UFA At-large election is underway for four At-Large board seats.
Ballots have been mailed and postmark deadline for
return of ballot is May 31. Vote today!

SE Gillnetters RSDA election approaching –see Item #1 below

Table of Contents
1. SE Gillnet Regional Seafood Development Association Vote coming
2. NOAA Reduces Charter Halibut Catch
3. Comment by June 5 on Halibut Sport Charter Limited Access Proposed Rule
4. Gov. Palin prepares for out-of-session Alaska appointments (BOF)
5. BOF raises sablefish sport limit, cuts Northern Cook Inlet Setnetters 
6. Fish & Game Talk Management of Local (Mat-Su) Rivers May 18, Wasilla
7. Fishermen laud ex-Sen. Stevens
8. 50 years of Alaska's seafood industry celebrated in Kodiak
9. NPFMC Agenda for June 1-9, Anchorage Hilton
10. Court ends Alaska offshore drilling plan
11. Sectys. Salazar and Locke Restore Scientific Consultations under ESA
12. Salazar Seeks to Vacate Bush-Era Mining Rule
13. Evaluation of EPA Chesapeake Goals Killed
14. Alaska pink salmon a key element in Global Food Aid Program
15. Lawmakers promote Alaska in New York City
16. State’s seafood employment promotions starting to pay off
17. Federal council acts to restrict Pacific cod fishery in Gulf of Alaska
18. The salmon are coming: Copper River fishery opens May 14
19. Washington State Fish Broker Fined, Sentenced to Jail in Labeling Scheme
20. New NOAA Online Handbook for Oral History of the Fishing Culture
21. Study shows link between air pollution, contaminated seafood
22. Drift River Terminal oil volumes reduced prior to volcano activity increase
23. Welcome to the ASMI Foodservice Review
24. Federal Dollars Prematurely Slated for Offshore Fish Farming
25. Obama admin hands offshore aquaculture oversight to NOAA
26. MMS posts final rule on alternate use of energy facilities – Fish Farms off list
27. SalmonChile offers job services to axed workers
28. Salmon Virus With Potential For Change
29. U.S. News: Which Fish Is the Best Fish? Consider Omega-3s, Sustainability, and Mercury
30. The Rape Of Somalia By European Illegal Fishers
31. Washington Post: Finding Space for All in Our Crowded Seas
32. Laine Welch's Fish Radio –topics from this week
33. IPHC 2009 Halibut Landing Report No. 1
34. NOAA posts List of National System Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
and response to comments on nominations of existing MPAs to the national system…
35. Cook Inlet Beluga Whales ESA: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Designate Critical Habitat  - comment by May 14
36. MMRC: Ecopath, Virtual Ecosystems, and the Status of the Gulf of Alaska
37. Comment by May 29 on AFA Bering Sea floating processor location requirements
38. USCG post safety alerts: Shocks & Automatic Identification Systems
39. USFS reopens comment period on Sea Otter ESA Critical habitat – Deadline July 1, Public meeting June 18, Anchorage
40. Comment deadline August 6 on advance notice for import-export Intl Data System
41. NMFS/ADF&G Announce 2009 eLandings Workshops in Anchorage, Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Juneau
42. Deadline June 22 / July 6 for Rural Business Cooperative Value added grants…
43. USDA Seeks Applications for Cooperative Development Center Grants
44. NOAA eases monitoring requirements for dinglebar fishermen
45. Int’l Arctic Fisheries Symposium: Managing Resources for a Changing Arctic
October 19-21, 2009
46. Haig – Brown Symposium on Sustaining Wild Salmon proceedings posted

Previous items, still timely:
47. MMS comment period on OCS 5 year plan - deadline September 21, 2009
48. Comment by July 6 on proposed Councils operations and admin changes
49. Comment by May 26 on GOA Rockfish Program
50. Comment deadline May 21 on Rockfish Program Amendment 85 CP groundfish
51. Comment deadline June 1 on BSAI and GOA Catcher Vessel & Inshore/Offshore Provisions Amendments 62/62
52. Smartgear Competition Deadline June 30.

1. SE Gillnet Regional Seafood Development Association Vote coming Association to hold gillnetters meeting
JUNEAU - Southeast Alaska Rainforest Wild, Southeast Alaska's Regional Seafood Development Association, will hold a last-chance informational meeting for any Southeast Alaska gillnetters who want to learn more, ask questions and share their ideas for the gillnet self-assessment vote this month on whether or not to become the first gear group to join the RSDA…
The meeting is from 5 to 6 p.m. Wednesday, May 13, at the Buoy Deck in U.S. Coast Guard Building, 345 Egan Drive… Details: Elizabeth, 321-7221 or elizabeth@rainforestwild.org

Juneau Empire item:
http://www.juneauempire.com/stories/050309/nei_435978927.shtml

