From the Fleet – Fishermens News

Polar Star Heads South from Seattle for Antarctica’s Operation Deep Freeze

22Nov

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Polar Star Heads South from Seattle for Antarctica’s Operation Deep Freeze

For the 27th year running, the U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star is enroute to Antarctica to break a navigable channel through ice for Operation Deep Freeze (ODF). It’s a task described by Polar Star Commanding Officer Capt. Keith Ropella as a unique, important mission that requires year-round effort from crew to prepare the now 47-year-old vessel for the 20,000 nautical mile round trip, where the Polar Star will be subject to extreme environmental conditions. The Coast Guard said that it’s recapitalizing its polar icebreaker fleet to ensure continued access to the polar regions and to protect the country’s economic, environmental and national security interests. To date, the Polar Star has completed the third of five planned phases of the service life extension project at a cos...

27Sep

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Ocean-Based Climate Policies Under Fire

Commercial fisheries entities, including the Western Pacific Fishery Management Council (WPFMC) and Alaska’s Coastal Villages Region Fund are voicing new opposition to new marine sanctuaries, citing potential adverse impact to current commercial fisheries. Testimony presented to the WPFMC in Honolulu in mid-September contends that the conservation plan for the new sanctuary is already satisfied by existing fishing regulations, the publication Seafood Source reported. Rep. Paul Gosar, R- AZ, chair of the House Committee on Natural Resources Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, said that the marine protected sanctuaries plan was done without due consideration to negative consequences for the economy, environment and thousands of working Americans. The Biden administrati...

Subsistence Fishermen Share Catch with Yukon, Chignik Families

26Jul

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Subsistence Fishermen Share Catch with Yukon, Chignik Families

Subsistence salmon gathered by Dillingham, Alaska area residents in advance of the Bristol Bay commercial salmon fishery are sharing over 5,000 pounds of their catch with families along the Yukon River and Chignik area that are unable to fish in 2023 because of low run returns. Plans are for Grant Aviation to fly the whole, cleaned and frozen fish in August to Alakanuk, Pitkas Point, Saint Mary’s, Chignik Lagoon and Chignik Bay. Some fish will also be used by the Yukon River Drainage Fishermen’s Association Educational Exchange program where several youth will travel to communities on the Yukon and share their experiences with salmon. The salmon donation project is a collaborative effort of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association’s (ALFA) Seafood Distribution Network, plus No...

Kodiak Stand-Down Continues Over Tanner Crab Price Offer

25Jan

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Kodiak Stand-Down Continues Over Tanner Crab Price Offer

A harvester stand-down continues in Kodiak, Alaska over the price offered by processors there for the Tanner crab season that opened Jan. 15. Kodiak Crab Alliance Cooperative (KCAC) spokesman Kevin Abena, skipper of the f/v Big Blue, said the Cooperative did not meet on the evening of Sunday, Jan. 22, with its permit holder members. Abena said 130 permit holders whom KCAC represents don’t feel they should go fishing at the $2.50 a pound offer from Kodiak processors. Last year, Kodiak processors paid up to $8.40 a pound for the Tanners. This year’s quota for the Kodiak area Tanner crag fishery is 5.8 million pounds. Abena said that KCAC went back to Kodiak processors on Saturday, Jan. 21, with two options: a base price of $3.25 a pound plus matching a final settlement on the price o...

Mariculture Research Suggests Farmed Kelp Could Help Reduce Coastal Marine Pollution

25Jan

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Mariculture Research Suggests Farmed Kelp Could Help Reduce Coastal Marine Pollution

A new study published in the January issue of the online, peer reviewed Aquaculture Journal concludes that the water-filtering abilities of farmed kelp, an emerging industry in Alaska, could help reduce marine pollution in coastal areas. “Some seaweeds are literally like sponges- they suck and suck and never saturate,” said Schery Umanzor, lead author of the study and an assistant professor at the University of Alaska Fairbanks’ College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. “Although carbon and carbon sequestration by kelp received most of the attention, kelp is actually much better at mitigating excessive amounts of nitrogen than carbon,” she said. “I think that’s a story that’s really under looked.” Nitrogen pollution in coastal areas can be caused by several factors, including urban sew...

Comment Period Extended for Proposed Base Seattle Expansion Draft PEIS

30Nov

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Fishermen's News Online, From the Fleet

Comment Period Extended for Proposed Base Seattle Expansion Draft PEIS

Coast Guard officials say they have extended until Dec. 16 the period for public comment on the Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) for the proposed expansion of Coast Guard Base Seattle. The public comment period was previously scheduled to conclude Dec. 2. The Draft Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement is available online for reading at https://www.dcms.uscg.mil/NEPA The release of the Draft PEIS on Oct. 7 launched a public commentary period, during which the Coast Guard began accepting public comment online at https://www.regulations.gov with docket number USCG-2021-0183. Public comment may also be sent via the U.S. Post Office to: U.S. Coast Guard, Shore Infrastructure Logistics Center, Environmental Management Division, ATTN: Mr. Dean Amundson, 1301...

PFMC Considers Steps to End Bycatch of Marine Animals in Swordfish Fishery

17Nov

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PFMC Considers Steps to End Bycatch of Marine Animals in Swordfish Fishery

Concerns over substantial bycatch of marine mammals and sea turtles in gear used in California’s drift gillnet swordfish fishery have the Pacific Fishery Management Council working anew toward 100% observer coverage for that fishery. The PFMC is set to adopt a range of alternatives and preliminary preferred alternatives as appropriate on Thursday, Nov. 18, to limit and monitor bycatch during the swordfish harvest. A new analysis released on Nov. 15 by the conservation entity Oceana found that participants in California’s drift gillnet swordfish fishery are severely underreporting its catch of marine mammals and sea turtles, including injury and death from entanglement in fishing gear as required by law. In September of 2018, California enacted state legislation to phase out us...

1Jun

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From the Fleet

To: The Alaskan Commercial Fishing Fleets

By Matt Alward, President, United Fishermen of Alaska Our industry and communities are facing an unprecedented challenge in the COVID-19 pandemic. With the 2020 salmon season nearly here, we must all take extra precautions to ensure the health and safety of our crews, and the communities we work within. Fishing during the COVID-19 pandemic will not be “business as usual,” and we must all commit to a high standard of caution and personal responsibility. Recently, the State of Alaska made major progress in that regard by announcing Health Mandate 17, which implements protective measures for independent commercial fishing vessels as well as requiring operators to sign an Agreement Form (Appendix 02). This mandate is based on extensive input from medical professionals and commercial fish...

49-foot Crabber Fits the Bill for Crescent City Fisherman

6Feb

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Captain Dave, From the Fleet, News

49-foot Crabber Fits the Bill for Crescent City Fisherman

ROBERT WAKEFIELD BEGAN FISHING OUT OF CRESCENT CITY ON THE northern California coast in 1977 and soon decided he wanted a boat of his own. By 1979, he had become the owner of a small wooden boat, and has worked his way through several more over the last 40 years. His son Troy started fishing with him in 2007, and went full time in 2009. Since then, they’ve fished primarily for Dungeness crab and prawn and trolled for salmon on an older wooden trawler. Robert still appreciates the lines of a traditional design, but he has done his fair share of maintenance and repairs on wooden hulls and was ready to upgrade to a new fiberglass boat for the rest of his career. He was looking for a good-looking combo hull with a bit more beam, a lot more capacity, a modern pilothouse and cabin, ...