Tag Archives: Bristol Bay
Permit buyback at Bristol Bay: Good idea, but how/who to pay for it …
At a packed Expo gathering last month in Seattle, a majority of permit holders said that favored reducing the fleet. When the question was raised generally of do you support a fleet reduction, probably 2/3 of the folks raised their hands. Then when the question was focused down to how many of you prefer a buyback, that dropped to about a third. Audio, Read the rest here 17:46
Bristol Bay’s big run may hurt prices in Cook Inlet
Bristol Bay is expecting a sockeye salmon harvest topping 40 million fish next year, including the southern Alaska Peninsula. That’s bound to challenge harvesters and processors in ensuring quality, and have a chilling effect on prices for Upper Cook Inlet sockeyes. Read the rest here 13:34
Controversial Bristol Bay salmon permit buyback support falters
Bristol Bay salmon fishermen’s 81% support of studying the economic impact of a drift gillnet buyback program in Bristol Bay broke down into a general sense of opposition during a Pacific Marine Expo discussion on the program last week. Fishermen and regulators criticized the potential program’s cost, whether it is even necessary and the uncertainty of its ability to improve the fishery. Read the rest here 11:37
Bountiful crab season underway – Red king season winds down, boats shifting to Tanners
Crabbers had caught most of their Bristol Bay red king crab quota as of last Friday, harvesting 85 percent of the nearly 10 million pound quota, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Unalaska. Read the rest here 08:30
Scary lessons for Bristol Bay from recent B.C. mine-waste accident
For millennia, humanity’s insatiable appetite for valuable metals has degraded the integrity of ecosystems that provide habitat for the world’s wildlife, and the clean water and food humans need to thrive. During the past decade, proposals have emerged to develop several mega-mines on the North America’s West Coast on some of our largest free-flowing rivers that produce much of the world’s wild salmon. Read the rest here 07:52
OPINION: A better bay: Sustaining local fishing jobs
Here’s a few more numbers though. Since the inception of limited entry in 1975, local permit ownership has declined from 1,372 to 707. This loss stems from permit transfers to non-locals, but also and increasingly from the out-migration of permit holders from the region. Read the rest here 14:47
Mine waste storage and salmon runs, what could go wrong?
In a Northern Dynasty submission to the EPA, Knight Piesold, the firm which engineered the 
, weighed in. “Modern dam design technologies are based on proven scientific/engineering principles, and there is no basis for asserting that they will not stand the test of time.” Well, I guess the test of time was a pop quiz and Knight Piesold flunked it. They also engineered the failed dam at Northern Dynasty . Read the rest here 11:00
The Sockeye Run to Bristol Bay has Exceeded 30-Million
Commercial fishermen continue to harvest huge amounts of sockeye as the total run to Bristol Bay has exceeded 30-million. Monday’s sockeye harvest was just over 1-million sockeye. That pushes the season total to over 21.1-million. The district that is way out front in regards to,, Read more here 09:33
Over 20-Million Sockeye Harvested in Bristol Bay – Mike Mason
The sockeye harvest in Bristol Bay has topped 20-million as the run has exceeded the pre-season forecast. Sunday’s harvest was 954-thousand sockeye to push the season total to just over 20-million.,,Now looking at the latest escapement numbers. Read more here 11:06
Over 2-Million Sockeye Harvested Thursday in Bristol Bay – WHOO! Thats a lot of Dinners!
The sockeye harvest in Bristol Bay topped 2-million on Thursday to push the season total to 4.1-million. Over 860-thousand sockeye were taken in the Egegik District on Thursday,, Read more here 11:38:
Coast Guard conducts safety inspections as Bristol Bay fishery begins
Over the course of nine days, the inspection teams issued approximately 303 examination decals and inspected an estimated 20 percent of the anticipated 1,200 vessels taking part in the fishery. During their stay in Dillingham, Coast Guard vessel inspectors met with fishermen to discuss regulations. Read more here 22:50
Risky business this summer at Bristol Bay: Sockeye Market Analysis
Uncertainty best sums up the mood as fishermen and processors await the world’s biggest sockeye salmon run at Bristol Bay. In fact, it’s being called the riskiest season in recent memory in the 2014 Sockeye Market Analysis. The biannual report is done by the McDowell Group for the fishermen-run Regional Seafood Development Association. Read more here 17:05
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report for June 13, 2014
Friday’s Bristol Bay Fisheries Report includes reports about the ongoing Port Moller Test Fishery, the recent BB-RSDA Annual Meeting, and a new film about Bristol Bay’s commercial salmon fishery. The report also includes an update on how things look in the eastside districts. Listen to the report by Mike Mason 11:59
EPA Moves to Protect Bristol Bay from Pebble Mine
The Environmental Protection Agency today announced that they are using section 404 C of the Clean Water Act to halt development of the Pebble Mine in Southwest Alaska. Section 404 C authorizes the EPA to prohibit or limit projects that would have an unacceptable adverse impact on the environment. EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy made the announcement during a teleconference this morning. Read more here 15:43
Seattle Times Editorial: Vigilance required at Alaska’s Bristol Bay
A major partner in the proposed Pebble mine project in Alaska has withdrawn, but do not assume the giant mine is dead or Bristol Bay is safe. OPPONENTS of a massive gold, copper and molybdenum mining operation proposed for the headwaters of Alaska’s salmon-rich Bristol Bay are not letting their guard down. more@seattletimes 09:39
Fisheries Economist Gunnar Knapp on This Year’s Price Increase in Bristol Bay
The sockeye harvest this year in Bristol Bay came in short of the pre-season forecast and is low compared to the harvest’s recorded in recent years. However, the base price paid to fishermen jumped up by 50-cents. KDLG’s Mike Mason recently spoke with a leading fisheries economist in an effort to explain how the base price is set and why in increased this year. Listen @ kdlg
Commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay hauled in another 53-thousand sockeye on Wednesday to push the season total to above 15.5-million fish.
