Tag Archives: Alaska
Coast Guard drops dewatering pump to disabled fishing vessel taking on water near Icy Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard assisted a fishing vessel taking on water and disabled, six miles south of Icy Bay, Alaska, Wednesday. A Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew delivered a dewatering pump at about 9 p.m. to the 55-foot fishing vessel Elise Marie that was taking on water. The Elise Marie crew was able to use the pump to keep up with the flooding while they waited for further Coast Guard assistance. Watchstanders in the Sector Juneau Command Center received initial notification requesting assistance from Elise Marie via InReach device at approximately 7 p.m. Watchstanders directed the launch of multiple assets to assist, including a plane, a helicopter, and Coast Guard Cutter John McCormick. >Video, photos, click to read< 18:33
Alaska Supreme Court hears challenge to fish landing tax
Since the 1990s, Alaska has taxed seafood caught by factory trawlers and floating processors through the Fisheries Resource Landing Tax. Even though the fish is caught outside the 3-mile line in what’s considered federal waters, it’s often brought to Alaska fishing ports before loaded on cargo vessels and shipped overseas. But the Washington state company, Fisherman’s Finest, is now challenging the state’s tax in court, arguing it violates a pair of provisions of the U.S. Constitution that restricts coastal states from imposing tariffs or duties on goods brought into and out of a state. >click to read< 17:28
Coast Guard medevacs fisherman 100 miles off Cold Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced a man from a fishing vessel Tuesday approximately 100 miles northwest of Cold Bay. An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew hoisted the man at 6:55 a.m. and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services in Cold Bay for further transport to Anchorage. Watchstanders in the 17th District command center in Juneau received the request for the medevac from the fishing vessel Defender at approximately 7 p.m. Monday for a 26 year-old crew member who was experiencing eye and head pain. >click to read< 21:11
Scientists perplexed by this year’s low chum salmon numbers in Yukon River
The latest estimates aren’t just bad, they’re “absolutely dismal,” says Stephanie Quinn-Davidson, director of the Yukon River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission in Alaska. Every year scientists count fish as they swim upstream by Eagle, Alaska, on the way back from the ocean. Scientists manually review the data from the Eagle sonar. While it can be tricky, they can separate chum from other fish by size, speed, and direction of travel. This year the station’s fall chum estimate is 23,828 fish. >click to read< 08:47
Several Fisheries around Alaska asking for disaster relief – Five legislators ask Dunleavy for disaster declaration
Several fisheries around the state are asking for disaster relief from the state and federal government due to low returns, low prices due to the pandemic, and alleged mismanagement. Seafood processors are also struggling. Southeast Alaska is asking for disaster funds due to low coho returns and low prices on the heels of a disaster declaration in 2016 due to a crash in pink salmon numbers. >click to read< 10:36
For Alaska’s seafood processors, the Coronavirus pandemic has cost tens of millions
Heading into the 2020 fishing season, many people were concerned that seafood workers from out of state would bring COVID-19 to rural communities. Processing companies managed to keep the disease under control. but at a big cost. Now, economists are looking at that financial toll. To keep track of how the pandemic is shaping the seafood industry, economists at the McDowell Group have started to publish monthly briefs for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute. “It’s interesting to describe a crisis when you’re in the crisis, right? And that’s our situation,” said Garrett Everidge, an economist at the McDowell Group. >click to read< 15:15
Special report: Pebble, and the reality of life in the region for those without commercial fishing permits
Pebble Mine is a story of Alaskans and Native peoples being prohibited from using their natural resources. The mine is of tremendous significance to the Alaska people touched by it, but not in the ways that have been portrayed in media…incessantly. Among the thousands of articles, press releases, documentary-style videos, and advertisements written and paid for by Outside environmental activist groups and wealthy donors, none mentions the people whose lands and lives will actually be affected by the mine. While Alaskans love and care about their State, not all have had their voices heard. Many have been drowned out. Most of the general public outside these small remote communities are probably unaware that there even are other views about the mine, voices in support. It’s time they were heard. >click to read< 12:54
Coast Guard medevacs injured fisherman near Cold Bay, Alaska
The Coast Guard medevaced an injured fisherman approximately 40 miles west of Cold Bay, Alaska, Wednesday. At 2:30 p.m. an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew hoisted the injured man and transferred him to awaiting emergency medical services in Cold Bay for further transport to Anchorage. At 8:34 a.m., command center watchstanders received a medevac request from the 89-foot fishing vessel Atlantico for a 40 year-old crewmember who sustained a back injury. Video, >click to read< 22:17
