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UFA & Salmon Task
Force Update Joint Legislative Salmon Industry Task Force Bills on the move: HJR 34 Passed the Senate 4/19 and awaits transmittal to the Governor. SB69 will be heard in House Fisheries 4/26. SB273, SB286, SB315, SB322 in House Finance 4/28 SB281, SB282 in Senate Finance 4/28. HB419 was scheduled for Senate Labor & Commerce 4/22 – hopefully will reappear next week. For all Task Force bills status & committee hearings as of 4/22, with bill links, see bottom item #35. Status of Task Force Bills has been added to the website – see link at top of page: http://www.ufa-fish.org/taskforce/index.htm TAA Update Final Juneau workshop for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) Technical Assistance - Tuesday April 27th at Centennial Hall, Egan Room, 7:00 p.m. Deadline for Technical Training for AK residents is June 30. Fishermen living in Alaska are urged to contact the Marine Advisory Program at 1-888-788-6333, or visit the workshop Web site at www.taaworkshops.org to learn about workshops scheduled for their communities. In Anchorage call 786-6328 Alaska fishermen outside Alaska can obtain workshop schedules by calling Washington State University Extension at 1-800-477-4012. Fishermen who have fallen through the TAA cracks: National Emergency Grant Program: http://www.jobs.state.ak.us/neg/index.html UFA Update Table of Contents: 1. Long awaited US Oceans Commission releases report wins praise 2. Fishermen hail Area M findings / FSB Urged to take no action 3. ADF&G Commissioner appointed as State Liaison to Federal Subsistence Board 4. ADF&G West Behm Canal Herring Fishery Cancelled 5. Senator Lieberman questions Alaska river claim 6. Klukwan first to apply for herbicide permit under new state law 7. USDA Announces Pouched Salmon Buy for School Lunch – Deadline 5/14 8. US pushes 46 nation Earth Observing System 9. Bob Hall grows Seacomber fish business in Oakley, CA. 10. East Coast Fish Buyers object to new Federal computer filing rules 11. Blue Vision Conference - Next Wave of Ocean Activisim in DC July 11 - 13 12. Marine Mammal Research Consortium research finds stress indicator hormones 13. Sealaska may pay for illegal tree felling 14. Omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood improve brain function 15. WA: Anchorage Businessman to Bring State's Distinctive Cuisine to Seattle 16. FL: Look for plenty of Alaskan halibut in the fish counter this season… 17. WA: Garden Shed Alaska Fish All Natural Sprayable Fertilizer 9-4-4 18. Russia Caviar News – U.S. lists Beluga Sturgeon as Threatened 19. WI: Two suits claim farmed salmon sold as wild 20. OH: Wild-caught seafood suppers - More Alaskan fish is sold frozen for 21. SF: Salmon jeopardized by method used in run count, scientists say 22. BC Gets Failing Grade in Regulating Salmon farming 23. ASMI Alaska Seafood Supplier Online Directory 24. Board of Fisheries Crab Rationalization Committee to meet April 26-27, Anchorage 25. NMFS opens files on halibut season violations 26. Coast Guard Safety Alert – Wrong Tape for repacking liferaft 27. New GIS map data available 28. Alaska latest remote printing site for Oceangrafix up-to-minute charts 29. Federal Subsistence Board Work Session April 26, Anchorage 30. Federal Subsistence Board 2005 Draft Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program 31. Federal Register: RAC Seats Proposed rule – comment by June 1. 32. Fed Reg - NMFS closes BSAI Rock Sole/Flathead Sole Trawl until July 4 33. State Supreme Court rules in favor of State vs. Standing Stock Geoduck Farmers 34. AK Central Express Open House – Thursday, May 6th, Anchorage 35. STATUS OF TASK FORCE LEGISLATION 1. Long awaited US Oceans Commission releases report wins praise ADN News Story: People loving oceans to death Sweeping new ecosystem-based management is needed, commission says. http://www.adn.com/front/story/4985851p-4913934c.html Fairbanks News-Miner: Commission finds Alaska fisheries managed better than others http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~26794~2098238,00.html UFA Press release: UFA welcomes US Oceans Commission Report “The USCOP report notes that Alaska is potentially a suitable model for national fishery management and UFA agrees.” http://www.sitnews.us/0404Viewpoints/042204_uaf.html
Governor: State will review Oceans Report http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=926 Stevens backs ocean policy report PRAISE: Senator criticized similar report last year, says details differ substantially. .. http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4988987p-4917126c.html Oceans Commission website: http://oceancommission.gov/welcome.html 2. Fishermen hail Area M findings Federal subsistence managers should stay out of the dispute over commercial salmon fishing in Area M this summer, a new and eagerly awaited report says. Commercial fishermen were cheered by the findings of the Federal Subsistence Board staff. http://www.adn.com/alaska/story/4988989p-4917101c.html Federal Subsistence Board urged to take no action in False Pass fishery http://www.news-miner.com/Stories/0,1413,113~26794~2098231,00.html AREA M: Interior secretary thinks takeover of False Pass fishery would be last resort. http://www.adn.com/business/story/4992102p-4920401c.html USFSB Staff report: http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/pdf/040415EJreport.pdf FSB Public Meeting (4/27) Notice: http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/news04/r032504.html 