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Contents:
Inclusion of an item does not mean that UFA endorses or agrees.
Statewide
- Budget Compromise Achieved, Alaska Government Shutdown Averted – Sitnews, by Mary Kauffman (6/26)
- Governor Walker Amends Special Session Proclamation to Address Oil and Gas Subsidies
- World’s Largest Wild Salmon Run Harvest Season Opens – Bristol Bay, Alaska To Harvest Over 27 Million Sockeye Salmon in 2017
- Yukon salmon runs offering opportunities for harvest
- PWS harvest tops one million fish
- Drift fishermen donate hundreds of Copper River sockeye at Senior Salmon Day
- Southeast Alaska’s Summer King Salmon Season Begins Saturday
- KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: June 29, 2017
- ADF&G 2017 Inseason Alaska Commercial Salmon Summary:
- North Pacific Salmon Harvest High in West, Decline in East
- In This Alaska Family, Life Lessons Are Passed Down On The Water
- Seafood processors relying more heavily on U.S. workers this year
- Is Trump Administration’s Visa Push a Way to Win Health Care Votes?
- Bristol Bay Borough incentivizes RSW upgrades with fish tax rebate
- Opportunity knocks at the Kodiak docks
- AMCC Young Fishermen’s Network keeps growing
- Success of Alaska Pollock Fishery is focus of SeaWeb Seafood Summit Panel
- Study: Evaluating patterns and drivers of spatial change in the recreational guided fishing sector in Alaska
National
- NPFMC’s Chris Oliver Named Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries
- Cordova hosts U.S. Senate Energy Committee field hearing on microgrids
- Comment deadline July 7 on NMFS review of regulations
- Comment deadline August 7 on Alaska eLandings, seaLandings, and tLandings…
- Comments wanted on USCG Regulations – deadline July 10, 2017
- USCG Voluntary Safety Initiatives and Good Marine Practices for Commercial Fishing Vessels
- USCG District17 – helpful F/V files now on www.fishsafewest.info
- USCG Sector Juneau MSIBs online
- Bills to establish national young fishermen’s program introduced
- ESA North Pacific Right Whale 5 year review – comment by July 31
- NMFS ESA Recovery Plans Priorities comment deadline extended to August 28
Marketing
- Study Identifies Huge Sales Potential for Alaska Salmon in China, Esp. Fish Heads, Bones
- To Save The Oceans, Eat More Fish, Especially Herring
- NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Grants announced:
- Midwest Grocers Welcome Affordable & Sustainable PWS Alaskan Salmon
- Seafood sustainability target unveiled
- Ray Hilborn, others launch I-FIN, a new fisheries data network
- BBRSDA Partners with Processors to Promote the Bristol Bay Brand
Environmental
- AFS: EPA Announces Clean Water Rule Rollback
- Pebble Mine Project moves forward with new partnership
- Data crunchers work to build comprehensive Alaska salmon database
- DEC Antidegradation comments due by August 7 – Workshop on July 7
- AK DEC Permit Issuance Plan for 2017-2018
- Opposition grows in Alaska and BC to new development of Tulsequah Chief mine
Aquaculture / Enhancement
- Healthy hatchery fish flee the nest
- 2016 Alaska fisheries enhancement annual report posted
- Too many pink salmon in Kachemak Bay?
Subsistence
- Federal Subsistence Board to hold summer work session, July 17-18, 2017
Other
- We Alaskans Essay – Living Beautifully, by Helen Decker
- Prehistoric stone fish trap discovered on Alaska island
- Alaska Sea Grant announces the 6th Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute
- FishLines – Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program newsletter for June 2016
- Become a Marine Safety Instructor – workshop September 19-24 in Sitka
- Laine Welch’s Fish Radio – Recent Items
Inclusion of an item does not mean that UFA endorses or agrees.
Statewide
- Budget Compromise Achieved, Alaska Government Shutdown Averted – Sitnews, by Mary Kauffman (6/26)
(SitNews) Juneau, Alaska – Averting a looming government shutdown, the Alaska State Legislature passed the Fiscal Year 2018 Operating Budget late Thursday night. The compromise budget totals $4.1 billion in Unrestricted General Fund (UGF) spending and sets this year’s Permanent Fund Dividend at $1,100. The K-12 Base Student Allocation (BSA) will be fully funded at $1.2 billion, the same level of funding as the current year. This reverses the $69 million cut to education earlier advanced by the Alaska Senate. The budget further reflected a core Alaska Senate Majority priority of reducing state spending and protected Alaskans from an income tax.
The Governor also amended the Second Special Session last Thursday with a second supplemental proclamation for the Legislature to address oil and gas subsidies, meaning the Legislature is still in session.
“I thank legislators for reaching a compromise on the operating budget to ensure government services continue after July 1,” Governor Walker said. “In doing so, they also appropriated a $1,100 permanent fund dividend (PFD) for each eligible Alaskan.”…
http://www.sitnews.us/0617News/062617/062617_budget.html
- Governor Walker Amends Special Session Proclamation to Address Oil and Gas Subsidies
(June 23, 2017) Governor Bill Walker today issued a second supplemental proclamation of the 30th Legislature’s second special session.
“I thank legislators for reaching a compromise on the operating budget to ensure government services continue after July 1,” Governor Walker said. “In doing so, they also appropriated a $1,100 permanent fund dividend (PFD) for each eligible Alaskan. Earlier today, legislators indicated in conference committee their intent to correct the state’s unsustainable oil and gas tax credit system. That’s why I am amending the call so legislators can complete work on House Bill 111. We must immediately address the subsidies we can no longer afford. It is the next critical component of a much needed compromise fiscal plan, and it must be addressed this year. When we have reduced PFDs for Alaskans, we cannot continue to give out millions of dollars in subsidies to oil companies.”
