Ghost Ship Wanders Into Shipping Lanes

UPDATE:

Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley says Coast Guard District 17 is actively broadcasting the vessel’s current location to mariners over channel 16 to alert them of the navigation hazard. The Coast Guard is not making public the exact coordinates of the vessel out of concerns over possible unauthorized salvage operations.

The US State Department has been in contact with the Japanese authorities, who have indicated no interest from the former owner or insurance provider to reacquire the vessel. The USCG is considering quick solutions to removing the hazard, including sinking the vessel.

US Coast Guard officials are monitoring an unmanned Japanese shrimping vessel drifting at sea, about 180 miles west of the US and Canadian border, using transmitters on buoys deployed into the ocean near the vessel. The vessel has been drifting unmanned at sea, presumably since the 2011 Fukoshima earthquake and subsequent tsunami more than a year ago. The concern is that the Ryou-Un-Maru, estimated to be 150-200 feet long, has wandered into shipping lanes, while drifting north northwest, paralleling the coastline. Coast Guard Petty Officer 1st Class David Mosley said Coast Guard District 17 is actively broadcasting the vessel’s current location to mariners to alert them of the navigation hazard.

US Senators Mark Begich, D-Alaska, and Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., meanwhile have called for a federal action plan to address massive amounts of tsunami debris off the Pacific Coast, out of concern for marine ecosystems and the economies of coastal communities. They noted that there is no plan in place to address a large-scale marine debris event such as the approaching tsunami trash. The senators asked the Obama administration to mobilize emergency research funds to give scientists the tools they need to determine the trajectory, volume, composition and potential impact of the tsunami debris. They also urged increased support for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s debris program, for which the administration’s 2013 budget request reduces that program by 25 percent.

Debris from the tsunami is currently spread out over an area measuring 2,000 by 1,000 nautical miles. It is expected to hit Hawaii later this year and Washington and Alaska early next year.

Meanwhile, the Coast Guard has been working with federal, state and local agencies to ensure the safety of the maritime transportation system and marine environment.

Chum Salmon Bycatch Issues Likely Won’t Be Resolved Until 2014

Efforts to amend the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery management plan and federal regulations to establish new measures to reduce chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea Pollock fishery now likely won’t be resolved at earliest until 2014.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, during its spring meeting in Anchorage, voted to send the issue back for further analysis. Chris Oliver, executive director of the council, said the matter will probably be on the agenda for the October meeting in Anchorage. If a final decision is made then, it would then go to the US Department of Commerce for approval.

The incidental catch of chum, and also king salmon, in groundfish fisheries has been very controversial for a number of years, pitting a groundfish fishery worth millions of dollars against Western Alaska salmon fishermen, who harvest chum and king salmon for both their commercial value and for subsistence.

On one hand, the groundfish fisheries provide major income for members of the Western Alaska Community Development Association, whose mandate is to provide the 65 eligible villages in Western Alaska with an opportunity to participate and invest in Bering Sea fisheries, support economic development, to provide economic and social benefits to Alaska, and achieve sustainable, diversified local economies.

On the other hand, in a number of villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers, commercial fishing income is vital to the economic wellbeing of the community, and an adequate subsistence harvest of fish is strongly tied to cultural heritage and basic survival of the people and often dog teams. When wild salmon runs are so weak that commercial and even subsistence harvests are limited, many people are dependent on food banks and other such resources for their own food.

A summary of National Marine Fisheries Service meetings with Alaska Native tribes, presented to the council by Jim Balsiger, administrator of the Alaska Region for NOAA Fisheries, included specific comments from tribal members regarding their concern for lowering the bycatch of salmon in groundfish fisheries.

A table in the council’s initial review draft environmental assessment of Bering Sea non-chinook salmon prohibited species catch management measures shows that while the number of chum salmon taken in Bering Sea Pollock fisheries declined from a high of 704,552 fish in 2005 to 13,222 fish by 2010 that the bycatch rose again in 2011 to 191,445 fish. That document, written by council plan coordinator Diana Stram, notes that since 2005 the Pollock fishery contribution to the total non-Chinook bycatch has ranged from 88 percent in 2010 to 99.3 percent in 2005.

