega-3s can help protect neurons against the damage that can be done by chronic stress…
Study: Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids and chronic stress-induced modulations of glutamatergic neurotransmission in the hippocampus:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24417620
Omega-3 Rich Diet May Keep Joints Healthy
http://cooks.ndtv.com/article/show/omega-3-rich-diet-may-keep
-joints-healthy-558409
Federal
23. Former legislator Beth Kerttula named White House Director Of Ocean Policy
Pat Forgey, Alaska Dispatch
JUNEAU — Alaska’s Beth Kerttula, who left the Legislature earlier this year for a Stanford fellowship in ocean policy, has been tapped to become the new ocean policy director for the Obama White House.
The Palmer native represented Juneau in the House of Representatives for 15 years, the last seven as leader of the Democratic minority. She left for Stanford University, her alma mater, in January to serve as a visiting fellow at the Center for Ocean Solutions…
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140605/former-legislator
-beth-kerttula-named-white-house-director-ocean-policy
National Ocean Council home page: http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/oceans/
24. National Ocean Policy Coalition news:
The National Ocean Policy Coalition is a national organization focused on developing a national ocean policy that considers the following interests: energy, mining, agriculture, chemicals, construction, manufacturing, shipping, transportation, ports, commercial and recreational fishing, and boating…
News items include:
I. Obama Administration Announces New Ocean Protection Executive Measures
II. Sec. of State Kerry Advocates for Marine Protection at Ocean Conference
III. Protected Areas, Climate Change Central Themes at Capitol Hill Ocean Week
IV. NOAA Establishes New National Marine Sanctuary Nomination Process
V. Northeast RPB Releases Documents Ahead of Workshop & Meeting…
Online at: http://us1.campaign-archive2.com/?u=6bb66fed099f6eb
4e4253667e&id=90f4385bcc&e=9001490418
25. U.S. House adopts Congressman Byrne’s amendment to defund Obama ‘ocean grab’
The U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday adopted an amendment offered by Rep. Bradley Byrne to cut off funding for an executive order issued by President Barack Obama that the congressman contends amounts to an “ocean grab.”
Byrne, R-Fairhope, along with Rep. Bill Flores, R-Texas, offered the amendment to the Energy and Water Development and Related Agencies Appropriations Act of 2015. The amendment passed on a voice vote.
Byrne voted in the 253-170 majority to pass the entire $34 billion spending bill, which funds the Department of Energy, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and provides money for some Interior Department programs and several independent agencies, such as the Nuclear Regulatory Commission.
Byrne’s amendment, if it becomes law, would prohibit the government from using federal funds to implement an National Ocean Policy, created by executive order in 2010 and requiring various agencies to work to together to – in Byrne’s words – “zone the ocean.”..
http://www.alaskadispatch.com/article/20140605/former-legislator
-beth-kerttula-named-white-house-director-ocean-policy
26. Fox News: Fishing in murky waters: the administration’s secretive oceans policies come under fire
The Obama administration is using its “phone and pen” method of governing by executive action to push its agenda and extend its powers in a huge new area: the Pacific Ocean.
American fishermen are reacting with skepticism, concern and frustration at the latest murky steps to prevent fishing in vast tracts of the Pacific. The proposed expansion was announced along with other White House ocean conservation initiatives on June 16, as the kickoff to a two-day State Department conference aimed at greater international coordination to overcome a variety of ocean ills, including not only overfishing, but marine pollution and ocean acidification — the last linked by conservationists to global carbon emissions and “climate change.”
http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2014/07/09/fishing-in-murky
-waters-administrations-secretive-oceans-policies-come-under/
27. Obama proposes vast expansion of Pacific Ocean sanctuaries for marine life
President Obama announced Tuesday his intent to make a broad swath of the central Pacific Ocean off-limits to fishing, energy exploration and other activities.
The proposal, slated to go into effect later this year after a comment period, could create the world’s largest marine sanctuary and double the area of ocean globally that is fully protected…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/obama-will-propose-vast-
expansion-of-pacific-ocean-marine-sanctuary/2014/06/16/f86899
72-f0c6-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html
&
Obama, Leonardo DiCaprio vow efforts to protect the ocean
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/post-politics/wp/2014/06
/17/obama-leonardo-dicaprio-vow-efforts-to-protect-the-ocean/
&
Secretary of State John Kerry says summit will seek global action to protect oceans
http://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/secretary-of-state-john-
kerry-says-summit-will-seek-global-action-to-protect-oceans/201
4/06/11/471c6636-f188-11e3-bf76-447a5df6411f_story.html
U.S. State Department – Our Ocean Initiatives: http://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web
&cd=4&ved=0CDMQFjAD&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.state.gov
%2Fdocuments%2Forganization%2F228006.pdf&ei=LCrEU5-KG
oL7oATOtYCgCQ&usg=AFQjCNGcrNf7RfnCKdQ1ql9Zi9CKpYKw
tw&sig2=i6AKMh_6VuIIWyEQoaGmKA&bvm=bv.70810081,d.
cGU&cad=rja
White House Council on Environmental Quality National Ocean Policy Implementation Plan:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/administration/eop/ceq/initiatives
/oceans
28. Obama goes after black-market fishing, other threats to oceans
CNN – June 18
The Obama administration announced new measures to combat black-market fishing and protect ocean ecosystems on Tuesday, as scientists, diplomats, policymakers, and heads of state concluded a conference dedicated to ocean preservation.
http://edition.cnn.com/2014/06/17/politics/obama-ocean
-conservation/
29. NMFS Recreational saltwater fishing policy in the works By Molly Dischner Alaska Journal of Commerce
The National Marine Fisheries Service is working on a draft policy that could incorporate more consideration of marine recreational fishing in management actions.
The agency, or NMFS, has released four draft goals for a new national saltwater recreational fisheries policy, and is taking comments on the plan through September, with an October hearing planned to get input from Alaskans.
