Chuitna River Listed as One of Nation’s Most Endangered Waterways

A salmon-rich river in Alaska’s Upper Cook Inlet that would be impacted by development of a proposed coal mine is now listed among the nation’s most endangered waterways.

The national non-profit conservation organization American Rivers on April 7 listed the Chuitna River, which flows from the base of the Alaska Range to Cook Inlet, as endangered by the coal strip mine that PacRim Coal, a Delaware –based corporation.

And on the heels of that announcement, the Chuitna Citizens Coalition delivered more than 4,800 comment cards to the Alaska Department of Natural Resources office in Anchorage in favor of keeping water as it is in the Chuitna River and its tributaries, to protect fish habitat. The river supports all five species of Pacific salmon, Dolly Varden and trout.

The proposed mine site lies 12 miles northwest of the Native village of Tyonek and 45 miles west of Anchorage.

Comments on whether the state should proceed with permitting the project or not are being accepted through 5 p.m. on April 9 and may be emailed to Kimberly.sager@alaska.gov

PacRim Coal, which holds a state lease to thousands of acres of Alaska Mental Health LandTrust property, contends that the surface coal mine has the potential for recovery of an estimated 300 million tons of sub-bituminous ultra low sulfur coal. The company PacRim notes on its website that its investment in the project is expected to exceed $600 million, create up to 500 direct jobs during construction and up to 350 full time jobs during the operating life of the mine, plus some 1,200 indirect jobs. And, the company estimates, sale of the coal will generate production royalties to the Alaska Mental Health Land Trust of over $300 million.

Those numbers do not impress commercial fishermen like Terry Jorgensen, who setnets near the mouth of the Chuitna River. “Trading a renewable resource for coal is a short-sighted and dangerous precedent that threatens to put commercial fishermen statewide out of work,” Jorgensen said.

And, said Judy Heilman, president of the Chuitna Citizens Coalition, “to think of strip mining through the river and trading our Alaskan way of life to send coal to China brings tears to my eyes.”

A short video showcasing the river’s values is online at https://vimeo.com/119613758

Information on the proposed mine from PacRim’s perspective is at www.chuitnacoalproject.com

NIOSH Advises Fishermen on How to ‘Live to be Salty’

Falling overboard is the second leading cause of death among commercial fishermen nationwide, and the reason for that, says NIOSH, is not wearing a personal flotation device.

That’s why representatives of the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health were back at Comfish 2015 in Kodiak this past week to show off and promote the use of personal flotation devices designed for use in specific fisheries.

NIOSH’s Ted Teske also introduced the agency’s array of posters promoting use of PFDs, every time fishermen get on deck, with catchy comments like “sure PFDs get in the way, in the way of your drowning.” More on that is online at www.livetobesalty.org

Researchers from the NIOSH Alaska Pacific Office conducted an evaluation with commercial fishermen from four gear groups, crabbers, trawlers, longliners and gillnetters, to rate the comfort and acceptability of six modern PFDs. About 200 fishermen were asked to evaluate a PFD for one month while working on deck so that wearable PFDs could be identified.

After 30 days on deck, the crabbers preferred Mustang and Stearns Inflatable Suspenders. Those aboard trawlers preferred Mustang and Stearns Inflatable Suspenders, the Stearns Foam Work Vest and Regatta Raingear with foam in the bibs. Longliners found the Mustang Inflatable Suspenders to be the only acceptable PFD in the study, and gillnetters liked the Regatta raingear with built-in foam flotation. Their main concern, said fishermen participating in the evaluations, was that PFDs could be an entanglement hazard.

NIOSH recommends that all vessel operators have a PFD policy for their crew, for example that PFDs must be worn 100 percent of the time on deck and/or when the weather turns bad.

More information on NIOSH is online at www.cdc.gov

Ocean Beauty Ranks First in ComFish Filleting Contest

The Ocean Beauty Seafoods team of Edwin Alejandro and Estella Valenzuela combined speed and quality to place first among seven processor teams in the 2015 ComFish seafood filleting contest at Kodiak this past weekend.

Quality of the fillets counted more than speed, as judges inspected the Pacific cod, Arrowtooth flounder and pollock fillets produced by challengers from Ocean Beauty, Alaska Pacific Seafoods, Global Seafoods, International Seafoods of Alaska, Trident’s Kodiak Pillar Mountain Seafoods, Pacific Seafoods, and Trident’s Star of Kodiak.