Governor Walker also thanked members of the House for their concurrence vote on House Bill 159, which is critical in fighting the opioid epidemic to build a Safer Alaska…
Governor’s press release: https://gov.alaska.gov/newsroom/2017/06/governor-walker-amends-special-session-proclamation-to-address-oil-and-gas-subsidies/
- World’s Largest Wild Salmon Run Harvest Season Opens – Bristol Bay, Alaska To Harvest Over 27 Million Sockeye Salmon in 2017
…provided by Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, 20 Jun, 2017
NAKNEK, Alaska, June 20, 2017 /PRNewswire/ — Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season is here! Commercial harvesting of wild sockeye salmon in Bristol Bay, Alaska begins in early June, with the harvest historically peaking around the 4th of July. The projected commercial harvest of 27.5 million sockeye salmon is on target with the 10-year average for Bristol Bay – which is home to the largest wild salmon run on the planet.
Bristol Bay, in southwest Alaska, is comprised of six major river systems (Naknek, Kvichak, Nushagak, Egegik, Togiak, and Ugashik). Together these rivers are home to the largest wild salmon fishery in the world. Of the five species of wild Alaska salmon, (king, sockeye, coho, keta and pink), it is sockeye that dominates Bristol Bay…
BBRSDA home page: http://www.bbrsda.com/
- Yukon salmon runs offering opportunities for harvest
By Tim Bodony, KIYU – Galena – June 23, 2017
Yukon River king and summer chum salmon runs are shaping up to be some of the strongest in years.
Fish and Game’s sonar project on the lower Yukon at Pilot Station estimated about 25,000 kings and 280,000 summer chum on Wednesday alone – some of the highest daily passage numbers seen over the past ten years…
http://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/06/23/yukon-salmon-runs-offering-opportunities-for-harvest/
- PWS harvest tops one million fish
By Margaret Bauman – Cordova Times, June 23, 2017
Commercial harvests of red salmon reached 378,000 fish in the Copper River drift district through June 20, as the run and harvest continued to be below forecast, while Chinook catches were above expected…
http://www.thecordovatimes.com/2017/06/23/pws-harvest-tops-one-million-fish/
- Drift fishermen donate hundreds of Copper River sockeye at Senior Salmon Day
By Christa Hoover For The Cordova Times
Traditions – Alaska is steeped in them. Cordova has its fair share, but a favorite is Cordova District Fishermen United’s Senior Salmon Day.
Copper River salmon drift fishermen donate hundreds of Copper River sockeye each year, in times both lean and plenty. Local processors and community volunteers pitch in too, because even in Cordova, home to the Copper River fishing fleet, there are many households without access to those prized fish…
http://www.thecordovatimes.com/2017/06/30/drift-fishermen-donate-hundreds-copper-river-sockeye/
- Southeast Alaska’s Summer King Salmon Season Begins Saturday
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — This weekend marks the first king salmon opening of the summer season for Southeast Alaska…
The fleet has an allocation of 90,000 Chinook salmon managed under the Pacific Salmon Treaty. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is seeking to target 70 percent of that, or 63,000 treaty kings in the first of two possible openings. This target number is roughly half of the target from last July due to a shortage of king salmon in the area.
- KDLG Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: June 29, 2017
The run goes past seven million, thanks mainly to the west side which continues to cook. Genetics show more Nush fish coming, plus Egegik and an uptick for Ugashik and the Naknek-Kvichak. Port Moller posts some big catches but fishes long to get them, and Nushagak kings show a nice bump. ADF&G’s Jason Dye joins, as does Combine set netter Greg Marxmiller and the tender vessel Icy Bay…
http://kdlg.org/post/bristol-bay-fisheries-report-june-29-2017#stream/0
&&&
Naknek-Kvichak fishermen eagerly await the 16 million sockeye run to show
With just 100,000 sockeye counted as harvest, and 65,000 counted as escapement, skippers and crew play the waiting game in Bristol Bay’s largest fishing district.
http://kdlg.org/post/naknek-kvichak-fishermen-eagerly-await-16-million-sockeye-run-show#stream/0
- ADF&G 2017 Inseason Alaska Commercial Salmon Summary:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyfisherysalmon.bluesheetsummary
- North Pacific Salmon Harvest High in West, Decline in East
Fishermen’s News – June 7, 2017
Preliminary findings on total salmon harvests in 2016 indicate that Pacific salmon abundance in the North Pacific remains at near all-time high levels.
http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2017/06/north-pacific-salmon-harvest-high-in.html
- In This Alaska Family, Life Lessons Are Passed Down On The Water
Mellisa Block, NPR Weekend Edition Saturday, June 17, 2017
Alaska is home to about 18,000 fishermen who harvest nearly 6 billion pounds of seafood each year. Salmon dominates the catch, five species in all: chum salmon, sockeye, king, coho and pink.
For a taste of Alaska fishing life, we head out with a father-daughter fishing team as they go trolling for king salmon in the waters off Sitka, in southeast Alaska.
We’re on the Alexa K, a 45-foot steel-hulled troller, with captain Charlie Wilber, 69, and his 27-year-old daughter, Adrienne, “heading out into the briny deep!” as Charlie wryly tells us.
Charlie has been fishing these waters for nearly 40 years. “I never would have imagined I’d end up doin’ this,” he says. Raised in Omaha, Neb., he came to Alaska fresh out of college. He had a job as a smoke jumper, fighting fires near Fairbanks. But once he went out fishing with a friend, he “got the bug,” as he puts it.
He’s been fishing ever since…
And it’s always been a family adventure. Charlie says he bought the Alexa K because the boat’s bulwarks were high enough that his daughters, Adrienne and her younger sister, Berett, couldn’t fall off…
- Seafood processors relying more heavily on U.S. workers this year
Bristol Bay seafood processors are hiring for the 2017 salmon rush. Changes to the H-2B visa program have forced them to hire more workers from lower-48 states.
KDLG by Allison Mollenkamp – June 8, 2017
The hiring of thousands of seasonal workers by Bristol Bay’s seafood processors is always challenging. This year some companies are looking more to the lower 48 to staff up, and the clock is ticking. KDLG’s Allison Mollenkamp has more.
http://kdlg.org/post/seafood-processors-relying-more-heavily-us-workers-year
- Is Trump Administration’s Visa Push a Way to Win Health Care Votes?
In directing staffers at the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security to draft a rule increasing the number of guest-worker visas, senior political officials specifically highlighted businesses in Maine and Alaska, home to senators who hold crucial health care votes…
For months, Sens. Susan Collins, R-Maine, and Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, have been pushing the Trump administration to expand the number of foreign guest-worker visas issued to help businesses in their states prepare for their summer peak. The two senators are also considered crucial votes on the health care bill currently floundering in Congress.