According to information from NMFS, the recreational fishing policy will provide values to guide fishery management decisions made under the Magnuson-Stevens Act.
According to a statement from NMFS, “The effort is about better understanding angler needs, better tailoring our programs and services, and empowering anglers to be responsible stewards.”
In Alaska, marine recreational fishing generated 4,824 jobs, $213 million in income impacts, $558 million in sales impacts and $337 million in value-added impacts in 2012, according to the most recent fisheries economics report produced by NMFS…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/
July-Issue-1-2014/Recreational-saltwater-fishing-policy-in-the-works/
30. NMFS corrects Economics report, seeks more info on sport fishing
The National Marine Fisheries Service is also working to improve its data on the impacts of recreational fishing. The agency recently announced corrections to its “Fisheries Economics of the United States 2012” report.
The report, which was released this spring, aims to compare recreational and commercial fishing values throughout the country.
At the time it was released, commercial seafood imports were included. Now, the impacts of imported seafood can be sorted out of the commercial impacts, providing a more realistic comparison, according to the agency.
In Alaska, the value of commercial fishing continues to outweigh the value of marine recreational fishing despite the change, but that wasn’t the case elsewhere in the nation…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/Alaska-Journal-of-Commerce/July-
Issue-1-2014/NMFS-corrects-report-seeks-more-info-on-sport-fishing/
NOAA Fisheries Economics of the United States 2012 page:
http://www.st.nmfs.noaa.gov/commercial-fisheries/fus/fus12/
31. Comment by Sept 12 on NMFS Recreational Saltwater Fishing Policy – Alaska town hall meeting to be held in October
NOAA Fisheries, the federal agency responsible for the stewardship of our ocean and coastal resources, is asking for your help in developing an Agency-wide saltwater recreational fisheries policy…
Policy Information Webinars:
July 9 @ 7:00 pm (EDT) & July 28 @ 2:00 pm (EDT)
A meeting is scheduled for the NPFMC October 6-15 meeting in Anchorage…see complete meeting schedule at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/management/recreational/policy
/town_halls.html
Recreational Saltwater Fishing Policy home page:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/management/recreational/policy/
Comment online – deadline September 12, 2014:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/management/recreational/policy
/comment_online.html
MAFAC Recreational Fisheries Working Group report November 2013:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ocs/mafac/docs/finaleditswhitepape
r_26nov2013.pdf
NOAA Fisheries Economic Reports April, 2014:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2014/04/04_16_14sos
_feus_reports_2013.html
32. Broker helping with Alaska insurance signups scales back
ANCHORAGE, Alaska – A broker established last year with plans of helping tens of thousands of Alaskans sign up for private health insurance has scaled back.
Enroll Alaska had set a target of signing up 40,000 people during the open enrollment period that ran from Oct. 1 through March. They wound up signing up 2,400.
“We just didn’t know how hungry people were to get health insurance that was subsidized for the first time,” said Joshua Weinstein, a consultant with Northrim Benefits Group who helped launch Enroll Alaska.
He blamed the disappointing total in part to the rocky rollout of the federally run online insurance marketplace. But he also told APRN (http://bit.ly/1kwKMcs) there remains opposition to the federal health care law and confusion about how the subsidies many Alaskans qualify would work. He said insurance companies weren’t processing applications smoothly, either…
http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/broker-helping
-with-alaska-insurance-signups-scales-back/article_79358578-
f3de-11e3-ba36-0017a43b2370.html
Enroll Alaska: http://www.enrollingalaska.com/home.aspx
The next Open Enrollment period begins November 15, 2014, and runs through February 15, 2015. You can, however, go into the Marketplace or your State Exchange at any time to set up an account… Healthcare.gov: https://www.healthcare.gov/marketplace/b/welcome/
33. Murkowski J-1 Visa Amendment in Funding Bill Supports Fisheries Industry and Seafood Processors
Senator Also Works With Appropriations Committee to Staff Up Arctic Positions
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Lisa Murkowski today successfully added a key amendment to the 2015 State and Foreign Operations spending bill to restore the J-1 Visa program through Fiscal Year 2015 and help Alaska’s seafood processors statewide hire needed staff – after the State Department had suspended visas due to concerns rising from Lower 48 activities. The J-1 program is an important policy that allows processing companies to recruit staff from outside the United States when their rural location and seasonal workload makes hiring locally or domestically difficult. Murkowski also was able to allocate vital funds for the State Department to begin adding Arctic-focused personnel as the nation ramps up its efforts and leadership in the region prior to taking Chair of the Arctic Council.
“Alaska’s seafood processors have been having difficulty hiring the workers they need during peak summer seasons, since the J-1 program was shut down two years ago,” said Murkowski. “Seafood processors from Naknek to Kodiak to Ketchikan rely on this program when they cannot hire Alaskans or workers from the Lower 48, so I would like to thank my committee colleagues for understanding the need to continue this program for the next year, and Senator Begich for joining me in this effort.”…
http://www.akbizmag.com/Alaska-Business-Monthly/June-2014/
Murkowski-J-1-Visa-Amendment-in-Funding-Bill-Supports-Fisheries
-Industry-and-Seafood-Processors/
& Empire Editorial: Senators promise more foreign workers for Alaska
We weren’t aware that multibillion-dollar seafood corporations needed help to make money….
http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2014-06-27/empire-editorial-
senators-promise-more-foreign-workers-alaska
& PSPA: My Turn: Too many jobs, not enough Alaskans
… If you know of job candidates who are physically capable, willing to work hard in a drug-free workplace and need a summer job, please send them our way.
http://juneauempire.com/opinion/2014-07-02/my-turn-too-many
-jobs-not-enough-alaskans
34. Murkowski Highlights Value of Alaska’s Fisheries and Coastal Communities at International Summit
At State Department, Senator Says “We Have a Good Story to Tell”
WASHINGTON, D.C. – Senator Lisa Murkowski joined her Senate Oceans Caucus co-chair Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) at the Department of State’s “Our Ocean” Conference to lead a discussion on America’s leadership in managing fisheries on a sustainable basis. In her joint remarks, Murkowski said “We have a good thing going” with fisheries management in Alaska – citing it as a model for fisheries worldwide – while also discussing the importance of recently-passed treaties to combat pirate fishing and the continued vigilance needed on the issue of tsunami debris.
