Alaska celebrates its first Wild Salmon Day today, and the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is asking everyone in the state to celebrate by cooking, eating, catching, photographing and sharing their favorite photos of wild salmon on social media.
Bristol Bay Native Corp. will mark the occasion with a public salmon bake, featuring fresh wild Bristol Bay salmon, guest speakers and live entertainment in Anchorage. BBNC will also be a supporting partner at events taking place today in Dillingham, Naknek, New Stuyahok, Nondalton and Togiak.
And The Alaska Center, in partnership with Cook Inletkeeper, Trout Unlimited and the Alaska Marine Conservation Council, will host a barbecue, with grilled salmon and scoops of ice cream at Cuddy Park in midtown Anchorage.
In Fairbanks, a forum is planned on “Local connections to Chinook Salmon”
House Bill 128 signed into law on May 8 by Alaska Gov. Bill Walker, designates Aug. 10 of every year as Alaska Wild Salmon Day, to celebrate the enormous bounty of wild king, sockeye, coho, chum and pinks salmon harvested in the state annually.
Drafters of the bill are encouraging all Alaskans to observe the day with educational and celebratory events, projects and activities.
Wednesday, August 10, 2016
20 New Fish Species Identified in Chukchi,
Beaufort Seas
A new federal report on Arctic fish species includes descriptions of 109 marine fish species from the Chukchi and Beaufort seas, including 20 newly confirmed species, providing planners much new information for managing fish populations.
“Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog: Beaufort and Chukchi Seas,” is a major synthesis and compendium of biological information about marine fishes in the US Arctic. The study focuses on new information collected since the publication of the “Fishes of Alaska” in 2002.
Lead author Lyman Thorsteinson, an emeritus scientist with the US Geological survey, notes that Alaska’s rapidly changing climate is affecting the region’s ecology and economic opportunities in the Arctic.
“The physical and biological qualities of hospitable marine habitats are developing in warming Arctic waters, and, with respect to human developments, previously ice-covered areas are opening and becoming accessible to new exploration,” he said.
The research results from investigators from USGS and the University of California at Santa Barbara was released by USGS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It summarizes what is known about the natural history of each species and explores adaptations and limitations of fish populations to Arctic environments. The goal is for this information to be useful in directing future research needs and informing natural resource managers about high priority marine fish species, the authors said.
Thorsteinson noted in an email response to questions on the connection between climate change and the 20 newly confirmed species that it would be difficult to assert that newly identified species in the last decade are due to climate changes.
“This is a frontier area where sampling has been largely located in the very nearshore with only very recent systematic surveys conducted very far offshore,” Thorsteinson said. “What we know about species presence and zoogeography are derived from a variety of surveys which have often been conducted for environmental assessment of offshore oil and gas exploration and development,” he said.
It is a region devoid of commercial fisheries and the present lack of long-term data. New information is development though from recent research supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. New confirmations included in the report came from fieldwork and museum studies conducted in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas since around 2002.
Thorsteinson noted that Pacific influences on the physical and biological oceanography of the region are great. “They include advection of water and biogenic materials and it is likely that certain Bering Sea species associated with the different water masses transported into the region are shifting in their distributions to the north,” he said.
“Alaska Arctic Marine Fish Ecology Catalog: Beaufort and Chukchi Seas,” is a major synthesis and compendium of biological information about marine fishes in the US Arctic. The study focuses on new information collected since the publication of the “Fishes of Alaska” in 2002.
Lead author Lyman Thorsteinson, an emeritus scientist with the US Geological survey, notes that Alaska’s rapidly changing climate is affecting the region’s ecology and economic opportunities in the Arctic.
“The physical and biological qualities of hospitable marine habitats are developing in warming Arctic waters, and, with respect to human developments, previously ice-covered areas are opening and becoming accessible to new exploration,” he said.
The research results from investigators from USGS and the University of California at Santa Barbara was released by USGS and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. It summarizes what is known about the natural history of each species and explores adaptations and limitations of fish populations to Arctic environments. The goal is for this information to be useful in directing future research needs and informing natural resource managers about high priority marine fish species, the authors said.
