United Southeast Alaska Gillnetter’s Association

STATE PRIMARY ELECTION IS AUGUST 19 (TUESDAY).  Be sure to educate yourself on the candidates and issues.  If you are not able to vote in person, be sure to vote absentee or early.

Here is a timeline you should be aware of:

June 19,2014.  You can apply for an absentee ballot today

August 4, 2014 Early and absentee in-person voting begins at many locations throughout Alaska.

August 4, 2014 Civilian voters may begin to apply for absentee ballots by electronic transmission.

August 9, 2014 Deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by mail.

August 18, 2014 5:00 p.m. Alaska Standard Time Deadline to apply for an absentee ballot by electronic transmission.

August 19, 2014 Primary Election Day – Polls open from 7:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m.

August 19, 2014 Deadline for absentee by-mail ballots to be postmarked.

The form for an absentee ballot is here.  More information of absentee and early inperson boting is here

Cruiseship Tracklines.  The tracklines used in Lynn Canal and Stephens Passage in 2013 will be used again in 2014.  Discussions were held about making a minor adjust met but in the end the pilots decided to make no changes this year.  Feedback on how this works is appreciated.  Tracklines are here and paper copies are available at Auke Bay and Aurora harbormaster  offices, Douglas Harbor, and Harris Harbor.

Safety.  USCG – replacement parts for emergency equipment (7/9).  The US Coast Guard issued a Lessons Learned  reminding mariners that failure of seemingly minor items can sometimes create a catastrophe.  Courtesy Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Safety.  USCG – failure of seemingly minor items (7/9). The US Coast Guard issued a Lessons Learned reminding mariners that failure of seemingly minor items can sometimes create a catastrophe. Courtesy Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Recent Study Seeks to Reduce Injuries on Industrial Fishing Vessels (6/27).  Researchers with a major university have delved into the data to try and figure out what is causing injuries aboard large seafood harvesting and processing vessels in the Bering Sea.  KDLG Audio

Alaska Board of Fisheries Announces for the 2014/2015 Meeting Cycle Agenda Change Request Deadline

For Immediate Release:  July 24, 2014

CONTACT: Glenn Haight, 907-465-6095

The Alaska Board of Fisheries (board) announces the 2014/2015 meeting cycle agenda change request (ACR) deadline of August 18 is approaching.

At its October 15–16, 2014 Work Session in Juneau at the Centennial Hall Convention Center, 101 Egan Drive, the board will review ACRs for possible scheduling in the 2014/2015 meeting cycle.

ACRs are submitted by the public, advisory committees, and agencies for proposals on regulatory areas not set for deliberation in the current meeting cycle. In order for the board to approve and schedule an ACR for later in the meeting cycle, the ACR must meet one of the following criteria as established in 5 AAC 39.999.

·       For a fishery conservation purpose or reason

·       To correct an error in a regulation

·       To correct an effect on a fishery that was unforeseen when a regulation was adopted.

ACRs are due to Boards Support Section by 5:00 p.m., August 18, 2014 at the Boards Support Section office in Juneau. A postmark is NOT sufficient for timely receipt. ACR forms may be found online and then submitted by mail or fax, at:

Online:            http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.forms

Mail:               ADF&G, Boards Support Section

P.O. Box 115526

Juneau, AK 99811-5526

Fax:                 (907) 465-6094

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Seafood Harvesters Applauds Senate Action In Support of America’s Commercial Fishing Fleet (7/24)

Senate Agreement Could Avert Massive Fish Cliff for Economically-Critical Industry

Washington, DC – The Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation favorably reported S. 2094 (the “Vessel Incidental Discharge Act,” or VIDA), introduced by Senator Begich and 30 co-sponsors, to deal with discharges incidental to the normal operation of a commercial fishing vessel on Wednesday. Seafood Harvesters of America President Chris Brown applauds the Senate for taking action on the measure, which has earned wide bi-partisan support:

“Harvesters urge the full Senate to consider S. 2094 on the floor as soon as possible, which will level the fishing field by extending an existing discharge exemption granted for recreational vessels to commercial vessels. If Congress fails to get this legislation signed into law before the end of the session, when the moratorium expires, it could push our economically-critical industry to the edge of a massive ‘fish cliff’.

“Congress must ensure that US commercial fishermen can continue to sustainably harvest our seafood resources for the benefit of American consumers, coastal communities, and the thousands of small business around the country that depend on continued access to US seafood. By advancing this important legislation the Committee has demonstrated its commitment to protecting not only the aquatic environment, but also the commercial fishing industry throughout the United States that depends on clean water for its livelihood.”