Bizarre salmon season winds down short of state projections
On top all the other effects of the coronavirus pandemic, it’s been a strange year for Alaska’s commercial salmon fisheries. As the fisheries are winding down, the total landings are about 17 percent behind the projections statewide. The Copper River sockeye run was a flop, as was the chum run statewide, and the silver salmon harvest was down everywhere except Kodiak and Bristol Bay. Prices were down, too, and processors had the extra expense and responsibility of keeping workers healthy in remote communities at close quarters. >click to read< 22:14
Working Waterfront: Fifth-generation fisherman counts on sixth generation to take his place
Greg Veitenhans was destined to be a fisherman. His father fished, as did his father, going back five generations. And growing up in Gig Harbor, Veitenhans was surrounded by fishermen. “Back then everybody fished,” “When I was a kid that’s what you did; either you fished or you were too young to fish or you were too old to fish.”,,, He’s also fished up and down the West Coast for salmon, halibut, sardines, and squid, among other fish. Alaska has always been the go-to, however. “You can go to Alaska broke and you know you’re gonna come back with something. But you go to California broke, you may never come back; you may not have enough to even get home on,” Henry, now 20, first accompanied his father to Alaska at age 8, and has done so every summer since. Joey, now 18, began fishing at 10. At first, the Veitenhans boys were under the impression that they’d be going off for a fun family vacation with their dad, before realizing that it entailed hard work in the wet, cold Alaska weather. Excellent story!! >click to read< 15:42
Sexist much? Al Gross says it takes ‘cajones’ to do a job
In Al Gross’ latest radio ad, he says that in spite of what he has said on the record, he’s not really a liberal, but an Alaskan. He is walking back his previous statements, in which he clearly said he will join the Democrats, which would put Sen. Chuck Schumer in charge of the Senate. But then he gets confused about what it takes to be an effective senator. Gross says he’s a man who has “the cajones” to do the job of U.S. Senator. It’s an odd statement for someone as liberal as Gross, who stands with Planned Parenthood in favor of late-term abortion. Especially ballsy as a Juneau boy taking on a U.S. Marine who has served in Afghanistan. >click to read< 09:08
Russian war ships cause stir for US fishing fleet off Alaska
“We were notified by multiple fishing vessels that were operating out the Bering Sea that they had come across these vessels and were concerned, so they contacted us,” Coast Guard spokesman Kip Wadlow said. The Coast Guard contacted the Alaskan Command at Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, which confirmed the ships were there as part of a pre-planned Russian military exercise that was known to some U.S. military officials, Wadlow said. >click to read< 14:25
A Russian submarine surfaced near Alaska on Thursday during a Russian war game exercise, U.S. military officials said. It was unclear why it surfaced. >click to read<
Metlakatla Indian Community suing Gov. Mike Dunleavy and senior state officials over fishing rights
The state’s sole Native reservation says the commercial fishing permit system unfairly prevents local fishermen from harvesting on their traditional fishing grounds, a right Metlakatla says is guaranteed to the tribe by Congress. The tribe of Metlakatla is asking a federal judge to prevent the state from requiring commercial fishing permits for tribal members. The people of Metlakatla have called Annette Island home since the late 19th century. That’s when roughly 820 Tsimshian people migrated with an Anglican missionary from coastal British Columbia to the then-uninhabited islands south of Ketchikan. But they weren’t just after land for a settlement. “The Annette Islands would have been worthless without access to fish and its adjacent fisheries,” attorneys for Metlakatla wrote in a lawsuit filed August 7 in federal court. >click to read< 18:06
Alaska and B.C.’s salmon runs expected to be worst ever recorded
Salmon returns on the west coast look bleak this year. Alaska’s salmon returns have been so poor that some communities already are claiming fishery disasters. The socket salmon run on B.C.’s Fraser River is expected to be the worst ever recorded,, in Alaska, the Cordova City Council passed a resolution last week, asking the state to declare disasters for both the 2018 Copper River sockeye and chinook salmon runs and the 2020 sockeye, chum and chinook runs at the Copper River and Prince William Sound,, The Pacific Salmon Commission (PSC) says this year may turn out to be the worst for sockeye salmon in the Fraser River since tracking began in 1893, >click to read< 12:56
Alaska fishermen face ‘perfect storm’ of problems during Coronavirus pandemic, but state grants could help
On Friday, the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development announced that the COVID-19 small business grants program was being expanded. Starting Aug. 6, commercial fishermen across Alaska can apply for grants worth between $5,000 and $100,000. Before that date, fishermen were ineligible for help as they typically don’t have business licenses. Many in Alaska’s fishing industry need the assistance. Robert Venables, the executive director of Southeast Conference, said fishermen across the region had been reporting poor returns. “This year it’s been a perfect storm, the slump has continued. The catch is even worse than last year, by far,” Venables said. >click to read< 13:56
