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February 16, 2005 UFA Board Meeting - February 22-24, St. Ann's Parish Hall, 430 5th St, Juneau JuneauTown Hall Meeting on NOAA Aquaculture - Feb 23 - see Item #7 TAA Technical Training Schedule- see Item # 43. Contents 1. Bottom trawling ban off Alaska to widen 2. North Pacific Fishery Management Council Action to Protect Habitat Praised 3. Attn. Bristol Bay Fishermen - list of Unknown class members in the Class Action 4. Lands bill hits boiling point in Legislature 5. Salmon take breaks record 6. Draft law on fish farms alarms Alaskans 7. State of Alaska to Hold Town hall Meetings to Discuss the Growth of Finfish Farming 8. SF: Local chefs fall for Greek farmed fish 9. New applicants emerge for Fish and Game post 10. Fishermen plan to lease Kenai cannery 11. Kenai-Soldotna Advisory board members quit in protest 12. Upper Cook Inlet Fish forecast good 13. Ocean Conservancy Applauds Inouye-Stevens Marine Debris Legislation 14. Lawmakers announce new push to change Endangered Species Act 15. House approves fish labeling resolution 16. Geoduck fishery planned for clam farm sites 17. Fisheries Chief OK With Cut in Funding 18. Laine Welch's Fish Radio, sponsored by VesselConnection / Wireless Matrix 19. AK Legislature Fish Caucus on Live Harvest from Fish Traps, Bill Barker 20. Alaska wild salmon tops Subway products 21. Ice carvers to promote Alaska salmon in Boston 22. Alaska's Commercial Salmon Fisheries to be Assessed for MSC Recertification 23. Quotas set for 2005 halibut season 24. Impact of mine on Taku River questioned 25. New System Can Measure Productivity of Oceans 26. Chile attacks EU curbs on farmed salmon imports 27. BOF / NPFMC mtg. on Gulf Ratz, AI & CDQ Crab, Pollock - Feb 25, Anchorage 28. BOF Salmon Restructuring Panel - Feb 16, 1:00 pm and Feb 17, 8:30, Juneau 29. National Organic Standards Board Seeks Members for Seafood Task Force 30. BOF BSAI Crab Rationalization Committee Issues final report 31. USCG Best Practices Guide to Vessel Stability - 2nd Edition posted (65 pgs) 32. Halibut Commission seeks longliners for survey and experiments 33. IPHC Commercial halibut catch and effort for IPHC statistical areas on the B.C. coast 34. NOAA issues research plan, vision to guide future studies 35. NOAA Independent Reviews of Population Genetics in Alaskan Harbor Seals 36. Public Comment open on Initial Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) 37. ADF&G Run Forecasts for 2005 Salmon Fisheries and Review of 2004 38. DCED Salmon Targeted Grants: Western AK Set Net & Upper Yukon River 39. DCED Regional Seafood Development Associations 40. USCG Safety Zones at Kodiak rocket launch site through March 31 41. MPA Connections newsletter for January 2005 42. AK SEaGrant Announcement of Funding Opportunity for 2006–2008 43. UAF MAP - USDA TAA Technical Training workshop schedule: 44. ComFish Alaska's 26th Annual Trade Show & Policy Summit 1. Bottom trawling ban off Alaska to widen Huge area off Aleutian Islands, home to coral, seamounts A federal fishing council has moved to ban bottom trawling on more than 370,000 square miles off Alaska's Aleutian Islands to try to protect coral beds and other sensitive fish habitat…http://msnbc.msn.com/id/6967527/
Seattle P-I: Council votes to expand ban on Aleutian trawling Conservationists praise decision http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/211637_trawling11.html 2. North Pacific Fishery Management Council Action to Protect Habitat Praised The Marine Conservation Alliance (MCA) praised the action taken by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (Council) Thursday to protect fish habitat in the waters off the coast of Alaska. "We may not agree with all the steps taken by the Council," said David Benton, Executive Director of the MCA, "but we applaud the Council for taking action to protect essential fish habitat in Alaska."