Laine Welch Fish factor: Last chance to get Rainforest Wild off the ground
http://www.sitnews.us/LaineWelch/050409_fish_factor.html

Rainforest Wild home page: http://www.rainforestwild.org/

2. NOAA Reduces Charter Halibut Catch
Long-term solution is catch share program
In a new rule released today, NOAA’s Fisheries Service reduced the number of halibut that charter vessel anglers in southeast Alaska can keep each day from two to one to protect the halibut stock.
“While today’s rule addresses an immediate need to better manage the charter halibut fishery,  we believe the long-term solution to sustainably managing the fishery is for the charter halibut fishery to join with the commercial halibut fishery in a catch share program,” said Doug Mecum, acting regional administrator for NOAA’s Fisheries Service in Alaska.  “Catch share programs that allocate the total allowable catch to participants in the fishery give a strong incentive to fishermen to conserve fish stocks.”

Halibut fishing along the Pacific Coast is managed under overall limits set for each fishing area.  Sport charter halibut fishermen in Southeast Alaska have exceeded their assigned harvest levels for several years. 

NOAA Press Release: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/newsreleases/2009/
charterhalibut050609.htm

NOAA Guided Sport Halibut Management home page:
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/sustainablefisheries/halibut/charters.htm

Federal Register Notice: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-10337.htm

3. Comment by June 5 on Halibut Sport Charter Limited Access Proposed Rule
Pacific Halibut Fisheries; Limited Access for Guided Sport Charter Vessels in Alaska
ACTION: Proposed rule; request for comments.
SUMMARY: NMFS proposes regulations that would implement a limited access system for charter vessels in the guided sport fishery for Pacific halibut in waters of International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) Regulatory Areas 2C (Southeast Alaska) and 3A (Central Gulf of Alaska). If approved, this limited access system would limit the number
of charter vessels that may participate in the guided sport fishery for halibut in these areas. NMFS would issue a charter halibut permit to a licensed charter fishing business owner based on his or her past participation in the charter halibut fishery for halibut and to a Community Quota Entity representing specific rural communities. All charter halibut permit holders would be subject to limits on the number of permits they could hold and on the number of charter vessel anglers who could catch and retain halibut on their charter vessels. This action is necessary to achieve the halibut fishery management goals of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The intended effect is to curtail growth of fishing capacity in the guided sport fishery for halibut…

DATES: Written comments must be received by June 5, 2009.
Federal Register Notice http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/
E9-9110.htm

4. Gov. Palin prepares for out-of-session Alaska appointments (BOF)
JUNEAU — Lawmakers last week turned down two of Gov. Sarah Palin’s appointees to state services, offering her an opportunity to pick new people as attorney general and for the controversial Board of Fisheries…

The Legislature also could have approved the appointment of Brent Johnson to serve a three-year term expiring June 30 on the Board of Fisheries, commonly referred to as the Fish Board. He would have replaced Bonnie Williams of Fairbanks.

Sen. Joe Thomas, D-Fairbanks, spoke out against Johnson and the perceived lack of Interior representation that would have resulted.

While some people see the appointment as an issue of regional representation, Coghill said it comes down to a balance between river fishery and “blue water” fishery interests.

“What more or less should happen is a balance between commercial fish and sports fish,” he said. “But in the Interior we have commercial fisheries that are on the river. That’s true in the Kenai River as well.... that’s the only reason regional issues fall into it. Some people would think the Kenai is the only river in Alaska.”
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/apr/21/gov-palin-prepares-out-
-session-alaska-appointment/

Thanks for the many calls to legislators in support of Brent Johnson, a very qualified Board of Fisheries candidate.

5. BOF raises sablefish sport limit, cuts Northern Cook Inlet Setnetters 
I found no news stories, but the BOF has posted this from their April 28 teleconference meeting:
Summary of Actions from April 28 Teleconference
http://www.boards.adfg.state.ak.us/fishinfo/meetsum/2008-2009/
April%2028%20Teleconference/sum-of-act-42809.pdf

BOF member Howard Delo: Board discusses pressing issues
http://www.frontiersman.com/articles/2009/05/05/sports/mat_
su-outdoors/doc49ffc1791f75a073853661.txt

BOF Member Bonnie Williams: Good fish science is essential
Facing unknowns, board must punt…
http://www.newsminer.com/news/2009/may/03/good-fish-
science-essential/?opinion

6. Fish & Game Talk Management of Local (Mat-Su) Rivers May 18, Wasilla
MAT-SU— A local sportsmen's group has asked the Alaska Dept. of Fish & Game to meet with the Mat-Su public next Mon., May 18, at 6 p.m. at the Central Mat-Su Fire Station in Wasilla.