The Pollock fishery in waters off Alaska is the largest domestic fishery by volume, producing from the Pollock roe (eggs), surimi and fillet products. In 2009 alone, the total value of Pollock was estimated at $1.03 billion, Stram noted. This value increased to $1.06 billion in 2010, she wrote.

Alaska Fish Board Increases Allocation of Aleutian Island Golden King Crab

A five percent increase in the Aleutian Islands golden king crab allocation, approved by the Alaska Board of Fisheries at its March meeting in Anchorage, goes into effect in August, raising the 2012-13 quota to nearly 6.3 million pounds.

That’s some 300,000 additional pounds annually.

Price potential is undetermined at this time.

Dick Tremaine, asset manager for Siu Alaska Corp., a wholly owned subsidiary of Norton Sound Economic Development Corp., said the overall price paid to fishermen last year for the entire fishery was just below an average of $5 a pound for six million pounds, so that the entire fishery was worth $30 million.

Tremaine said fishermen have been harvesting more golden king crab, also known as brown crab, in each pot, and the state board agreed that this justified an increase in the allocation.

Siu owns half of the individual fishing quota of the Aleutian 1, one of several vessels engaged in the fishery, and delivers to three processors at Dutch Harbor, including Alyeska, Unisea and Bering Fisheries.

Tremaine said there are expectations that prices may go down a little, possibly to a low of $4 a pound in ex-vessel value, with more legal crab coming in from Russia.

Another concern is the rising price of fuel, Tremaine said.

“We are burning 500 gallons a day of diesel at $4 a gallon for each trip,” he said.

NPFMC Asks for Further Analysis on Halibut Catch Sharing Plan

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council has identified new preferred alternatives for a halibut catch sharing plan for further analysis, with final action now expected at its October meeting in Anchorage.

The vote at the council’s spring meeting in Anchorage came after hours of testimony and discussion. Duncan Fields, a council member from Kodiak, said that indeed some change will occur, but the question for the October meeting is what the magnitude of that change will be. The motion approved by the council on April 2 amended the federal council’s previous action on the halibut catch sharing plan in ways that stand to give an increased allocation to the charter sector, by revising charter allocations at lower levels of abundance.

The motion included recommendations of the Halibut Charter Management Implementation Committee and the council’s advisory panel to adopt the 2012 Model for determining annual charter halibut management measures under the catch sharing plan and remove the current matrix of management measures included in the current proposed rule.

Also included was the use of Alaska Department of Fish and Game logbooks as the primary data collection method, rather than the statewide harvest survey and a revision in the guided angler fish program, to issue GAF by conversion of individual fishing quota pounds to numbers of fish, based on the average weight of guided angler fish from the previous year.

Linda Behnken, executive director of the Alaska Longline Fishermen’s Association, noted in her testimony to the council the importance of both charter and commercial fishing businesses to the economic well being of coastal communities.

“During the 18 years this has been debated and re-debated at the council, the (Alaska) Board of Fish has implemented allocation between sport and commercial users for salmon, rockfish, lingcod, and developed management measures to stay with in the allocation,” she said. “We need the council process to quit the endless rounds of analysis and provide resolution.”

Behnken said data in the supplemental analysis on the halibut issue available to the council showed that “a person following the rules and buying quota share periodically over the years is now so far underwater (financially) that they cannot sell the quota share to pay off their debt.”

Behnken said the analysis showed the impacts on commercial fishermen caused by uncertainty and low abundance of halibut.

She cited data in that analysis showing that a person who bought 3,500 pounds of halibut individual fishing quota in 2003 now has less than 1,000 pounds, or a decline of more than two-thirds. Another table in that analysis shows that the average vessel harvest has declined, but not as much as the quota cuts, indicating that quota share holders are fishing together on fewer boats, resulting in lost crew jobs and down stream economic hardships, she said.

What to Look For in a New RSW Chiller

By Rick Greenquist

The most common on-board refrigeration system in the fishing industry, besides galley refrigeration, is the Refrigerated Sea Water (RSW) system. For the fisherman that needs to refrigerate his catch, the reliable operation of the RSW system is extremely critical. Inadequate capacity means shorter trips; unreliable operation can mean the loss of the entire catch, as well as the loss of fuel and supply expenses for that trip.