So career staff at the Departments of Labor and Homeland Security took note last week when senior political officials ordered them to immediately draft a rule that would increase the number of H-2B visas, specifically mentioning innkeepers and fisheries in Maine and Alaska, according to three people with knowledge of the discussions.
At an appropriations hearing last month, Murkowski pressed Secretary of Homeland Security John Kelly on the importance of the visas for Alaska.
“For most of these communities, for most of these regions, if there is no one to process the seafood when it comes in, there is no place for the boats to deliver,” she said. “If the boats can’t deliver, there is no economy to that community at all.”
https://www.propublica.org/article/is-trump-administration-visa-push-way-to-win-health-care-votes
- Bristol Bay Borough incentivizes RSW upgrades with fish tax rebate
Assembly voted 3-1 Monday night in favor of offering a $1500 rebate to skippers installing refrigerated seawater systems on their vessels. Proponents say the chilled catch will bring higher overall value.
KDLG by Dave Bendinger – June 8, 2017
Fishermen in the Naknek-Kvichak District who install a chilling system by the end of next year will be eligible for a $1,500 rebate from the three percent raw fish tax paid in the Borough’s waters.
http://kdlg.org/post/bristol-bay-borough-incentivizes-rsw-upgrades-fish-tax-rebate
- Opportunity knocks at the Kodiak docks
Community campus builds the region’s maritime workforce – BY J. Besl, University of Alaska Anchorage
Cordova Times – June 8, 2017
Fishing is big business in Alaska, but in Kodiak it’s colossal. The small city is the second-most prolific port in the nation (513.9 million pounds of fish landed in 2015) and the third-most profitable ($137.5 million net worth that year, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration).
http://www.thecordovatimes.com/2017/06/08/opportunity-knocks-kodiak-docks/
- AMCC Young Fishermen’s Network keeps growing
May 19th | Lawrence Hamilton, The Bristol Bay Times-Dutch Harbor Fisherman
A network dedicated to the betterment of fisherman, both at land and sea, is offering a range of activities this year designed to help fisherman understand their role in the global marketplace.
Some of those activities, including a galley cooking class, a new Fellows Program, networking events, a webinar series and a Fishermen’s Almanac, are all part of a growing movement to build the Alaska Young Fishermen’s Network (AYFN).
“We have really gained a lot of momentum in the last 12 months,” AMCC Waterfronts Coordinator and Fellows Program Director Rachel Donkersloot said.
The organization was started in December 2013 by the Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC) to empower and support young fishermen to be successful in their careers and communities…
http://www.thebristolbaytimes.com/article/1720young_fishermens_network_keeps_growing
AMCC Young Fishermen’s Network home page: http://www.akmarine.org/working-waterfronts/young-fishermen/
- Success of Alaska Pollock Fishery is focus of SeaWeb Seafood Summit Panel
Saving Seafood – June 7, 2017
SEATTLE — The success of the industrial pollock fishery in the Eastern Bering Sea, which generally harvests in excess of one million metric tons each year, was the focus of a panel at the SeaWeb Seafood Summit on Tuesday. The panel, “Moving Beyond Fishery Certification: Using Collaboration, Technology and Innovation to Further Improve Sustainability” was moderated by Tim Fitzgerald of the Environmental Defense Fund. Panelists were Allen Kimball of Trident Seafoods, Richard Draves of American Seafoods, and Karl Bratvold of Starbound LLC. Trident Seafoods is a large, vertically integrated company, which processes Alaska pollock at shoreside facilities. Vessels owned by Starbound and American Seafoods harvest and process Alaska pollock at sea.
http://www.savingseafood.org/news/conservation-environment/success-alaska-pollock-fishery-focus-seaweb-seafood-summit-panel/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+SavingSeafoodRss+%28Saving+Seafood%29
- Study: Evaluating patterns and drivers of spatial change in the recreational guided fishing sector in Alaska
Maggie N. Chan1, Anne H. Beaudreau, Philip A. Loring…
Abstract
Understanding the impacts of recreational fishing on habitats and species, as well as the social and ecological importance of place to anglers, requires information on the spatial distribution of fishing activities. This study documented long-term changes in core fishing areas of a major recreational fishery in Alaska and identified biological, regulatory, social, and economic drivers of spatial fishing patterns by charter operators. Using participatory mapping and in-person interviews, we characterized the spatial footprint of 46 charter operators in the communities of Sitka and Homer since the 1990s. The spatial footprint differed between Homer and Sitka respondents, with Homer operators consistently using larger areas for Pacific halibut than Sitka operators. Homer and Sitka showed opposite trends in core fishing location area over time, with an overall decrease in Homer and an overall increase in Sitka. For both Sitka and Homer respondents, the range of areas fished was greater for Pacific halibut than for rockfish/lingcod or Pacific salmon. Spatial patterns were qualitatively different between businesses specializing in single species trips and those that operated multispecies trips and between businesses with one vessel and those with multiple vessels. In Homer, the most frequently cited reasons for changes in the location and/or extent of fishing were changes in trip type and the price of fuel, while in Sitka, the most frequently cited reasons for spatial shifts were changes to Pacific halibut regulations and gaining experience or exploring new locations. The diversity of charter fishing strategies in Alaska may allow individual charter operators to respond differently to perturbations and thus maintain resilience of the industry as a whole to social, environmental, and regulatory change. This research also highlights the importance of understanding fishers’ diverse portfolio of activities to effective ecosystem-based management…
For complete report see:
http://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0179584
National
- NPFMC’s Chris Oliver Named Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries
(6/19) Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross, with concurrence from the White House, has selected Chris Oliver as Assistant Administrator for NOAA Fisheries. Oliver assumes his new position this week.
As Assistant Administrator, Oliver will oversee the federal agency responsible for recreational and commercial fisheries that contribute more than $200 billion to the nation’s economy and support nearly two million jobs. In addition to managing productive and sustainable domestic fisheries, including some aspects of marine aquaculture, the agency works to recover and conserve protected resources such as whales, sea turtles, and corals.
NOAA Fisheries has offices in 15 states and U.S. territories, including five regional offices, six science centers, and 24 labs and fish stations.