Trump admin Coronavirus task force urges Alaska to require masks for seafood plants and hot spots
The state should mandate masks, especially in seafood processing plants and places with high or rising case counts, to slow Alaska’s explosive coronavirus infection rates. That’s the recommendation of a July 26 report distributed to states by the Trump administration’s coronavirus task force,,, The update summarized the state’s largest COVID-19 outbreaks to date. The top four involve the seafood industry and together involve more than 350 people: 139 out of about 252 workers at the OBI Seafoods plant in Seward; 85 out of about 119 workers on the factory trawler American Triumph; 76 workers out of about 135 at the Copper River Seafoods plant in Anchorage; and 62 out of about 150 at the Alaska Glacier Seafoods plant in Juneau. >click to read< 09:49
Kuskokwim Bay Commercial Fishery Processing At Capacity
Seattle based E&E Foods is buying and processing the salmon on a ship anchored in Goodnews Bay. Chief Operating Officer Ken Eg says that the ship can handle 70,000 pounds of fish per day, and it’s often been buying more than that during recent openings. Eg said that about 70% of that poundage is sockeye salmon. The rest is divided between chum and kings, with coho expected to arrive by the beginning of August. The number of fishermen participating in the fishery has grown from 25 fishing the first openings, to 70. The majority are in Quinhagak, with the rest in Goodnews Bay. E&E wouldn’t disclose how much the fishermen are paid per pound of salmon, but called the price “competitive” and said that fishermen can get extra cash. >click to read< 12:05
United Fishermen of Alaska dismiss Al Gross, endorse Senator Dan Sullivan
The announcement comes as a bit of a body blow to the campaign of his opponent, Al Gross, who presents himself as a commercial fisherman from Petersburg. This is an endorsement that should have come easily for someone with an Alaska gill net permit. Many in the fishing industry are independent voters, and Gross also presents himself as an independent, although he is running on the Democrats’ ticket and with the Democrats’ resources and endorsement. Sen. Sullivan has demonstrated leadership and effectiveness in advancing the interests of Alaska’s fisheries and fishermen across the state, said UFA President Matt Alward. by Suzanne Downing, >click to read< 11:51
Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak crew medevacs an injured fisherman north of Kodiak Island
At approximately 12:45p.m., Sector Anchorage command center personnel received notification from the wife of the fishing vessel’s master requesting a medevac for an injured crew member. District 17 command center personnel directed the launch of an Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter aircrew to respond. At approximately 1:42 p.m., the aircrew landed on a nearby beach and further transported the man to local EMS. “Good communications from the boat, excellent flexibility and the captain’s expert seamanship enabled a very quick pick-up and transfer of the injured fisherman to medical care.” >click to read< 08:02
Harvesters remain resilient in facing economic challenges of Coronavirus
No one reading this needs to be reminded that we are in uncharted waters as thousands of Alaska fishermen set out to sea for the salmon season. As a fisherman with two young boys, I felt a deep sense of both privilege and responsibility as I set my nets in the glacier-fed waters of Taku Inlet in late June. Most fishing seasons the biggest questions are: Will the salmon come early or late? Will they be swimming deep or along the shoreline? This summer the questions are: Will Alaska’s independent fishermen financially survive the coronavirus? Will there be buyers willing to pay a decent price for their catch? Will fishermen get access to the personal protective equipment and testing that they need to avoid the spread of coronavirus? Will the long-fought Pebble mine be permitted while Bristol Bay’s fishing fleet is out risking their lives? By Tyson Fick >click to read< 14:47
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 13, 2020
Baywide daily harvest dropped below 2 million for the first time since July 4th. The total harvest is over halfway to the pre-season forecast swimming in at 25.2 million fish. Total escapement throughout the bay is now just over 12 million, and has now passed the pre-season escapement forecast. The total run in Bristol Bay so far this season is 38.4 million fish. Average fish per drift delivery was below 1,000 in every district of the bay yesterday. >click to read< 09:48
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 11, 2020
The run in Bristol Bay is over 30 million fish, 30.8 million to be exact. Total harvest baywide was 2.1 million yesterday, bringing the season’s harvest in Bristol Bay to 20.9 million fish. Total escapement so far this season across the bay is 8.8 million. Fish per drift delivery saw a bit of a swing yesterday. Ugashik fishers averaged over 2,500 fish per delivery, the Naknek-Kvichak saw an average of over 1,000 fish per drift delivery, but other districts were between 180 and 700 fish per delivery. audio report, Messages to the fleet, >click to read< 17:26
More uncertainty for Alaskan fishermen, ‘Devastating,’ meager chum salmon returns worry the fishing industry
