Category Archives: Pacific
Bureaucrats’ power on trial in California wildlife dispute
When the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service launched a program in Southern California to reintroduce an otter population, imposing penalties for encroaching on the animal’s habitat, Congress passed a law to protect the fishing industry. Federal officials, however, want to penalize fisherman who accidentally encroach on the otters, and now the U.S. Supreme Court will decide how much power those bureaucrats possess. The case, California Sea Urchin Commission v. U.S. Fish and Wildlife, stems from the Fish and Wildlife Service’s plan in 1986 to widen the territory supporting the otter population. >click to read<09:45
Sea lions continue to eat endangered fish
All the time, money and sacrifice to improve salmon and steelhead passage in the Willamette River won’t mean a thing unless wildlife managers can get rid of sea lions feasting on the fish at Willamette Falls. That was the message Tuesday from Shaun Clements, senior policy adviser for the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife, who met at the falls with Liz Hamilton, executive director of the Northwest Sportfishing Industry Association, and Suzanne Kunse, district director for U.S. Rep. Kurt Schrader, D-Ore. >click to read<17:51
Social media post criticizes Trident Seafoods, Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet for halibut bycatch
A fisherman based out of Homer posted images on social media of halibut bycatch headed for the grinder at Kodiak’s Trident Seafoods processing plant. The post got a lot of attention online and sparked criticism of Trident, the Gulf of Alaska trawl fleet and a body that regulates the commercial fishing industry. Trident is the largest primary processor of seafood in the United States and is heavily invested in Alaska. “We’re a company built by fishermen for fishermen and we don’t just buy pollock or cod or crab or salmon or halibut, we buy everything that we can sustainably harvest and feed the world with. Halibut is a very important part of our business,” said Lumsden. Longtime fisherman Erik Velsko says if Trident really cares about halibut and sustainability some things need to change. >click to read<18:59
‘Deadliest Catch’ Captain Blake Painter found dead at home
Blake Painter — best known for being a captain on seasons 2 and 3 of “Deadliest Catch” — has died, and police are testing substances found at the scene of his death. Law enforcement sources tell TMZ Painter’s body was discovered Friday in his Oregon home. We’re told a friend of Painter’s became concerned after not hearing from him for a few days … so he called the police. Officers gained entry, and determined Painter had been dead for several days. >click to read< 13:56
Boat busted
On May 22, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife posted on their Facebook page that read in part that in September of 2017, their officers made a “significant over-limit bust on the captain of the commercial passenger fishing vessel, Red Rooster, out of San Diego Harbor. “…. the vessel’s captain (Christian Andrew Cates), plead guilty to possession of fish illegally taken outside the state and importation of fish without declaration. He was sentenced to five days of public service work and $40,000 in fines, $37,000 of which has already been paid to the court.” >click to read<12:04
Alaska lawmakers call for alliance with other states on Canadian mining issues
A group of Alaska lawmakers wants to team up with Montana and other U.S.-Canada border states in a push to protect Southeast watersheds they say are threatened by rapid Canadian mining development. In a letter dated April 20 and released Friday, 10 lawmakers ask Gov. Bill Walker to work with other U.S. states and the State Department to further protections for Southeast’s salmon-bearing rivers. Canadian mining development, they say, has continued to put the region’s fishing and tourism industries in peril. >click to read<09:15
Fleet of Flowers – Depoe Bay on Memorial Day 2018
On Memorial Day, each year since 1945, Depoe Bay has hosted the FLEET OF FLOWERS. This colorful ceremony is recognized as one of the most impressive observances held in the United States. The event was initiated to honor the memories of two fishermen, Roy Bower and John Chambers, who died at sea in an attempt to aid another fisherman. 3 Patty Kuhn Photos >click to read<18:21
Seals a major factor in fewer salmon
Re: “Ottawa cutting chinook catch to save orcas,”>click to read< May 25. The article concerning the decline of chinook salmon and orca populations fails to mention the influence of seals. According to the University of British Columbia marine mammal research unit, seal numbers in the Strait of Georgia increased from about 5,000 to more than 40,000 from 1970 to 2008, and now kill about half of the juvenile coho and chinook. Reducing the salmon sport catch without addressing the exploding numbers of seals will not help the orcas much. >click to read<17:53
Fishermen know the truth about sardines