This was the second year of the lively competition, organized by Ocean Beauty’s Tony Olazabal, and sponsored also by The Kodiak chamber of Commerce and Alaska Groundfish Data Bank.

These filleters are an extremely important part of the community, Jeff Stephan of the United Fishermen’s Marketing Association told the crowd of onlookers. “The fish doesn’t get to the market unless you process it. It is very important to the social and economic structure of our community.”

“We could not have the third largest port in the nation without you,” said Julie Bonney, of Alaska Groundfish Data Bank, who shared master of ceremonies duties with Stephan.

Contest judges were Alex Oliveria of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute, famed Kodiak caterer Joel Chenet, Chris Sannito of the Kodiak Seafood and Marine Science Center, and Jerry Babbit, who is retired from National Marine Fisheries Service.

The annual fishery forum and trade show event attracts several hundred fish harvesters and others in the industry who come to learn the latest information on state and federal fisheries regulations, advancements in safety at sea and educational opportunities in the industry. There were presentations from the National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health on staying alive at sea, and from the Coast Guard on new vessel safety compliance programs.

Speakers at ComFish 2015 also included Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten, Alaska Lt. Gov. Byron Mallot, and executive director Denby Lloyd of the North Pacific Research Board.

EPA Rulemaking Proposal Draws Mixed Reaction

Industry, the state of Alaska and the Alaska Municipal League lined up against the Environmental Protection Agency’s proposed Clean Water Rule, aimed to protect critical streams and wetlands.

But EPA’s proposed action drew support April 6 from the nonprofit public interest environmental law firm Trustees for Alaska, the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, the Native Village of Nuiqsut, on Alaska’s North Slope, and the Alaska chapter of Backcountry Hunters and Anglers.

The testimony from both sides came at a field hearing in Anchorage called by Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, chairman of the fish, water and wildlife subcommittee of the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee. Sullivan has been highly critical of what he describes as the EPA’s “over-reaching jurisdictional expansion, which could significantly increase the amount of land in Alaska regulated under the Clean Water Act.

His views drew support from the Alaska Oil and Gas Association, Resource Development Council for Alaska, Alyeska Pipeline Service Co., Alaska Municipal League, Usibelli Coal Mine and Arctic Slope Regional Corp., all of who were invited to the field hearing by Sullivan.

Tim Troll, executive director of the Bristol Bay Heritage Land Trust, spoke of concerns for protecting salmon habitat in the Bristol Bay watershed, specifically in the Nushagak River. Little creeks, mud holes, back waters, side sloughs and stream channels are all important, and the EPA’s Clean Water Act rulemaking provides protection for these headwaters and ephemeral streams, he said.

Brian Litmans, senior staff attorney for Trustees for Alaska, said that the proposed rule “is rooted in sound science” He told Sullivan “it is time to establish regulations that will eliminate uncertainty,” he said. “Clean water and a healthy environment are essential to all of us.”

Cook Inlet Beluga Whale Population Remains Endangered

The latest federal fisheries count of endangered Cook Inlet beluga whales in Southcentral Alaska totaled 340 animals, a slight, but not scientifically significant increase over the 2012 survey, when the population was estimated at 312 whales.

The March 30 report from NOAA’s Alaska Fisheries Science Center notes that the Cook Inlet belugas, one of five beluga populations recognized within US waters, were listed as endangered under the Endangered Species Act in 2008.

NOAA designated critical habitat for this population of whales in April 2011 and is developing a recovery plan for them while continuing to fund research.

Rod Hobbs, a population biologist with the Cetacean Assessment and Ecology Program at the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, said that to determine whether a population is recovering or declining, small changes from survey to survey don’t inform as much as the trend over a period of 10 to 20 years.

“Estimates can vary from year to year based on weather, oceanographic conditions, changes in beluga behavior or distribution and statistical variability in the data,” Hobbs said.

The Cook Inlet beluga population estimates have been as low as 278 whales and as high as 375 whales during the past decade. The overall population trend for the past 10 years for Cook Inlet beluga whales shows them not recovering and still in decline at an annual average rate of 0.4 percent, an indication that these whales are still in danger of extinction in the foreseeable future. NOAA Fisheries biologists have been conducting aerial surveys of Cook Inlet for over two decades.

