February 3, 2009 Disclaimer: Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply MCA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.
Is Alaska’s pollock fishery ’sustainable’? (KUCB Audio) (2/2)
MISC
American Seafoods Community Advisory Board Calls for Applications for its Alaska Community Grant Program. Applications Due Tuesday, Feb. 17 for February 2009 Grants
FEDERAL
AFSC. MSI: Forecasting Pink Salmon Harvest in Southeast Alaska. Pink salmon support an important commercial fishery in southeast Alaska (SEAK), with an annual ex-vessel value of around $20 million. The Auke Bay Laboratories (ABL, NOAA) has been using juvenile pink salmon catch and associated environmental data to forecast adult pink salmon harvest in SEAK since 2004.The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is also incorporating juvenile pink salmon catch data from ABL into their forecast model; however, rather than forecasting from a direct relationship between juvenile catch and harvest, ADF&G uses the juvenile data to modify an exponential smoothing model of past harvests. The 2009 pink salmon commercial harvest forecasts (with 80% confidence intervals) from both ABL and ADF&G are shown above.
Pink salmon returns are notoriously difficult to forecast, because their two-year life history cycle precludes the use of returns of younger age classes to predict cohort abundance. Their year-class success can vary widely, with harvests ranging from 3 million to 78 million fish annually since 1960. Pre-season forecasts using spawner/recruit relationships modified by indices of environmental conditions have not been very useful, because escapement data are imprecise and high variation in freshwater and marine survival makes parental abundance a weak predictor of returns. More
NAS, Transportation Research Board – risk of vessel accidents and spills in the Aleutian Islands . The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies issued a notice stating that its Special Report 293 – “Risk of Vessels Accidents and Spills in the Aleutian Islands: Designing a Comprehensive Risk Assessment” has been published. The report recommends that a structured risk assessment be performed in two phases: (1) a preliminary risk assessment; and (2) a focused risk assessment. In the interim, it recommends: (a) that the Coast Guard expand the AIS tracking network along the Aleutian chain and covering the southern North Pacific Great Circle Route; (b) that the Coast Guard and the State of Alaska investigate funding and mechanisms for possible stationing of an Aleutian recue tug; (c) that the Coast Guard investigate the possible structure and costs of a Vessel Traffic Information System for Unimak Pass and Dutch Harbor; and (d) that consideration be given to tracking and monitoring vessel traffic in certain congested areas. (1/27/09).
UNH/NOAA Report: Arctic Region Underprepared for Maritime Accidents (1/29). The existing infrastructure for responding to maritime accidents in the Arctic is limited and more needs to be done to enhance emergency response capacity as Arctic sea ice declines and ship traffic in the region increases, according to new report released today by the University of New Hampshire and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.
The report details findings from a panel of experts and decision-makers from Arctic nation governments, industry and indigenous communities convened by the Coastal Response Research Center, a UNH-NOAA partnership housed at the university. The panel, which included representatives from the U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Arctic Research Commission, assessed the potential threat of maritime accidents in the Arctic and the ability of nations in the region to respond effectively to vessels in distress, oil spills and other situations. More
When Birds Strike …. (KUCB Audio) (1/28). Mariners working in the Aleutian Islands have more to worry about than just high seas and rough storms, they also have to think about the birds. KUCB's Anne Hillman has the story.
Coast Guard Trainees Forage for Seaweed, Shiver in Cold (2/1). Cold-weather survival training conducted by U.S. Coast Guard members stationed in Alaska is legendary, and also somewhat feared by rookies.
After a few days of classes, service members took their newfound skills to West Douglas Island for three days, eating sashimi and seaweed off the beach and fending largely for themselves. They are allowed three layers of clothing, a coffee can for each team of five or six, a JetBoil stove, and whatever each person can fit inside one sandwich-size Ziploc bag.
Team Moose coordinated its packing list so that each person brought some essentials for the group, such as saws or fuel canisters. The contents of Robert Mosteller's bag, for example, contained rope, plastic, grits (he's from Georgia) and a deck of cards to pass the time. More
Pollock season starting slow (KUCB Audio) (2/2). This year's pollock season is getting a slow start and most of the fleet is still at the dock. Their waiting for the fish to school, and the wait has its ups and downs for the whole industry. KUCB's Anne Hillman has more.
Man jumps overboard form fishing vessels (2/2). A man jumped overboard into the Bering Sea Thursday morning near Priest Rock, about 11 miles from Unalaska. The 40-year-old man was not wearing a survival suit and fellow crew members on the F/V Arctic Fox told the Coast Guard the he resisted any type of help.
"The crew threw a life ring to him, which came very close to him, but he did not make any attempt to grab it," said Coast Guard Public Affairs Officer Sara Francis. "Then the vessel deployed a swimmer in a gumby suit and he resisted that swimmer and dove into the water not to be seen again."
The Coast Guard is currently investigating the incident. "We'll do interviews with the crew to see if anyone knows anything. We may search his cabin to see if there was any indication as to why he leapt overboard."
