Broken Ice Machine Stalls Commercial Fishing on the Lower Yukon

20160713_194638_resizedFishermen in Marshall and Russian Mission have missed three commercial openings since the machine’s compressor broke last week. They’re missing out on another opening Thursday and two more if the problem isn’t fixed by this weekend. And it most likely won’t be, because this problem is an expensive one: $15,000. “Our way of life out here is in jeopardy due to a simple part for an ice machine,” Nick P. Andrew Jr., Marshall commercial fisherman, said. There’re 48 commercial fishermen in Marshall and Russian Mission. All of them are small skiff operations, and all of them rely on Marshall’s now defunct ice machine. The machine holds 8,000 lbs. of ice.  During an opening, fishermen use about half that per day. Marshall’s village corporation, Maserculiq, owns the machine but is refusing to fix it, a situation that’s frustrating villagers. Audio report, read the rest here 13:10

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