Thorsteinson noted in an email response to questions on the connection between climate change and the 20 newly confirmed species that it would be difficult to assert that newly identified species in the last decade are due to climate changes.
“This is a frontier area where sampling has been largely located in the very nearshore with only very recent systematic surveys conducted very far offshore,” Thorsteinson said. “What we know about species presence and zoogeography are derived from a variety of surveys which have often been conducted for environmental assessment of offshore oil and gas exploration and development,” he said.
It is a region devoid of commercial fisheries and the present lack of long-term data. New information is development though from recent research supported by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and the Department of the Interior’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. New confirmations included in the report came from fieldwork and museum studies conducted in the Chukchi and Beaufort seas since around 2002.
Thorsteinson noted that Pacific influences on the physical and biological oceanography of the region are great. “They include advection of water and biogenic materials and it is likely that certain Bering Sea species associated with the different water masses transported into the region are shifting in their distributions to the north,” he said.
Wednesday, August 3, 2016
Draft EIS on Potential Cook Inlet Lease Sale
Public comment is being sought through Sept. 6 on a draft environmental impact statement analyzing possible environmental impact of a potential oil and gas lease sale in Alaska’s Cook Inlet, a major commercial salmon harvest area.
A notice of availability of the draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 22, opening a 45-day public comment period.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also has scheduled meetings in Anchorage on Aug. 15, Homer on Aug. 17, and Kenai/Soldotna on Aug. 18.
The draft EIS and directions for providing public comment online are available at www.boem.gov/ak244/.
While recognizing that interest in exploration and development in Cook Inlet may be limited at this time, BOEM officials said they were conducting the necessary environmental review to aid in decision on whether or how to proceed with lease sale 244, currently scheduled for June 2017.
The draft EIS analyzes important environmental resources, commercial fishing of Pacific salmon and halibut, subsistence activities, sea otter and beluga whale populations, and more that currently exist within the Cook Inlet planning area, and identifies robust mitigation measures to be considered in leasing the area. The draft EIS also analyzes a range of alternatives to be considered for leasing.
Abigail Ross Hopper, BOEM’s director said that while Cook Inlet has oil and gas potential, there are sensitive marine and coastal resources that Alaska Native communities depend on for subsistence.
Once the EIS is finalized, the Department of the Interior will then make its decision on whether to hold the lease sale.
A notice of availability of the draft EIS was published in the Federal Register on July 22, opening a 45-day public comment period.
The federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management also has scheduled meetings in Anchorage on Aug. 15, Homer on Aug. 17, and Kenai/Soldotna on Aug. 18.
The draft EIS and directions for providing public comment online are available at www.boem.gov/ak244/.
While recognizing that interest in exploration and development in Cook Inlet may be limited at this time, BOEM officials said they were conducting the necessary environmental review to aid in decision on whether or how to proceed with lease sale 244, currently scheduled for June 2017.
The draft EIS analyzes important environmental resources, commercial fishing of Pacific salmon and halibut, subsistence activities, sea otter and beluga whale populations, and more that currently exist within the Cook Inlet planning area, and identifies robust mitigation measures to be considered in leasing the area. The draft EIS also analyzes a range of alternatives to be considered for leasing.
Abigail Ross Hopper, BOEM’s director said that while Cook Inlet has oil and gas potential, there are sensitive marine and coastal resources that Alaska Native communities depend on for subsistence.
Once the EIS is finalized, the Department of the Interior will then make its decision on whether to hold the lease sale.
Wild Salmon Harvest in Alaska Nears 84 Million Fish
Commercial pink salmon harvests in Alaska rose by nearly 7 million fish this past week, pushing the overall humpy catch to 21,324,000 fish, and the statewide total of all five species of salmon to 83.9 million fish.
In Southeast Alaska deliveries of 13,504,000 fish included 7.4 million humpies, 4.5 million chums, 816,000 silvers, 628,000 sockeyes, and 240,000 Chinooks, up from last week’s overall catch of 8.9 million salmon.