Background:

• Congress.gov: S.2094 – Vessel Incidental Discharge Act – https://beta.congress.gov/bill/113th-congress/senate-bill/2094/text

Seafood Harvesters of America (“Harvesters”) is an umbrella association representing 14 commercial fishing organizations from Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico north to New England. For more information, please visit seafoodharvesters.org or contact (202) 888-6296.

Empire Editorial: Senators promise more foreign workers for Alaska (6/27).  Last week, the office of Sen. Lisa Murkowski sent out one of its regular legislative updates. This one was more triumphant than most coming out of the stagnant 113th Congress. It declared that Murkowski (with the help of Sen. Mark Begich) had successfully inserted language reviving the J-1 visa program into a funding bill for the U.S. State Department.

State fisheries columnist Laine Welch, writing from Kodiak, remarked in part that “Alaska seafood processors will soon get relief.”

We weren’t aware that multibillion-dollar seafood corporations needed help to make money.  More

My Turn: Too many jobs, not enough Alaskans (7/2).  I am writing on behalf of the Pacific Seafood Processors Association, a trade organization established in 1914, whose member companies process the majority of the seafood produced in Alaska each year.

I was sorry to read that the Juneau Empire believes businesses in Alaska suffer when seafood processors use nonresident labor. The more than 100 seafood processing plants in Alaska are a critical economic driver for dozens of Alaskan coastal communities, providing markets and jobs for Alaskans, and landing tax revenues for the state and local governments. As I write this, there are hundreds of family-owned small boats throughout Alaska fishing for salmon and unloading at our docks.  More

BC Mine Project Raises Concerns Over Salmon Habitat (7/23)
A Canadian government environmental report on a proposed open pit mine northwest of Stewart, British Columbia, is raising concerns from Southeast Alaska fishing interests, who say the project could cause significant harm to salmon habitat.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency’s comprehensive study report on the Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell project, released on July 21, says the agency is satisfied that identified mitigation measures for the project would address potential environmental impacts.

These impacts include, according to the report, potential impacts in Alaska on fish, recreational and commercial fisheries and human health from changes to water quality and quantity in the Unuk River.

The Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, on July 21 opened its fourth and final public comment period on the environmental assessment, which will run through Aug. 20.

The lengthy assessment centers on a proposal from the junior mining company Seabridge Gold Inc., to develop a gold, copper, silver and molybdenum mine, planning the Unuk and Bell-Irving watersheds some 65 kilometers northwest of Stewart, British Columbia. Seabridge Gold, with offices in Toronto, and Smithers, British Columbia, has identified the KSM project as one of the largest undeveloped gold projects in the world, with proven and probable reserves of 38.2 million ounces of gold and 9.9 billion pounds of copper.

The headwaters of the Unuk and Mass rivers lies just 19 miles from the Alaska border. The Unuk, which begins in Canada and flows into Alaska’s Misty Fjords National Monument, is a key Southeast Alaska king salmon and eulachon river. The Nass is British Columbia’s third largest salmon river, producing fish harvested by both Canadians and Alaskans.

A copy of the Canadian government’s assessment is online at http://ksmproject.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/07/34-081-CEAA_KSM_EN_R4_X4.pdf.

Public comment on the project may be submitted by Aug. 20 to KSM Project, Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency, 410-701 Georgia Street West, Vancouver, British Columbia V7Y 1C6 More information is at http://www.ceaa-acee.gc.ca/050/details-eng.cfm?evaluation=49262,http://salmonbeyondborders.org/ and http://bit.ly/KSMmegamine.

http://fnonlinenews.blogspot.com/2014/07/bc-mine-project-raises-concerns-over.html?utm_source=FN+Online+072314&utm_campaign=fnonline&utm_medium=email

Hatchery chum salmon forecast close to 2013 levels (6/25).  The first returns of hatchery chum salmon are showing up in fishing nets in Southeast Alaska this month. Summer chums play an important part in the early season for net fishing fleets and the troll fleet as well. Hatchery officials are forecasting runs close to last year’s.

A little lost in last year’s record setting pink salmon haul in Southeast was a strong catch for chum salmon. Last year seiners, gillnetters and trollers brought in 12.5 million dogs in the region. The bulk of those fish start their lives in hatcheries around the Panhandle and most return earlier in the summer than pinks. Fishery managers expect nearly as many chums this year but nowhere near last year’s record setting pink catch.  More

Hatchery in Kake closing June 30th (6/25).  A hatchery in the Southeast community of Kake is closing its doors this month and has released its final chum, pink and coho salmon. There’s still some hope that a larger regional hatchery organization can figure out a way to restart the salmon enhancement program there.