3. ADF&G Commissioner appointed as State Liaison to Federal Subsistence Board Secretary of the Interior Gale Norton, with the concurrence of the Secretary of Agriculture, has approved the appointment of Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Kevin Duffy, or his designee, to serve as a liaison to the Federal Subsistence Board. “I appreciate the State’s participation on the Board at a policy level,” Secretary Norton said. “The important contributions by the State Liaison will assist in the successful resolution of the challenging issues facing the members of the Board.” The appointment follows Gov. Frank Murkowski’s request that a representative of the State be appointed as a nonvoting member of the Board. http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/news04/r042004.html 4. ADF&G West Behm Canal Herring Fishery Cancelled The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that the Southeast Alaska, West Behm Canal sac roe gillnet herring fishery near Ketchikan will not open for the 2004 season. Aerial surveys, dive surveys, and test fisheries conducted through Friday, April 16, have not indicated enough build up of mature herring or miles of spawn to conduct a fishery…http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/news/2004/4-19-04nr.php 5. Senator Lieberman questions Alaska river claim Sen. Joe Lieberman is challenging the Interior Department's decision to recognize Alaska's ownership of a riverbed in the Yukon Flats National Wildlife Refuge. Alaska was the first state in the nation to claim a riverbed using a Bush administration policy adopted in December 2002. The administration at that time modified its procedures to encourage states and others to ask for "recordable disclaimers of interest"--essentially statements that the federal government has no ownership interest in certain properties. 6. Klukwan first to apply for herbicide permit under new state law Klukwan, Inc. has re-submitted a controversial permit application to the state to spray herbicides this summer on 2,000 acres of its land near Hydaburg… Its request two years ago to use helicopters to apply the chemicals was denied by the Division of Governmental Coordination, which determined the spraying would be harmful to subsistence harvests such as fish, wildlife and plants. For Chilkat Valley News story see: http://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/archive/2004-14-4.html 7. USDA Announces Pouched Salmon Buy for School Lunch – Deadline 5/14 The Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) of the Department of Agriculture (USDA) today announced its intent to purchase approximately $1 million of pouch pink salmon produced from the 2003 pink salmon harvest. USDA plans to distribute the pouch salmon to participants in the National School Lunch Program. http://www.ams.usda.gov/lscp/fish/8i00%20INITAL%20FPR.txt 8. US pushes 46 nation Earth Observing System The goal, as Lautenbacher explained in a joint interview with Leavitt, is no less than "bringing together all the systems we have into one global network" that will monitor changes in the oceans, the atmosphere and everything in between. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A32839-2004Apr21?language=printer NOAA press release: http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2004/apr04/noaa04-038.html 9. Bob Hall grows Seacomber fish business in Oakley, CA. "The quality of the fish that we sell is a step above the normal industrial fish you purchase at the supermarket," Hall said. "The process we use is all innovative and the fish is not raised on farms but actually caught wild." Worst thing about it: "Nobody knows us yet," Hall said. "The product is so new to the area that people have to get used to the way we are selling the product."
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/local/ 10. East Coast Fish Buyers object to new Federal computer filing rules
http://www.newbernsj.com/SiteProcessor.cfm?Template=/ 11. Blue Vision Conference - Next Wave of Ocean Activisim in DC July 11 - 13 http://www.tidepool.org/original_content.cfm?articleid=114330 12. Marine Mammal Research Consortium research finds stress indicator hormones Fecal stress hormones may hold the key to determining when a population is in trouble and when it is on the mend. The scoop on stressed sea lions is contained in a recently published paper… http://www.marinemammal.org/2004/stressed_out.php 13. Sealaska may pay for illegal tree felling State officials say 36 trees were cut too close to fish streams… http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/041604/sta_sealaska.shtml 14. Omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood improve brain function Citing new evidence that the omega-3 fatty acids found in seafood improve brain function in middle aged people and actually lower the risk of mental impairment as people age, the U.S. Tuna Foundation (USTF) today reminded the public that canned tuna is not only good for your heart but is a tasty and affordable "brain food" for people of all ages. http://www.news-medical.net/view_article.asp?id=606 15. WA: Anchorage Businessman to Bring State's Distinctive Cuisine to Seattle …Anchorage businessman Andy Moussouras is taking halibut, smoked salmon and reindeer sausage south in Alaska sandwiches. Alaska's Gourmet Subs beat out competitors such as Subway to win a contract from the Washington State Ferries system to serve sandwiches, pizza and pasta on Seattle's Colman Dock for up to 10 years, a ferry spokesman confirmed.
