UFA Update 

March 13, 2005

Contents

1. Bill SB 113 seeks end to commercial fishing 'derbies' in Gulf of Alaska

2. Fishermen, lawmakers prepare for introduction of genetically modified salmon

3. Fish farming off Alaska opposed – HJR 15 targets plan allowing for offshore facilities

4. Sandro Lane: Alaska is better off exploiting its wild, sustainable trademark

5 State OKs aerial spraying on land near Hydaburg

6. Empire editorial: Legislature needs to find middle ground with city harbors

7. Emergency rule prompts judge to lift geoduck ban

8. Exports Rebound to $3.2 Billion High in 2004

9. Better ratios, bigger salmon runs in store for 2005

10. FAS Online: Premium salmon products and Surimi gain in EU

11. Tanner season could slow down – Alitak GLH reached

12. Attn. Bristol Bay Fishermen - list of Unknown class members in the Class Action

13.  Third group applies to be Bristol Bay Regional Seafood development Association

14. Comfish Kodiak March 17-19:

15. Taku River to open for chinook

16. ADF&G board names commissioner finalists

17. LeDoux introduces Valdez oil spill legislation

18. Riverside House Chef tries Kenai Wild salmon

19. Kenai River guides face regulations

20. Proposed subsistence cut sets off protests

21. Big fight? Not this time Ocean protection dispute ends with a constructive solution

22. High-tech Oscar Dyson launched into turbulent waters of fishery management

23. A Puzzle in the Pribilofs - decline in fur seals

24. Seward Researchers study Harbor Seal Decline

25. Haines: Fate of Lutak fish plant to be decided in jury trial

26. Marine Stewardship Council Alaska salmon recertification website

27. Marine Stewardship Council BSAI Pollock certification website

28. Catching salmon by hook or net is no more cruel than nature's ways

29. SF: Salmon prices expected to go up

30. Sitka woman must pay $20,000, forfeit IFQ for violations.

31. Satellites See Ocean Plants Increase, Coasts Greening

32. Laine Welch: Seafood byproduct may feed fish trade

33. Laine Welch's Fish Radio, sponsored by VesselConnection / Wireless Matrix

34. The Ecological Role of IFQs in U.S. Fisheries - A Guide for Federal Policy Makers

35. NOAA Crab Rationalization Quota Share and Processor Quota Share Application

36. NOAA comment period on Buyback Information Collection

37. NMFS Notice of new Privacy Act System of Records…BSAI Crab Econ. Data

38. NMFS Privacy Act System of Records, Permits and Regis. for Fisheries EEZ off AK

39. NOAA 2004 Report to Congress on the apportion of membership to councils…

40. NMFS announces public workshops on Crab Rationalization

41. New USCG AK cruise ship security zones - 100 yds underway, 25 yds docked

42. USCG launches waterway watch to encourage reporting of suspicious activity

43. MANAGING Our Nation's FISHERIES II – Briefing Docs & Conf. Backgrounders

44. Bill Hogarth’s Corner: Invite to meeting of councils Washington DC

45. Four Juneauites talk fisheries in DC

46. AK Wildlife News: A Chat with Stephanie Madsen

47. AFSC report: Comparing Harbor Seal Survey Methods In Glacial Fjords

48. MPA Federal Advisory Committee posts docs. from February Meetings

49. MMRC: Life in the Fast Food Lane

50. MCA Comments on Marine Mammal Protection Act 2005 List of Fisheries

51. IPHC / NMFS Joint Sablefish Log Collection Program

52. IPHC Vessel Clearance in Area 4 for 2005

53. IPHC Notice to halibut fishing vessels - Selendang Oil

54. NOAA posts corrections to 2005-2006 Halibut PSC and Groundfish tables 12-13

55. UN Food & Ag Org:  Depleted fish stocks require recovery efforts

56. USDA Value-added grants – deadline May 6, 2005

57. ADF&G Herring Roe forecasts posted

58. NPAFC & PICES Joint Symposium: The Status of Pacific Salmon and their role…

59. Alaska Ocean Observing System SE AK Planning Session - March 31, Juneau

60. North Pacific Research Board Advisory Panel & Board Draft Agendas

61. Sea Grant Publishes “Preventing and Treating Seasickness”

62. UAF MAP  - USDA TAA Technical Training workshop schedule:


1. Bill SB 113 seeks end to commercial fishing 'derbies' in Gulf of Alaska

State regulators want to end open access to several Gulf of Alaska commercial fisheries, a system they say creates yearly fish derbies that shrinks seasons, hurts the quality of the catch and endangers fishermen….