The Gunnuk Creek Hatchery started in 1973 as a Kake High School project. Community members formed a non-profit and incorporated in 1976.  More

Fishing vessels use drive-down float at Ketchikan harbor (7/17). The City of Ketchikan’s new drive-down float at Bar Harbor has seen steady use since opening on June 17.  More

Despite higher fees, Sitka’s ANB Harbor a welcome upgrade (7/3).  Marcus Lee of Leecraft made the new archway and sign that now marks the entrance to the marina, installed last Wednesday. He said it took him about three weeks to build.

“It’s all done with a Scotch Brite and a grinder and the colors are stained, except for the mountain, which is is stainless and it’s heat colored, with a torch,” said Lee.

In 2012, the Alaskan legislature approved up to $4.25 million in state funds to help completely rebuild Sitka’s Alaska Native Brotherhood Harbor. City staff estimate the total cost of the job was $7.5 million.  More/KCAW Audio

Icicle, Scanbio PE owner seeks to raise $850m for new fund (7/21).  Paine & Partners, the private equity owner of Icicle Seafoods and Scanbio Marine Group, is in the fund-raising process for its fund IV, down 29.2% on the level of its fund III.

The new fund is expected to raise $850 million, according to a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), down from the $1.2 billion raised in 2007 for the private equity’s third fund.  More

Summer king fishing opens with record hopes (6/30).  If you’ve noticed a lot of empty slips in local harbors today, there’s a reason for that: Tuesday (7-1-14) is the first day of the summer troll opening for king salmon — and Southeast fishermen are looking at a record high target harvest.

“This is just an extraordinary year,” says Fish & Game biologist Pattie Skannes.

Trollers will be going after more than 171,300 kings in this first opening. Skannes says it’s the largest target ever for the July opener.  More

Strong start to season for SE gillnetters (7/9).   For gillnetters in Northern Southeast, the season started off with lots of big, heavy fish and boats from around the region flocking north for a piece of the action.

In the first four weeks of fishing, record number of gillnet boats have fished in the Northern Lynn Canal, the area officially designated 15C. Last week, 240 boats were counted – and that’s up from last year record count of 190 boats for the same week. It also means that according to numbers from the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission, more than half of the total number of salmon gillnet permits in Southeast are being fished in the Lynn Canal these last two weeks.  More

Japanese fishermen visit Alaska for ideas on sustainability (7/22).  A group of Japanese fishermen is touring the Northwest United States to get an education in fisheries. The group’s first stop was Juneau.

37-year-old Fumihiro Sugawara is a chum salmon fisherman in Rausu, which is located in the northeast of Hokkaido Island in Japan. He’s been fishing for 16 years.

He and 12 other Japanese fishermen are visiting Alaska for the first time.  More/KTOO Audio

Whales may impact herring stocks’ recovery (7/18).  While whales are not to blame for the decline of herring in places like Lynn Canal and Prince William Sound, they may be keeping depleted stocks down.  More

Tracking salmon to their birth streams  (7/17).  Strontium is a trace element and mineral people use to make glow-in-the-dark paints and toothpaste for sensitive teeth. In research for his college degree, Sean Brennan used strontium’s unique qualities to track salmon in an Alaska river.

At Brennan’s Ph.D. defense at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, advisor Matthew Wooller praised Brennan’s ambitious plan and his execution of it up and down the many webs of the Nushagak River. The Nushagak, a river swelling with the bodies of salmon right now, drains the Nushagak Hills as well as the Alaska and Aleutian ranges. The Nushagak and all its fingers provide a path for salmon from their natal streams to Bristol Bay.  More

Herring return to Auke Bay (7/4).  At the end of June, herring returned to Auke Bay to spawn in significant numbers for the first time in more than 20 years — and though the ultimate success of the eggs remains to be seen, it’s a promising sign for those working to increase herring’s abundance in Lynn Canal and Southeast Alaska.  More
Welcome New Business Members Kito’s Kave and the Java Hus in Petersburg.