The Mat-Su Mayor's Blue Ribbon Sportsmen's Committee requested that Fish & Game present their salmon management plans for the upcoming seasons. The work of this group contributed to the Alaska Board of Fisheries designating the Susitna River sockeye salmon as a Stock of Concern in February 2008.  Biologists are trying to allow enough fish to pass through to promote healthy returns. In April, Fish & Game placed restrictions on fishing for king salmon on the Deshka River. Last year, less than 8,000 kings returned, in stark contrast to the 58,000 or more Deshka kings that returned in 2004.

Mat-Su Borough Assemblymember Tom Kluberton chairs the Mayor’s Blue Ribbon Sportsmen’s Committee. “With the tremendous and growing economic value of sport and personal use fishing to the Mat-Su, it is important that the ADF&G interacts with our residents on a regular basis,” Kluberton said. “We hope this kind of meeting will become an annual event. By keeping a running dialog, Mat-Su fishermen can gain a sense of how the Department’s management practices are intended to improve stocks in Borough streams. And the Department can gain a sense of how significant sportfishing is to the economy of the Borough.”

Specific topics that the Committee asked ADF&G to address include: The recent restrictions on Deshka River king salmon, and the ongoing efforts to correct the chronic low returns of sockeye salmon to Mat-Su streams.

For more information call Assemblymember Tom Kluberton at 841-7107 or email tkluberton@mtaonline.net   The Central Mat-Su Fire Station is in Wasilla at Lucille and Swanson streets.

7. Fishermen laud ex-Sen. Stevens
Anchorage Daily News
KODIAK -- In a rare public appearance since a federal judge threw out charges against him for accepting illegal gifts, former Sen. Ted Stevens was in Kodiak on Thursday to be honored by United Fishermen of Alaska.
At a banquet on the U.S. Coast Guard base, he joined 20 other charter members to become part of UFA's "Seafood Hall of Fame."
http://www.adn.com/news/politics/fbi/stevens/story/772256.html

UFA Press Release: (April 24, 2009): United Fishermen of Alaska Honors Senator Ted Stevens in Inaugural Alaska Seafood Hall of Fame
http://www.ufa-fish.org/press/2009%20-01_AK_Seafood
_HOF_042309.pdf

Senator Stevens concluded his speech with a call to commercial fishermen to take up his work on Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated fisheries. We will need your help and membership support to be able to work internationally. Please consider supporting UFA through Individual membership (for permit holders) or Crew/Supporter or Business membership at UFA see http://www.ufa-fish.org/members.htm .

8. 50 years of Alaska's seafood industry celebrated in Kodiak
Fish Factor - By Laine Welch
When it comes to taking pride in Alaska's fisheries, differences are set aside.
That proved true at a statehood anniversary celebration last Thursday in Kodiak that highlighted 50 years of Alaska's seafood industry.
A remarkable mix of roughly 225 people were lucky enough to get tickets to the event at the Golden Anchor on the U.S. Coast Guard base. It included a seafood smorgasbord, entertainment and a rare chance to rub elbows with special guests - Governor Sarah Palin and Senator Ted Stevens…
http://www.capitalcityweekly.com/stories/042909/
bus_434691893.shtml
&
Stevens, Palin all smiles at Kodiak's ComFish event
"We especially welcome the architect of the nation's premier fisheries management act and statehood advocate, Sen. Ted Stevens," said Palin.
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/050109/loc
_img_news001.shtml

Thanks to Deb King, Laine Welch, Linda Kozak, Al Burch, Eva Holm, and the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce for their hospitality in hosting this superlative event in Kodiak during Comfish.

9. NPFMC Agenda for June 1-9, Anchorage Hilton
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/Agendas/609Agenda.pdf

NPFMC home page: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/

10. Court ends Alaska offshore drilling plan
WASHINGTON - A program to expand oil and gas drilling off the Alaska coast was canceled Friday by a federal appeals court that ruled the Bush administration did not properly study the environmental impact…
http://www.adn.com/money/industries/oil/story/762894.html

11. Sectys. Salazar and Locke Restore Scientific Consultations under ESA
Secretary of Commerce Gary Locke and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar today announced that the two departments are revoking an eleventh-hour Bush administration rule that undermined Endangered Species Act (ESA) protections. Their decision requires federal agencies to once again consult with federal wildlife experts at the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration – the two agencies that administer the ESA – before taking any action that may affect threatened or endangered species. 
NOAA Press Release: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/
20090428_esa.html
&&
Obama Administration Revokes Rule Changes to Endangered Species Consultation Regulations, By Paul Weiland , George Mannina, and Robert Thornton
http://view.exacttarget.com/?j=fe5e15797d67067e7315&m=feec
13777c6d07&ls=fdf51375706d047e71137275&l=fe5b157572620
7797011&s=fe0415747065057d7d167474&jb=ffcf14&ju=fe3416
737567007c711c72