Many fishermen in Kodiak and Homer call the plan vague. They worry that the changes will give regulators too much power and say the proposal goes against the state's equal access laws…. http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/A/AK_XGR_ALASKA_
FISHERIES_AKOL-?SITE=AKFAI&SECTION=HOME

&&&

Rationalization bill takes hits

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=1222   

For SB 113 text and tracking see:

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?session=
24&bill=sb113


2. Fishermen, lawmakers prepare for introduction of genetically modified salmon

Producers of a genetically modified salmon that would speed the fish's growth to maturity expect their nine-year federal application to sell the fish in the United States to be decided within a year…

This story ran nationwide but only a few papers picked up the whole story that included this quote: "Nobody wants to see the prices fall, not to where it becomes difficult for people to make a living," (Aqua bounty spokes person Joe McGonigle).

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/aplocal_story.asp?
category=6420&slug=AK%20XGR%20Modified%20Salmon


3. Fish farming off Alaska opposed – HJR 15 targets plan allowing for offshore facilities

A resolution telling Congress and the president to keep fish farms out of federal ocean waters off Alaska was approved Wednesday by the House Fisheries Committee.

http://www.adn.com/money/story/6254096p-6131338c.html

HJR 15 text and tracking:

http://www.legis.state.ak.us/basis/get_bill.asp?
session=24&bill=hjr+15


4. Sandro Lane: Alaska is better off exploiting its wild, sustainable trademark

In my nearly 30-year career working with salmon and in Alaska's salmon industry, I see the issue of finfish (salmon) farming in Alaska's coastal waters as the biggest challenge facing our wild salmon resource, the wild salmon industry, and the coastal Alaska communities where these industry activities occur…

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030805/opi_
20050308006.shtml


5. State OKs aerial spraying on land near Hydaburg

The state's approval of a Klukwan Inc. permit to use helicopters to spray herbicides on clear-cut land has some skeptics fearing that the precedent means there's more spraying ahead… http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/031105/sta_
20050311008.shtml


6. Empire editorial: Legislature needs to find middle ground with city harbors

Since 1992, Alaska cities have ended up with not only ownership of the state's harbors, but also the massive financial headaches that came with them.

This week, harbormasters asked Alaska lawmakers to bring them some relief. Legislators would serve the state well by listening to them.

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/030605/opi_
20050306016.shtml


7. Emergency rule prompts judge to lift geoduck ban

A judge has lifted his order blocking a commercial fishery on geoduck clam-farm sites in Southeast Alaska.  Judge Peter Michalski said his decision was based on the Alaska Board of Fisheries' adoption of an emergency rule authorizing a commercial fishery on wild geoducks at the aquafarm sites…

http://www.adn.com/news/alaska/story/6261822p-
6138707c.html

Previous story: Judge halts geoduck fishery on mariculture sites

http://www.adn.com/money/story/6250836p-6127988c.html


8. Exports Rebound to $3.2 Billion High in 2004

Alaska businesses exported $3.2 billion in goods to foreign countries in 2004, topping the $3 billion mark for the first time in more than a decade.. Seafood products continue to be the most valuable export commodity in Alaska, totaling $1.7 billion in 2004…

Seafood exports rose $289 million, a 21 percent increase over the previous year. Total fish exports were the highest in a decade and are a full $1 billion more than the $697 million in total seafood exports in 1998… http://www.gov.state.ak.us/news.php?id=1600


9. Better ratios, bigger salmon runs in store for 2005

With nowhere to go but up, the 2005 Alaska salmon season should be a lucrative one, thanks to changes in the ratio of high- to low-value harvest and improved prices, says seafood industry analyst Chris McDowell.