Bristol Bay harvests reached 38.5 million salmon, up by about 1 million fish from the previous week, including 37.5 million reds, while Prince William Sound saw its deliveries to processors reach 13.8 million salmon, up from 11.9 million salmon just a week earlier.
And the chums and humpies kept coming on the Lower Yukon, pushing the harvest total there to 658,000 chums, 127,000 humpies and 2,000 cohos, up from 599,000 chums, and 127,000 pinks on July 26.
On the Alaska Peninsula, deliveries to processors climbed to a total of 9.3 million fish, including 5.6 million sockeyes, 3 million pinks, 458,000 chums, 174,000 silvers and 9,000 kings. Chignik’s overall catch rose from 1.2 million to 1.4 million fish, including more than 1 million reds, 83,000 chums, 80,000 humpies, 46,000 cohos and 14,000 kings.
At Kodiak, processors received nearly 1 million more fish, bringing Kodiak’s total catch to 14 million salmon, including 8.3 million sockeyes.
With the Copper River season winding down, Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle was still offering whole fresh Copper River sockeyes for $43.96 per fish, and fresh Copper River sockeye fillets for $20.99 a pound, plus fresh whole wild Alaskan king salmon for $20.99 a pound and fresh wild Alaskan king fillets for $35.99 a pound. Tenth & M Seafoods in Anchorage had fresh wild sockeye fillets for $8.95 a pound, fresh wild Chinook steaks for $13.95 a pound, fresh wild king fillets for $16.95 a pound, and fresh wild sockeye steaks for $7.95 a pound.
In Southeast Alaska deliveries of 13,504,000 fish included 7.4 million humpies, 4.5 million chums, 816,000 silvers, 628,000 sockeyes, and 240,000 Chinooks, up from last week’s overall catch of 8.9 million salmon.
Bristol Bay harvests reached 38.5 million salmon, up by about 1 million fish from the previous week, including 37.5 million reds, while Prince William Sound saw its deliveries to processors reach 13.8 million salmon, up from 11.9 million salmon just a week earlier.
And the chums and humpies kept coming on the Lower Yukon, pushing the harvest total there to 658,000 chums, 127,000 humpies and 2,000 cohos, up from 599,000 chums, and 127,000 pinks on July 26.
On the Alaska Peninsula, deliveries to processors climbed to a total of 9.3 million fish, including 5.6 million sockeyes, 3 million pinks, 458,000 chums, 174,000 silvers and 9,000 kings. Chignik’s overall catch rose from 1.2 million to 1.4 million fish, including more than 1 million reds, 83,000 chums, 80,000 humpies, 46,000 cohos and 14,000 kings.
At Kodiak, processors received nearly 1 million more fish, bringing Kodiak’s total catch to 14 million salmon, including 8.3 million sockeyes.
With the Copper River season winding down, Pike Place Fish Market in Seattle was still offering whole fresh Copper River sockeyes for $43.96 per fish, and fresh Copper River sockeye fillets for $20.99 a pound, plus fresh whole wild Alaskan king salmon for $20.99 a pound and fresh wild Alaskan king fillets for $35.99 a pound. Tenth & M Seafoods in Anchorage had fresh wild sockeye fillets for $8.95 a pound, fresh wild Chinook steaks for $13.95 a pound, fresh wild king fillets for $16.95 a pound, and fresh wild sockeye steaks for $7.95 a pound.
Alaska Pink Salmon for Food Aid Programs
The US Department of Agriculture announced on Aug. 2 the purchase of more than $9 million in canned Alaska pink salmon for distribution in child nutrition and other related domestic food assistance programs.
The product bid for more than 250,000 cases of kosher and regular canned pink salmon was split between three processors: Icicle Seafoods at Seward, and the Cordova processing facilities of Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Trident Seafoods.
The canned pinks are slated for delivery to food banks all over America.
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute said that ASMI is looking forward to additional purchase of frozen four-ounce portions of coho or sockeye salmon for use in a program that aims to put more “traditional foods” into the diet offered to people living on Indian reservations.