12. Salazar Seeks to Vacate Bush-Era Mining Rule
Interior Secretary Ken Salazar instructed the Justice Department yesterday to seek a court order to overturn a Bush administration regulation allowing mining companies to dump their waste near rivers and streams, calling the regulation "legally defective."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/04/27/
AR2009042701810.html

13. Evaluation of EPA Chesapeake Goals Killed
EPA Adviser, Others Squashed Review of How Realistic Cleanup Expectations Are…
…The amount of pollution they would still need to eliminate -- 60 million pounds of nitrogen, a key food for oxygen-depleting algae -- was equal to the load carried down in one entire large river.
Unless they could stop the Potomac from flowing into the bay, the model showed that the cleanup program had much more work to do than previously thought…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009
/05/03/AR2009050302063.html

14. Alaska pink salmon a key element in Global Food Aid Program
…To deal with an overstock of canned salmon in 2001, the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute enrolled in the Global Food Aid Program.
It's become a quick success, and has helped feed the hungry in Laos, Jamaica, Cambodia, Bolivia, Guatemala and Swaziland…
"It slowly has become the darling of the USDA's Food Aid Program because we are the only solid animal protein on the list and we are up to almost a million cases of demand now," said Kevin Adams with ASMI.
http://www.ktuu.com/Global/story.asp?S=10293024

15. Lawmakers promote Alaska in New York City
By Rena Delbridge, Fairbanks News - Miner
FAIRBANKS — A handful of legislators are traveling to New York City this week to promote the Great Land as guests of the nonprofit Alaska House, New York and to meet with reporters from major national media outlets…
http://newsminer.com/news/2009/may/07/lawmaker-promote
-alaska-new-york-city/
&
NY Times: Salmon Fishing in SoHo
…The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute arranged a lunch to highlight a program that sends $13 million worth of Alaska canned pink salmon and herring to American food banks as well as orphanages and schools in places like Uganda, Laos and Jamaica.
http://dinersjournal.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/05/08/
salmon-fishing-in-soho/?hp

16. State’s seafood employment promotions starting to pay off
Promotions of job opportunities in seafood processing are paying off in increasing numbers of people applying for jobs, a spokesman for the Alaska Department of Labor and Workforce Development said May 4.
"We had over 1,000 applicants in the Anchorage seafood office last week, and the week before that, over 500," said James Harvey, assistant director of the department's employment security division…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/050809/fis_fish003.shtml

17. Federal council acts to restrict Pacific cod fishery in Gulf of Alaska
Federal fisheries managers have approved new restrictions on who will be allowed to fish for Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska, action likely to be in place for the 2011 season.
At its April meeting in Anchorage, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, voted 10-1 on the final motion to add gear-specific (pot, hook-and-line, and jig) Pacific cod endorsements to Western and Central Gulf of Alaska fixed gear license limitation program, known as LLPs.
The council's action in essence was a case of use it or lose it…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/050809/fis_fisheries002.shtml

NPFMC GOA Fixed Gear Recency motion: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/npfmc/current_issues/pcod/
F ixedGearRecencyMotion409.pdf

18. The salmon are coming: Copper River fishery opens May 14
By Margaret Bauman , Alaska Journal of Commerce
…The celebrated Copper River salmon fishery, renowned for its succulent king and sockeye salmon, opens at 7 a.m. on May 14, signaling the unofficial start of the summer salmon season in Alaska.
The forecast for kings is very good. The forecast for reds, not so hot…
http://www.alaskajournal.com/stories/050809/fis_img_fish001.shtml

19. Washington State Fish Broker Fined, Sentenced to Jail in False Seafood Labeling Scheme
A Washington state man has been fined $160,000 and sentenced to 30 days in jail for intentionally mislabeling 136,000 pounds of turbot from China as much higher priced U.S.  halibut—one of the strongest sentences ever imposed for this type of violation, according to enforcement officials from NOAA’s Office of Law Enforcement in Seattle…
http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/20090511
_seafood.html

20. New NOAA Online Handbook Helps Teachers and Community Groups Create an Oral History of the Fishing Culture
May 4, 2009
A new handbook published online today by NOAA’s Fisheries Service gives teachers, community groups, and the public a detailed roadmap of how to design and conduct oral history projects that celebrate the people, history and culture of our nation’s coastal and Great Lakes fishing communities.
 “Capturing the stories and experiences of local men and women who take part in commercial and recreational fishing and other marine-related occupations is especially important for young people growing up in these towns and cities,” said Dr. Susan Abbott-Jamieson, senior social scientist with NOAA’s Fisheries Service and one of three authors of Voices from the Fisheries Handbook: Preserving Local Fisheries Knowledge, Linking Generations, and Improving Environmental Literacy. “Through interviews with community residents, students explore the rich connections between fisheries, the marine environment, their community, and their own lives.”…