For the past 27 years, Oliver worked at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council–first as a fisheries biologist, later as deputy director, and finally as executive director for 16 years. Through his long-time participation in the Council Coordination Committee and various international fishery management organizations, Oliver gained extensive knowledge of national and international fisheries issues. A Texas native, Oliver also worked on Gulf of Mexico shrimp fishery management issues prior to moving to Alaska in 1990.
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/stories/2017/06/19_new_asst_admin.html
Congratulations Chris and many thanks to the support of fishing groups nationwide!
- Cordova hosts U.S. Senate Energy Committee field hearing on microgrids
By Rachel Waldholz, Alaska’s Energy Desk – Anchorage – June 12, 2017
When it comes to emerging energy technologies, many remote Alaska communities are on the cutting edge. That was the message from Cordova this weekend, where U.S. Senator Lisa Murkowski held a field hearing of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, which she chairs…
The focus of the hearing was microgrids: self-contained electrical grids, which can operate unconnected to any larger transmission system. They’re a necessity for just about every Alaska community off the road system. Most of the grids are powered by diesel, but more and more communities are trying to cut costs by adding renewables like wind or expanding hydropower.
In the process, the state has become a testing ground for technologies that are increasingly interesting to the rest of the world…
http://www.alaskapublic.org/2017/06/12/cordova-hosts-u-s-senate-field-hearing-on-microgrids/
- Comment deadline July 7 on NMFS review of regulations
NMFS announces the existing rules that it is reviewing, as required, under section 610 of the Regulatory Flexibility Act, which had, or will have a significant impact on a substantial number of small entities, such as small businesses, small organizations, and small governmental jurisdictions. The intended effect of this document is to inform the public of the rules under review, to outline NMFS’ review process, and to provide an opportunity to comment. In addition, information compiled through this routine action will be relevant to the regulatory reviews required under Executive Order 13771, “Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs,” and Executive Order 13777, “Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda.”…
Regulations.gov: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0054-0001
Docket folder: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0054
- Comment deadline August 7 on Alaska eLandings, seaLandings, and tLandings…
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…
Written comments must be submitted on or before August 7, 2017.
This request is for an extension of a current information collection…
eLandings, seaLandings, and tLandings are data entry components of the Alaska Interagency Electronic Reporting System (IERS), which is a collaborative program run by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Alaska Regional Office, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G), and the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC). eLandings, seaLandings, and tLandings provide the Alaska fishing industry with a consolidated electronic means of reporting production and landings of commercial fish and shellfish to multiple management agencies with a single reporting system. NMFS collects groundfish harvest and production data for fishery management plan species in the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). ADF&G collects harvest data for groundfish species taken in State of Alaska waters and has responsibility for some fisheries in the EEZ, such as lingcod and black rockfish. ADF&G and NMFS cooperatively manage the Crab Rationalization Program fisheries in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands Management Area. NMFS and IPHC cooperatively manage Individual Fishing Quota (IFQ) for Pacific halibut and sablefish in both State waters and in the EEZ…
Some of the benefits of IERS include improved data quality, automated processing of data, improved process for correcting or updating information, availability of more timely data for fishery managers, and reduction of duplicative reporting of similar information to multiple agencies.
Comments are invited on: (a) Whether the proposed collection of information is necessary for the proper performance of the functions of the agency, including whether the information shall have practical utility; (b) the accuracy of the agency’s estimate of the burden (including hours and cost) of the proposed collection of information; (c) ways to enhance the quality, utility, and clarity of the information to be collected; and (d) ways to minimize the burden of the collection of information on respondents, including through the use of automated collection techniques or other forms of information technology…
Affected Public: Business or other for-profit; individuals or households.
Estimated Number of Respondents: 273.
Estimated Time per Response: 35 minutes for a tLandings landing report; 30 minutes for catcher/processor eLandings landing report; 18 minutes for active response and 5 minutes for inactive response for pilot catcher vessel trawl electronic logbook (eLog); 15 minutes for active response and 5 minutes for inactive response for catcher vessel eLog, catcher/processor eLog and mothership eLog; 15 minutes for eLandings registration; 10 minutes for eLandings/seaLandings landing report; and 20 minutes for at-sea response; and 10 minutes for shoreside and stationary floating processor response for eLandings/seaLandings production report.
Estimated Total Annual Burden Hours: 16,865.
Estimated Total Annual Cost to Public: $2,870 in recordkeeping/reporting costs.
Federal Register notice June 6: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-11628
or
Alaska eLandings home page: https://elandings.alaska.gov/
- Comments wanted on USCG Regulations – deadline July 10, 2017
We are seeking comments on Coast Guard regulations, guidance documents, and interpretative documents that you believe should be repealed, replaced, or modified. Also, we welcome your comments on our approved collections of information, regardless of whether the collection is associated with a regulation. We are taking this action in response to Executive Orders 13771, Reducing Regulation and Controlling Regulatory Costs; 13777, Enforcing the Regulatory Reform Agenda; and 13783, Promoting Energy Independence and Economic Growth. We plan to use your comments to assist us in our work with the Department of Homeland Security’s Regulatory Reform Task Force.
DATES: Comments and related material must be received by the Coast Guard on or before July 10, 2017.