Senator Murkowski press release: http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/
pressreleases?ID=b1803ae1-a906-4be6-a52a-f9074f40cefe
35. Murkowski Secures Funds for Alaska Fisheries Sustainability through Approps Efforts
Arctic Charting, Electronic Monitoring, Tsunami Debris Also Among Priorities in 2015 Funding Bill
WASHINGTON, DC – The Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Commerce, Justice and Science has finalized its 2015 bill which includes the strong funding for fisheries management requested by Senator Lisa Murkowski.
“It is critical that fisheries managers in Alaska have the resources necessary to conduct the stock assessments and surveys they need to set quotas that ensure our wild, abundant fisheries remain sustainably managed.”
The funding in this bill supports the North Pacific Council, the Pacific Salmon Commission and the Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission – all key components in the management of Alaska’s fisheries. Senator Murkowski’s efforts also address the need for nautical charting in the U.S. Arctic, led to the inclusion of funding and report language to expedite the development of electronic monitoring technology to improve data collection in the small boat fixed gear fleet and ensure greater emphasis on clean-up of tsunami debris along Alaska’s coast.
http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press
releases?ID=f6a49131-58ba-45a4-b076-ecbdb299e7f6
36. Murkowski Vows to Keep Fighting for Alaska’s Sustainable Fisheries
Senator Gives Remarks to Sustainable Seafood Seminar with NOAA
Senator Lisa Murkowski today spoke before federal and commercial seafood representatives at the Sustainable Seafood Seminar – pledging to continue her support for strong federal funding for fisheries management. Additionally, she reiterated her commitment to protect the seafood industry from threats posed by genetically-engineered salmon and third-party sustainable seafood certification schemes…
http://www.murkowski.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/pressreleases
?ID=5a572ebd-0513-4649-9072-6abbbdf8f1fb
37. High Seas Capture – Vessel fishing illegally halted in North Pacific Ocean
A 191-foot vessel of Chinese registry found to be fishing illegally in the North Pacific Ocean with a large-scale high seas drift net was handed over to China coast guard officials in the East China Sea on June 3 by the U.S. Coast Guard.
“This seizure is a direct result of the teamwork between the Coast Guard and our Chinese, Japanese and Canadian law enforcement partners,” said Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander of the Coast Guard 17th District in Juneau, Alaska.
– See more at: http://www.thecordovatimes.com/article/1423high-
seas-capture-vessel-fishing-illegally#sthash.FeMIGBz1.dpuf
38. AFS meeting October 12-24, Juneau – Call for Abstracts by Sept 15 & Film Fest by Oct 1.
American Fisheries Society and American Water Resources Association – Juneau, October 21-24. Abstracts are due by September 15, 2014. Details online at: http://www.afs-alaska.org/call-for-session-proposals-for-2013-chapter-meeting
Also – The Southeast Alaska Fish Habitat Partnership (SEAKFHP) will be hosting the first annual Alaska Fish Film Festival during the welcoming session for the conference.
To be considered, submissions must:
• Be filmed in Alaska
• Detail or have a linkage to some aspect of fish conservation and/or fish habitat conservation
• Be less than 10 minutes in length
If you have any questions please contact Mark Kaelke, Trout Unlimited’s Southeast Alaska Project Director, at MKaelke@tu.org
The final deadline for video submissions is October 1, 2014. Early submissions are encouraged. Film submission guidelines and the online submission form can be found on the SEAKFHP website at: http://www.seakfhp.org/1st-annual-alaska-fish-film-festival-
october-21st-2014/ .
SEAKFHP Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/sealaskafhp .
39. Comment deadline August 1 on DOC Gulf of Alaska Ecosystem Indicator Selection
… The goal of this project is to select a short (8-10) list of ecosystem indicators for the Gulf of Alaska that will form the basis of a Gulf of Alaska (GOA) Report Card and Ecosystem Assessment to include in the NOAA’s Ecosystem Considerations report…
For the purposes of this project, ecosystem indicators are defined as time-series of data that measure some component of the ecosystem…
We will use these rankings to form the basis of a new GOA report card and ecosystem assessment. We hope that by surveying a greater number of individuals than were involved with indicator selection for the eastern Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands, the survey results will reflect broader expertise and an `equal voice’ from all participants…
Federal Register notice:
https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-12668
40. Comment Deadline August 4 on BSAI Amendment 106 AFA vessel replacement
NMFS issues a proposed rule to implement Amendment 106 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI FMP). The proposed rule would allow the owner of an American Fisheries Act (AFA) vessel to rebuild or replace the vessel without limitation on the length, weight, or horsepower of the rebuilt or replacement vessel when the vessel is operating in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI). The proposed rule would also allow the owner of an AFA catcher vessel that is a member of an inshore cooperative to remove the vessel from the Bering Sea directed pollock fishery and assign the pollock catch history of the removed vessel to one or more vessels in the inshore cooperative to which the removed vessel belonged. This action is necessary to bring the regulations implementing the BSAI FMP into conformity with the AFA as amended by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. This action would also improve vessel safety and operational efficiency in the AFA fleet by allowing the rebuilding or replacement of AFA vessels with safer and more efficient vessels and by allowing the removal of inactive catcher vessels from the AFA fishery…
Federal Register – Notice of availability: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-12829
Federal Register – Proposed Rule: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14012
Secretarial Review Draft RIR/IRFA: http://alaskafisheries.
noaa.gov/analyses/amd106/bsai106secdraftea.pdf
41. Comment deadline August 11 on MARAD AFA vessel regulations
The Maritime Administration (“MARAD”) is soliciting public comments on amendments to its regulations which implement new requirements regarding certain large fishing industry vessels set forth in the American Fisheries Act of 1998, as amended by the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 (“CGAA”) and the Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act of 2012 (“CGMTA”). The proposed revisions to the regulation adds two new exceptions to the restrictions on the eligibility of vessels over 165 feet in registered length to be documented with fishery endorsements, eliminates the 15-day application deadline for vessels whose fishery endorsements have become invalid, limits fishery endorsement eligibility for certain large fishing industry vessels, and eliminates certain exemptions for specific vessels that were deleted in the CGMTA…
DATES: Comments must be received on or before August 11, 2014. MARAD will consider comments filed after this date to the extent practicable.