"We have a long way to go, but the direction is definitely positive," he said.

http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/031305/hom_
20050313001.shtml


10. FAS Online: Premium salmon products and Surimi gain in EU

Non-canned U.S. Salmon registered 2004 export gains to EU:

…premium wild products boosted value…

http://www.fas.usda.gov/ffpd/Fish-Circular/Market_News/market.html#NON-CANNED%20U.S.%20SALMON%20REGISTERED%202004%
20EXPORT%20GAINS%20TO%20EU:%20%20PREMIUM%20
WILD%20PRODUCTS%20BOOSTED%20VALUE

&&&&&&

Growing U.S. Surimi sales to the EU continued

http://www.fas.usda.gov/ffpd/Fish-Circular/Market_News/market.html#GROWING%20U.S.%
20SURIMI%20SALES%20TO%20THE%20EU%20CONTINUED


11. Tanner season could slow down – Alitak GLH reached

Estimates indicate fishermen reached the guideline harvest level of 300,000 pounds for the whole Alitak Bay area and averaged 45 to 50 crabs per pot, said Alaska Department of Fish and Game assistant shellfish management biologist Lynn Mattes. The northeast section is averaging 20 crabs per pot.

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=1197


12. 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. (Reprint)

(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  


13.  Third group applies to be Bristol Bay Regional Seafood development Association

Written notices have been received by:

Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Marketing Association, http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/
pub/BB-RSMA.pdf

Alaska Independent Fishermens Marketing Association

http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/pub/
RSDA_Initial_Application_Feb_2005.pdf

Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation…

http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/pub/
RSDA_PreApp.pdf

DCED RSDA home page -  regs., application status etc.

http://www.commerce.state.ak.us/oed/seafood/
rsda_home.htm


14. Comfish Kodiak March 17-19:

Groundfish rationalization Friday 3/18, 11:00 pm… home page: www.icomfish.com

Schedule: http://www.icomfish.com/pages/news.
asp?articleID=29

See UFA in booth # 114…


15. Taku River to open for chinook

State forecasts show 20,000 Taku kings available for sport, commercial fisheries…

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/022005/sta_
20050220004.shtml

&

Kings give gillnet fleet early start

Regulations are still being written for the new Taku and Stikine fisheries, approved in February by the Pacific Salmon Commission, but it looks like Taku Inlet will open May 2 for harvest of 20,000 chinook, state commercial fisheries biologist Randy Bachman told Haines fishermen last week…

http://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/archive/2005-8-1.html

&

Petersburg: Commercial & sport fishermen debate details of new fishery

http://www.petersburgpilot.com/stories/2005/
030305Fishery.htm


16. ADF&G board names commissioner finalists

The Alaska Board of Fisheries and Board of Game forwarded three final candidates to Gov. Frank Murkowski to fill the position of commissioner for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The boards jointly named McKie Campbell, a former deputy commissioner for the department; acting Commissioner Wayne Regelin and state commercial fisheries director Doug Mecum… http://www.adfg.state.ak.us/news/2005/03-07-05_nr.php  


17. LeDoux introduces Valdez oil spill legislation

Like the rain that keeps falling in Juneau, legislation continues to move through your government…Nearly 15 years after the disaster, and more than 10 years after the original jury verdict, the plaintiffs are still waiting resolution of the lawsuit…

http://www.kodiakdailymirror.com/?pid=19&id=1204


18. Riverside House Chef tries Kenai Wild salmon

Chef Ernie has cooked with salmon before. However, Saturday was the first time he had ever used Kenai Wild brand salmon in his dishes.

"It was beautiful," he said.

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/031005/business
_0310bus001001.shtml

&

Kenai Wild Commercial Sales Contracts 2005 Now Open

http://www.imakenews.com/networkdirect/e_article000
364032.cfm?x=b4tPw9r,b2jklkwC


19. Kenai River guides face regulations

Kenai River Working Group members on Thursday agreed on a nine-point plan to increase requirements for Kenai River sport fishing guides…

http://www.peninsulaclarion.com/stories/031305/news_
0313new002001.shtml


20. Proposed subsistence cut sets off protests

The Fairbanks legislator in charge of the state fish and game budget spent last week urging cuts in subsistence funding and suggesting that half the cash go to urban shooting ranges.