ADDRESSES: You may submit comments identified by docket number USCG-2017-0480 using the Federal eRulemaking Portal at http://www.regulations.gov
Federal register 6/8/17: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-11930
Regulations.gov proposed rule: https://www.regulations.gov/document?D=USCG-2017-0480-0001
Regulations.goc docket folder: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=USCG-2017-0480
- USCG Voluntary Safety Initiatives and Good Marine Practices for Commercial Fishing Vessels
… This document may still be revised when warranted if additional feedback is received by the Coast Guard. This document lists safety initiatives and good marine practices as a starting point that in no way precludes fleets or organizations from modifying them into a specific safety program for their specific fleet. Those parties are encouraged to work with the Coast Guard on developing such programs. This is a living document and as a voluntary guideline will be used as a foundation to continuously develop safety initiatives and document good marine practices to benefit the safety of all U.S. commercial fishing vessels…
Document: Voluntary Safety Initiatives and Good Marine Practices for Commercial Fishing Industry Vessels – (January 2017)
https://www.uscg.mil/hq/cgcvc/cvc3/news_and_activities/VSIGMPForCFVs_Jan-2017.pdf
USCG Marine Commons Blog:
- USCG D17 – helpful F/V files now on www.fishsafewest.info
…Click on the “Information and Training” link and scroll to the bottom of the
Page –for updated fire extinguisher regulations and a list of required and other files available for download…
- USCG Sector Juneau MSIBs online
…CG Sector Juneau has now created an online presence for all of their MSIBs (Marine Safety Information Bulletins). Here’s the link:
http://www.dco.uscg.mil/Featured-Content/Mariners/Marine-Safety-Information-Bulletins-MSIB/
In addition, here’s another link will gain you access to the main CG Sector Juneau information page on (including a Commercial Fishing Vessel section). To access it, go to:
https://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/portDirectory.do?tabId=1&cotpId=30
(see the pulldown menu for Western Alaska)
Thanks to Michael Best for these items…
- Bills to establish national young fishermen’s program introduced
FCC Initiative Gains Momentum as Reps. Young (AK), Moulton (MA) Sponsor Legislation to Empower Next Generation of Commercial Fishermen
Washington, DC – Representatives Don Young (R-AK) and Seth Moulton (D-MA) have introduced the Young Fishermen’s Development Act of 2017 (H.R. 2079), a bill that would establish the first national program to support young men and women entering the commercial fishing industry. The bipartisan, bicoastal bill, which would provide grants of up to $200,000 (totaling $2 million annually) through NOAA’s Sea Grant Program, marks a big step forward in the Fishing Communities Coalition’s (FCC) push to launch the first coordinated, nationwide effort to train, educate and assist the next generation of commercial fishermen.
“Representatives Moulton and Young understand that the success of young fishermen is vital to the survival of fishing communities in New England and across the country,” said John Pappalardo, CEO of the Cape Cod Commercial Fishermen’s Alliance. “We look forward to working with them on this important effort to ensure the next generation of commercial fishermen are on the water and ready to sustainably harvest America’s seafood.”
Despite daunting challenges that have made it harder than ever for young men and women to start a career in commercial fishing – including the high cost of entry, financial risks and limited entry-level opportunities – there is not a single federal program dedicated to training, educating and assisting young people starting their careers in commercial fishing. The legislation introduced in Congress is modeled after the USDA’s successful Beginning Farmer and Rancher Development Program, which is credited with preparing hundreds of young farmers and ranchers for rewarding careers in agriculture.
“Congressman Young understands the challenges young fishermen face, and we thank him for his strong leadership on this vital issue,” said Linda Behnken, Executive Director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association. “Empowering the next generation of young fishermen is essential to economic opportunity, food security and our way of life.”
Fishing Communities Coalition press release: http://fishingcommunitiescoalition.org/news/2017/4/12/bill-to-establish-national-young-fishermens-program-introduced
Legislation: Young Fishermen’s Development Act of 2017:
H.R. 2079 ~ https://www.congress.gov/115/bills/hr2079/BILLS-115hr2079ih.pdf
- ESA North Pacific Right Whale 5 year review – comment by July 31
NMFS announces a 5-year review of the North Pacific right whale (Eubalaena japonica) under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA), as amended. A 5-year review must be based on the best scientific and commercial data available at the time of the review; therefore, we are requesting submission of any such information on these whales that has become available since the last status review in 2012…
To allow us adequate time to conduct this review, we must receive your information no later than July 31, 2017. However, we will continue to accept new information about any listed species at any time…
Federal Register notice 6/30/17: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-13701
Regs.gov docket page for comments: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0046
Info:
NOAA Fisheries North Pacific Right Whale Alaska management page: https://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/pr/npr-whale
NOAA North Pacific Right Whale main page: http://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/pr/species/mammals/whales/north-pacific-right-whale.html
ADF&G page: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=specialstatus.fedsummary&species=northpacificrightwhale
- NMFS ESA Recovery Plans Priorities comment deadline extended to August 28
On May 31, 2017, we, NMFS, published a notice of availability to revise the Recovery Plan Preparation and Implementation Priorities and Recovery Plans contained in the 1990 Listing and Recovery Priority Guidelines. We opened a public comment period that lasted through June 30, 2017. We received several requests to extend the public comment period. Thus, we are extending the period through August 28, 2017…
Federal Register notice 6/30/17: https://www.federalregister.gov/d/2017-13714
Regulations.gov docket folder to comment: https://www.regulations.gov/docket?D=NOAA-NMFS-2017-0020
NOAA ESA recovery plans page: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/recovery/
Marketing
- Study Identifies Huge Sales Potential for Alaska Salmon in China, Particularly for Fish Heads, Bones
SEAFOODNEWS.COM – June 9, 2017
A study from the University of Alaska and Purdue University said there is strong potential to boost sales of Alaskan salmon in the Chinese market, particularly for underutilized parts of the fish.
According to a majority of Chinese consumers said they would buy Alaska salmon if it was available. The study said 68 percent of consumers would buy Alaska salmon after learning it came from a pure and clean environment and is ecologically sustainable.
“The response to our survey in three major Chinese cities shows that consumers, if presented with more opportunities to purchase Alaska salmon, would favor the wild fish because of its health benefits, pristine source waters and sustainability,” said Quijie “Angie” Zheng, one of the study’s co-authors. Zheng teaches at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
Due to China’s rapid economic expansion, the country’s growing middle class has increasing amounts of disposable income. The study’s authors found this burgeoning consumer segment desires and can afford high-end food products, including wild-caught Alaska salmon.
The study also concluded that given China’s preferences for using all parts of a fish in cooking, more than half of all consumers said they would buy Alaska salmon head and bones, which would be a new marketing opportunity to the Alaska fishing industry.
http://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1064489/Study-Identifies-Huge-Sales-Potential-for-Alaska-Salmon-in-China-Particularly-for-Fish-Heads-Bones
&&
Fish Factor: China’s Growing Market for Alaska Salmon, by Laine Welch
China holds big promise to become a top customer for Alaska salmon, and not just for the bright red fillets.
Since 2011, China has been the number one customer for Alaska seafood with purchases nearing $800 million and comprising 54 percent of all Alaska exports to China.