Federal register: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13282
42. Comment deadline August 4 on Amendment 97 GOA non-pollock trawl fisheries Chinook PSC
The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has submitted Amendment 97 to the Fishery Management Plan for Groundfish of the Gulf of Alaska (FMP). If approved, Amendment 97 would limit Chinook salmon prohibited species catch (PSC) in the Western and Central Gulf of Alaska (GOA) non-pollock trawl fisheries. This action would establish separate Chinook salmon PSC annual limits for the non-pollock trawl catcher vessel (CV) and catcher/processor (C/P) sectors and a seasonal limit for the C/P sector. The CV sector PSC limit would be further divided between vessels participating in the Central GOA Rockfish Program and vessels not participating in the Central GOA Rockfish Program. If a sector reached its seasonal or annual Chinook salmon PSC limit, NMFS would prohibit further directed fishing for non-pollock groundfish by vessels in that sector for the remainder of the season or fishing year. This proposed action would also establish salmon retention and discard requirements for vessels, shoreside processors and stationary floating processors participating in the non-pollock groundfish fisheries. The combination of these retention requirements will enable accurate reporting of salmon in eLandings at the processor. Salmon accounting at a processor may assist the industry in tracking and cooperatively managing its Chinook salmon PSC. This action is necessary to minimize the catch of Chinook salmon to the extent practicable in the Western and Central GOA non-pollock trawl fisheries…
Federal Register Notice of Availability: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13066
Federal Register Proposed Rule: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14726
NOAA Fisheries Alaska Chinook Salmon Bycatch Management page:
http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/Sustainablefisheries/bycatch/
default.htm
43. FDA and EPA issue draft updated advice for fish consumption
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today issued draft updated advice on fish consumption. The two agencies have concluded pregnant and breastfeeding women, those who might become pregnant, and young children should eat more fish that is lower in mercury in order to gain important developmental and health benefits. The draft updated advice is consistent with recommendations in the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans…
FDA press release: http://www.fda.gov/newsevents/newsroom/
pressannouncements/ucm397929.htm
Federal Register Notice, June 11:
https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13584
&&
Fish: What Pregnant Women and Parents Should Know
Draft Updated Advice by FDA and EPA
http://www.fda.gov/Food/FoodborneIllnessContaminants/
Metals/ucm393070.htm
44. Comment deadline August 12 on Amendment 105 CDQ flatfish quota exchanges
If approved, Amendment 105 would establish a process for Western Alaska Community Development Quota (CDQ) groups and cooperatives established under the Amendment 80 Program (Amendment 80 cooperatives) to exchange harvest quota from one of three flatfish species (flathead sole, rock sole, and yellowfin sole) for an equal amount of another of these three flatfish species, while maintaining total catch below acceptable biological catch (ABC) limits for each species and below the sum of the total allowable catches (TACs) for all three species…
Comments on the amendment must be received on or before August 12, 2014…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13855
45. Comment deadline July 30 on Amendment 105 CDQ groundfish quota transfers.
Submit comments on or before July 30, 2014…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15185
46. Comment by August 18 on NOAA Alaska Region Permit Family of Forms
The Department of Commerce, as part of its continuing effort to reduce paperwork and respondent burden, invites the general public and other Federal agencies to take this opportunity to comment on proposed and/or continuing information collections, as required by the Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995…
This request is for extension of a currently approved information collection.
For a person to participate in Federal fisheries, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) requires a Federal Fisheries Permit (FFP), a Federal Processor Permit (FPP), or an Experimental Fisheries Permit (EFP). NMFS Alaska Region created a set of groundfish permits that operators of vessels and managers of processors must have onboard or onsite when fishing for, receiving, buying, or processing groundfish. These permits provide NMFS with a way to monitor participation in groundfish fisheries…
Written comments must be submitted on or before August 18, 2014…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14309
47. NMFS CIE peer review of BSAI Atka Mackerel Stock Assessment, July 29-31, Seattle
NMFS has requested the Center for Independent Experts (CIE) to conduct a peer review of the agency’s stock assessment of Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel. The CIE is a group that provides independent peer reviews of NMFS science nationwide, including reviews of stock assessments for fish and marine mammals. The CIE review will examine whether the assessment incorporates the best available scientific information and provides a reasonable approach to understanding the population dynamics and stock status of Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands Atka mackerel. The public is invited to attend and observe the presentations and discussions between the CIE panel and the NMFS scientists who collected and processed the data, and designed the underlying model…
DATES: The review will be held July 29 through July 31, 2014, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Pacific Daylight Time.
ADDRESSES: The review will be held at the NMFS Alaska Fisheries Science Center, 7600 Sand Point Way NE., Building 4, Seattle, WA, 98115, in conference room 2039.
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14477
AFSC Atka Mackerel Research page: http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/species/Atka_mackerel.php
48. Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee application deadline (received by) July 25
The Coast Guard seeks applications for membership on the Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee. The Commercial Fishing Safety Advisory Committee provides advice and makes recommendations to the Coast Guard and the Department of Homeland Security on various matters relating to the safe operation of commercial fishing industry vessels…
Applicants must submit a cover letter and resume in time to reach the Designated Federal Officer on or before July 25, 2014…
The Coast Guard will consider applications for seven (07) positions that expire or become vacant in October 2014 in the following categories:
(a) Commercial Fishing Industry representatives (four positions);
(b) General Public, a marine surveyor who provides services to commercial fishing vessels (one position);
(c) A representative of manufacturers of equipment for commercial fishing vessels (one position); and
(d) A representative of owners of commercial fishing vessels (one position).