http://afjournal.yellowbrix.com/pages/afjournal/Story.nsp? 16. FL: Look for plenty of Alaskan halibut in the fish counter this season… The season runs to November for the controlled resource. And while talking Alaska, none of the salmon from that part of our world are in danger either. So eat up. It's good for you and the economy…
http://www.theledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/ 17. WA: Garden Shed Alaska Fish All Natural Sprayable Fertilizer 9-4-4
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/nwgardens/170049_ 18. Russia Caviar News – U.S. lists Beluga Sturgeon as Threatened http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2004/04/22/012.html 19. WI: Two suits claim farmed salmon sold as wild Two Madison men say they've been deceived into thinking they were buying wild salmon when they were really getting farm-raised fish, and they've filed separate but similar lawsuits in Dane County Circuit Court. http://www.madison.com/wisconsinstatejournal/biz/72468.php 20. OH: Wild-caught seafood suppers - More Alaskan fish is sold frozen for convenience If you want a light meal, high in protein, not too many calories, seafood's a good choice. But what if it's frozen, either at the store or at home? http://www.cincypost.com/2004/04/21/alas042104.html ASMI Cook it Frozen promotion: http://www.alaskaseafood.org/marketing/retail/recipes.htm 21. SF: Salmon jeopardized by method used in run count, scientists say "We should not open the legal door to maintaining salmon only in hatcheries," he said. "The science is clear and unambiguous. As they are currently operated, hatcheries ... cannot protect wild stocks." http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2004/03/26/MNGQG5RO7F1.DTL 22. BC Gets Failing Grade in Regulating Salmon farming A report from the Georgia Strait Alliance http://www.georgiastrait.org/BCFishFarmReportCard.pdf 23. ASMI Alaska Seafood Supplier Online Directory We get asked for this link almost as often as we are asked “why doesn’t ASMI have a directory of Alaska seafood suppliers”…so here we repost by popular demand:
http://www.alaskaseafood.org/supplier_directory/supplier_ 24. Board of Fisheries Crab Rationalization Committee to meet April 26-27, Anchorage The Board of Fisheries' Crab Rationalization Committee plans to meet in Anchorage April 26-27 at the Fourth Avenue Theater, 630 West Fourth Avenue.
http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/news/ 25. NMFS opens files on halibut season violations The National Marine Fisheries Service has released facts and figures for the 2003 halibut season fishing violations. The Alaska Enforcement Division opened a total of 1,102 cases last year, including numerous subsistence violations.
http://www.homernews.com/stories/041504/sea_041504 NMFS Enforcement report mentioned in the article is at:
http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/ole/Alaska/enfreports/ 26. Coast Guard Safety Alert – Wrong Tape for repacking liferaft http://www.uscg.mil/d17/m/fva/lrrepackapr03.pdf Fishing Vessel Safety site: http://www.uscg.mil/d17/m/cfvs.shtml 27. New GIS map data available Created from the Extracted Vector Shoreline Series, a topologically clean shoreline file depicting the Mean High Water line at the best scale for the continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, and U.S. territories. These data are available as a free 55 MB Download. http://www.gisuser.com/content/view/1309/ 28. Alaska latest remote printing site for Oceangrafix up-to-minute charts Through the success of the remote printing project, OceanGrafix, in cooperation with NOAA, can now provide mariner’s through out Alaska with fully-corrected and up-to-date nautical charts, which has never been possible, until now. Marine Exchange of Alaska - www.mxak.org Marine Exchange announcement: http://www.mxak.org/default.cfm?res=617&id=83 29. Federal Subsistence Board Work Session April 26, Anchorage The Federal Subsistence Board will hold a work session on Monday, April 26, 2004 at 1:30 p.m. in the Office of Subsistence Management Conference Room at 3601 C Street, Suite 1030, Anchorage 30. Federal Subsistence Board 2005 Draft Fisheries Resource Monitoring Program Proposals Recommended for Preparation of Investigation Plans… http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/05drftfr/index.html 31. Federal Register: RAC Seats Proposed rule – comment by June 1. http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/pdf/CouncilMembershipPR.pdf FSB Press release: http://alaska.fws.gov/asm/news04/r041604a.html 32. Fed Reg - NMFS closes BSAI Rock Sole/Flathead Sole Trawl until July 4
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/14mar20010800/ 33. State Supreme Court rules in favor of State vs. Standing Stock Geoduck Farmers No news stories found –the decision is temporarily posted at: http://www.state.ak.us/courts/ops/sp-5795.pdf 34. AK Central Express Open House – Thursday, May 6th, Anchorage 4:00 – 6:00p.m. Alaska Central Express, 5901 Lockheed Avenue ACE currently serves key supply centers to Alaska’s SEAFOOD industry including: Aniak, Bethel, Dillingham, King Salmon, Pt. Heiden, Sand Point, Cold Bay, St. George, St. Paul, Dutch Harbor, Kodiak, Juneau, Sitka, Ketchikan, Petersburg, and Wrangell. RSVP to akcfood2004@yahoo.com or (907) 563-0154.
COMMITTEE HEARINGS SCHEDULED:
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