When you contract for a new RSW system, how do you know that the system you purchase will meet your expectations? In a highly competitive environment where the purchase price often sells the system, you can easily get shortchanged on capacity. Furthermore, the lack of a properly engineered RSW design can leave you with a troublesome system that costs more to own than any other system on your boat. Both of these problems often have no easy remedy.

Selecting a refrigeration manufacturer and installer is very important, but also important is having a basic understanding of how equipment capacity is determined, what kind of equipment is available, and how to get the important information documented on the purchase and sale documents.

Here are some frequently asked questions that will put you on top of your game as a purchaser and user of water chilling equipment.

Q: I have quotes from several different sources for a 20-ton chiller, and the prices are so different. Why?

A: There are a number of reasons, but first you must understand that refrigeration “tons” or “refrigeration capacity” means very little without knowing at what “temperature difference” or TD the tonnage was calculated at. TD is the difference between the refrigerant temperature and the water temperature, and it is directly related to the amount and quality of the heat conductive surface that is doing the refrigeration.

Let’s look at this 20-ton chiller - and let’s say that it can do 20 tons of refrigeration when the temperature of the refrigerant is 10?F lower than the seawater temperature. The heat from the seawater transfers across a heat exchange surface, and there is enough surface so that as long as the refrigerant is 10?F lower than the seawater, then the chiller will produce 20 tons of refrigeration. Now let’s cut the amount of heat transfer surface in half. If you maintain a refrigerant temperature that is 10?F lower that the seawater temperature, then you will only produce 10 tons of refrigeration, correct? But if we lower our refrigerant temperature another 10?F - giving us a 20?F temperature difference across the smaller heat exchange surface, we will regain our original capacity of 20 tons! Now we’ve learned something new: we can purchase half size chillers at half the cost, and still have as much capacity as we want, correct? Not really. The problem is the freezing point of seawater is around 28?F depending on regional salinity.

A properly designed chiller with adequate water flow can withstand a refrigerant temperature 10?F to 12?F lower than the freezing point without building ice, but at these temperatures, it is a delicate balance point. A chiller requiring a 20?F TD will start to build an ice film on the heat exchange surface when the sea water temperature is around 38?F or so - and once a thin film of ice forms, all of the refrigeration effect goes into building ice, and it is very difficult to bring the temperature down below the 38?F threshold. Again, once ice filming starts, the chiller is in danger of a catastrophic freeze-up that could irreparably damage the chiller.

The lesson here is this: do not purchase refrigeration “tons” without knowing the TD (temperature difference) at which refrigeration tonnage is rated!

Q: I see, so what “TD” rating should I be looking for.

A: In general, a water chiller will be rated at 10?F TD. A chiller with a lower TD - say 6?F will be much more expensive to build, but will have increased performance. A chiller with a higher TD - say 15?F will be much less expensive to build, but will have greater performance related issues. The reason that 10?F is more commonly seen is that it seems to be a good balance point between performance and cost.

Q: I’m replacing an old chiller on my fishing boat, and I’d like a chiller that will give me a faster pull-down time. Will a chiller of higher tonnage get me there?

A: Installing a larger chiller on an existing system may not necessarily give you more refrigeration capacity. If the old chiller was well matched to the compressor, motor, pump, condenser system, and refrigerant piping sizes, then a larger chiller may give you a small margin of capacity increase - but don’t expect much more without retrofitting the other important components. You need to have your whole system, and the way you operate it properly analyzed for compressor capacity, pump capacity, condensing system, piping sizes, etc. The mechanical engineer must also investigate other refrigeration equipment connected to your system before he can honestly tell you what your new chiller capacity will actually be.

Q: I remember the days when you could get those “box style chillers”. I liked them because they seemed to fit well in the companionway between the holds. But I don’t see them very often any more, why?

A: You are correct; they fit in tight, square spaces. That was important back when the mammoth carbon steel shell and tube condensers took up so much room. But these days you have much more compact and lightweight alternatives to the old heavy box style chiller.