Voices from the Fisheries Handbook: Preserving Local Fisheries Knowledge, Linking Generations, and Improving Environmental Literacy by Julie Bartch, the New England steward for the Rural School and Community Trust, Abbott-Jamieson, and Whitmore is now available to the public online… at  http://www.voices.nmfs.noaa.gov/

NOAA Press release: http://www.noaanews.noaa.gov/stories2009/
20090504_history.html

21. Study shows link between air pollution, contaminated seafood
A federal study released today explains for the first time the link between global mercury emissions and the contamination of tuna and other marine life in the North Pacific Ocean…
USGS showed that methylmercury is produced in mid-depth ocean waters by processes linked to "ocean rain." Algae, which are produced in sunlit waters near the surface, die quickly and "rain" downward to greater water depths. The settling algae are decomposed by bacteria and the interaction of this decomposition process in the presence of mercury results in the formation of methylmercury…
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/05/01/01greenwire-study-
shows-link-between-air-pollution-contami-19116.html

The study is online at:: http://toxics.usgs.gov/highlights/pacific_mercury.html  

22. Drift River Terminal oil volumes reduced prior to volcano activity increase
Following additional measurements and confirmation by a third party it has been determined that approximately 841,860 gallons (20,040 barrels) of crude oil remains in the tanks at Drift River Terminal following the April 30 drawn down.
This amount is about 13 percent of the original 6.2 million gallons (148,000 barrels). The original figure provided immediately after the April 30 draw down was an estimate based on the volumes in the tanks prior to the operation…
http://www.uscgalaska.com/go/doc/780/271826/

Mt Redoubt page- Alaska Volcano Observatory
http://www.avo.alaska.edu/activity/Redoubt.php

23. Welcome to the ASMI Foodservice Review
 In this newsletter you will find an update on the 2009 salmon, halibut and black cod harvest season. There is also an announcement of the new online sustainability training videos, a look at Alaska's history of sustainability, important information and materials to gear up for the salmon season, and recent research that suggests that seafood omega-3s can boost IQ scores…
http://www.alaskaseafood.org/foodservice/news/may09_news/

24. Federal Dollars Prematurely Slated for Offshore Fish Farming
Statement of Food & Water Watch Executive Director Wenonah Hauter…
“President Obama’s FY 2010 budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) contains a glaring flaw that would prematurely allocate federal dollars to help fund controversial and unpopular fish farming plans that have not yet been federally authorized.The NOAA budget narrative requests a $2 million dollar increase for marine aquaculture, for a total of about $6.1 million for such programs.  As there is no comprehensive federal program that allows marine aquaculture in U.S. waters, requesting increased funds to help review and issue permits is completely inappropriate and an irresponsible use of precious dollars….”
http://www.foodandwaterwatch.org:8080/Plone/press/releases/
federal-dollars-prematurely-slated-for-offshore-fish-farming20090511

25. Obama admin hands offshore aquaculture oversight to NOAA
The Obama administration will develop federal aquaculture regulations, including a system that could permit offshore fish farming in the ocean waters for the first time, Commerce Secretary Gary Locke said today. (4/23)
Locke addressed a Senate hearing as another Cabinet agency, the Interior Department, turned away from a controversial Bush administration proposal that would have expedited a permitting system for offshore aquaculture under the Minerals Management Service. He said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration will oversee the preparation of the Obama administration's fish-farming guidelines…
http://www.nytimes.com/gwire/2009/04/23/23greenwire-obama
-admin-hands-offshore-aquaculture-oversig-10648.html

26. MMS posts final rule on alternate use of energy facilities – Fish Farms off list
The MMS is publishing final regulations to establish a program to grant leases, easements, and rights-of-way (ROW) for renewable energy project activities on the Outer Continental Shelf (OCS), as well as certain previously unauthorized activities that involve the alternate use of existing facilities located on the OCS; …
 ‘…We received numerous comments on the proposed rule pertaining to the use of OCS facilities for aquaculture purposes. We wish to clarify that this rule does not authorize aquaculture operations. A different agency would be responsible for permitting and managing actual aquaculture activity under any RUE that is granted. In the event that
legislation is enacted that regulates OCS aquaculture, we will reassess this issue and ensure coordination will be accomplished with all relevant agencies…
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-9462.htm

UFA opposed letting oil companies get around the costly required dismantling of rigs by converting them to fish farms in our comments to MMS – thanks to the many members, fishermen, and other organizations who helped by weighing in.
We also greatly appreciate Governor Palin weighing in asking that aquaculture be removed from the list of alternative uses.

