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Last week “A Digital Gathering” began and 2,098 people have signed.“Out of respect for the law of this land, the Broughton First Nations and future generations, we recognize that the land tenures under the salmon feedlots in Broughton have expired. We the under-signed affirm that the region known as the Broughton Archipelago (between and including Kingcome and Knight Inlets and west through Drury Inlet) is therefore legally salmon feedlot-free. We call on the Province of British Columbia to honour this reality that they caused by not renewing the salmon feedlot leases and remove the feedlot equipment from Broughton so that wild fish can thrive in these waters to the benefit of all.”While the BC government appears to support salmon feedlots in the ocean, they have not renewed the land tenur...

By Margaret BaumanPreliminary estimates from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on the 2010 commercial salmon harvest and its value show that harvesters of wild salmon took home their largest paychecks in 18 years.The preliminary 2010 estimate indicates that the harvest generated $533.9 million for those paychecks, the highest ex-vessel value of any season since 1992, with Bristol bay and Prince William Sound accounting for 55 percent of the total value of all salmon harvested.The ADF&G report, issued Nov. 8, notes that preliminary 2010 statewide average prices showed an increase for all species of salmon compared to final 2009 prices. “The increase continues a strong recovery trend from the low salmon prices of 2002,” researchers said. Final 2010 prices for all salmon species may ...

A coalition of commercial fishing, native, and conservation groups announced the launch of their website www.fishbasket.org which will serve as an information center for groups and individuals seeking permanent protection for Bristol Bay from offshore oil and gas drilling.In March of this year, prior to the spill in the Gulf of Mexico, the Obama administration removed Bristol Bay from the federal offshore and gas leasing schedule until 2017. But, given Bristol Bay’s rich fishery, the coalition believes area deserves permanent protection from the inherent risks of offshore oil drilling. Bristol Bay fisheries are valued at more than $2 billion annually and sustainably support thousands of jobs, whereas the estimated value for finite oil and gas in the area is only $7 billion over the life ...

While most Americans know that making a false 911 call is illegal, a false distress call to the US Coast Guard is also a crime.Recently a Detroit resident was convicted and sentenced in federal court for making a false distress call to the US Coast Guard, according to United States Attorney Barbara McQuade and Captain Stephen Torpey, Chief of Incident Management for the Ninth Coast Guard District.Andre D. Cheatom, 19 years old, was sentenced to 18 months incarceration, supervised release for three years, a special assessment of $100.00, and ordered to pay $14,302 in restitution for knowingly and willfully causing the Coast Guard to attempt to save lives and property when no help was needed, in violation of Title 14, U.S. Code, section 88(c).“When members of the Coast Guard respond to a hoa...

By Jonathan Hemmerdinger for Saving SeafoodCommercial bluefin tuna fishermen and the lawmakers who represent them in Washington are sparring with federal regulators over a statement made in Paris last week by the top US oceans official.On Nov. 19, Jane Lubchenco, head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, told Reuters that the US government supports cuts in the commercial fishing quota for bluefin tuna in both the western and Eastern Atlantic Ocean."When there is uncertainty in science we believe that it is important to err on the side of caution. We believe that it is appropriate therefore to seek lower TACs (total allowable catches) for bluefin tuna for both sides of the Atlantic," said Lubchenco, who was attending a meeting of the International Commission for the Conse...

A letter, below, gives a real-life, firsthand account of the perils of the new electronically controlled marine diesels being mandated by the Environmental Protection Agency for installation in fishing boats. In his Toolbox column this month, David Rowland gives his own firsthand account of the process involved in holding a sea trial of a boat with one of these engines. A counterpoint is offered by a paper published recently by Alaska Sea Grant entitled, Does Diesel Have a Future in the Fishing Industry?The piece, authored by Greg Fisk, owner of SeaFisk Consulting, suggests several alternatives to petroleum diesel, including nuclear power and hydrogen or electric propulsion, and offers biodiesel as another alternative, including diesel made from algae. Unfortunately, admits Mr. Fisk, none ...

Are you interested in working with wild salmon and helping to restore this valuable and precious resource? Washington’s Hood Canal is home to several species of salmon and is one of the last locations with viable populations in the Puget Sound region. Julie Easton, Volunteer Coordinator for the Hood Canal Salmon Enhancement Group, says they need you to help with their continued salmon recovery efforts.“Right now, we have some of big volunteer projects going on that you could help with,” she says.Spawner surveys: “We have teams of volunteers and staff that walk Hood Canal creeks to count dead and live salmon throughout the coho and fall chum spawning season through January 1st.”Native Riparian Plantings: “We are working to plant native species in riparian areas where we have treated invasiv...

Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar has issued a Secretarial Order elevating the Office of the National Landscape Conservation System and Community Partnerships in the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) to the level of a directorate within BLM.“This action reflects the growing importance of the 27-million acre National Landscape Conservation System to local economies, to the health of communities, and to the conservation of some of America’s greatest landscapes,” Salazar said at the National Landscape Conservation System Summit in Las Vegas. “The BLM plays a special role in protecting America’s great outdoors for the benefit of all Americans – for it is the national conservation lands that contain the forests and canyons that families love to explore, the backcountry where children learn to...

The Sakhalin Island trap net pink salmon fishery announced this week that it has entered the full assessment phase of the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) certification process. After more than two years of preparatory work, 11 fishing companies that annually harvest up to 21,000 metric tons of pink salmon have stepped forward.“Entering full MSC assessment is an affirmation of our concerted efforts to conserve and sustainably manage Russia’s wild salmon resources,” said Vladimir Smirnov, head of Plavnik Co., one of the commercial fishing companies entering the program.Howard Johnson, Global Programs Director of the Sustainable Fisheries Partnership, added, “MSC is the key to unlocking global markets for Sakhalin’s salmon fisheries. The MSC certification is becoming a ‘must-have’ for fisher...

By Bob TkaczNicole Lefebvre, a Canadian Ranger from Atlin British Columbia and Canadian Coast Guard Environmental Response Officer Mike Leonard of Hay River practice deploying boom on the shoreline of Resolute Bay, Nunavut. Ms. Lefebvre is one of 17 Rangers who received spill response training from the Canadian Coast Guard. Photo courtesy of Fisheries and Oceans Canada.The Canadian government is using the knowledge of Arctic residents and local conditions like floating ice as a natural containment boom in response drills for the common northern hazard of diesel fuel spills.“In some cases moving ice is going to be a problem because you have to fasten the boom like you would a fence. The mass of ice, moving through at slow currents is going to tear apart your boom,” said Larry Trigatti, supe...