The box style chiller also had a host of other problems - they were very sensitive to damage from excessive pump pressure, and limited pump pressures meant limited water flows, resulting in silting. They often had a reputation for being grossly undersized for the tonnage rating - which required very low suction temperatures, and often resulted in catastrophic freeze damage. Another problem is that they were typically made of galvanized steel. Once the galvanizing was eroded away, the remaining life was very short. You can’t get them re-galvanized these days - galvanizers won’t touch used refrigeration coils because they contain entrained compressor oil, which becomes a fire hazard.

Q: How about those “plate and frame” chillers? How do they work out?

A: On clean fluid systems in the commercial building or chemical industry they are very popular. In the marine and food processing industry, they get mixed results from those who have owned them. They are very sensitive to “silting” - (they get clogged with fine particles easily); but the water distribution area within the chiller is the main weak point as an RSW chiller - it easily becomes clogged with the “stringy” component of fish entrail waste, requiring disassembly of the water inlet piping for cleaning.

These chillers have the advantage of being extremely compact, and most on the market have fairly honest tonnage and TD ratings, however the silting and clogging problem remains the most prominent disadvantage - and it is an objection that the seller often counters with the fact that they can be disassembled and cleaned. However, you cannot re-use the between-the-plate gaskets, and a new gasket set is extraordinarily expensive. They are also extremely difficult for even experienced technicians to re-assemble without leaks. At the outset, plan on purchasing new and properly rated pumps, oversized sea strainers with high differential pressure shutdown control, keep track of performance so that you don’t schedule an expensive and troublesome teardown unnecessarily, but do plan for teardowns every two or three years, depending on the water you are fishing in.

If you are considering purchasing a plate and frame chiller, try to find someone in the fishing industry that has some experience with them. Listen to their experience and consider whether or not your experience will be similar.

Q: How about shell and tube chillers?

A: The old shell and tube heat exchanger is still the favorite in the industry as long as you stay away from carbon steel and galvanizing. Look into the new titanium chillers - they are truly “forever” chillers that will probably outlast your boat. They are much more compact and lightweight compared with their carbon steel predecessors.

Here is a checklist that you can use:

• Make sure that the shell and tube chiller is arranged so that the refrigerant is in the tubes, and the water is in the shell. With this configuration, a chiller will likely survive an accidental freeze-up.
• If you design your system so that you are pumping into the chiller and not out of the chiller, then your pump will protect the chiller from the sort of debris that you don’t want going through the chiller, like seaweed, jellyfish, plastic film, net material, etc.
• Select a chiller with no less than 3/8” tube spacing. The chiller pump tends to limit the size of foreign material that can pass. If you have 3/8” tube spacing and adhere to the manufacturer’s GPM requirement, your shell and tube chiller will always stay clear.
• Cupro-nickel chillers have been popular for years; however there are some reports of discolored flesh in some species, and higher dead loss in live tanks among other species. If you are an aluminum boat owner, consider the galvanic corrosion between the copper and aluminum.
• Make sure to protect the chiller with a flow switch to detect freeze up condition. Arrange your compressor controls so that the compressor will be disabled if the chiller pump is not running, and if there is inadequate flow through the chiller.

Q: So, let’s say that I have selected the best chiller for my boat. How can I know that I’ll get what I am paying for?

A: Ask for a written proposal that spells out the important facts so that both you and your contractor know what the engineering parameters and capacities are. The proposal that is delivered to you should contain the following information:

• What is the ambient seawater temperature in the region where your boat will be fishing (57?F to 60?F in the pacific NW), and what is the final chilled water set point that you need? (Insist on a target temperature no higher than 32?F for seawater).
• What is your fish hold capacity in cubic feet?
• How much water will you be starting with - for example, tanked to 1/3 full, 1/2 full or fully pressed?
• What kind “chill-down” time from ambient seawater temperature to the final set point temperature? For example, is a 5-hour chill-down for a fully pressed tank acceptable, or do you require a 3-hour chill-down? This is very important information because it essentially describes the refrigeration capacity of the system.
• What is the refrigeration capacity of the RSW system in “tons of refrigeration”, based on what evaporating temperature, what chiller TD, what condensing temperature, and what RSW flow rate?
• Given the refrigeration capacity of the RSW system, how many pounds of fish will that system chill down in one hour, given a fully prechilled tank of water?
• What is the water flow in GPM, and what size piping will be required?
• What are the motor KW or horsepower requirements? (Will you be able to run this equipment with your existing generator or hydraulic power equipment?)