27. SalmonChile offers job services to axed workers
The Chilean Salmon Industry Association AG (SalmonChile) officially unveiled the Salmon Network, an initiative designed to help salmon farming industry workers who are losing their jobs…
The sharp rise in unemployment is a direct consequence of the crisis caused by the ongoing industry struggle with infectious salmon anaemia (ISA).
http://www.fis.com/fis/worldnews/worldnews.asp?l=e&country=
&monthyear=&day=&id=32168&ndb=1&df=0

28. Salmon Virus With Potential For Change
ScienceDaily (Apr. 28, 2009) — Infectious salmon anaemia (ISA) is one of the most economically-damaging diseases in Norwegian fish farming industry. It is caused by a marine Orthomyxovirus, the same family that produces the influenza A virus that causes disease in birds and mammals. For his doctorate, Turhan Markussen looked at factors of the ISA virus genes that influence its ability to cause disease in salmon.

Infectious salmon anaemia was first recorded in Norway in 1984 and has subsequently appeared in a series of countries around the north Atlantic. In 2008 it was officially confirmed that the disease had also spread to the southern hemisphere, after several large outbreaks in Chile. During the last 25 years, over 460 outbreaks of ISA have been recorded, all of them in farmed salmon…
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2009/04/090421091737.htm

29. U.S. News: Which Fish Is the Best Fish? Consider Omega-3s, Sustainability, and Mercury
It's tough to find species that are good for both you and the ocean. Here's what you should consider…
http://health.usnews.com/articles/health/diet-fitness/2009/05/11/
which-fish-is-the-best-fish-consider-omega-3s-s
ustainability-and-mercury.html

It’s a little bit of a nuisance to navigate to the list of eleven choices, then click next eleven times but you’ll see that Alaska Wild Salmon is #1, Black Cod is #5, Oysters are #7, and Pacific Halibut completes the list at #11, among the Alaska species favored.

30. The Rape Of Somalia By European Illegal Fishers
Much of the world’s attention is currently focused on the Somali sea lanes. The navies of big and small powers are converging on the Somali waters in the Gulf of Aden and Indian Ocean.

The recent hijacking of the Saudi oil tanker and Ukrainian MV Faina, laden with arms for Kenya, off the coast of Somalia by Somali pirates captured world media attention. War has been rightly declared against this notorious new shipping piracy. But the older and mother of all piracies in Somalia - illegal foreign fishing piracy - in the Somali seas is ignored, underlining the international community’s misunderstanding and partiality of the underlying interdependent issues involved and the impracticality of the proposed actions to find ways to effectively resolve the piracy threat…
http://blackstarnews.com/?c=122&a=5615

UN FAO IUU FAQ: Stopping Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) Fishing
http://www.fao.org/DOCREP/005/Y3554E/y3554e01.htm

House Resources Hearing – HB 1080
http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/index.php?option=com_
jcalpro&Itemid=53&extmode=view&extid=234

31. Washington Post: Finding Space for All in Our Crowded Seas
The ocean is getting crowded. Fishermen are competing with offshore wind projects, oil rigs along with sand miners, recreational boaters, liquefied gas tankers and fish farmers. So a growing number of groups – including policymakers, academics, activists and industry officials – now say it’s time to divvy up space in the sea…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009
/05/03/AR2009050301930.html?nav%3Dhcmoduletmv

32. Laine Welch's Fish Radio –topics from this week
Friday 5/8/09 Smart Gear call for entries 2009
Thursday 5/7/09 Invasive species updates
Wednesday 5/6/09 Wounded Warriors supported by AK seafood industry
Tuesday 5/5/09 W.Coast, Yukon, Kodiak king salmon collapse; Fuglvog at NMFS, mercury study

Listen Online at: http://www.marineconservationalliance.org/
fishradio.htm
& also see Laine Welch's Fish Factor at http://www.kinyradio.com/fishfactor.html

33. IPHC 2009 Halibut Landing Report No. 1
http://www.iphc.washington.edu/halcom/newsrel/
2009/nr20090501.htm

34. NOAA posts List of National System Marine Protected Areas (MPAs)
and response to comments on nominations of existing MPAs to the national system…
“The following MPAs have been nominated by their managing programs to join the national system of MPAs. A list providing more detail for each site is available at http://www.mpa.gov ...
Glacier Bay National Park (Alaska)…Alaska Maritime National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska)… Arctic National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska)… Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge (Alaska)…

Federal register notice:  http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-9335.htm  )

National Marine Protected Areas home page: http://mpa.gov/

According to this site, All Alaska state marine waters already are an MPA:
“…The official federal definition of an MPA is: “any area of the marine environment that has been reserved by federal, state, tribal, territorial, or local laws or regulations to provide lasting protection for part or all of the natural and cultural resources therein.” -- Executive Order 13158 (May 2000)…”

35. Cook Inlet Beluga Whales ESA: Advance Notice of Proposed Rulemaking to Designate Critical Habitat  - comment by May 14
SUMMARY: We, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), will be designating critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas) under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The designation will involve areas within Cook Inlet, Alaska. This advance notice of proposed rulemaking (ANPR) identifies issues for  consideration and evaluation and solicits comments regarding these issues.