ADFG.  Southeast Fish Counts  Southeast Harvest

CALENDAR.
2014

Aug 18.  BOF ACR’s due

Aug 19.  Alaska Primary Election

Sep 23-25.  UFA Board Meeting, Anchorage

2015

Feb 23-Mar3.   BOF SE Finfish, Sitka

NEWS

Top Stories:  NSRAA update…Cruise ship tracklines the same for 2014…Silver Bay impacts… Coast Guard uses new vessel warning signal in Southeast Alaska

SAFETY

Live to Be Salty. When you live to be an old salt, you’ve heard it all. “If you fall in you’ll die of hypothermia anyway.” “PFDs get tangled in lines and nets and pull you in.” “PFDs restrict my movement.” Awww, whale whiz. Modern PFDs are designed to stay out of your way and keep you alive. Wearing a PFD will extend your survival time in the water and give your crew a fair shot at fishing you out of the drink. So stop spewin’ crap and start wearin’ your PFD.  More

Cruiseship Tracklines.  The tracklines used in Lynn Canal and Stephens Passage in 2013 will be used again in 2014.  Discussions were held about making a minor adjust met but in the end the pilots decided to make no changes this year.  Feedback on how this works is appreciated.  Tracklines are here

Gastineau Channel Tender Operations.  We have received some complaints about cruise ship wakes while gillnetters are off loading in Gastineau Channel near DuPont.  If tendering operations are in progress, you are encouraged to respond to cruise ship “SECURITE” calls and let them know what is going on.

Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Industry Vessel Checklist Generator   give yourself a checkup before the season starts.  Contact Scott Wilwert for a free exam here in Southeast by the Coast Guard:  (907) 463-2248 or anthony.s.wilwert (at) uscg.mil

USCG – unprepared safety equipment (5/16).  The US Coast Guard issued a Safety Alert stating that some SABRE Emergency Escape Breath Devices (EEBDs)/Emergency Life Support Apparatus (ELSA) were found to be in an unprepared status. Masters with such devices on their vessels should ensure that the “Quick Fire” functionality on each of these devices is in its “Primed” state. Alert 06-14  Courtesy Bryant’s Maritime Blog

USCG – slips, trips, and falls (5/16).  The US Coast Guard issued a Safety Alert reminding owners and operators of small passenger vessels to be alert to the risk of slips, trips, and falls on their vessels and to take measures to mitigate those risks. Alert 07-14  Courtesy Bryant’s Maritime Blog

Safety Zone.  The Error Chain Gang (5/20).   I bet you have too much chain onboard. Boats can have anchor chain, chain for pennants and stoppers, chain for bridles and chain for a good catenary when you’ve got a long tow on the wire.

But there is one chain that every boat has onboard. That’s the error chain. Each link in the error chain is an event that contributes to an accident. They can be called contributing factors. An investigation after the accident will find them. The error chain can be just a single link where just one mistake can end in disaster or it can be many links where things all have to line up perfectly for the accident to happen.  More

USAG Insurance Requirements.  Vessels participating in the USAG program are required to have a smoke detector, bilge alarm, and an automatic oil stove cutoff.  Automatic stove cutoffs are available at a discounted USAG price from Mark Grant at Seattle Marine 206-285-5010 or 800-426-2783.    They have different sizes based on the size of your flue (the temperature sensors clamp to your stove pipe).  Thanks to Norm Hughes (aka Surf Fisheries Supply) for working with SEAMAR to get the discount.

Welcome New Business Members Kito’s Kave and the Java Hus in Petersburg.

STATE

BOF Email Subscription Lists  -SIGN UP.  The Board of Fisheries will begin distributing notices for meetings, regulatory changes, proposals, and call for proposals electronically for the upcoming 2014-2015 meeting cycle. Receipt of hard copies will be available only upon request. All users are asked to sign up to continue receiving the information.

Spring 2014 NSRAA Report by USAG Board member Dan Pardee (F/V SENTRY)

Deep Inlet Forecast: 1,170,000 Chums.  Range: 464,000 to 1,790,000

Due to excess DIPAC cost recovery money- NSRAA is requesting $2.5 million to cover CR needs at Deep Inlet and Hidden Falls.  This translates into $2.5 million more dollars in fish in the water for all three gear groups to target and harvest.  DIPAC did fund NSRAA CR at $2.5 million.  Basically, it means more money in our pockets!

Deep Inlet Schedule:

June 1-21: Chinook Management

Rotation: GN 2:1 SN

Gillnet fish on Monday, Tuesday and again on Thursday, Friday.