The political fallout hit Fairbanks Republican Rep. Jim Holm hard, though…

http://www.adn.com/news/government/legislature/story/
6241078p-6117409c.html


21. Big fight? Not this time Ocean protection dispute ends with a constructive solution

…environmentalists looked for ways to protect the ecological resource without doing grave economic damage to the fishing industry.

http://www.adn.com/opinion/story/6222659p-6097335c.html

My turn: A great step for fishermen and the sea

Kudos to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, one of the eight regional councils that manage federal marine fisheries in the United States, for unanimously voting to close nearly one million square kilometers of ocean waters off Alaska to destructive bottom trawling, an area nearly twice the size of the state of California…

http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/031105/opi_
20050311020.shtml


22. High-tech Oscar Dyson launched into turbulent waters of fishery management

The Oscar Dyson slipped out of San Diego Harbor on Tuesday with little fanfare and less sound, but it was weighted down with expectations and high-tech gadgetry. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration hopes its first new ship in 25 years will help reel in an answer to a key question in its efforts to manage the oceans: How many fish are in the sea?

http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2005/03/06/news/
columnists/devine/20_28_043_5_05.txt


23. A Puzzle in the Pribilofs - decline in fur seals

On the remote Alaskan archipelago, scientists and Aleuts are trying to find the causes of a worrisome decline in fur seals

http://www.smithsonianmag.si.edu/smithsonian/issues05/
mar05/pribilof.html

NOAA AFSC Study: Pribilof Islands Adult Male Northern Fur Seal Counts, 2004

http://nmml.afsc.noaa.gov/AlaskaEcosystems/nfshome/
pribbullcounts.htm


24. Seward Researchers study Harbor Seal Decline

Harbor seals were once a common sight along Alaska's rocky coast. But since the 1970s, they've all but disappeared in parts of the state. Researchers at the Alaska SeaLife Center in Seward have launched a new study aimed at helping seals recover.

http://www.sitnews.us/0205news/021605/021605_seals.html


25. Haines: Fate of Lutak fish plant to be decided in jury trial

The future of a Lutak fish-processing plant is likely to be decided this spring by 12 Petersburg jurors and a Ketchikan judge.

A jury trial is set for April 26 in the dispute between Rainbow Glacier Seafoods and former landlord Ed Lapeyri, owner of Chilkoot Lumber Co. and a new venture, Chilkoot Fish and Caviar… http://www.chilkatvalleynews.com/archive/2005-7-3.html


26. Marine Stewardship Council Alaska salmon recertification website

See sidebar for:

-Stakeholder notification

-Public Notice: Performance Indicators and Scoring Guideposts

-Public Notice: Units of Certification

http://www.msc.org/html/content_485.htm

ADF&G Press release: http://notes4.state.ak.us/pn/pubnotic.nsf/cc52605f7c156e7a
8925672a0060a91b/596d2956cb81a19a89256fb900756824?
OpenDocument


27. Marine Stewardship Council BSAI Pollock certification website

See sidebar for:

Final Action Plan for Meeting the Conditions For Continued Certification of the

Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands (BS/AI) Pollock Fishery…

http://www.msc.org/html/content_1176.htm


28. Catching salmon by hook or net is no more cruel than nature's ways

Paula Moore, the senior propagandist for PETA, is funny, if misguided ("Fish are smart, have complex social structures and are worth defending," March 4). I assure you, I have the deepest sympathy for fish, especially salmon that die in order to procreate. But I'm not going to quit eating them…

http://www.adn.com/opinion/letters/story/6257928p-6134987c.html


29. SF: Salmon prices expected to go up

Fishing season will probably be cut in half to protect depleted Klamath River Chinook…

Consumers should expect to pay well more than $15 a pound, said Zeke Grader, the executive director of the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen's Associations. Last year, the cost ranged from $9 to $11 a pound…

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/03/12/MNGSMBOIKS1.DTL


30. Sitka woman must pay $20,000, forfeit IFQ for violations.

Federal authorities have ordered a Sitka commercial halibut fisherman to pay a $20,000 fine and give up her catch rights because of multiple fishery violations.