http://www.sitnews.us/0205news/021205/021205_ &&& Fishery plan protects coral from trawl nets ALEUTIANS: Environmentalists, industry say proposal is a good one. http://www.adn.com/front/story/6149665p-6027857c.html 3. Attn. Bristol Bay Fishermen - list of Unknown class members in the Class Action Settlement for the Alakayak et all vs. All Alaska Seafoods Bristol Bay Sockeye salmon lawsuit. (This notice appeared in print but was not posted on the web so we obtained permission to post it on the UFA site. It is in Adobe Acrobat format that allows you to search by last name using the FIND command (CTRL key + F). http://www.ufa-fish.org/update/05/MediaNotice.pdf 4. Lands bill hits boiling point in Legislature The Alaska Municipal League and residents from across Alaska are begging legislators to put the brakes on the Murkowski administration's fast-track legislation to grant 260,00 acres of state land to the University of Alaska…
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021505/sta_ Land grants worry villages Murkowski proposal gives 260,000 acres to University of Alaska… Some Southeast
Alaska villages say they have a lot to lose from the Murkowski
administration's proposed bill giving 260,000 acres of state land to the
University of Alaska…
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021005/sta_ Kodiak vocal during legislative land hearing http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=1095 DNR UA Lands
page:
http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/ Map: http://www.dnr.state.ak.us/mlw/ualands/maps_se.pdf HB 130:
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_complete_bill.asp 5. Salmon take breaks record Southeast Alaska set a record last year for the number of king salmon taken, according to state biologists. The 2004 king salmon harvest of 484,000 fish was the highest Chinook salmon harvest on record since statehood and is almost twice the 10-year average. The overall commercial salmon harvest was also high, according to state officials… http://www.adn.com/front/story/6163528p-6044026c.html '04 chinook yield highest since statehood - twice 10-year norm Perhaps most encouraging to Southeast fishermen is that the ex-vessel value of the total harvest increased at least 40 percent over 2003, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game…
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021405/sta_ ADF&G 2004 Preliminary Salmon harvest:
http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/finfish/salmon/ 6. Draft law on fish farms alarms Alaskans …The federal government has control from three to 200 miles out, and some Alaska fishermen and politicians now worry that the U.S. Department of Commerce is about to unleash fish farming in the state's outer waters… http://www.adn.com/front/story/6176428p-6052735c.html 7. State of Alaska to Hold Town hall Meetings to Discuss the Growth of Finfish Farming Over the next several months, the State of Alaska will host three townhall meetings to seek the advice and listen to the concerns of Alaskans in response to growth in world aquaculture and its potential impacts and benefits to Alaskans and their communities… http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/news/2005/02-10-05_aquaculture.php Public Meetings : http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/special/fishfarming.php Juneau - Centennial Hall - Wednesday, February 23, 2005 1:30 pm – 4:30 pm – NMFS “Aquaculture: Potential for the Future” 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm – SOA “Alaska at the Crossroads” Anchorage - Hilton - Tuesday, March 1, 2005 Kodiak - Thursday, March 17, 2005 8. SF: Local chefs fall for Greek farmed fish ...The sexy branzino, a farmed sea bass with a firm, moist white flesh, is getting solo roles because of its price, freshness and easy availability… … "All of the same arguments for and against salmon farming can be made for other forms of saltwater farming," says Jay Harlow, publisher of the Seafood Monitor Web site… http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/02/16/FDG44B8THO1.DTL 9. New applicants emerge for Fish and Game post Eight candidates will be interviewed for the vacant post of Fish and Game commissioner, the executive director for the Alaska Board of Game said Tuesday… "He just wanted to see a broader range of applicants," was all Becky Hultberg, the governor's press secretary, would say about extending the application process, according to the Fairbanks Daily News-Miner.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021605/sta_ &&& This alphabetical list includes the four applicants previously named as candidates by the Joint Board Committee: David Bedford, McKie Campbell, Mark R. Davis, Robert Fithian, Eddie Grasser, Roland Maw, Doug Mecum, Wayne Regelin, Cal Skaugstad, Phillip F. Stoddard, Robin Taylor..
http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishgame/ 10. Fishermen plan to lease Kenai cannery Two fishermen are close to completing a lease to use a Kenai cannery as a profit-sharing seafood processor that they hope will handle a large portion of value-added fish, including Kenai Wild brand salmon…
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp? 11. Kenai-Soldotna Advisory board members quit in protest Saying the Alaska Board of Fisheries process has been hijacked by special interest groups, three members of the Kenai-Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee have resigned from the committee in protest.
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021105/ 12. Upper Cook Inlet Fish forecast good Biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are forecasting a moderate to good return of sockeye salmon to upper Cook Inlet in 2005…
http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/021105/ 13. Ocean Conservancy Applauds Inouye-Stevens Marine Debris Legislation The Ocean Conservancy thanks Senator Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii) and co-sponsor Senator Ted Stevens (R-Alaska) for introducing The Marine Debris Research and Reduction Act (S.362), an important and timely piece of legislation to help stem the tide of marine debris…
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/usnw/ 14. Lawmakers announce new push to change Endangered Species Act Four leading GOP House members and senators announced a joint effort Thursday to rewrite the Endangered Species Act to toughen up habitat and scientific provisions. Environmentalists immediately criticized the plan as the latest attempt to gut the landmark law… http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/02/10/state/n163537S72.DTL 15. House approves fish labeling resolution The state House of Representatives approved a resolution Monday, asking Congress to support labeling fish and fish products in the marketplace by country of origin and identifying whether the product is wild or farmed.