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14494
Commercial Fishing Vessel Safety Program: http://www.fishsafe.info/
49. Comment Deadline August 15 on ESA Steller Sea Lion Protection Measures
NMFS proposes to implement Steller sea lion protection measures to insure that groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area (BSAI) off Alaska are not likely to jeopardize the continued existence of the western distinct population segment (WDPS) of Steller sea lions or destroy or adversely modify its designated critical habitat. These management measures would disperse fishing effort temporally and spatially to provide protection from potential competition for important Steller sea lion prey species in the BSAI. The intent of this proposed action is to protect the endangered WDPS of Steller sea lions, as required by the Endangered Species Act, and to minimize, to the extent practicable, the economic impact of fishery management measures, as required by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act…
Submit comments on or before August 15, 2014…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15216
NOAA Fisheries Steller Sea Lion page: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/stellers/
KDLG Radio: NOAA Proposes New Rule to Protect Steller Sea Lions
http://kdlg.org/post/noaa-proposes-new-rule-protect-steller-sea-lions
50. Comment deadline August 27 on Central North Pacific Humpback Whale delisting & DPS
We, NMFS, announce a 90-day finding on a petition to identify the Central North Pacific population of humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) as a Distinct Population Segment (DPS) and delist the DPS under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). We find that the petition presents substantial scientific or commercial information indicating that the petitioned action may be warranted. Therefore, we are continuing our status review for the humpback whale to determine whether this population is a DPS and whether delisting is warranted. To ensure this status review is comprehensive, we solicit scientific and commercial information regarding this species…
Information and comments must be received by July 28, 2014…
Interested persons may obtain a copy of the petition online at the NMFS Alaska Region Web site: http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/
humpback/ .
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14961
Comment extension posted 7/11/14: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-16150
51. USFWS & NMFS announce final policy on ESA “Significant Portion of its Range”
We, the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively, the Services), announce a policy to provide our interpretation of the phrase “significant portion of its range” in the Endangered Species Act’s (Act’s) definitions of “endangered species” and “threatened species.” The purpose of this final policy is to provide an interpretation and application of “significant portion of its range” that reflects a permissible reading of the law and minimizes undesirable policy outcomes, while fulfilling the conservation purposes of the Act. This final policy provides a consistent standard for interpretation of the phrase and its role in listing determinations…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15216
52. Comment deadline extended to October 9 on ESA Critical Habitat definitions & regs
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the “Services” or “we”), announce the extension of the public comment periods on our May 12, 2014, proposals to revise definitions and regulations regarding critical habitat. Comments previously submitted need not be resubmitted, as they will be fully considered in preparation of each final rule…
We will consider comments received or postmarked on or before October 9, 2014…
Federal Register Notice of comment extension: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14774
Federal Register Notice (May 12) https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-10503
NOAA & USFWS joint press release:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mediacenter/2014/04/02__05
__esajointpressreleasefws.html
USFWS Improving ESA Implementation page:
http://www.fws.gov/endangered/improving_esa/reg_reform.html
53. Comment extended to October 9 on ESA Section 4(b)(2) implementation
We, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) and the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) (collectively referred to as the “Services” or “we”), announce the extension of the public comment period on our May 12, 2014, draft policy regarding implementation of section 4(b)(2) of the Endangered Species Act…
We will accept comments from all interested parties until October 9, 2014…
Federal Register comment extension: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14773
54. Comment deadline July 30 on NOAA FFP Construction of New Replacement Fishing Vessels
NMFS issues this advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) to provide background information and request public comment on potential amendments to the regulations governing the Fisheries Financing Program (FFP) that address several specific issues currently affecting fishers and fishing companies, and to identify specific measures that might address these issues. NMFS is requesting public comment regarding the potential implementation of changes to the current prohibitions against using the FFP to finance the cost of new vessel construction and a vessel refurbishing project that materially increases an existing vessel’s harvesting capacity…
NMFS generally does not want to finance the cost of new fishing vessels or reconstruction of existing vessels that materially increase harvesting. NMFS believes it can entertain financing these costs only for vessels participating in limited access fisheries. Where catch limits control the annual harvest, replacement or improvement of vessels does not increase the total catch…
Federal Register Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking and comment request: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15173
55. Comment deadline September 29 on NEPA Procedures for MSA Fishery Actions
Notice Of Availability Of Draft Revised And Updated National Environmental Policy Act (Nepa) Procedures For Magnuson Stevens Act Fishery Management Actions; Request For Comments.
…The purpose of this notice is to notify the public that on February 19, 2013, NMFS issued an internal policy pertaining to complying with NEPA in the context of Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) fishery management actions. This policy, entitled “National Environmental Policy Act Compliance for Council-Initiated Fishery Management Actions under the Magnuson-Stevens Act” (the policy) clarifies roles and responsibilities of NMFS and the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Council or FMCs), explains timing and procedural linkages, provides guidance on documentation needs, and fosters partnerships and cooperation between NMFS and FMCs on NEPA compliance.
NMFS consulted with the Councils and with the Council on Environmental Quality (CEQ) on proposed revisions to the 2013 NMFS NEPA policy directive, and based on those consultations NMFS now proposes to use this policy as a basis for issuing revised and updated NEPA procedures for MSA actions in the form of a line-office supplement to NOAA Administrative Order (NAO) 216-6…
NMFS will accept written comments on the draft revised NEPA procedures until September 29, 2014…
Federal Register notice June 30: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15270
&&&&&
NMFS withdraws proposed rule for Fishery Management NEPA Compliance
NMFS withdraws a proposed rule that would have established new regulations pertaining to compliance with the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) in the context of fishery management actions developed pursuant to the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). Instead of going forward with a final rule directly resulting from the 2008 proposed rule, NMFS issued an internal policy on February 19, 2013. This policy, entitled “National Environmental Policy Act Compliance for Council-Initiated Fishery Management Actions under the Magnuson-Stevens Act” clarifies roles and responsibilities of NMFS and the Regional Fishery Management Councils (Councils), explains timing and procedural linkages, provides guidance on documentation needs, and fosters partnerships and cooperation between NMFS and Councils on NEPA compliance.