“I have 35 years of experience and I’ve never seen a year this poor since 1988,” said Lars Strangeland, a gillnetter based in Juneau. “The market is extremely poor. We were looking at terrible prices wherever it goes.” The shutdown of restaurants and changes in international markets, all complicated by the coronavirus pandemic, is leading to less demand for chum salmon and roe. Strangeland is on the Board of Directors of United Southeast Alaska Gillnetters, and he said chum returns this year have been, “devastating.” “It’s unprecedented and staggeringly poor as well,” he said. >click to read< 13:07
1 dead, 2 rescued after boat capsizes near China Poot Bay
One person is dead and another two were rescued Wednesday from the waters of Kachemak Bay by commercial fishermen and a surfer when their boat capsized near the mouth of China Poot Bay.,, The crew of the Casino took two males on board, including the one being given CPR by Tillion. The Casino is faster and was able to get them back to the harbor more quickly, Hollis said. “Everybody responded very well,” Hollis said of Tillion, Linegar and his deckhand. Crew from the F/V Captain Cook, captained by Malcom Milne, brought the third person back to the harbor. >click to read< 09:23
New Co-Op Allows Fishermen From Four Villages To Participate In Kuskokwim Bay Commercial Fishery
A group of fishermen in Quinhagak has formed an organization to revitalize commercial salmon fishing in Kuskokwim Bay. Their group is called the Independent Fishermen of Quinhagak Cooperative. On Monday, June 29, there will be a 12-hour commercial opening in Kuskokwim Bay from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Fishermen are limited to six-inch mesh or less. It’s the area’s first commercial opening in five years.,, The board has approved 70 fishermen to participate and has limited the co-operative’s eligibility to fishermen residing in four nearby villages—Quinhagak, Goodnews Bay, Platinum, and Eek. >click to read< >click to read< 11:22
Salmon harvest coming in below forecast
Commercial harvests of Alaska’s iconic salmon are generally below expectation so far this season, particularly in the Copper River, where the preliminary catch to date includes 81,228 reds, 5,815 Chinooks and 1,296 chums. And overall for the drift gillnet harvesters and purse seiners in Prince William Sound, so far it is a smaller run that forecast, with a preliminary collective harvest of some 736,453 fish. That’s according to statewide data compiled by biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, who update their preliminary harvest report daily and post. >click to read< 09:42
How Coronavirus Is Threatening Alaska’s Wild Salmon Fishing Season
A Brooklyn winemaker travels north to Bristol Bay each summer to net the red salmon that support his family. This year he’s faced with a tough ethical and economic choice. Mr. Nicolson, 45, spends much of the year working at Red Hook Winery in Brooklyn, where he is the managing winemaker, but his main income is drawn from Iliamna Fish Company. The business, which he and two cousins own, sells Alaska red salmon directly to thousands of shareholders, most of them in New York and Portland, Ore., as well as to a few high-end restaurants and stores, including the Park Slope Food Co-op in Brooklyn. >click to read< 19:25
Alaska: Commercial fishermen struggle in coronavirus pandemic
“We tied the boat up, hoping and waiting for things to stabilize a little bit,” said Jim Hubbard, who has been commercial fishing for nearly 50 years. Hubbard’s vessel, Kruzof, has been docked for two months during the coronavirus pandemic. With many restaurants shut down or operating at a limited capacity, it wasn’t worth it to fish. “We learned that about 80% of our seafood goes to the restaurant trade and the species we target, more the commodity-based fish species. It’s really basically gutted our markets,” Hubbard said. “We’re not making money, tourist people aren’t making money, the restaurants aren’t making money, and it just keeps going down,” said Cory Harris. Harris owns the F/V Tribute and just returned to Seward from a recent fishing venture. He wants to make whatever money he can even if the prices aren’t great. >click to read< 11:05
Still slow going for Copper River opener, remains closed at least through Monday, May 25
Opening harvests of the 2020 Copper River commercial fishery, complicated by effort to keep the COVID-19 pandemic at bay, got off to a slow start for the first two 12-hour openers. The overall catch of Chinook and sockeye salmon came in way below forecast. The first two 12-hour periods brought processors an estimated 6,025 sockeyes and 3,255 king salmon, Copper River commercial fishery biologists said. The 372 deliveries from the first opener on May 14 included just 1,473 sockeyes and 1,552 Chinooks. Then on May 18, there were 412 deliveries, with 4,552 sockeyes and 1,703 Chinooks. The projected harvest for the second period alone had included 28,590 reds. >click to read< 16:16
‘We’re open’: Alaska businesses can operate at full capacity Friday, Dunleavy says
Alaska businesses can open at full capacity on Friday and sports can resume, Gov. Mike Dunleavy announced Tuesday evening. “Friday, we’re open for business across the state of Alaska,” Dunleavy said at a news conference. Alaska will enter phase three and four of the government’s five-phase reopening plan at 8 a.m. Friday. That means restaurants, bars, gyms and other businesses can fully open. All churches, libraries and museums can too. Sports and recreational activities can resume, Dunleavy said. It’s the governor’s latest major lift of coronavirus-related restrictions. Previously, certain businesses could only operate at 25% to 50% capacity. “It’ll all be open, just like it was prior to the virus,” Dunleavy said. >click to read< 10:29