&&&
Alaska Sea Grant report: Consumer Preference and Market Potential for Alaska Salmon in China: Preliminary Analysis
https://seagrant.uaf.edu/files/pub/MAB-70%20Alaska%20Salmon%20in%20China.pdf
UFA has written to our congressional delegation in support of funding for Alaska Sea Grant.
- To Save The Oceans, Eat More Fish, Especially Herring
Forbes (June 19) It’s the start, today, of the official Alaska Herring Week. Several dozen leading restaurants and retail seafood vendors in the Seattle area will showcase unique dishes and products featuring one of Alaska’s unsung “seafood heroes” during the third annual Alaska Herring Week.
“Our hope is to begin expanding it to other cities beyond Seattle next year,” says Zachary Lyons, a former spokesman for the local agricultural collaborative known as FORKS: Farms, Oceans, Ranches, Kitchens who serves as Herring Week coordinator..
There are a few other herring events in other markets; New York, for example, but it does only Atlantic herring.
Alaska herring is one of the largest, most abundant and sustainable fisheries in the world, according to the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, but has largely disappeared from US menus and fish markets…
- NOAA Saltonstall Kennedy Grants announced:
Alaska projects: http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mb/financial_services/docs/fy17_alaska.pdf
Saltonstall – Kennedy Grant Program home page:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/mb/financial_services/skhome.htm
- Midwest Grocers Welcome Affordable & Sustainable PWS Alaskan Salmon
by Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association (June 30)
CORDOVA, Alaska — For the first time Alaskan Prince William Sound sockeye will be regionally branded, promoted, and available in Hy-Vee grocery stores the week of June 28th across 8 Midwest states, including Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Minnesota, Missouri, Nebraska, South Dakota, and Wisconsin. Seafood department customers will be met with branded in-store signage such as posters, in ice signs, seafood case clings and packaging labels announcing the arrival of Alaskan salmon to the Midwest… http://www.perishablenews.com/index.php?article=0061354
Copper River/Prince William Sound Marketing Association home page: http://www.copperrivermarketing.org/home
- Seafood sustainability target unveiled
Fish Site – June 6, 2017
A new global initiative that aims to ensure that at least 75 percent of global seafood comes from more sustainable sources by 2020 has been launched in the US.. http://www.thefishsite.com/fishnews/29162/seafood-sustainability-target-unveiled/
- Ray Hilborn, others launch I-FIN, a new fisheries data network
Seafood Source by Sierra Golden – June 7, 2017
A new scientific advisory group called International Fisheries Information Network (I-FIN) is refuting a commonly held belief that all fisheries are in decline.
https://www.seafoodsource.com/news/environment-sustainability/new-fisheries-data-network-ifin-seeks-to-fill-knowledge-gaps
- BBRSDA Partners with Processors to Promote the Bristol Bay Brand
BRSDA is working hard to create a regional brand for Bristol Bay. These efforts to make Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon a recognized name across the country, could not be done without the support from every level of the supply chain – from fisherman, to processor, to distributor and retailer – each player is critical to ensuring a quality, beautifully branded product reaches consumers. Our goal is to establish great relationships with the supply chain and ensure that we’re all pulling in the same direction. A regional brand can work, but we need the support and buy-in of our partners in industry to make it happen.
To that end, BBRSDA has again partnered up with several major processors to provide 200,000 Bristol Bay Sockeye Salmon labels for fresh and frozen sockeye salmon going to market this year. This year’s label features our new branding and a call out to our consumer facing page bristolbaysockeye.org.
BBRSDA press release (6/30) http://www.bbrsda.com/updates/2017/6/30/bbrsda-partners-with-processors-to-promote-the-bristol-bay-brand
Bristol Bay RSDA home page: http://www.bbrsda.com/
Environmental
- AFS: EPA Announces Clean Water Rule Rollback
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have begun the process of rescinding the 2015 Clean Water Rule.
The repeal of the 2015 rule and replacement could result in a rollback of Clean Water Act protections for a majority of the nation’s streams and wetlands, including the headwater streams and millions of acres of seasonal wetlands that provide valuable habitat for many species of fish.
There is ample scientific evidence that there are strong and varied physical, chemical, and biological connections between wetlands, headwater streams, and downstream navigable or interstate waters.
This is the first step in a two-step process to repeal and ultimately replace the rule, in accordance with the executive order signed by President Trump in February 2017. The EPA released the proposed rule in advance of it being published in the Federal Register on June 27.
AFS urges its members to take the opportunity to engage in the regulatory process to repeal and replace the rule so that the well-established science regarding the connectivity of waters and the value of wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide will be appropriately considered in the new rule.
The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) have begun the process of rescinding the 2015 Clean Water Rule.
The repeal of the 2015 rule and replacement could result in a rollback of Clean Water Act protections for a majority of the nation’s streams and wetlands, including the headwater streams and millions of acres of seasonal wetlands that provide valuable habitat for many species of fish.
There is ample scientific evidence that there are strong and varied physical, chemical, and biological connections between wetlands, headwater streams, and downstream navigable or interstate waters.
This is the first step in a two-step process to repeal and ultimately replace the rule, in accordance with the executive order signed by President Trump in February 2017. The EPA released the proposed rule in advance of it being published in the Federal Register on June 27.
AFS urges its members to take the opportunity to engage in the regulatory process to repeal and replace the rule so that the well-established science regarding the connectivity of waters and the value of wetlands and the ecosystem services they provide will be appropriately considered in the new rule.
American Fisheries Society:
https://fisheries.org/2017/06/epa-announces-clean-water-rule-rollback/
EPA and Army Move to Rescind 2015 “Waters of the U.S.” Definition
The Environmental Protection Agency and Department of Army (the agencies) are proposing a rule to rescind the Clean Water Rule and re-codify the regulatory text that existed prior to 2015 defining “waters of the United States” or WOTUS. The pre-publication version of the proposed rule is available online.…
EPA Waters of the United States page: https://www.epa.gov/wotus-rule
Note – This has not yet been published in the Federal Register so it is not yet available for comment on regulations.gov. We will pass along the notice and Docket number when it is officially published.