On June 30, 2014, NMFS published a Federal Register notice of availability of the draft revised and updated NEPA procedures for MSA actions and requested public comments, with a 90-day public comment period…
Federal Register notice July 14: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-16426
56. USCG Public Workshop on IMO Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters – Aug 14, Seattle
The Coast Guard will hold a public workshop in Seattle, WA on topics related to the development of a mandatory code for ships operating in polar waters (Polar Code) by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). Various topics will be discussed including application and certification under the Polar Code; and regulations for hull design, equipment, operations, and environmental protection. This workshop is intended to be an interactive exchange of information between policymakers, industry experts, and interested members of the public…
The public workshop will be held on Thursday, August 14, 2014 from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Pacific Time. This workshop is open to the public. Please note that the workshop has a limited number of seats and may close early if all business is finished…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15457
Environmental
57. Judge lets state intervene in Pebble case
Fairbanks News-Miner
JUNEAU, Alaska – The state is now party to a lawsuit against the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency over its involvement with the proposed Pebble Mine.
A federal judge granted the state’s request to intervene as a plaintiff in the case brought by the group behind the project, Pebble Limited Partnership. The deposit is on state land…
http://www.newsminer.com/news/alaska_news/judge-lets-state-
intervene-in-pebble-case/article_e1bd5056-ffac-11e3-9c31-0017a
43b2370.html
58. Alaska tribes to back EPA in Pebble Mine case
By Timothy Cama – 07/03/14 – The Hill
A coalition of Alaska Native tribes will intervene to support the Environmental Protection Agency in a lawsuit that challenges its authority to halt a major copper and gold mine near Bristol Bay.
The United Tribes of Bristol Bay originally asked the EPA to block the permit for the proposed Pebble Mine using its authority under section 404(c) of the Clean Water Act. They announced Thursday that they will continue to fight against the project by joining Pebble’s lawsuit against the EPA for initiating the permit veto process before an application was filed.
Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell (R) recently decided to join the lawsuit on Pebble’s behalf..
http://thehill.com/policy/energy-environment/211287-alaska-tribes
-to-back-epa-in-pebble-mine-case
59. BBNC Education Foundation Divests Pebble Mine Gift Shares
ANCHORAGE –
The Bristol Bay Native Corp.’s Education Foundation is no longer an investor in the contentious Pebble Mine project, after deciding to sell stock which it had received as a gift.
On April 5, the foundation received nine million shares as a donation, when Rio Tinto parted ways with Northern Dynasty Minerals, owner of the Pebble Partnership. Foundation officials announced on Friday that they have sold those shares, generating $6.48 million. The foundation says the money will be deposited into an endowment and used to support scholarship programs.
While BBNC has been against the Pebble project from the beginning, foundation officials say they’ve never taken a position on Pebble.
“The decision to sell the shares really came about because we are a non-profit organization. This particular gift represented a very large-share, concentrated position and didn’t meet our investment policy,” said Greta Goto, the foundation’s executive director…
http://www.ktuu.com/news/news/bbnc-subsidiary-divests-pebble-mine
-gift-shares/26522504
60. BB-RSDA Updates Fishermen on the Fight to Stop the Pebble Mine
By Mike Mason , KLDG radio Dillingham
The most controversial and talked about issue in the Bristol Bay region for well over a decade has been the proposed Pebble Mine. Many organizations have come out in opposition to the mine including several fishing groups. One of those groups is the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, which represents the over 18-hundred Bristol Bay driftnet permit holders. KDLG’s Mike Mason reports.
Audio online at:
http://kdlg.org/post/bb-rsda-updates-fishermen-fight-stop-pebble-mine
Bristol Bay RSDA home page: http://www.bbrsda.com/
61. Mining News: Miners regroup in 2014 field season
Alaska sector follows global trend of downsizing budgets, goals as industry scrambles to reposition for new economic environment
By Curt Freeman For Mining News
…So where can companies find a developed market jurisdiction (lower risk) where the chances of discovering high quality projects are still high? Thought you would never ask! This is where Alaska has a nearly unique role to play in this shifting global market. Alaska is unquestionably under-explored and well-endowed with a wide array of high quality mineral deposits. This combination of attributes increases the chances that an exploration discovery will be made and also increasing the chances that a new discovery will lead to development and profitable production. Equally important, Alaska’s political and business risks are well understood and are not subject to drastic or recurrent modification at the whim of cash-starved governments. With commodity prices soft and equity markets for mining companies in the tank, there has never been a better time to invest in a place like Alaska…
Read more on a variety of projects around the state at:
http://www.petroleumnews.com/pntruncate/349019596.shtml
62. Northern Dynasty accepts more mining claims near Pebble
In May, an agreement was finalized transferring 199 state mining claims on the Big Chunk “Super Project” site from Liberty Star Uranium & Metals to Northern Dynasty, the sole owner of the Pebble Mine project north of Iliamna.
Along with 95 mineral claims transferred in 2010, Northern Dynasty now owns 294 claims on the Big Chunk copper and gold deposit, which lies a few miles north of Pebble.
The transfer settles a 2010 cash loan from Northern Dynasty which Liberty Star was never able to repay.
http://www.thebristolbaytimes.com/article/1423northern_dynasty
_accepts_more_mining_claims
63. Dillingham to Murkowski: No Pebble Mine
Bristol Bay Times, June 6th
Following a day’s worth of what were described as friendly and productive private meetings around town, Sen. Lisa Murkowski encountered a much chillier crowd at a town hall meeting last Thursday night in Dillingham.