A Coast Guard H-65 helicopter deployed from Cold Bay and two good Samaritan vessels helped look for the man within a 16-mile radius of the ship but were unsuccessful with less than one mile visibility and six foot seas. The 58-foot Arctic Fox was fishing p. cod with pot gear and is homeported in Reedsport, Oregon. The was identified as Michael Leo Beaulieu, who was known to be somewhat transient.
The Coast Guard is also investigating a medevac incident on the F/V Kodiak. The boat was fishing cod with pot gear about 60 miles south of Cold Bay when a crew member sustained a head injury Friday morning around 5 am. The Coast Guard deployed the H-65 Dolphin helicopter from Cold Bay and transferred the man to a LifeMed flight to Anchorage. No other information is available at this time. The Coast Guard Marine Safety Detachment in Unalaska is investigating both incidents. Link
STATE
Alaska fish board explores changes to commercial Dungeness plans (KFSK Audio) (1/26). The State’s Board of Fish heard testimony last week over proposals to open and close a number of areas in Southeast Alaska to commercial Dungeness crab fishing. Some proposals seek to end commercial harvests around some Southeast towns, but there are also attempts to reopen some closed commercial spots.
Sportfishing plays crucial role in local economy (1/27). Despite its remote location, Kodiak claims a healthy share of the state’s sportfishing income. Last year, 475,534 resident and nonresident licensed anglers spent nearly $1.4 billion on licenses and trip-related expenses in Alaska, according to a recently published economic-impact study of sportfishing in Alaska.
The study, conducted for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game by Southwick Associates Inc., indicates the economic activity generated by sportfishing supported 15,879 jobs, provided $545 million of income and resulted in $123 million in state/local tax revenues.
Kodiak is a popular sportfishing destination for residents and nonresidents. The number of businesses catering to sportfishermen has grown steadily over the past several years, and the local economy has reaped direct benefits from this segment of tourism.
“Twenty-one years ago, the Kodiak charter boat fleet consisted of just a couple boats,” said longtime charter operator Larry Shaker.
The Kodiak Island Convention and Visitors Bureau currently lists 30 charter boat operators as organization members. City revenues reported by the charter boat sector increased almost 100 percent over the past 10 years.
Charter boat owner Tim Tripp has seen an increase in small boats entering the charter business, mostly over the past four years. He noted that the increase in larger charter boats is a slower process. More
Fish and Game releases Sockeye forecast for Upper Cook Inlet (KBBI Audio) (1/29). The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the 2009 Upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon forecast Monday. Jeff Fox, area management biologist with fish and game in Soldotna, says the prediction for a total run of more than 4 million fish is weak compared to the 20 year average.
Commercial fisheries pack a $6 billion impact in Alaska (1/30). Alaska's seafood industry packs a walloping $5.8 billion
economic impact in the state, a major economics firm concludes in a new report prepared for the Marine Conservation Alliance and two major processor interests.
In 2007, the latest year for which complete data was available, Alaska accounted for more than 62 percent of the volume of the commercial seafood harvested in the United States, economists with Northern Economics said. Alaska produces more than half of the nation's seafood landings, and accounts for 56,600 direct jobs and 22,000 indirect jobs within Alaska, more than the oil and gas and mining industries combined, the report said. The report, released Jan. 21, came on the heels of a state of Alaska report that put the value of sport fishing in Alaska in 2007 at $1.3 billion, including licenses, trip fees, equipment and other items for sport fishing trips.
"The seafood industry will take a bit of a hit because of the U.S. and world economies, but we have the tools in place now to weather the storm, to be more efficient in terms of reducing costs," said Dave Benton, executive director of MCA.
Benton said that MCA, along with the groups At-Sea Processors Association and the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, ordered the report to get a complete picture of the economic impact of the commercial harvest of seafood on Alaska. The report does not deal with fish harvested for private consumption by sport anglers fishing independently or on charter vessels.
"We were trying to pull together all the components to get a true picture of what's going on," Benton said in an interview Jan.23. More
Salmon dining to help suffering Alaska villages (2/3). Three years ago, Seattle seafood consultant Jon Rowley was drawn to the Yukon River delta by salmon — silver chinook endowed with prodigious amounts of oil that help them swim some 2,000 miles across Alaska to distant Canadian spawning grounds.
With proper handling and marketing, Rowley figured that these fish could gain the same type of celebrity status as the Copper River salmon he began promoting back in the 1980s.
But this winter it's the fishermen, not the fish, that have Rowley's attention.
The fishermen are Yup'ik Eskimos whose villages in western Alaska have been slammed by a dismal salmon season, high fuel prices and recent cold snaps that forced some families to skimp on food as they tried to scrape up enough cash to warm their homes.
Their plight has helped stir an unusual relief effort aimed not at some distant Third World nation but at rural communities in oil-rich Alaska.
Rowley helped launch a monthlong fundraising event that began Sunday at Elliott's Oyster House at Pier 56 in Seattle, where Yukon chum salmon, marketed as keta, will be on the menu. From 20 to 25 percent of the revenue from each keta plate will be donated to a fuel fund for Alaska villagers. More
Taku deemed “important habitat” (2/3). The Taku River teems with fish and is worth millions each year to local fishermen, but state biologists had to jump through legal hoops to deem it an "important habitat."
