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Now the shuffling begins at Alaska fisheries offices around the state as the impacts from back and forth veto volleys become more clear. For the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game, an $85 million budget, about half of which is from state general funds, reflects a $997,000 dollar cut for FY 2020. Where and how the cuts will play out across Alaska’s far flung coastal regions is now being decided by fishery managers. “Now that the salmon season is about over we’re taking a good close look at this and what we’re...
As Alaska lawmakers continue their struggle to keep the state afloat, commercial fisheries dodged a bullet that would have removed millions of dollars from its budget. An obscure procedural action within the capital budget called a 'reverse sweep' prevents dozens of program-specific pots of money from being automatically drained into the budget reserve, as Governor Dunleavy aimed to do. "The sweep is money that is not spent in a single year. In this case, it comes from certain sources, such as...
Fisheries fare better than most people in terms of Governor Mike Dunleavy’s budget cuts. Just under one million dollars was cut from the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, leaving it with an $85 million budget, half from state general funds. “To give the governor credit, he recognized the return on investment,” said Doug Vincent-Lang, ADF&G Commissioner. “It’s a theme I had all the way through the legislature that we take a $200 million budget of which about $50 million is unrestricted general funds and...
The biggest fish story for Alaska’s salmon season so far is the early plug of pinks at the South Alaska Peninsula. By June 28, over 8 million pink salmon were taken there out of a statewide catch of just over 8.5 million. Previously, a catch of 2.5 million pinks at the South Peninsula in 2016 was the record for June and last year’s catch was just 1.7 million Managers at the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game at Sand Point said at this pace, this month’s catch could near 10 million pinks. “It’s unheard of, really,” ADF&G’s Elisabeth Fox told KDLG...
Bering Sea crabbers saw upticks in crab recruits during a good fishery for the 2018/2019 season, along with strong prices. The crab season opens in mid-October for red king crab, Tanners and snow crab (opilio), and while fishing goes fast for red kings in order to fill orders for year-end markets in Japan, the fleet typically drops pots for the other species in January. Crabbers said they saw strong showings of younger crab poised to enter the three fisheries. Only male crabs of a certain size are able to be retained for sale. “For Bristol Bay...
The Panhandle plans to be the next Alaska region to give new life to old fishing gear by sending it to plastic recycling centers. The tons of nets and lines piled up in local lots and landfills will become the raw material for soda bottles, cell phone cases, sunglasses, skateboards, swimsuits and more. Juneau, Haines, Petersburg and possibly Sitka have partnered with Net Your Problem to launch an effort this year to send old or derelict seine and gillnets to a recycler in Richmond, British Columbia. “We’re going to be working in a new loc...
Feb. 16 — Anthony Paul Hill was arraigned on charges of driving while license suspended or revoked. A not guilty plea was entered. Feb. 26 — Robert E. Swanson was arraigned on a charge of possession of undersize Tanner crab. The defendant entered a no contest plea and was sentenced to a $3,000 fine with $2,000 suspended, a $20 service charge and the seized crab was forfeited. The court noted that Swanson has fished a lifetime with no violations. Feb. 27 — Katie Jo Edfelt was arraigned before Magistrate Judge Burrell on a petition to revok...
Push that pasta aside. Noodles made from Alaska pollock are poised to become a center of the plate favorite. Alaska Pollock Protein Noodles from Trident Seafoods swept the awards at the 26th annual Alaska Symphony of Seafood new products competition in Juneau. The low carb, "flavor neutral" noodles contain 1O grams of protein per serving and can be swapped with any pasta favorites. The ready to eat item drew raves from judges and samplers from Seattle to Southeast who gave the noodles quadruple...
Small electronic beacons that are being widely used by increasing numbers of fishermen could net them big fines. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are easily attached to nets, longlines and pots and signal the locations of the gear via a vessel’s navigation system, laptops, even cell phones. The inexpensive buoys, which range from $47 to $199 from most online retailers, are regarded as a God send by fishermen in the way they help locate gear as well as being a potential money saver. “If you’re not sitting on your gear with your vesse...
When most people think of Alaska crab, they envision huge boats pulling up “7 bys” for millions of pounds of bounty in the Bering Sea. (7 bys refers to the 7’x7’x3’ size of the crab pots.) But it is the smaller, local crab fisheries that each winter give a big economic boost to dozens of coastal communities across the Gulf of Alaska. They occur at a time when many fishing towns are feeling a lull while awaiting the March start of halibut and herring openers. The gearing up means a nice pulse of extra work and money for just about every bus...
Eating seafood can save lives. Premature birth is the leading cause of death for children under 5 years old worldwide, accounting for nearly one million deaths annually. Now there is proof that eating seafood or marine oils can significantly reduce that number. The lifesaving ingredient? Omega 3 fatty acids. The conclusion of a new Cochrane Review of 70 studies worldwide on nearly 20,000 pregnant women stated that omega’s from marine sources reduces early premature birth by a whopping 42 percent. “The effect really has to be strong to see it...
Alaska is the nation's super power when it comes to seafood. American fishermen landed just shy of 10 billion pounds of fish and shellfish last year valued at $5.4 billion, both up slightly. Of that, Alaska accounted for 61 percent of total landings (6 billion pounds) and 33 percent of the value ($1.8 billion). That's according to the 2017 Fisheries of the US Report just released by NOAA Fisheries which covers all U.S. regions and species, recreational fishing, aquaculture, trade and much more....
Last night, the Sons of Norway hosted their 44th annual pickled herring and smoked seafood contest. About 175 guests turned out to sample the 24 dishes submitted into the pickled herring, pickled seafood, smoked salmon, smoked seafood and people's choice appetizer categories. Contestents dropped off their dishes at 5:30 P.M. and judging began at 6:30 P.M. The doors opened to the public at 7 P.M. Sig Mathisen won the smoked seafood category with his smoked eel. Kurt Kvernvik won the pickled...