Reporter Anne Roth quoted me in her article “When will sardines return? Not any time soon say scientists.” But she misunderstood what I said. I’m one of the fishermen Diane Pleschner-Steele quoted in her comment, “Fishermen are seeing more sardines, not less.” I’ve been fishing for 60 years, and I’ve seen sardines come, go and come back again. But the government surveys that assess the biomass don’t come into coastal waters where the fish are now. In fact, we began seeing an abundance of small sardines right before the 2015 El Niño. Aniello Guglielmo, Monterey >click to read< for more articles on this issue, >click to read<12:19
Coast Guard confirms fisherman found by divers inside vessel in Willapa Bay
Coast Guard personnel confirm the missing fisherman was found by divers inside the sunken vessel, the Kelli J, prior to it being refloated by contractors in Willapa Bay, Friday. Pacific County Sheriff’s Office personnel transported the fisherman to a local funeral home that evening. The vessel is being taken to the Nachotta marina with the owner’s insurance company coordinating the remaining salvage efforts. The Kelli J was originally reported missing on Saturday, May 19, which sparked search and rescue efforts that extended into Monday when the search was suspended. Multiple efforts were conducted to attempt to locate the missing vessel that resulted in the vessel being found submerged within Willapa Bay on Wednesday. >link<-USCG-
Congress must act — again — to save salmon from hungry sea lions
Government agencies spend hundreds of millions of dollars annually trying to preserve threatened salmon and steelhead runs in the Columbia River Basin. Yet in recent years, a growing population of hungry sea lions has jeopardized all of that investment and hard work.,, Congress needs to safeguard the public’s investment in conserving these vulnerable salmon and steelhead runs along the Columbia. Republicans and Democrats must come together this year to pass legislation making it easier to lethally remove some of the sea lions. That will mean relaxing a section of the 1972 Marine Mammal Protection Act,,, >Click to read<11:34
Fun and food at Westport’s “Weekend with the Fleet” this weekend
The annual Weekend with the Fleet celebration in Westport will honor the commercial fishing industry and the maritimers who gave their all this Memorial Day weekend. There will be vendors featuring arts and crafts stations, fishing competitions, Sea Scout displays, a beer garden and more starting today. The festival runs from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Westport Maritime Museum grounds at 2201 Westhaven Drive. Then at 7:30 p.m. is the Light the Dock celebration along Westhaven Drive. It features luminary displays honoring maritime professionals who lost their lives at sea. Luminaries are available for purchase at the event.,,, Sunday will feature the Blessing of the Fleet ceremony beginning at 1 p.m. at the Fishermen’s Memorial on Neddie Rose Drive,,>click to read<
America’s Finest vessel gets 2nd House waiver
The U.S. House, for a second time, has passed a waiver for the fishing vessel America’s Finest, but a path through the U.S. Senate still remains uncertain. A waiver for the $75 million trawler, which is necessary to allow the ship to work in U.S. waters, was included in the National Defense Authorization Act that cleared the House on Thursday morning. “It passed the House, but that and two bucks will get us a cup of coffee,” Dakota Creek Industries Vice President Mike Nelson told the American Thursday.,, But efforts to push a waiver through the Senate have failed so far. >click to read<10:42
Feds limit chinook fishery to help resident killer whale recovery
The federal government is closing some recreational and commercial chinook fisheries on the West Coast in an effort to help save endangered southern resident killer whales. Fisheries Minister Dominic LeBlanc said Thursday that a lack of prey for the whales is one of the critical factors affecting their recovery. There are just 76 of the whales left and LeBlanc said in a news release that a reduction in the total chinook fishery of 25 to 35 per cent will help conserve the orca’s main food source. The closures will be in the Juan de Fuca Strait and around portions of the Gulf Islands, the department said in the release. >click to read<08:26
Waste Water Treatment Plants: Mussels off the coast of Seattle test positive for opioids
As more and more American communities grapple with opioid addiction, the human toll of the epidemic has grown in both scope and severity. And now, scientists at the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife have found evidence that drug’s impact has literally flowed downstream to affect marine life, as well.,,, In three of the 18 locations, the mussels then tested positive for trace amounts of oxycodone. How, you ask? When humans ingest opioids like oxycodone, they ultimately end up excreting traces of the drugs into the toilet. Those chemicals then end up in wastewater. And while many contaminants are filtered out of wastewater before it’s released into the oceans, wastewater management systems can’t entirely filter out drugs. Thus, opioids, antidepressants, the common chemotherapy drug Melphalan — the mussels tested positive for all of them. >click to read<08:04
‘Deadliest Catch’ star pleads guilty to misdemeanor assault