http://www.adn.com/money/industries/fishing/story/6233123p-6108102c.html

&&&&

Coast Guard, NMFS enforce IFQ rules in Auke Bay:

http://www.piersystem.com/external/index.cfm?cid=780&
fuseaction=EXTERNAL.docview&documentID=65765


31. Satellites See Ocean Plants Increase, Coasts Greening

A few years ago, NASA researcher Watson Gregg published a study showing that tiny free-floating ocean plants called phytoplankton had declined in abundance globally by 6 percent between the 1980s and 1990s. A new study by Gregg and his co-authors suggests that trend may not be continuing, and new patterns are taking place…

http://www.nasa.gov/centers/goddard/news/topstory
/chlorophyll.html


32. Laine Welch: Seafood byproduct may feed fish trade

For years scientists at the Fishery Industrial Technology Center, or Fish Tech, in Kodiak and others have been looking at ways to find value in byproducts of seafood processing. By some estimates, as much as 40 percent of Alaska's fish and shellfish catches -- roughly 1.5 million tons -- are thrown away each year, instead of being turned into other useful products…

http://www.adn.com/money/industries/fishing/story/6261785p-6138702c.html


33. Laine Welch's Fish Radio, sponsored by VesselConnection / Wireless Matrix

Recent topics:

FRI 03/11/05   Fishermen give Resource Committee an earful over Gulf groundfish

THU 03/10/05   Sparks will be flying at ComFish policy forums next week in Kodiak

WED 03/09/05   Roe herring market changing: good for Sitka, bad for Bristol Bay.

TUE 03/08/05   Simply icing, heading & gutting fish could merit Value Added Grants from USDA.

MON 03/07/05   Population shifts, eating trends boost seafood consumption through 2020

FRI 03/04/05   Halibut prices start off high: Reports from the docks, New York and retail outlets

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


34. The Ecological Role of IFQs in U.S. Fisheries - A Guide for Federal Policy Makers

Pointing out that ocean fisheries have not been well managed generates little controversy. Proposals to fix the problem, however, are another matter…

Property and Environment Research Center (PERC):

http://www.perc.org/publications/guidesfederal/ifqs_2.php


35. NOAA Crab Rationalization Program Quota Share and Processor Quota Share

Application Period…

Applications to receive QS and PQS under the Crab Rationalization Program will be accepted by NMFS from April 4, 2005, through 5 p.m. Alaska local time (A.l.t) on June 3, 2005…

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4476.htm


36. NOAA comment period on Buyback Information Collection

Proposed Information Collection; Comment Request; Fishing Capacity Reduction Program Buyback Requests… Deadline for comments May 2, 2005 http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4059.htm


37. NMFS Notice of new Privacy Act System of Records…BSAI Crab Economic Data Report

NMFS is creating a new system of records for the mandatory collection of crab economic data. Eight versions of a form, specific to the four types of crab activity and one specific for historical information that occurred prior to the Crab Rationalization Program and one for annual information to be submitted annually, entitled, ``Crab Economic Data Report (EDR),'' will be used to collect information on costs of fishing and processing, revenues for harvesters and processors, and employment information required…

Deadline for comment April 4, 2005…

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4108.htm


38. NMFS Privacy Act System of Records, Permits and Regis. for Fisheries EEZ off AK

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4109.htm


39. NOAA 2004 Report to Congress on the apportion of membership to the regional fishery management councils…

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/sfa/reg_svcs/Council%20stuff/
CongressReports/04RTC.pdf


40. NMFS announces public workshops on Crab Rationalization

NMFS will present a series of public workshops on the new Crab Rationalization Program (Program) for participants the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands (BSAI) king and Tanner crab fisheries…as follows:

Kodiak: Friday, March 18, 2005, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Choral Pod, Kodiak High School

Seattle:  Wednesday, March 30, 2005, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. Leif Erickson Hall, 2245 Northwest 57th Street

Newport, OR:  Friday, April 1, 2005, 10 a.m. - 4 p.m. PST - Seminar Room,

Marine Hatfield Science Center, 2030 Southeast Marine Science Drive

Anchorage: Tuesday, April 5, 2005, 6 p.m. - 9 p.m. ALT - Anchorage Hilton,

Katmai/Dillingham Room, 500 West Third Avenue

 

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4379.htm


41. New USCG AK cruise ship security zones - 100 yds underway, 25 yds docked

Comments deadline April 8, 2005.