Mesh Restriction prior to 6/21 minimum mesh size of 6”

June 22-July 26: Chum Management

Rotation: GN 1:1 SN

Gillnet fish on 6/23 Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday thru 7/23

NO mesh restrictions.

July 27-September 27: Chum Management

Rotation: GN 45hr:45hr SN

Gillnet fish on 7/28 Monday, Tuesday and Saturday’s thru 9/27

NO mesh restrictions.

NSRAA Future Production Projects

1)    Gunnuk Creek and SE Cove near Kake:  It is highly likely that NSRAA will assume “ownership” of the permitted capacity of 55 million chums and will manage this project in the future after a default on debt by Kake and Gunnuk Creek Hatchery.  We could see good chum salmon returns to SE Cove as early as 4-5 years from now.  These fish are hidden falls stock and thus would return during June and July and could benefit the gillnet fleet by taking pressure off the district 15-C Amalga fishery.

2)    Crawfish Bay on the outside coast of Baranof Island is another potential release site that has received some blessings from ADF&G, NSRAA is applying for the necessary permits.  This has the potential of another 55 million chums; it is still in early stages of permitting and getting the “go ahead” from the USFS and other Federal agencies.  The timeline is uncertain as with all things involving Federal decisions.  NSRAA will actively continue to pursue this project.  These fish would be returning in August and could help to split up the troll fleet in Eastern Channel during the month of August.

Good luck & best wishes to our gillnet fleet this summer, see you on the water!  Dan Pardee

District 11/15/DIPAC  Forecasts.  On May 21, Juneau and Haines gillnetters had a joint teleconference with ADFG (Scott Forbes, Randy Bachman, and Dave Harris) and Eric Prestegard (DIPAC) to discuss the 2014 season.  Presentations from the teleconference are attached.

Small hatchery king release on schedule in Petersburg (5/30).  Some 200-thousand young Crystal Lake Hatchery king salmon are scheduled to be released Friday, May 30 into Frederick Sound near Petersburg.

The fish were held in a temporary rearing pen near the mouth of City Creek three miles outside of downtown Petersburg, for the past month and a half. That’s in the hope that some of the kings will return to spawn at that spot several years from now.  More

Bulldog reporter Tkacz dies at 61 (5/30).  Bob Tkacz may not have always been well-liked, but he was always respected, according to those who knew the longtime reporter.

Tkacz was found dead Tuesday evening in his Fourth Street office in Juneau. He was 61.

Lt. David Campbell with the Juneau Police Department reported there were no immediate signs of foul play and nothing that indicated he died of unnatural causes; there were indications of medical issues, but no further details could be shared.  More

Chieftain Metals Forced by Ontario Securities Commission to Correct 2013 Annual Information Form and Retract Corporate Presentation (6/2). On April 28, 2014, the Ontario Securities Commission (OSC) notified investors on its Refilings and Errors List that Chieftain Metals Corp. was non-compliant in its mineral project disclosure. On the same day, Chieftain Metals issued a corrected Annual Information Form noting that the report had been revised “in connection with a continuous disclosure review by the Ontario Securities Commission.”

“Chieftain has a history of selective and self-serving public statements, some based on pie-in-the-sky predictions, that do not provide a complete and accurate picture of the proposed Tulsequah Chief mine to potential investors,” said Chris Zimmer of Rivers Without Borders. “The Tulsequah Chief project has serious risks and uncertainties such as opposition by the Taku River Tlingit First Nation, high levels of contaminants in the copper ore, unresolved problems with concentrate sales, potentially expensive long-term environmental liabilities, and ongoing violations of its waste discharge permit and the Canadian federal Fisheries Act. We applaud the OSC for forcing Chieftain to comply with disclosure laws and provide more accurate information.”  More

 FEDERAL

Coast Guard uses new vessel warning signal in Southeast Alaska (5/29).  Boats that get a little too close to cruise ships and ferries in Southeast Alaska this summer might get to see and hear a new warning signal used by the U.S. Coast Guard.

The signal is fired from a 12 gauge shotgun and will be used when boaters do not respond to a Coast Guard vessel’s lights, sirens or radio.

Ensign Dwight Schaffer, assistant chief of enforcement with the Coast Guard in Juneau, says the signal looks and sounds like a firework. “It’s a bright orange flash with a loud bang. It’s definitely bright and it’s significant in volume so it’s definitely a good tool to get the boater’s attention.”  More

RISK MANAGEMENT Adequate vessel insurance protects owner financially (5/16). Fishing vessel owners need to protect themselves financially by engaging in risk management that takes into consideration a number of issues that could cost them millions of dollars in lawsuits, says insurance company executive Chris Trainer.