Previous EPA notice: Notice of Intention to Review and Rescind or Revise the Clean Water Rule (PDF) (March 6, 171 K)
- Pebble Mine Project moves forward with new partnership
ANCHORAGE (KTUU) – Pebble Limited Partnership announced that it has entered into a business relationship with AES Regulatory and Technical Services in order to create opportunities for Alaska Native village corporations.
Pebble has been working toward setting up a mining project in Southwest Alaska.
The project hopes to capitalize on richly dense minerals around subsistence communities.
“We have long believed that native corporations, their shareholders and other residents of Southwest Alaska must be directly involved with and benefit directly from development of the pebble project,” PLP CEO, Tom Collier, said in a press release.
The releases said AES is tasked with making sure native corporations participate in the business development and planning of the pebble project.
ADN Op-ed by Dave Atcheson – Small Pebble will become big Pebble — and the answer is still no
- Data crunchers work to build comprehensive Alaska salmon database
By Aaron Bolton, KBBI-Homer (June 1)
Scientists are gathering temperature data to determine what warming waters mean for salmon.
There’s still a lot scientists don’t know and it’s become a hot topic.
One of the first studies in Alaska was published in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences this month, as part of a larger effort to design a statewide database on all things salmon…
The five-year study collected stream and temperature readings in 48 non-glacial streams every 15 minutes to capture high and low temperatures every hour.
Cook Inlet Keeper science director Sue Mauger led the effort and has been working for over a decade monitoring temperatures in salmon streams on the Kenai Peninsula.
Her results provide a baseline for salmon habitat in the Cook Inlet Basin.
“This kind of information that’s on a large regional scale but is site specific gives us that real important tool to decide where should we do one type of protection or conservation activity versus another kind of development project,” she said.
Mauger studied multiple streams in a single watershed, streams fed by wetlands, lakes and at high and low elevations.
All of these factors play into how susceptible each stream is to climate change, which she said is a concern.
In 2009, Mauger recorded notably high temperatures in about a third of the streams. Warmer waters can make fish expend more energy to breath, make it harder to put on weight and make them more susceptible to predation.
http://www.ktoo.org/2017/06/01/data-crunchers-work-build-comprehensive-alaska-salmon-database/
- DEC Antidegradation comments due by August 7 – Workshop on July 7
The Division of Water (Division) has released draft antidegradation implementation regulations for a 67 day comment period. The public comment period opens Friday, June 2, 2017 and closes at 5:00 pm on Monday, August 7, 2017. There will be a question and answer session and a public hearing on July 20, 2017 in the DEC Main Conference Room, First Floor, 555 Cordova Street, Anchorage. For those who can’t participate in person, a teleconference line will be available. Please see the DOW Antidegradation Policy website at: http://dec.alaska.gov/water/wqsar/Antidegradation/index.html for additional information.
Online public notice: Antidegradation Implementation Methods: Notice of Proposed Changes to the Water Quality Standard Regulations of the Department of Environmental Conservation
https://aws.state.ak.us/OnlinePublicNotices/Notices/View.aspx?id=186051
Additionally, please be aware:
The Division has decided to separate the Tier 3 (Outstanding National Resource Water or ONRW) nomination and designation process in order to obtain additional stakeholder input and to continue to work on a Tier 3 nomination and designation process that will work statewide, now and in the future. Therefore, the proposed regulations being publically noticed at this time only includes implementation methods for the antidegradation analyses relating to APDES permitted discharges. The Division is continuing to work on the Tier 3 nomination and designation process and expects to have a recommendation this fall. Additional information on Tier 3 is located here http://dec.alaska.gov/water/wqsar/Antidegradation/Tiers123.htm.
To keep informed about the development of antidegradation regulations, you may sign up for the DEC.Water.Antidegredation listserv at http://list.state.ak.us/mailman/listinfo/DEC.Water.Antidegradation/
- AK DEC Permit Issuance Plan for 2017-2018
The Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation Wastewater Discharge Authorization Program is pleased to announce that an updated Permit Issuance Plan (PIP) for the 2017-2018 time period is now available on Division of Water web pages. You may access the PIP via the three web links below. The PIP is located under the Highlights Section on each web page…
http://dec.alaska.gov/water/wwdp/index.htm
http://dec.alaska.gov/water/index.htm
http://dec.alaska.gov/water/TribalCommunication/tribes.html
- Opposition grows in Alaska and BC to new development of Tulsequah Chief mine; BC government urged to clean it up or close it down
(SitNews, June 29) Juneau, Alaska – Almost two years ago British Columbia’s (B.C.) then Minister of Energy and Mines Bill Bennett came to Juneau, flew over the abandoned Tulsequah Chief mine, and promised to clean up the ongoing acid mine drainage.
The mine, closed since 1959, has been continuously leaking contaminated water into the Tulsequah River, which drains directly into the Taku River and enters Alaska just a few miles south of the capital city of Juneau.
However, B.C.’s commitments, and the future of the Taku, are now more in doubt than ever due to the possibility of a new buyer for the mine. Current mine owner Chieftain Metals declared bankruptcy in September 2016 and the company was placed into receivership. On June 2, 2017 the receiver, Grant Thornton, posted documents to its website showing that a new company was interested in purchasing the mine. The company’s name was redacted from the documents…
http://www.sitnews.us/0617News/062917/062917_cleanup.html
Lt. Governor Mallott Transboundary mines page with documents from May workshop::
http://ltgov.alaska.gov/services/transboundary-relations/
Also see DNR OPMP Canadian Large Projects webpage – with new Interactive Transboundary Map (beta) and more at
http://dnr.alaska.gov/commis/opmp/Canadian-Mines/index
Enhancement
- Healthy hatchery fish flee the nest
DIPAC chums much bigger than average, could signal larger haul for Juneau fishermen…
http://juneauempire.com/news/2017-06-08/healthy-hatchery-fish-flee-nest
- 2016 Alaska fisheries enhancement annual report posted
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/FedAidPDFs/RIR.5J.2017.04.pdf
- Too many pink salmon in Kachemak Bay?
Long and detailed article about Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, Tutka lagoon and a Homer meeting in May…
https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/06/04/too-many-pink-salmon/
Subsistence
- Federal Subsistence Board to hold summer work session, July 17-18, 2017
The Federal Subsistence Board (Board) will hold a summer work session July 17-18, 2017. On July 17, beginning at 8:30 a.m., the Board will meet at the BP Energy Center, 900 E. Benson Boulevard, in Anchorage.