To the full house packed inside the elementary school gym, Murkowski quipped, “Well I can see there’s either nothing going on around town, or there’s nothing more important.”
For most of the more than 200 in attendance, the latter was true. They had come to tell Murkowski, “whose name we learned to spell four years ago,” of their great concerns with Senate Bill 2156, which she co-sponsored. That bill, also known as the Regulatory Fairness Act of 2014, would “weaken the Clean Water Act,” said Tom Tilden, a chief with the Curyung tribe…
http://www.thebristolbaytimes.com/article/1423dillingham_to_
murkowski_no_pebble_mine
64. BC Mines: Updated Feasibility Study for Brucejack Unuk River Project Confirms Positive Economics
VANCOUVER, BRITISH COLUMBIA–(Marketwired – June 19, 2014) – Pretium Resources Inc. (TSX:PVG)(NYSE:PVG) (“Pretivm”) is pleased to announce the results of an updated National Instrument 43-101-compliant Feasibility Study completed by Tetra Tech for the Brucejack Project (“Brucejack” or the “Project”) in northern British Columbia. The report, which includes updated metals prices, currency exchange rate, and costs, confirms the positive economics for a high-grade gold underground mine at Brucejack…
Press release:
http://www.pretivm.com/news/news-details/2014/Pretium-
Resources-Inc-Updated-Feasibility-Study-for-Brucejack-Project-
Confirms-Positive-Economics/default.aspx
Project details:
http://www.pretivm.com/projects/brucejack/overview/default.aspx
65. Comment deadline July 16 on recertification of Cook Inlet RCAC
The Coast Guard announces the availability of, and seeks comments on, the application for recertification submitted by the Cook Inlet Regional Citizen’s Advisory Council (CIRCAC) for September 1, 2014, through August 31, 2015…
Public comments on CIRCAC’s recertification application must reach the Seventeenth Coast Guard District on or before July 16, 2014.
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13928
CIRCAC home page: http://www.circac.org/
66. USCG Final Rule on double hull tankers – two tug escorts required
The Coast Guard is finalizing the escort requirements for double hull tankers over 5,000 gross tons transporting oil in bulk on the waters of Prince William Sound, Alaska (PWS). This final rule mandates two tug escorts for these tankers…
Federal Register Notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-13809
67. Comment Deadline July 16 on USFWS Classroom Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (Service), announces the availability of the Classroom Guidelines for Preventing the Introduction and Spread of Aquatic Invasive Species (AIS). These voluntary guidelines are intended to be used by agencies and organizations to develop materials that inform educators and students about the risks of spreading aquatic invasive species, and to limit their spread via the disposal of unwanted live educational specimens (animals, plants, and microorganisms) into local waters, including release into drains or flushing down toilets…
Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-14013
Aquatice Nuisance Species Task Force page: http://anstaskforce.gov/documents.php
68. Garbage-patch tale as flimsy as a single-use plastic bag
Debra J. Saunders, SFGate.com
A new study published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences could mean bad news for environmental doomsayers. Forget all those warnings about the million tons of plastic debris floating in the ocean. Ignore the photos that you think show the Great Pacific Garbage Patch. Andrés Cózar of the University of Cadiz in Spain is the man who once extrapolated the 1 million-ton estimate. Since then, however, he has led research that collected samples at 141 ocean sites. Cózar’s new estimate: 7,000 to 35,000 tons of plastic are floating in the ocean.
Cózar’s team didn’t find country-size islands of plastic bags strangling baby birds and sea turtles. It found “micro plastics.” What people think of as a dump doesn’t look like floating junk. Instead, ocean current “convergence zones” are swirling with flecks of plastic – like a snow globe half a minute after shaking – and with considerably less plastic trash than expected.
Not that plastic in the ocean is a good thing, but it’s looking to be less of a peril to the planet than once suggested…
http://www.sfgate.com/opinion/saunders/article/Pacific-garbage
-patch-tale-as-flimsy-as-a-5596400.php
69. Chugach National Forest initiates Land Management Plan revision
SUMMARY: The Chugach National Forest, located in Southcentral Alaska, is initiating the development of a land management plan revision (forest plan). An Assessment will be posted to our Web site around September 1, 2014. We are inviting the public to help us further develop the ‘‘need for change’’ and a proposed action for the land management plan revision.
DATES: The Assessment report for the revision of the Chugach NF’s land management plan will be posted on the following Web site at www.fs.usda.gov/chugach around September 1, 2014.
Public meetings associated with the continued development of the ‘‘need for change’’ and a proposed action will be announced on the Web site cited above.
It is anticipated that the Notice of Intent to prepare an environmental impact statement (which will accompany the land management planrevision for the Chugach NF), will be published in the Federal Register around March 1, 2015…
http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/pkg/FR-2014-07-09/pdf/2014-15768.pdf
Hatchery & Aquaculture
70. Iron, steel in hatcheries may distort magnetic ‘map sense’ of steelhead (& Chinook)
Date: June 3, 2014…Source: Oregon State University
Summary: Exposure to iron pipes and steel rebar, such as the materials found in most hatcheries, affects the navigation ability of young steelhead trout by altering the important magnetic ‘map sense’ they need for migration. “The better fish navigate, the higher their survival rate,” said a researcher. “When their magnetic field is altered, the fish get confused.”
Read report at:
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/06/140603194009.htm
71. Third Annual Juneau Haa–Aani OysterFest – July 19, 2014 2pm to 8pm
This celebration of Alaska-grown oysters takes place downtown from 2pm to 8pm in the Sealaska Plaza. Tickets ($12/half-dozen or $20/dozen) can be purchased on-site. We will have music, outside food this year, contests, a beer garden, and a whole host of sauces to go on the oyster prepared by local restaurants…
From listing at: http://www.traveljuneau.com/events/#sthash.HibOCPUB.dpuf
Background info from previous events at: http://www.sealaska.com/object/io_1339518291249.html
Subsistence
72. Herring search spans millennia
By Mary Catharine Martin, Juneau Empire
Southeast Alaska’s Pacific herring populations seem to be on the rebound, but even in fisheries regarded as healthy, some contend herring are significantly depleted from historical levels indicated by archaeological records and cultural memory…
Madonna Moss, the lead archeologist studying Alaska’s herring, is doing research that spans the northwest coast. Herring, she said at a presentation this spring at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, were once “much more widespread geographically than is indicated by the commercial fishery today.”