The District leading all others in harvest this season is the Naknek-Kvichak District where fishermen hauled in another 24-thosuand sockeye on Wednesday, continued@kdlg
94-Thousand Sockeye Harvested Monday in Bristol Bay
Another 94-thousand sockeye were harvested Monday in Bristol Bay as large portions of the setnet and driftnet fleets have wrapped up their effort for the season. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details.
Bill could open Bristol Bay along with many other areas in the U.S., to offshore drilling.
A bill making progress through the legislative ladder of the U.S. Congress is garnering some nervous attention in Alaska this month. House Bill 2231 could potentially open up the previously protected waters of Bristol Bay, along with many other areas in the U.S., to offshore drilling. The legislation is called the Offshore Energy and Jobs Act, and was approved by the House Natural Resources Committee earlier this month by a majority vote of 23 to 18. continued@bristolbaytimes
Over 1-Million Sockeye Harvested in Bristol Bay on Sunday
The daily harvest of sockeye in the massive Bristol Bay commercial fishery topped 1-million fish on Sunday. Through Sunday the total catch Bay-wide is over 3.2-million sockeye. continued@kdgl
Why Bristol Bay matters – Alaska and Washington, children of a common ancestor.
Alaska’s Bristol Bay fishery is a useful illustration of interwoven economies. The commercial sockeye salmon fishery is the most abundant and valuable on the planet, providing nearly half of the world’s wild catch. Washington is a direct beneficiary, home to nearly 800 Bristol Bay commercial permits. [email protected]
Coast Guard offers dockside safety exams to fishermen in Bristol Bay, Alaska
Examiners will arrive in Dillingham, King Salmon/Naknek and Egegik Monday. Fishermen can sign up for an exam by calling Coast Guard Sector Anchorage, at 907-538-4103, or by speaking directly with one of the Coast Guard examiners working in Dillingham, Egegik and King Salmon’s harbors. continued@ alaskanativenews.com
The biggest environmental decision facing Obama you’ve never heard of. Unless you are a Fisherynation follower!
Washington Post – If you want to get a sense of how contentious the decision is over whether the Obama administration is going to block a planned cooper and gold mine near Bristol Bay, consider this: the Environmental Protection Agency has just decided to allow the public another month to weigh in on a scientific review of the project they released a year ago. continued
Bristol Bay is no place to experiment: Assessment shows Pebble mine would be bad for Alaska
In many ways, Alaska was — and still is — a grand experiment. But our founding mothers and fathers would almost certainly not approve of the ways in which Alaska’s resources are now being experimented with, turning our valuable fishing and mining industries into a Petri dish for foreign developers to test their new technologies. continued
Powerhouse Bristol Bay, Alaska salmon fishery produces $1.5 billion in value-Accounts for nearly 20% of total value of all US Seafood exports, according to new report
ANCHORAGE, Alaska, May 9, 2013 — /PRNewswire/ — The Bristol Bay, Alaska commercial salmon fishery is the world’s most valuable wild salmon fishery and in total produces an astounding annual value of $1.5 billion, according to a new report, continued
Salmon or gold: Alaska ballot initiative puts Pebble Mine to a statewide vote
Opponents of the Pebble Project believe Alaskans should get a chance to choose which resource the state prizes most from Bristol Bay — gold or wild salmon — and they’re one step closer to bringing the issue before voters.
A little more than a year after voters out in the remote Lake and Peninsula Borough of Southwest Alaska rejected the Pebble mine project by narrowly approving a ballot initiative to ban open-pit mining in the watershed of Bristol Bay — home to one of the world’s most profitable wild salmon fisheries — mine opponents have submitted another initiative aimed at blocking the megaproject. Read More
Commercial fishermen applaud EPA’s peer review process for Bristol Bay assessment; mining and productive salmon stocks do not mix!
“People who are attacking this report aren’t criticizing the science but are trying to use any opportunity to attack the EPA,” said Bob Waldrop, executive director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association. “The agency was invited to Bristol Bay by Alaska Natives, commercial fishermen and others, and EPA is simply fulfilling its duties and responsibilities to live up to the Clean Water Act.” http://www.akbizmag.com/Alaska-Business-Monthly/November-2012/Commercial-fishermen-applaud-EPAs-peer-review-process-for-Bristol-Bay-assessment-Call-on-President-for-swift-action-to-protect-fishery-jobs-and-economy/