Celebrity crab-boat captain Sig Hansen has pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge that he spat on an Uber driver last year in Seattle. The Seattle Times reports the 52-year-old “Deadliest Catch” star pleaded guilty Wednesday. Under the plea deal, a property destruction charge was dismissed. Prosecutors also recommended the assault conviction be dropped and the case dismissed if Hansen complies with court conditions for a year. But Judge Edward McKenna wasn’t ready to agree with that recommendation. He postponed sentencing and ordered Hansen to undergo a new alcohol evaluation. >click to read<19:52
Fight over America’s Finest vessel part of bigger processor battle
The mothershippers are fighting with the groundfish shoreplants in a politicized Bering Sea commercial fishing tussle reaching all the way to Washington, D.C. The battle over Pacific cod pits the factory trawlers of the Amendment 80 fleet against Alaska shoreplants and local governments. And in February, it pitted two local governments against each other. A delegation of municipal and business leaders from Anacortes, Wash., traveled to the Aleutian Islands to ask the Unalaska City Council to reverse itself but didn’t change anybody’s mind. The brand spanking new factory trawler America’s Finest remains stranded in an Anacortes, Wash., shipyard, unable to fish in the United States because it hasn’t received a waiver from the Jones Act. >click to read<15:54
Coast Guard monitors efforts to confirm location of sunken vessel in Willapa Bay
Coast Guard personnel continue to monitor the response to the report of the overdue fishing vessel Kelli J after a boat crew contracted through the vessel owner’s insurance company located a large unknown object in the area of a previously sighted pollution and debris in the water of Willapa Bay, Tuesday. Global Diving and Salvage personnel have been contracted by the insurance company to dive on and identify the object Wednesday, and assess what actions can be taken for potential salvage. Around 3:35 p.m. on Saturday, watchstanders at Coast Guard Sector Columbia River received a report that the operator of the Kelli J was overdue from a fishing trip. The report came from the vessel operator’s wife, who stated he was due to return at 12:30 p.m. that day and confirmed his vehicle was still at a Nahcotta marina with no vessel in sight. >click to read<23:39
Alaskan fishermen aren’t the only ones noticing the rise of Atlantic halibut
As prices and demand for Pacific halibut have fallen in Alaska, commercial fishermen say a new Canadian competitor is to blame. Since 2012, Canadian imports of fresh Atlantic halibut have grown roughly 60 percent. Historically, Atlantic halibut has not competed with its close relative on the West Coast since New England and Canadian fishermen overfished stocks in the late 1880s. But as the catch continues to grow north of the border, fishermen in New England are working towards restarting a fishery in U.S. waters.,, “A lot of those boats are fishing on the U.S.-Canadian line and having very good results, and it’s been going on for a while,” Mike Russo said, a New England-based commercial fisherman. >click to read<16:03
43-foot vessel missing in Willapa Bay with one aboard; search suspended Sunday
At 12:33 p.m. Sunday the U.S. Coast Guard suspended its search for a Long Beach Peninsula man whose commercial crabbing vessel sank Saturday in Willapa Bay. “All searches for mariner yielded negative results,” the Coast Guard said on its Twitter feed. “Search has been suspended and efforts are switching to vessel salvage/fuel recovery.” Coast Guard crews responded Sunday morning to a diesel-oil sheen and debris field in Willapa Bay after searching throughout the night for the 43-foot vessel Kelli J and its local skipper, Kevin Soule, who is believed to have been pulling crab pots at the time of the accident. Port of Peninsula Manager Jay Personius confirmed Sunday afternoon that Soule was at the helm Sunday and is thought to have been the only person on board. >click to read<20:39
It’s here! First batch of Copper River Salmon arrives in Seattle
It’s that time of year again when Copper River salmon arrives in Seattle! More than 16,000 pounds of the tasty fish arrived at Sea-Tac Airport early Friday morning, with the first fish triumphantly raised above the flight captain’s hands upon arrival. Three more Alaska Airlines flights were inbound from Cordova, Alaska Friday, delivering an additional 48,000 pounds of salmon to the market, where it will then be delivered to restaurants and grocery stores across the country. >click to read<13:19
20K-Pound Fresh Fish Catch Helps San Diego Maritime Industry
Thousands of pounds of fish were offloaded Thursday in Point Loma, an occurrence that happens a few times a month in San Diego but is part of an evolving maritime industry. The Port of San Diego is highlighting the commercial fishing industry for “Maritime Month.” Many of the fishermen who work in San Diego have been a part of the local fishing industry for generations and spend weeks at a time at sea. On Thursday, four of those fishermen aboard the boat “Anthony G” used forklifts to unload about 20-thousand pounds of swordfish, tuna, manchong and other fresh catches at Driscoll’s Wharf in Point Loma. Video, >click to read<16:47
2017 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries
NOAA Fisheries NMFS is pleased to present the 2017 Report to Congress on the Status of U.S. Fisheries managed under the science-based framework established by the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act (MSA). The 2017 report highlights the work toward the goal of maximizing fishing opportunities while ensuring the sustainability of fisheries and fishing communities. Due to the combined efforts of NOAA Fisheries, the eight regional fishery management councils, and other partners, three previously overfished stocks were rebuilt and the number of stocks listed as overfished is at a new all-time low. >click to read<16:04
Fishing for solutions through legislation
The United States Congress is currently considering legislation that could affect the management of fisheries in the Northwest and directly impact local fishing. One of the bills being considered addresses the issue of sea lion predation on endangered stocks of salmon and steelhead. Another would effectively reverse a recent judge’s decision to increase spill at Columbia River and Snake River dams to improve downstream migration. There are also two bills that would amend the Magnuson-Stevens act, which regulates ocean fisheries. The Endangered Salmon and Fisheries Predation Prevention Act, or H.R. 2083, would amend the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972., H.R. 3144, H.R. 2023, H.R. 200 >click to read<09:00
Pacific Salmon Treaty 3.0 looms for B.C. fishing industry
It has been nearly 20 years since a renegotiation of the Pacific Salmon Treaty with the U.S. sparked a war between the B.C. government, Ottawa and the U.S. That fight ended with Ottawa trying to expropriate a provincially owned seabed at Nanoose Bay – used for a joint Canadian-American submarine and torpedo test range – and generated such hostility that angry B.C. fishermen corralled an American ferry and held it hostage for two days in Prince Rupert in 1997.,,, The treaty expires at the end of this year. American and Canadian negotiators have been quietly working on its renewal for 18 months, said Brian Riddell, who is a Canadian commissioner to the Pacific Salmon Commission. >click to read<18:49
Halibut trash
Only in Alaska, which likes to claim title to the world’s “best-managed fisheries,” would halibut now retailing at prices in excess of $20 per pound be ground into fish meal to feed animals, shrimp and maybe even farmed salmon – the bane of Alaska commercial fishermen. Photos of halibut and other, trawl-caught bottomfish headed for the grinder emerged from Kodiak this weekend as Alaska fishermen started into a fishing season where the targeted harvest of halibut by both commercial fishermen and anglers has been seriously restricted because of conservation concerns. >click to read<18:20
Senate Should Confirm Barry Myers to Lead NOAA
NOAA – the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – needs its leader! President Trump nominated Barry Lee Myers, the CEO of AccuWeather, to the post in mid-October. The Senate Commerce Committee has twice advanced Myers’ nomination to the full Senate. All that’s needed to fill this important job is a majority vote on the Senate floor, which both Democrats and Republicans expect to happen. Unfortunately, partisan politics keeps getting in the way, delaying the vote. >click to read<10:06
San Pedro fisherman officially hangs it up at 99 years old
When Robert “Bobby” Austin was growing up in the 1920s and 1930s, Torrance was an expanse of open acreage. He also started driving at 10 — walked right into the Torrance police office at the age of 14 asking for a driver’s license. “How did you get here?” the desk officer asked. “I drove,” Bobby replied, pointing to the Model T Ford outside. Good enough. Traffic was nonexistent and gas was a nickel a gallon. Only a couple years later, in 1937, he beat the captain of a fishing boat at arm wrestling to win a spot on his crew for the next trip out. For 81 years, Austin’s fishing boats have called San Pedro Bay home. >click to read<08:26
Zinke Tells Panel Definitive Word on Offshore Drilling Plan Months Away
Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke on Thursday reiterated that no new oil and gas exploration will be allowed off the Florida coast, but said the Trump administration’s plans for other offshore areas won’t be announced until the fall. Zinke appeared before the Senate Appropriations subcommittee on Thursday to discuss a wide range of budgetary issues. But his talk with lawmakers hit a rough patch when Sen. Chris Van Hollen, D-Md., grilled him over the Interior Department’s plans to open up waters around the U.S. for oil exploration. >click to read<20:13
Councilmember Mike O’Brien booted from gala; wife shouts at fishermen
Rumors swirled over the weekend on Facebook suggesting that Seattle Councilmember Mike O’Brien and his wife were kicked out of the opening night gala for the newly-opened Nordic Museum at a local shipyard on Friday, May 4. On the way out, while escorted by staff, O’Brien’s wife allegedly shouted “[Expletive] the fisherman!”,,, When asked if the rumors about O’Brien and his wife were true, the manager wrote, “If you are referring to his being escorted off our property, spilling his beer, and his wife’s derogatory comments towards our business customers, yes.” >click to read<19:05