… Moss hopes her research can be used to inform and adjust fishing policy, but Alaska Department of Fish and Game scientists have said that would be difficult.
ADF&G Juneau area management biologist David Harris said the department would have a hard time turning oral histories and archaeological records into a management tool…
…Steve Reifenstuhl, Executive Director of the Southeast Herring Conservation Alliance, which represents herring fishermen, expressed exasperation with the Sitka Tribe’s position and with the idea of using archaeological data about abundance to inform policy.
Reifenstuhl said herring abundance in Sitka Sound has increased 20-fold since the 1970s, when the Alaska Department of Fish and Game began managing it, from around 5,000 tons to between 80,000 and 90,000 tons.
“We’ve got to manage based on what is currently there, not what happened 100 years ago, or 1,000 years ago,” he said. “You could say the same thing about humans. There were a lot less 10,000 years ago … It’s not reality in terms of what we can do in today’s age…
http://juneauempire.com/outdoors/2014-07-11/herring
-search-spans-millennia
73. Herring return to Auke Bay
By Mary Catharine Martin, Juneau Empire
At the end of June, herring returned to Auke Bay to spawn in significant numbers for the first time in more than 20 years — and though the ultimate success of the eggs remains to be seen, it’s a promising sign for those working to increase herring’s abundance in Lynn Canal and Southeast Alaska…
http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/070914/new_
1211542963.shtml
74. Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission Comes to Bethel to Talk Co-Management
by Ben Matheson, KYUK, June 11, 2014
As this summer’s king salmon closure stretches on, village councils around the Y-K Delta are considering resolutions to establish a commission for tribal co-management of fish.
Native leaders from the Pacific Northwest who have done just that will be at a fish summit Thursday and Friday hosted by Yupiit Nation.
Mike Williams of Akiak is Chief of the Yupiit Nation.
He says the meeting comes as people struggle with empty fish racks.
“Many of the elders are in tears because they have not seen a king and I think that is very sad,” said Williams.
The Northwest Indian Fisheries Commission was founded as a result of the emotionally charged “Fish Wars” in the 60s ad 70s.
The “Fish Wars” spurred a court case about broken fishing treaties.
Led, until recently, by the late Billy Frank Junior, the group assists 20 tribes in western Washington with scientific and logistic support for co-management. Williams says they have had success with tribal co-management.
“They’re going to be here to have a thoughtful conversation on how we can unite instead of what I see here with disunity and frustration,” said Williams.
The meeting takes place at the ONC multipurpose building in Bethel Thursday and Friday.
http://kyuk.org/northwest-indian-fisheries-commission-
comes-to-bethel-to-talk-co-management/
75. Interior Proposes Reform of Federal Acknowledgment Regulations
Proposed rule would address “broken” process
Washington, D.C. — Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell and Assistant Secretary-Indian Affairs Kevin K. Washburn today announced publication of proposed regulations that would reform the 35-year old process by which the Department of the Interior officially recognizes Indian tribes. Federal acknowledgment establishes the U.S. Government as the trustee for Tribal lands and resources and makes Tribal members and governments eligible for federal budget assistance and program services…
76. Comment deadline extended to July 31 on Native land trusts – removal of Alaska Exemption
…extension of the comment deadline through July 31: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-15312
This proposed rule would delete a provision in the Department of the Interior’s land-into-trust regulations that excludes from the scope of the regulations, with one exception, land acquisitions in trust in the State of Alaska…
Comments on this rule must be received by the extended due date of July 31, 2014…
Bureau of Indian Affairs page: http://bia.gov/WhoWeAre/AS-IA/Consultation/index.htm
Earlier Federal Register notice: https://federalregister.gov/a/2014-09818
Regulations.gov Docket folder:
http://www.regulations.gov/#!docketDetail;D=BIA-2014-0002
UFA Comments on Bureau of Indian Affairs proposed rule to remove the Alaska
exemption regarding Native land trusts (June 30, 2014): http://www.ufa-fish.org/doc/UFA%20Comments%20re%20B
IA%20AK%20Land%20Trusts%20063014.pdf
77. NIOSH New Product Spotlight: Live to be Salty
Falling overboard is the second leading cause of death among commercial fishermen, nationwide. And the reason for that? Not wearing a personal flotation device (PFD). In fact, none of the 191 fishermen who died in the U.S. between 2000 and 2013 were wearing a PFD when they drowned.
Live to be Salty is a multi-media health communication intervention developed by the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health and our partners in an effort to reduce drownings, by promoting the use of PFDs on board commercial fishing vessels.
Visit Live to be Salty to learn about the comfortable PFD options currently available for use by commercial fishermen:
http://www.livetobesalty.org/
CDC/NIOSH Commercial Fishing Safety home page: http://www.cdc.gov/niosh/topics/fishing/
78. AMSEA Drill Conductor, Stability, Ergonomics and others classes schedule online
http://amsea.org/
79. Laine Welch’s Fish Radio – Items from this week:
“Revolutionary” unmanned gliders tracking ocean acidity in PWS
Salmon updates; Why All Alaskans should care about fish prices
Catch of The Season Serves up Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon
Crabs can hear!
Fish fireworks! Credit: onewdesign.com
July 4th tribute to the seafood industry!
These items and more, online at http://www.alaskafishradio.com/
Inclusion of an item does not mean that UFA endorses or agrees.
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Compiled by staff of United Fishermen of Alaska, PO Box 20229, Juneau AK 99802 (907) 586-2820 ufa@ufa-fish.org