Speaking at a forum on risk management at the recent Comfish 2014 commercial fisheries trade show in Kodiak, Trainer, chief executive officer of the Chinook Insurance Group in Seattle, cited a number of examples of millions of dollars in claims awarded due to injury and death of fish harvesters, and pollution incidents.  More

My Turn: Tongass prepares to enter new logging era (5/23).  Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack recently announced that the U.S. Forest Service will amend the Tongass Land Management Plan, also called the Forest Plan, the document that guides the work we do as an agency on the Tongass National Forest. After extensive public meetings and comments last year, the Forest Service determined that an amendment to the Forest Plan is needed to accomplish the transition within the next 10 to 15 years to a timber sale program on the Tongass that is based primarily on young-growth management while maintaining a viable timber industry.  More

MARKETING

Silver Bay Seafood’s will have an impact on the Bristol Bay Sockeye Fishery This Season (5/31).  A well-known fisheries journalist believes that Silver Bay Seafood’s will have a dramatic impact on the upcoming salmon fishery in Bristol Bay. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story.  KDLG  Audio  John Sackton Video (5/29) 2min 58 sec

US salmon prices appear poised for a summer freefall (5/21).  The seasonal fall in salmon prices is likely to kick in despite the strong salmon prices this winter, based on stable supply and expanding demand.  Video

Ocean Beauty eyes plant upgrades on back of tax credit expansion (5/19).  Alaskan salmon and herring processors are poised for potentially game-changing upgrades in coming years thanks to a new bill passed last month.

The Senate Bill 71, passed last month, opens up new opportunities for canned sockeye, byproducts and herring, by expanding eligibility to the salmon product development tax credit.

For the first time, processing plant investments into value-added herring products will now qualify for the credit.  More

ASMI launches grassroots marketing campaign targeting the ‘uber athlete’ (5/23).  The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) is in the midst of launching a $1.2 million special post-Lenten Alaska canned salmon retail promotion project at the request of the industry, in light of the huge influx of canned pink salmon last year.

“It was the large harvest that happened last year [that prompted this],” Larry Andrews, ASMI retail specialist, told Undercurrent News. “The salmon processors came in and asked us ‘what can you do?’”

The campaign, leading with the bold slogan “Our product may not be pretty, but sometimes staying healthy isn’t”, targets both current and traditional users of canned pink salmon as well as a specially-selected new user category — the uber athlete.  More

Why Won’t the Government Let You Eat Superfish? (5/22).  Prince Edward Island is Anne of Green Gables country, a pastoral wonderland on the east coast of Canada. It is a Technicolor quilt of clapboard houses and potato fields where each year thousands of tourists buy straw hats with Anne’s two red braids sewn into them. It does not look like the kind of place where a risky experiment might be taking place. But that changes when, on a wintry March morning, you arrive at the AquaBounty Technologies (ABTX:LN) facility on Fortune Bay. A chain link fence surrounds the perimeter, and signs warn would-be trespassers that they are being watched by eight motion-activated video cameras. This fish hatchery is like no other.  More

Canned salmon demand explodes in South Korea (5/22).  Canned salmon demand is growing fast in South Korea and is competing hard for share with tuna, said an executive from Silla, speaking at the Tuna 2014 conference.

Kwang-Se Lee, executive director of the South Korean fishing and processing company, said the canned salmon category has gone from practically nothing to $10 million in around six months.

Lee said the canned salmon category is expected to grow to $30m this year.  More

SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY

Abstract.  A whale alarm fails to deter migrating humpback whales: an empirical test (5/30).  Cetacean entanglements in fishing gear cost governments, fishermen and stakeholders millions of dollars a year, and often result in serious injury or death of the entangled animal. Entanglements have been implicated in preventing the recovery of some large whale populations. Acoustic deterrents on fishing nets are widely used to reduce incidental capture of dolphins and porpoises, but there is little evidence as to whether they effectively deter large whales.  More

ADFG.  Scientists Up their Ability to Track Salmon through DNA ‘Fin-Printing’ (5/29)

CALENDAR.
2014

Jun 13.  Comments due on federal fish subsistence proposals

Aug 18.  BOF ACR’s due

Aug 19.  Alaska Primary Election

Sep 23-25.  UFA Board Meeting, Anchorage

2015

Feb 23-Mar3.   BOF SE Finfish, Sitka