The Coast Guard proposes to establish moving and fixed security zones in the navigable waters of Coast Guard District 17 around and under all high capacity passenger (HCP) vessels. The zones would extend 100 yards from HCP vessels while they are underway and 25 yards from HCP vessels while they are moored or anchored.

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800
/edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4598.htm


42. USCG launches America's waterway watch to encourage reporting of suspicious activity

The U.S. Coast Guard officially launched America’s Waterway Watch today to encourage members of the maritime and recreational boating industries and the boating public to report suspicious activities in our nation’s ports and waterways…

https://www.piersystem.com/external/index.cfm?cid=786&
fuseaction=EXTERNAL.docview&documentID=65244


43. MANAGING Our Nation's FISHERIES II – Briefing Docs & Conf. Backgrounders

March 24-26, 2005 Washington D.C., Omni-Shoreham Hotel and Conference Center             

http://www.managingfisheries.org/index.htm


44. Bill Hogarth’s Corner: Invite to meeting of councils Washington DC

“I would like to invite you to attend an important public event taking place here in Washington, D.C., later this month. NOAA and the nation’s eight regional fishery management councils will gather a diverse group of constituents together March 24-26 for a robust dialogue on key fisheries management issues…”

http://www.nmfs.noaa.gov/features/billscorner/index.htm


45. Four Juneauites talk fisheries in DC

Stephanie Madsen, Dr. Gordon Kruse, David Benton and Dr. Terry Quinn, all of Juneau, will be flying to Washington, D.C. next month as invited participants in a national conference, “Managing our Nation’s Fisheries II, Focus on the Future.”.

http://newspapers.mywebpal.com/news_tool_v2.cfm?show
=localnews&pnpID=475&NewsID=613049&CategoryID=9945&on=1


46. AK Wildlife News: A Chat with Stephanie Madsen

“…One of the most important lessons I learned was that “facts and figures explain, but passion persuades.” Anyone can read a document and get the figures, but it takes the extra passion to convince someone, and somewhere along the line, I got the passion. I think living in Kodiak, Cordova, and Unalaska you get very defensive for long-term sustainability…”

http://www.wildlifenews.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=
wildlife_news.view_article&articles_id=131


47. AFSC report: Comparing Harbor Seal Survey Methods In Glacial Fjords

…Because it is estimated that 10% or more of harbor seals in Alaska use glacial ice habitats during the molting season (August – September) each year, there is a pressing need to develop reliable survey techniques to assess harbor seal abundance in such areas. This feature article evaluates two such survey methods: shore-based counts and large-format aerial photography…

http://www.afsc.noaa.gov/Quarterly/ond2004/
ond04featurelead.htm


48. MPA Federal Advisory Committee posts docs. from February Meetings

…agendas, transcripts, and supporting documents…

http://www.mpa.gov/fac/fac_meetings.html#facdoc_feb05


49. MMRC: Life in the Fast Food Lane

A recently published study on the nutritional value of pollock has found that roe-bearing fish contain less nutritional energy than pre-spawning ones — a finding that bodes poorly for Steller sea lion populations… http://www.marinemammal.org/2005/fastfood.php


50. MCA Comments on Marine Mammal Protection Act 2005 List of Fisheries

“..The data and analyses on which NMFS relies are flawed. For example, certain Alaska fisheries are proposed for inclusion in Category II because of interactions with transient and resident populations of killer whales. Yet, in computing the PBR for these species, NMFS relied on five year old data. NMFS did not include new data showing increased population levels which could affect the PBR calculation…”

http://www.marineconservationalliance.org/ltrPayne030405.pdf


51. IPHC / NMFS Joint Sablefish Log Collection Program

The IPHC has again been contracted by the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) Auke Bay Laboratory (ABL) to collect sablefish log sheets from skippers of vessels landing in the ports where IPHC samplers are located.

