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A new book out this spring from the National Geographic Society speaks of the Bristol Bay watershed, with its world famous sockeye salmon run, and the threat that large-scale mining poses to the ecosystem. Hidden Alaska, Bristol Bay and Beyond, is the work of National Geographic photographer Michael Melford and freelance writer Dave Atcheson, board president of the Renewable Resources Coalition in Alaska.“The salmon are the heartbeat of the bay, both defining and supporting it,” writes Melford, in the book’s foreword. For centuries, he notes local Yupik and Aleut tribes have harvested, smoked and preserved salmon as their primary food for winter sustenance. Likewise the large brown bears, beluga whales and eagles depend on this harvest. “All this richness is possible only because the area ...

The South Peninsula fishing fleet, which has faced criticism in the past for allegedly harvesting chum salmon headed for the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim, voted for the second consecutive year to have seiners sit out the first opening of this year’s salmon fishery.According to the Aleutians East Borough, the fleet heeded word from subsistence fishermen that chum-to-sockeye ratios were still high on the eve of the first opening.For years now the Alaska Board of Fisheries has heard concerns voiced by commercial and subsistence fishermen in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta that the Area M fish harvests have affected commercial and subsistence chum salmon runs. The Board of Fisheries in 2004 lifted restrictions to pre-2001 levels after finding no evidence that previous restrictions on salmon fishing...

Federal fishery managers, prompted by the incidental catch of more than 51,000 Chinook salmon in the 2010 Gulf of Alaska Pollock fishery, have placed a 25,000 king bycatch cap on the fishery. The action came on June 12 during the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s meeting in Nome.Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell made the motion to adopt the 22,500 Chinook bycatch cap, but other council members argued that the Pollock fleet deserved a 25,000 cap to give vessels more cushion to catch the allowable amount of Pollock without hitting the king salmon cap.Their debate centered around how much responsibility to place on the Pollock fleet to avoid salmon bycatch versus how much benefit there would be to the salmon resource.Kodiak fish harvester Theresa Peterson, a community c...

By John Platt HurwitzIt’s six days ‘til salmon season opens in California; the initial part of the season focuses on Pt. Arena south to Pt. Sur. We fish out of Half Moon Bay so that means we have a few days to get ready. Late last week we finished bringing in the crab gear and stacking it in the yard. While a good crab season comes to an end we hope for a good start to a productive salmon season. As we make the switch, my mind drifts back to another salmon season.It was around April 1972 that Irene and I, bona-fide greenhorns, bought our first boat, the Alice E. We were enchanted by the whole idea of fishing for a living. What could be better? I loved to fish and she, a very very dedicated wife, was ready to follow me anywhere and everywhere, and surprisingly, she did.In those days salmon ...

Officials with United Fishermen of Alaska say fishing fleets, processors and others in the seafood industry have stepped up to the plate in fundraising to help Japan’s fishing communities, raising over a third of a million dollars to date. And, says UFA, they’re looking for more people in the industry to get involved. Anyone who would like to coordinate a fundraising event in their own fishing community with help from UFA is asked to contact Alaska Fishing Industry Relief Mission Inc. at www.akjapanhelp.org AFIRM has no overhead because its board is composed of volunteers so all contributions go directly for assistance of severely impacted fishing communities.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is seeking public comment through July 8 on a Bristol Bay critical habitat areas draft management plan addressing five critical habitat areas: Egegik, Pilot Point, Cinder River, Port Heiden and Port Moller, located on the north side of the Alaska Peninsula. The management plan will apply to state lands and waters and private lands within the critical habitat area boundaries. ADF&G will use the plan and subsequent regulations to authorize appropriate activities in the critical habitat areas through special area permitting. The five critical habitat areas include the major estuaries along the southern shore of Bristol Bay.The primary purpose of the critical habitat areas is to protect and preserve habitat areas especially crucial to the perpetuation...

Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has launched a new promotional website – www.wildalaskaflavor.com – filled with recipes for sandwiches, appetizers, entrees, soups and salad that include wild Alaska seafood as an ingredient. Each recipe includes a list of ingredients, directions for preparation, a photo of the finished product and complete nutritional information, from calories and omega-3 content to amounts of protein, cholesterol, carbohydrates, fiber, sodium and calcium. Also included are links to the Alaska Seafood Channel on YouTube to show everyone from those new to preparing seafood to seasoned chefs how to purchase, store, poach, steam, broil, roast, grill and pan sear wild Alaska seafood, plus quick tricks from Alaska fishermen for smoking fish, preparing rubs and marinades and ...

The king salmon bycatch issue on the agenda for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting in Nome this week has attracted a great deal of attention. More than 500 people residing in communities dotting Alaska’s coastline have signed a letter asking the council to cap at 22,500 fish the number of king salmon that may be caught as bycatch in the Gulf of Alaska pollock trawl fishery. According to a list provided by the Alaska Marine Conservation Council those signers include commercial, sport and subsistence harvesters.Not that the signers are pleased with that number. In fact, they said in their petition that they feel 15,000 fish is a more appropriate hard cap, because it represents an actual reduction from historical averages. Still, they said they support the preliminary prefer...

The Alaska Board of Fisheries has posted on line its tentative meeting schedule for the 2011/2012 cycle, including sessions in Anchorage, Petersburg and Ketchikan.A two-day work session is set for Oct. 4-5 on cycle organization and stocks of concern at the Coast International Inn in Anchorage. The comment deadline is Sept. 28.Pacific cod for Prince William Sound, Cook Inlet, Kodiak, Chignik and the South Alaska Peninsula are on the agenda for Cot. 6-10, also at Coast International Inn in Anchorage, with a Sept. 28 deadline for comments. The session on Prince William Sound and Upper Copper/Upper Susitna finfish is tentatively set for Dec. 2-7, but the location has not been announced. The deadline for comments is tentatively Nov. 18.Coming up in 2012, the Sons of Norway facilities in Petersb...

By Margaret BaumanCapt'n AndrewIn early March, the 57-foot fishing vessel Capt’n Andrew ran aground four miles southeast of King Cove, Alaska, serving as illustration for a new report from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services that finds that commercial fishing continues to be the State of Alaska’s most dangerous occupation. The five crewmembers of the Capt’n Andrew were rescued by good Samaritan fishing vessel Just In Case. US Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 2nd Class Dan Buress.Interventions developed by the Coast Guard in Alaska for stability checks on the Bering Sea crab fleet have helped, but on an overall basis, commercial fishing continues to be the state’s most dangerous occupation, a new report confirms.According to the Alaska Department of Health and Social Servi...