Alaska salmon fishermen harvested 114.5 million fish during the 2018 season for a payout of $595 million at the docks. That’s down 13 percent from the value of last year’s salmon catch. A preliminary wrap up of the 2018 salmon season by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game provides summaries for every fishing region across the state. It shows that sockeye salmon accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total value and 44 percent of the statewide salmon harvest. A catch of 50 million sockeyes added up to nearly $350 million for Alaska fishermen. Chu...
Crab catches dominate Alaska’s fish news in early October as boats gear up for mid-month openers in the Bering Sea. As expected, crabbers will see increased catches for snow crab after the annual survey showed a 60 percent boost in market sized males and nearly the same for females (only male crabs can be retained for sale). Managers announced this week a catch of 27.5 million pounds of snow crab, up 47 percent from last season. Even better, biologists documented one of the largest numbers of small snow crab poised to enter the fishery t...
Bill Tremblay General Information Name: Bill Tremblay Age: 64 Experience: My past experience includes 9 years on the Petersburg City Council (1999-2007), and 2 1/2 years on the City Council for Craig, Alaska (1985-1988). In addition to my 36 year work experience with the Forest Service, I have been a part of several groups or organizations that provide a benefit to the Petersburg community. At this time I am the President of the Board of Directors for KFSK Public Radio, a board member for the...
Offshore fish farms could soon dot the sea scape along with those oil and gas platforms being proposed for U.S. waters by the Trump Administration. The fish farms, which would be installed from three to 200 miles out, are being touted as a way to boost seafood production, provide jobs and reduce the nation’s $16 billion trade deficit due to America’s importing nearly 90 percent of its seafood favorites. The U.S. Commerce Department is holding meetings around the country through November to talk about its strategic plan for getting aqu...
Trump’s trade war now includes tariffs on seafood going to and from China. China is Alaska’s biggest seafood buyer purchasing 54 percent of Alaska seafood exports last year valued at $1.3 billion. On July 6 a 25 percent tariff went into effect on U.S. imports to China, including all Alaska salmon, pollock, cod, herring, flatfish, Dungeness crab, sablefish, geoduck clams and more. Then on July 11 Trump added a 10 percent tariff on all seafood sent from China to the US. According to market expert John Sackton of Seafoodnews.com, it includes pro...
A shuffle in some funding leaves Alaska’s commercial fisheries division in good shape to manage the resources and target important projects across the state. At first glance, the $69 million operating budget for FY19 appears to be down slightly from last year’s $72.3 million but that’s not the case. “Most of that difference is a sort of ‘cleanup’ in authority we no longer had funding for, such as the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund, test fishing and some interagency items. The rest is due to $1.1 million shortfall in Commercial Fisheries E...
Alaska halibut is facing strong headwinds that have dampened the value of the catch shares needed to go fishing. Increasing imports of Atlantic halibut from eastern Canada, reports of several million pounds of halibut holdovers in freezers, speculation of reduced catches again next year, and dock prices down by $2 or more have caused a “major readjustment” in the market for individual fishing quotas (IFQ), according to Alaska brokers. “That definitely dims enthusiasm for buying quota, and prices have come down quite a bit from last year,” said...
Spring is usually the busiest time of year for brokers in the buy/sell/trade business for Alaska salmon permits. But that’s not the case this year. Values for several salmon permits had ticked upwards after a blockbuster salmon fishery in 2017, but they have remained stagnant since last fall. “That sort of summarizes the salmon permit market. There is not a lot of excitement about any of them,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer. A lackluster catch forecast for the upcoming salmon season - down 34 percent – has helped dampen...
More big bundles of old fishing nets will soon be on their way from Dutch Harbor to Denmark to be remade into high end plastics. It will be the second batch of nets to leave Dutch for a higher cause and more Alaska fishing towns can get on board. Last summer a community collaborative put nearly 240,000 pounds, or about 40 nets, into shipping vans that were bound for a Danish ‘clean tech’ company called Plastix. The company refines and pelletizes all types of plastics and resells them to makers of water bottles, cell phone cases and other ite...
Millennials are now the nation’s “peak spenders” and they are gravitating towards healthier eating which favors more seafood. “We see year over year that there is this cohort aged 35 to 54 that is going to be spending far more across categories, including food expenditures, than any others,” said Will Notini, consumer insights manager at Chicago-based Technomic, a leading market tracker for over 50 years.” The company has contracted with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to identify trends in seafood consumption and how best to position...
Dear Santa, I have been a good boy and I have been getting good grades. I have a few thing on my Christmas wish List that I would like Please. Thank you Santa. Love Cadam • Imaginext two Face.van • Imaginext sPongebob PineaPPle playset • Imaginext sPonge bob Krusty crab • Imaginext Power Ranger Red Ranger and Green Ranger and Blue and Black and Yellow Ranger. Thank You! Dear Santa clause, What I want for christmas is a pretty violet purple soft bed set. and some warm fuzzy socks and for my cousi...
Recurring news headlines that have widely circulated about alarming declines of Pacific salmon have spawned a savvy new marketing strategy that tells consumers they can help save wild fish by eating farmed. Earlier this year actor Leonardo DiCaprio invested in a company called LoveTheWild (“a champion of sustainable, delicious fish”) which is promoting its oven-ready farmed fish dishes to U.S. supermarkets. “With LoveTheWild, we sought to create healthy and easy-to-prepare meals that people can feel good about – both in terms of how the fis...