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/021505/sta_ For HJR 6 bill tracking
and text see :
http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp? Letter to USDA on COOL, signed by 40 Alaska Legislators: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/commentsifr/COOL164.pdf USDA COOL page: http://www.ams.usda.gov/cool/ UFA thanks the hundreds of members and supporters who responded to our action alert in the COOL public comment period. 16. Geoduck fishery planned for clam farm sites Aquaculture sites leased to geoduck clam farmers will be opened to commercial divers to clear out wild stocks. The one-time fishery is aimed at resolving a dispute over who gets to harvest wild geoducks on farm sites… http://www.adn.com/money/story/6166978p-6047005c.html ADF&G News release:
http://documents.cf1.adfg.state.ak.us/AdfgDocument. 17. Fisheries Chief OK With Cut in Funding Five months after a presidential commission recommended spending billions more to protect the nation's oceans, the White House has proposed a budget that would reduce money for fisheries and eliminate the Pacific Islands Regional Office in Hawai'i. 18. Laine Welch's Fish Radio, sponsored by VesselConnection / Wireless Matrix Recent topics: WED 02/16/05 AK salmon up for ?green label? recertification TUE 02/15/05 Salmon projections for 2005: forecast calls for bigger statewide catch MON 02/14/05 Prices for halibut quota shares are unbelievably high in prime regions FRI 02/11/05 Subway Restaurants in Midwest add Alaska salmon to their menus! THU 02/10/05 AK lawmakers propose huge hikes for fishing vessel licenses, permit renewals http://www.vesselconnection.com/cgi-bin/fish_radio.pl Sponsored by www.vesselconnection.com (with weather and other useful links) Also see Laine's Fish factor at http://www.kinyradio.com/fishfactor.html 19. AK Legislature Fish Caucus on Live Harvest from Fish Traps, Bill Barker Olga Moser Bay Seafood Producers AllianceThursday, February 17 11:00 – 12:00 Butrovich Room Alaska State Capitol. This meeting will be teleconferenced. Call (800) 395-5073 and ask the operator for the Fish Caucus. E-mail ian_fisk@legis.state.ak.us if you have any questions20. Alaska wild salmon tops Subway products As part of a natural diet campaign, Subway restaurants in the Midwest will be test marketing Alaska's fish. At eight locations in Minnesota, Iowa and Wisconsin, the sandwich chain will offer applewood-smoked Alaska salmon on salads, subs and wraps. Subway looked to Alaska's salmon because they say, beside being good for you, it's a renewable seafood resource…
http://www.ktuu.com/CMS/templates/master.asp? 21. Ice carvers to promote Alaska salmon in Boston GO WILD marketing effort gets help from pair of experienced artists. http://www.adn.com/money/story/6149658p-6027761c.html 22. Alaska's Commercial Salmon Fisheries to be Assessed for MSC Recertification (Juneau) -The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) today announced that Scientific Certifications Systems (SCS) of Emeryville, California has been awarded the contract to conduct the recertification of the Alaska commercial salmon fishery. The fishery was originally certified as sustainably managed by the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) in 2000, as the first fishery in North America to be certified… http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/news/2005/02-11-05_nr.php 23. Quotas set for 2005 halibut season The International Pacific Halibut Commission finalized quotas for the 2005 season at its annual meeting in British Columbia last month. There were no significant changes from the staff recommendations issued in December…
http://www.homernews.com/stories/021005/ 24. Impact of mine on Taku River questioned Juneau residents and tribal representatives say they remain worried about effects of the Tulsequah Chief mine on the Taku River despite assurances from Canada and U.S. officials over environmental procedures. http://www.adn.com/money/story/6140395p-6022519c.html 25. New System Can Measure Productivity of Oceans Researchers at Oregon State University, NASA and other institutions announced today the discovery of a method to determine from outer space the productivity of marine phytoplankton - a breakthrough that may provide a new understanding of life in the world's oceans. http://www.heads-up.net/topics/article.cfm?articleID=5664&topicID=1 26. Chile attacks EU curbs on farmed salmon imports Chile denounced UE curbs on imported farmed salmon from the South American country, and threatened to challenge Europe's action before the World Trade Organization… http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=36907 27. BOF / NPFMC mtg. on Gulf Ratz, AI & CDQ Crab, Pollock - Feb 25, Anchorage The Alaska Board of Fisheries (board) will meeting jointly with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (council) on Friday, February 25, 2005, at the Egan Convention Center, 555 W. Fifth Ave., Anchorage, Alaska. Agenda: http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetinfo/fcal.php 28. BOF Salmon Restructuring Panel - Feb 16, 1:00 pm and Feb 17, 8:30 pm, at Centennial Hall in Juneau We expect the
agenda for today & tomorrow's Restructuring Panel meeting to be posted by
the time you read this, at