FSB News – for more news and specific fishery updates:
https://www.doi.gov/subsistence/news/general/subsistence/news/fsb
Other
- We Alaskans Essay – Living Beautifully, by Helen Decker
ADN Editor’s note: In Sunday’s We Alaskans we are celebrating the 35th annual creative writing contest sponsored by the University of Alaska and Alaska Dispatch News. Some 537 entries were submitted from across the state, including this piece by Helen Decker who had the editor’s choice selection and was the winner of the nonfiction grades 10-12 category.
… Hard work is necessary on my dad’s boat, but cleanliness is not. What I look like, with a crusty smile and hands that look twice my age, doesn’t affect how much we produce on our boat. It’s not a factor at all in how I choose to live my life. Every stroke of my rain pants sweeping past each other, each fish I toss forward, is just another reminder of how lucky I am to be working in such a genuinely breathtaking place. Every breath I take is honeyed with the reminder of how happy I am to be precisely here at this moment, living beautifully through hard work. This is the life.
https://www.adn.com/alaska-life/we-alaskans/2017/05/13/living-beautifully/
- Prehistoric stone fish trap discovered on Alaska island
by the Associated Press, Kodiak, Alaska — Jun 28, 2017
Archaeologists have discovered a prehistoric fish trap constructed of rock walls near the mouth of a salmon stream on Alaska’s Kodiak Island.
The trap is in a lower intertidal zone that’s covered by ocean water at high tide and exposed at low tide, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported (http://bit.ly/2t0of5f) Tuesday.
Archaeologists at the Alutiiq Museum in the city of Kodiak identified the trap. Salmon at high tide could swim into the stream, and when the tide receded, fish would be stranded in one of two corrals, said Patrick Saltonstall, the museum’s curator of archaeology…
He guesses the Kodiak trap was used 500 years ago…
- Alaska Sea Grant announces the 6th Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute
Alaska Sea Grant announces the 6th Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute starting November 13, 2017.
Do you have an employee who, with key training, could help lead your business into the future? The Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute (ASPLI) offers an intensive 80 hours of professional development for employees with the potential to move up in your company. The institute is designed for mid-level managers in a seafood plant—production managers, QC supervisors, seafood engineers, human resource, corporate and administrative personnel—who are identified by their employer as having leadership potential. Others who might want to participate include direct marketers or small seafood processors or those closely involved in the seafood industry. ASPLI provides the technical training, leadership and management skills needed to understand and succeed in the seafood industry. Over 70 seafood processing leaders have participated to date in ASPLI from 21 companies in Alaska. Detailed descriptions of the past institutes can be found on the ASPLI website.
Session 1 of ASPLI is November 13–17, 2017, at the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center (a University of Alaska Fairbanks facility) where participants will learn from seafood faculty and local experts. Topics include Alaska’s seafood industry, the science of seafood, shelf life, quality and safety of Alaska’s fishery products, product development, lean manufacturing, project management and seafood marketing. Participants receive hands-on experience in the KSMSC pilot plant, and local plant managers will offer perspectives on the seafood industry and management.
After the Kodiak session and over the winter, ASPLI participants will work with an in-house mentor to identify and complete a project that has an impact on their plant’s operations.
ASPLI Session 2 will convene in Anchorage (March 5–9, 2018) for training in leadership, human resources, regulatory environment, and developing effective management styles. Experienced seafood leaders, government regulators, and management consultants will lead the classes.
Participants will then have the option to attend a guided tour of the Seafood Expo North America and East Coast processing facilities, March 11–13, 2018, in Boston. This is the largest US seafood trade venue for seafood, providing an understanding of Alaska’s role in the global market. Participants will be required to interact with vendors, seafood buyers, and sellers, and will visit local seafood facilities. The Boston trip is not required; however, it is highly recommended and travel for this trip (round trip from Anchorage) is included in the overall cost of the institute.
The cost of this program is $2,500 per person if the participant travels to Boston or $1,800 per person without the Boston trip. All travel to Sessions 1 and 2 in Kodiak and Anchorage including lodging and meals (other than lunches which are provided) is the responsibility of the participant or sponsor. If the participant is attending the Boston trip, airfare from Anchorage, lodging and per diem are included in the course fee. University of Alaska Fairbanks career technical training funds and Alaska Sea Grant funds offset the cost of ASPLI, estimated to be a $5,000 per person training program.
https://seagrant.uaf.edu/map/aspli/2017
- FishLines – Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program newsletter for June 2016
Students Awarded Marine Policy Fellowships in DC
Students Train via Alaska Sea Grant 2016-2018 Research Projects
Alaska Sea Grant Staff Changes
Marine Mammal Guidebook Wins Award
…and more, online at https://seagrant.uaf.edu/news/fishlines/2016/june.php
- Become a Marine Safety Instructor – workshop September 19-24 in Sitka
Would you like to teach marine safety skills to commercial fishermen and other mariners? If you answered with an enthusiastic “yes”, then you should know that AMSEA is conducting a Marine Safety Instructor Training (MSIT) workshop in Sitka, Alaska, September 19-24, 2017…
http://www.amsea.org/single-post/2017/06/05/Become-a-Marine-Safety-Instructor
& July 2017 AMSEA Trainings for Commercial Fishermen
http://www.amsea.org/single-post/2017/05/16/July-2017-Trainings-for-Commercial-Fishermen
AMSEA home page: http://www.amsea.org/
- Laine Welch’s Fish Radio – Recent Items
Fish farts give clues to where they are, what they’re doing
AK plays big role in global seafood trade
Sunscreen lotions are killing coral reefs, more studies show
AOOS Seeks Films Highlighting Alaska’s Coasts and Oceans
Moms talk about their kids choosing a fishing career
Onboard net washer is latest quality tool from Cordovan
These items and more, online at http://www.alaskafishradio.com/
(that last one reminds me of this comic – http://bizarro.com/comics/december-30-2015/ )
Inclusion of an item does not mean that UFA endorses or agrees.
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Compiled by staff of United Fishermen of Alaska
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