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/pubs/bulletin
/infbull0048.htm


52. IPHC Vessel Clearance in Area 4 for 2005

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/pubs/bulletin
/infbull0049.htm


53. IPHC Notice to halibut fishing vessels operating in Alaskan state waters from Cape Kovrizhka south to Umnak Pass - Selendang Oil

The International Pacific Halibut Commission, in cooperation with the M/V Selendang Ayu oil spill Unified Command, advises all halibut fishers operating in state waters from Cape Kovrizhka south to Umnak Pass in Area 4A to exercise caution when fishing in these waters, due to residual effects from the oil spill…

http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/newsrel/2005/
nr20050303.htm


54. NOAA posts corrections to 2005-2006 Halibut PSC and Groundfish tables 12-13

… this document corrects errors in Tables 12 and 13 to the final specifications… This action corrects Table 12 (70 FR 8972) and Table 13 (70 FR 8973) to change the dates for the pollock seasons. For the A Season, the dates are January 20 - March 10, and for the C Season, the dates are August 25 - October 1. The corrected Table 13 changes the species names for the second allocation for shortraker rockfish to rougheye rockfish and for the big and longnose skates allocation to longnose skates…

http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4838.htm


55. UN Food & Ag Org:  Depleted fish stocks require recovery efforts

New report on world fisheries and aquaculture presented to FAO Committee on Fisheries…

Rebuilding depleted wild fish stocks is a "challenging necessity" says the newest edition of FAO's biennial report, The State of World Fisheries and Aquaculture…

http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2005/100095/index.html

MSNBC: U.N.: Half of world's fish stocks 'fully exploited'

Another quarter are 'over-exploited,' report warns…

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/7119511/


56. USDA Value-added grants – deadline May 6, 2005

The annual solicitation for applications for the 2005 funding cycle was published on March 7, 2005.

Current Solicitation: http://a257.g.akamaitech.net/7/257/2422/01jan20051800/
edocket.access.gpo.gov/2005/05-4310.htm

Program Home page:

http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/coops/vadg.htm

Alaska Contact for information: Dean Stewart, USDA Rural Development,

00 West Evergreen, Ste. 201, Palmer, AK 99645 Phone: (907) 761-7722

dean.stewart@ak.usda.gov   

Also see Laine Welch's Fish radio, Tuesday March 8  - at item # 33 above


57. ADF&G Herring Roe forecasts posted

http://www.cf.adfg.state.ak.us/geninfo/finfish/herring/
forecast/05_4cast.php


58. NPAFC & PICES Joint Symposium: The Status of Pacific Salmon and their role in the North Pacific marine ecosystem…Oct 30 - Nov 1, Korea

Call for papers -  Deadline May 1 for Abstracts…

http://www.npafc.org/  (Scroll down to What's New & click on symposium announcement)


59. Alaska Ocean Observing System SE AK Planning Session - March 31, Juneau

Developing A Southeast Alaska Coastal And Ocean Observing System A Component Of The Alaska Ocean Observing System…

Thursday, March 31, 2005, 1:30 – 5 PM University of Alaska Southeast (Egan 224)

http://doc.aoos.org/pdf/SE_AK_notice.pdf

AOOS home page: www.aoos.org


60. North Pacific Research Board Advisory Panel & Board Draft Agendas

Advisory Panel: March 14, 2005:

http://doc.nprb.org/web/mar05ap_agenda.pdf

North Pacific Research Board - March 15-17, 2005:

http://doc.nprb.org/web/mar05bd_agenda.pdf

Both are at NPRB Conference Room Anchorage, Alaska


61. Sea Grant Publishes “Preventing and Treating Seasickness”

Single copies free; 2 or more copies $0.25 US each

http://www.uaf.edu/seagrant/Pubs_Videos/pubs/SG-ED-47.html


62. UAF MAP  - USDA TAA Technical Training workshop schedule:

http://137.229.42.168/FMPro?-db=taa-calendar.fp5&-lay=month&-format=/map/calendar.html&activemonth=1&-find

MAP TAA home page: http://www.uaf.edu/map/taa/