http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/sirp/meetinfo AK Wildlife News on BOF Salmon Restructuring Panel: In an effort to improve Alaska’s commercial salmon industry, the Board of Fisheries recently formed a group to provide suggestions and options for restructuring the state’s commercial salmon fishing. The Salmon Industry Restructuring Panel is charged with examining options, identifying research and information needs, and reviewing models on the range of alternatives for Alaska’s commercial salmon fisheries…
http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg= 29. National Organic Standards Board Seeks Members for Seafood Task Force The National Organic Standards Board is seeking nominations for members of two task forces. One will address production, handling and labeling standards for food and animal feed products derived from aquatic animals… Nominations, with resumes, must be postmarked by Feb. 23…
http://www.naturalfoodsmerchandiser.com/ASP/article Federal Register Notice:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/ 30. BOF BSAI Crab Rationalization Committee Issues final report
http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/npfmc/news/ 31. USCG Best Practices Guide to Vessel Stability - 2nd Edition posted (65 pgs)
http://www.uscg.mil/hq/g%2Dm/cfvs/Stability%20Book% 32. Halibut Commission seeks longliners for survey and experiments The International Pacific Halibut Commission is seeking commercial longline vessels to conduct survey and experimental fishing between May 30 and Aug. 31, 2005…
http://www.newportnewstimes.com/articles/2005/02/16/ IPHC Notice
http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/newsrel/2005/ 33. IPHC Commercial halibut catch and effort for IPHC statistical areas on the B.C. coast (1980-2004) (23 ppg.)
http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/commerc/ 34. NOAA issues research plan, vision to guide future studies NOAA issued two documents to guide the long and short-term direction of its research. NOAA is an agency of the U.S. Department of Commerce… http://www.publicaffairs.noaa.gov/releases2005/feb05/noaa05-r502.html 35. NOAA Independent Reviews of Population Genetics in Alaskan Harbor Seals
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/seals/ 36. Public Comment open on Initial Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS) … opportunity for the public to comment on the implementation and development of the U.S. Integrated Ocean Observing System (IOOS). Ocean.US will host an Implementation Conference on Tuesday, May 3, 2005 and Wednesday, May 4, 2005. The purpose of this conference is to enable coordinated implementation of the First Annual IOOS Development Plan (available at http://www.ocean.us ). The public is invited to submit written comments on the plan and priorities for implementation by close of business on Friday, April 22, 2005. Federal Register Notice:
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/ 37. ADF&G Run Forecasts and Harvest Projections for 2005 Salmon Fisheries and Review of the 2004 Season 2005 Projections:
http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/finfish/salmon/ Complete Report (83 ppg):
http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/pubs/special/ 38. DCED Salmon revitalization Targetd Grants: Western AK Salmon Set Net & Upper Yukon River Salmon Fish Wheel Improvement Program Grant Application due April 4, 2005
http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/ Grant Application Guide:
http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/ 39. DCED Regional Seafood Development Associations The Department of Commerce, Community & Economic Development is announcing regulations pertaining to the Department’s role in qualifying regional seafood development associations (RSDA) will be effective on February 24, 2005… http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/rsda_home.htm 40. USCG Safety Zones at Kodiak rocket launch site through March 31, 1600 - 2300hrs. The Coast Guard is establishing two temporary safety zones in the Gulf of Alaska, in the proximity of Narrow Cape, Kodiak Island, Alaska. These zones are needed to protect persons and vessels operating in the vicinity of the safety zones during a rocket launch from the Alaska Aerospace Development Corporation… Entry of vessels or persons into these zones is prohibited unless specifically authorized by the Commander, Seventeenth Coast Guard District… …effective from 4 p.m. on February 12, 2005 through 11 p.m. on March 31, 2005. The safety zones will be enforced each day of the effective period from 4 p.m. through 11 p.m…
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/ &&&& east of Sitkinak Island, Kodiak Island, Alaska….
http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/ 41. MPA Connections newsletter for January 2005
http://www.mpa.gov/information_tools/connections/ 42. AK SEaGrant Announcement of Funding Opportunity for 2006–2008 Deadline: Preliminary proposals (letters of intent) are due by 5 p.m. Monday, 7 March 2005…http://www.uaf.edu/seagrant/research/rfp/index.html 43. UAF MAP - USDA TAA Technical Training workshop schedule: MAP TAA home page: http://www.uaf.edu/map/taa/ 44. ComFish Alaska's 26th Annual Trade Show & Policy Summit
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