In Cook Inlet, they said, belugas concentrate near river mouths or shallow tidal bays during late spring and early summer in the northernmost reaches of the inlet. It is likely that the whales gather in these areas to feed on migrating fish, particularly eulachon and several species of North Pacific salmon.

Reports on the survey and the analysis are online at http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov/protectedresources/whales/beluga/research.htm#ci.

Suspensions Lifted on Chukchi Lease Sale

Interior Department officials have lifted suspensions on a controversial oil and gas lease sale on the Chukchi Sea, clearing the way for a decision on Shell Oil Co.’s revised Chukchi Sea exploration plan.

The announcement on March 31 from Interior Secretary Sally Jewell drew critical responses from major environmental groups, including Oceana, Earthjustice, the Center for Biological Diversity, the Sierra Club, the Natural Resources Defense Council, and others.

Oceana and others cited language in the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management’s own final second supplemental environmental impact statement that says there is a 75 percent chance of one or more large spills occurring from activities on the 2.8 million acres of leases that Shell and other companies purchased in lease sale 193.

Shell spokeswoman Megan Baldino in Anchorage acknowledged that Jewell’s decision clears the path for BOEM to conclude its review and make a decision on Shell’s revised Chukchi Sea exploration plan.

“The execution of that plan remains contingent on achieving the necessary permits, legal certainty and our own determination that we are prepared to explore safely and responsibly,” she said.

“The Arctic is an important component of the administration’s national energy strategy, and we remain committed to taking a thoughtful and balanced approach to oil and gas leasing and exploration offshore Alaska,” Jewell said. “This unique, sensitive and often challenging environment requires effective oversight to ensure all activities are conducted safely and responsibly.”

With Interior’s record of decision in hand, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management may begin formally review of a company’s exploration plan for the Chukchi Sea. That will include public engagement and additional environmental analyses, plus a review of other federal agencies and approval of activities before any exploration activity can occur.

Legal challenges in the aftermath of the original environmental impact statement for lease sale 193 prompted a federal court decision remanding the lease sale back from BOEM for further analysis. The most recent court decision, from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals specifically addressed BOEM’s estimates of production levels from continental shelf oil fields that might discover in the Chukchi Sea.

Susan Murray, deputy vice president for the Pacific for Oceana, said that “the Obama administration has steadfastly refused to fully and fairly evaluate the risks of selling leases in the Chukchi Sea and, instead, treats the leases sold in 2008 as if they’re set in stone.” The government violated the law when it decided to hold lease sale 193, and the government’s subsequent reasons to stand by the sale are no more persuasive, she said.

Study Suggests Humpies Outcompeting Sockeye Salmon for Food

A new study in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences suggests that increased abundance of pink salmon in the North Pacific Ocean is linked to declining trends in sockeye salmon populations.

Their findings highlight the need for countries across the North Pacific Rim to recognize limitations of the North Pacific ecosystem and manage limited salmon resources at an oceanic scale, said Greg Ruggerone, of Natural Resources Consultants in Seattle, and Brendan Connors of ESSA Technologies, in Vancouver, British Columbia.

Ruggerone said he began his investigation when the Pacific Salmon Commission asked him, in the wake of the decline of Fraser River sockeye in 2010, to test whether competition at sea might explain the decline in the Fraser River salmon.

Ruggerone and Connors said their studies suggest that growing numbers of pink salmon in the North Pacific Ocean are leading to increased competition for food with sockeye salmon from Washington State through British Columbia to Southeast Alaska. This food competition results in slower sockeye salmon growth, delayed maturation and ultimately reductions in sockeye salmon survival and abundance, they said.

Pink salmon abundance exhibits a strong alternating year pattern related to their two-year life span, with pink salmon abundance greater in odd-numbered years.

The high abundance of humpies in the North Pacific, which reached 640 million adult fish in 2009 when many Fraser River sockeye populations collapsed, is linked to declining trends in most of the studied 36 sockeye populations over the past two decades, including sockeye salmon from the Fraser River.

Based on relationships found between sockeye survival and pink salmon abundance, for example, an increase in pink salmon abundance from 150 million to 600 million fish was predicted to result in the reduction of Fraser River red salmon abundance by 67 percent from some 16 million to 5.3 million sockeye salmon.

Ruggerone and Connors urged fishery managers to consider applying an ecosystem perspective when managing salmon, including a cap on industrial scale hatchery salmon production as one way to minimize the potential for increasing abundances of pink salmon adversely impacting wild sockeye salmon.