DATES: Comments and information regarding the suggested designation process and areas being considered for designation may be sent to NMFS by May 14, 2009…
Federal Register Notice: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-8519.htm

NOAA Press release: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/newsreleases/2009/
cibelugas041409.htm

NOAA Cook Inlet Beluga Whale home page: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga.htm

36. MMRC: Ecopath, Virtual Ecosystems, and the Status of the Gulf of Alaska
Not all Consortium research takes place in natural ecosystems, or even with live subjects. A team of researchers employed an innovative software program to reconstruct and understand two ecosystems in the Gulf of Alaska that are drastically different today compared to the past. They will be presenting their findings at an upcoming conference highlighting the ability of Ecopath software to describe and predict the dynamics of complex marine ecosystems…
http://www.marinemammal.org/2009/virtualecosystems.php

Marine Mammal Research Consortium home page: http://www.marinemammal.org/

37. Comment by May 29 on AFA Bering Sea floating processor location requirements
NMFS proposes regulations to increase the number of times per year that a stationary floating processor (SFP) that is qualified under the American Fisheries Act (AFA) may move within State of Alaska waters in the Bering Sea (BS) subarea to process pollock harvested in the BS subarea directed pollock fishery. This action also would require AFA
SFPs to process all Gulf of Alaska (GOA) pollock and GOA Pacific cod where they processed these species in 2002. This action is necessary to increase operational flexibility for AFA SFPs that process pollock caught in the BS subarea directed fishery while continuing to limit the competitive advantage of AFA SFPs in the GOA pollock and GOA Pacific cod fisheries…
Comments on the proposed rule must be received no later than the close of business on May 29, 2009…
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-8528.htm

38. USCG post safety alerts: Shocks & Automatic Identification Systems
Electric Shock Hazards 
This alert reminds viewers about the need for safe electrical practices and procedures. 
 http://homeport.uscg.mil/cgi-bin/st/portal/uscg_docs/MyCG/
Editorial/20090416/01_09.pdf?id=b451b467a2bbfb0a9a54
2499e4e12a9ad4ce95ac

Automatic Identification System (AIS) Devices 
 This alert cautions new AIS Class B users to not assume that they are being seen by all other AIS users or that all their information is available to all AIS users. 
 http://homeport.uscg.mil/cgi-bin/st/portal/uscg_docs/MyCG/
Editorial/20081030/10-08.pdf?id=9007b1ee8375b6e5a127
c5f5499fd00bab3a1f3b

USCG Homeport safety page: http://homeport.uscg.mil/mycg/portal/ep/browse.do?channelId=-18374&channelPage=/

USCG Fishing Vessel Safety Fish Safe home page: http://www.fishsafe.info/

39. USFS reopens comment period on Sea Otter ESA Critical habitat – Deadline July 1, Public meeting June 18, Anchorage
USFWS Press release:  http://www.fws.gov/news/NewsReleases/showNews.cfm?newsId
=2114BB58-959A-D6E2-E727330BCAEC1CEC

Federal Register Notice: http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-10715.htm

Maps of areas proposed as critical habitat and other pertinent info are available for viewing at the USFWS Sea Otter ESA home page:
http://alaska.fws.gov/fisheries/mmm/seaotters/criticalhabitat.htm 

40. Comment deadline August 6 on advance notice for import-export Intl Data System
NMFS issues this advance notice of proposed rulemaking to announce that it is revising procedures to file import and export documentation for certain fishery products to meet requirements of the SAFE Port Act of 2006, the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, other applicable statutes, and obligations that arise from U.S. participation in regional fishery management organizations. Specifically, NMFS intends to integrate the collection of trade documentation within the government-wide International Trade Data System and require electronic information collection through the
automated internet portal maintained by the United States Customs and Border Protection. NMFS is seeking advance public comment on the feasibility of electronic reporting by parties involved in an import or export transaction for applicable seafood products…
   As a result of unilateral authorities and/or multilateral agreements, NMFS has implemented a number of monitoring programs to collect information from the trade regarding the origin of certain fishery products. The purpose of these programs is to determine the admissibility of the products in accordance with the specific criteria
of the trade measure or documentation requirement in effect. NMFS trade monitoring programs cover tunas, swordfish, billfish, shark fins, toothfish, krill and certain other fishery products under the authority of the High Seas Driftnet Fisheries Enforcement Act (refer to http://swr.nmfs.noaa.gov/fmd/italy.htm   for an exhaustive list.)
(almost all fish products are on the exhaustive list)

Federal Register Notice:
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-10820.htm

International Trade Data System home page is online at http://www.itds.gov/ .