Those two little words change how Department of Natural Resources officials must look at a mine company's proposal to haul a hoverbarge down the Taku year-round using amphibious vehicles.
"It's the difference between a layman's understanding of what important habitat is, and the legal, technical term," said Randy Bates, director of the Alaska Coastal Management Program in DNR, who helped write the relevant statutes.
Redfern Resources Ltd., owned by Vancouver-based Redcorp Ventures Ltd., plans to reopen the Tulsequah Chief multi-metal mine, near the confluence of the Tulsequah and Taku rivers, 40 miles northeast of Juneau. The mine is only accessible by air and water, and the hoverbarge plan will allow the company to operate year-round. More
Comparison of Sport and Commercial Economic Studies by Gunnar Knapp ISER (1/29)
Juneau hires Haines harbormaster (1/29). Outgoing Haines harbormaster Phil Benner said this week the Haines Borough may need to raise the job’s salary to attract a qualified replacement.
Benner has been hired as harbormaster in Juneau, starting March 2.
He said the Juneau job came open in December, and he couldn’t pass up the opportunity to advance his career. Benner will be responsible for six Juneau harbors and more than 15 staff.
When hired two years ago by former borough manager Robert Venables, Benner said he was up front about leaving for Kodiak or Juneau, if opportunities arose. “This is a job that’s not likely to come open again in my working lifetime.”
Increased pay also figured into his decision. Benner said the borough’s harbormaster pay was the lowest in Southeast. And, with only two full-time harbor employees, he worked “a lot of overtime” unpaid to get the job done, he said. More
MARKETING
Notre Dame awarded for sustainability efforts (1/27). Notre Dame has recently received two honors that highlight the University's commitment to increasing sustainability on campus from Carbonrally.com and the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). …
Notre Dame received a second honor when it became the first major university to be awarded a chain-of-custody certification from the MSC in order to guarantee sustainable seafood in the dining halls.
MSC is a global nonprofit organization committed to promoting the best environmental choices in seafood through its work with fisheries, seafood companies, scientists, conservation groups and the public. By becoming chain-of-custody certified, Notre Dame can now assure that the fish present in the dining halls came from a fishery that meets MSC's environmental standards.
The University has already received 2,000 pounds of MSC-certified Alaska salmon and pollock. More
How do they get from there to here? (1/28). It's a question every landlocked seafood lover has: How, exactly, does seafood get here? And: So many thousands of miles from the ocean, how can the fish possibly be fresh?
"Airplanes are good for that," explains chef/owner Amy Vitale of Tables restaurant in Park Hill. "Sure, there's nothing like being up in Maine and getting a fresh lobster. Maybe it's just in your mind, but there is something to that. But fish comes by Fed Ex now. We get it hours after it's been caught."
Vitale purchases her fish from a local fish distributor, Northeast Seafood, which, like other area distributors, makes daily deliveries.
But just because the truck rolls in from the airport with new fish every day, does that mean it's fresh?
A visit to another local seafood supplier, Seattle Fish Co., helps connect the dots from hook to table. More
Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) pollock – Fishery enters re-assessment. The certification body, Moody Marine, has announced that the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BSAI) pollock fishery has re-entered full assessment. Initially Moody Marine seeks to open a dialogue with all organisations or individuals with a direct interest in the fishery.
Anyone wishing to provide comments or information to the assessment process (relevant to the status of the stock, ecosystem interactions or fishery management practices) is invited to contact Paul Knapman.
Is Alaska’s pollock fishery ’sustainable’? (KUCB Audio) (2/2). Alaska’s pollock fishery is seeking recertification as a “sustainable fishery” from the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC). The Council provides independent, third-party certification for fisheries around the world to ensure they are not damaging the fish stocks or the surrounding ecosystem. Anne Hillman, KUCB - Unalaska
MISC
American Seafoods Community Advisory Board Calls for Applications for its Alaska Community Grant Program. Applications Due Tuesday, Feb. 17 for February 2009 Grants. SEATTLE--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Community Advisory Board (CAB) of American Seafoods Company, one of the nation’s largest seafood harvesters and processors, announced today that it is accepting applications for its Alaska community grant program. To be considered for a grant, all applications must be submitted by Tuesday, February 17.
Each year, the CAB community grant program awards $75,000 to community projects throughout rural Alaska. A total of $30,000 will be allocated by the CAB in February to various community projects tackling issues such as hunger, housing, safety, education, research, natural resources and cultural activities.
During the December 2008 CAB meeting, 29 programs were awarded grants totaling $30,000. Given the dire economic times, CAB members at this meeting focused their awards almost exclusively on support for food banks. Some of the top award recipients included Brother Francis Shelter ($3,500); Leadership/Close-Up ($2,200); St. George Traditional Council ($2,500); and Nushagak-Mulchatna/Wood-Tikchik Land Trust ($2,000). More
Marine Conservation Alliance
431 N Franklin St Ste 305
Juneau, AK 99801-1186