Selecting the best chiller, getting a written proposal that clearly spells out the parameters and capacities, with a guaranteed performance based on proper insulation and equipment installation, all from a contractor who has a reputation in good standing in the industry, will give you the best chance of success!

Rick Greenquist, an applications engineer with Highland Refrigeration, began his career in the fishing industry unloading king crab in Dutch Harbor, Alaska in the mid 70s but quickly discovered that his true calling was the mechanical aspect of the seafood industry; specifically mechanical refrigeration. Rick has taught classes as an adjunct instructor through the Seattle Community College Marine Training Center, and through the Dutch Harbor, Alaska chapter of Refrigerating Engineers and Technicians Association. His focus in the last two decades has been in mechanical design of refrigeration systems, electronic controls and energy efficiency. He can be reached at rick@highlandref.com.

Commercial Fishermen Want A Role in Ocean Acidification Studies

Commercial fishermen from coastal Alaska say they want to participate in scientific monitoring of the ocean pH in studies of rising ocean acidification.

The Alaska Marine Conservation Council says in a new report out this week that residents of Kodiak, Dillingham and Homer, where they conducted roundtable discussions, are very concerned about damaging traditional uses of marine resources and the harm that will come to the ecosystem that supports those resources.

“The economic value of Alaska’s commercial fisheries approaches $4 billion (first wholesale value), but it is not known how ocean acidification will affect specific fisheries and what the cost will be to the seafood industry and fishery-dependent communities,” said report’s author, Rachel Donkersloot, fisheries program director for the Alaska Marine Conservation Council.

The full report, released March 26, is online at www.akmarine.org

The community roundtable sessions focused on two key points: consequences of ocean acidification are largely unknown, and uncertainty does not validate inaction.

Donkersloot said fishermen aboard vessels can collect water samples and shellfish growers are skilled observers of local conditions.

The roundtable participants acknowledged that ocean acidification is inevitable and the exact consequences are unknown at this time, yet a doom and gloom attitude did not permeate the discussions in these communities, she said. Instead the groups explored ways to address the root cause of ocean acidification in order to mitigate its effect, including reducing carbon emissions as individuals, industries, communities and a nation.

Donkersloot said the group also recognized the economic benefits of clean energy, especially in rural Alaska, where the cost of living soars with fuel prices.

Chum Bycatch Up for Discussion Before North Pacific Fishery Management Council

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council, which is meeting this week in Anchorage, has set aside 12 hours for an initial review of the Bering Sea chum salmon prohibited species catch management environmental assessment and regulatory impact review.

It’s all part of the federal council’s continued effort to reduce the catch of prohibited species chum salmon in the Bering Sea Pollock fishery.

The documents the council will be discussing and hearing testimony on were developed to provide federal decision makers and the public with an evaluation of the predicted environmental, social and economic effects of alternative measures to minimize primarily chum salmon as prohibited species catch in the pollock fishery.

The proposed action would amend the Bering Sea–Aleutian Islands groundfish fishery management plan and federal regulations, and take new steps to reduce chum salmon bycatch in the Bering sea Pollock fishery to the extent practicable while achieving optimum yield.

The documents note that the Bering Sea Pollock fishery catches the majority of the chum salmon harvested incidentally in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands groundfish fisheries.

Any amendment approved for the fishery management plan must comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act. Council staff also noted in an executive summary of the draft environmental assessment that with respect to the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the amendment must be consistent with all ten national standards.

Most relevant for this action would be National Standard 9, which requires that conservation and management measures shall, to the extent practicable, minimize bycatch and to the extent bycatch cannot be avoided, minimize the mortality of such bycatch. Also applicable is National standard 1, which requires that conservation and management measures prevent overfishing while achieving the optimum yield from each fishery.

The Magnuson–Stevens Act defines optimum yield as the amount of harvest that will provide the greatest overall benefit to the nation, particularly with respect to food production and recreational opportunities, while taking into account protection of marine ecosystems.