41. NMFS/ADF&G Announce 2009 eLandings Workshops in Anchorage, Kodiak, Ketchikan, and Juneau

Anchorage - Friday, May 15, 2009
Kodiak  - Wednesday, May 20, 2009
Ketchikan  - Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Juneau  - Thursday, May 28, 2009

NOAA informational bulletin 09 – 54:: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/index/infobulletins/
bulletin.asp?BulletinID=5931

42. Deadline June 22 / July 6 for Rural Business Cooperative Value added grants…
The Rural Business-Cooperative Service (RBS) announces the availability of approximately $18 million in competitive grant funds for fiscal year (FY) 2009 to help independent agricultural producers enter into value-added activities…

    Awards may be made for planning activities or for working capital expenses, but not for both. The maximum grant amount for a planning grant is $100,000 and the maximum grant amount for a working capital grant is $300,000…

Paper applications for unreserved funds must be postmarked and mailed, shipped, or sent overnight no later than July 6, 2009, to be eligible for FY 2009 grant funding. Paper applications for reserved funds must be postmarked and mailed, shipped, or sent overnight no later than June 22, 2009 to be eligible for FY 2009 grant funding. Late
applications are not eligible for FY 2009 grant funding…
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-10424.htm

USDA Rural development home page: http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/

43. USDA Seeks Applications for Cooperative Development Center Grants
WASHINGTON, April 29, 2009 - Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced today USDA is accepting applications for grants for cooperative development centers to improve economic conditions in rural areas.

"These cooperative development centers provide rural Americans with stronger technical and managerial skills helping small businesses become more profitable and creating jobs in rural communities," said Vilsack.

Grants of up to $200,000 may awarded to colleges, universities and non-profit groups to create and operate centers that help individuals or groups establish, expand or operate rural businesses, especially cooperatives. The grants are being provided through USDA Rural Development's Rural Cooperative Development Grant program.

The centers promote President Obama's goal to bring increased economic opportunities to rural residents by giving them tools to help their businesses grow. Cooperative program grants can be used, among other things, to conduct feasibility studies, create and implement business plans, and help businesses develop new markets for their products and services.
http://www.usda.gov/2009/04/0139.xml

44. NOAA eases monitoring requirements for dinglebar fishermen
NOAA Fisheries in Alaska has eased vessel monitoring requirements—and costs—for boats fishing for lingcod with dinglebar gear in the Gulf of Alaska.
"The eight to twelve fishermen who catch lingcod with dinglebar gear each year in the Gulf fish at fairly shallow depths away from corals," said Doug Mecum, Acting Administrator for the Alaska Region of NOAA Fisheries. "We are dropping our current requirement that these few boats carry vessel monitoring systems."
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/newsreleases/
2009/dinglebar042009.htm

45. Int’l Arctic Fisheries Symposium: Managing Resources for a Changing Arctic
October 19-21, 2009
Hotel Captain Cook, Anchorage, Alaska
This symposium is intended to initiate international discussions for conserving and managing future fisheries in the Arctic Ocean including managing migratory, transboundary and straddling fish stocks. Visit the symposium website at http://www.nprb.org/iafs2009/index.htm

North Pacific Research Board home page: http://www.nprb.org/

46. Haig – Brown Symposium on Sustaining Wild Salmon proceedings posted
Continuing Studies in Science is pleased to announce that the proceedings from the Haig-Brown Symposium on Sustaining Wild Salmon:  Moving from Words to Action are now available.
The symposium was part of the Haig-Brown Centenary celebrations (www.haigbrowninstitute.org/centenary.html ) and explored how communities can take action to ensure the future of wild salmon in BC and how they can play a role in decision making and management of the resource.  Participants examined case studies that featured community conservation efforts from various regions in BC and emphasized that collaboration and partnerships are key to success. 

To read more visit our website under the "news and events section" at: http://www.sfu.ca/cstudies/science

Previous items, still timely:

47. MMS comment period on OCS 5 year plan - deadline September 21, 2009
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-4581.htm

48. Comment by July 6 on proposed Councils operations and admin changes
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-6896.htm

49. Comment by May 26 on GOA Rockfish Program
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-6462.htm

50. Comment deadline May 21 on Rockfish Program Amendment 85 CP groundfish
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7557.htm

51. Comment deadline June 1 on BSAI and GOA Catcher Vessel & Inshore/Offshore Provisions Amendments 62/62
http://edocket.access.gpo.gov/2009/E9-7449.htm

Alaska Groundfish Proposed rules are found at: http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/index/prules/prules.asp?Yr=2009

52. Smartgear Competition Deadline June 30.
Find the easy entry forms at www.smartgear.org .

UFA dues for Alaska commercial fishermen are $150 and we also welcome crew/supporter nonvoting members at $50 per year.
To support UFA see http://www.ufa-fish.org/members.htm