ASMI promotes the purchase of wild Alaska seafood products - including canned salmon and herring - through its Alaska Global Food Aid Program, in partnership with the state of Alaska and the fishing industry. The program promotes healthy proteins for domestic and international food programs, and an outlet for thousands of cases of canned salmon and herring produced by Alaska processors.
The product bid for more than 250,000 cases of kosher and regular canned pink salmon was split between three processors: Icicle Seafoods at Seward, and the Cordova processing facilities of Ocean Beauty Seafoods and Trident Seafoods.
The canned pinks are slated for delivery to food banks all over America.
The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute said that ASMI is looking forward to additional purchase of frozen four-ounce portions of coho or sockeye salmon for use in a program that aims to put more “traditional foods” into the diet offered to people living on Indian reservations.
ASMI promotes the purchase of wild Alaska seafood products - including canned salmon and herring - through its Alaska Global Food Aid Program, in partnership with the state of Alaska and the fishing industry. The program promotes healthy proteins for domestic and international food programs, and an outlet for thousands of cases of canned salmon and herring produced by Alaska processors.
Search Ends for Alaska Juris
The unified command formed to respond to the sinking fishing vessel Alaska Juris in the Bering Sea has called off the search for the 218-foot boat, which is presumed to have sunk in 5,400 feet of water.
Federal on-scene coordinator Lt. Todd Bagetis said searchers had been unable to locate the vessel owned by the Alaska Fishing Company in Seattle.
A search of the area northwest of Adak, 41 miles northeast of Segula Island in the Aleutians showed no trace of the Alaska Juris, according to the US Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Cause of the sinking is under investigation.
Forty-six crewmembers aboard the Alaska Juris had to abandon ship into three life rafts on July 26 after the vessel began taking on water. The Coast Guard’s 17th District picked up an electronic distress call and issued an urgent message to merchant ships in the area. Good Samaritans aboard the Norwegian flagged bulk carrier Spar Canis rescued 28 of the crewmembers in two life boats and the German-flagged container ship Vienna Express rescued 18 others aboard the third life boat.
All were wearing survival suits and there were no injuries.
The Fishing Company of Alaska also owned the factory trawler Alaska Ranger, which sank in the Bering Sea on March 23, 2008. Five of the 47 men on board the Alaska Ranger died in that incident, but only four bodies were recovered.
Federal on-scene coordinator Lt. Todd Bagetis said searchers had been unable to locate the vessel owned by the Alaska Fishing Company in Seattle.
A search of the area northwest of Adak, 41 miles northeast of Segula Island in the Aleutians showed no trace of the Alaska Juris, according to the US Coast Guard and Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation.
Cause of the sinking is under investigation.
Forty-six crewmembers aboard the Alaska Juris had to abandon ship into three life rafts on July 26 after the vessel began taking on water. The Coast Guard’s 17th District picked up an electronic distress call and issued an urgent message to merchant ships in the area. Good Samaritans aboard the Norwegian flagged bulk carrier Spar Canis rescued 28 of the crewmembers in two life boats and the German-flagged container ship Vienna Express rescued 18 others aboard the third life boat.
All were wearing survival suits and there were no injuries.
The Fishing Company of Alaska also owned the factory trawler Alaska Ranger, which sank in the Bering Sea on March 23, 2008. Five of the 47 men on board the Alaska Ranger died in that incident, but only four bodies were recovered.
Salmon Sisters See Success with Wild Salmon Donation
Owners of the apparel company Salmon Sisters, in Homer, Alaska, have donated 14,688 cans of wild Alaska salmon to the Food Bank of Alaska – one can for every product sold through their online store and wholesale accounts.
The delivery represents a donation from the first quarter of the Give: Fish Project established by co-founders Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton, daughters of veteran Homer commercial fisherman Buck Laukitis, president of the Magic Fish Co. and recently appointed member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Silver Bay Seafoods, the Sitka-based seafood processor to which the Neaton and Laukitis family fishing boats deliver, provided discounted canned salmon to further aid the project. Silver Bay CEO Richard Riggs said his company takes great pride in being proactive community stewards, and is proud to have Silver Bay’s canned salmon products reaching those with needs in communities across Alaska.
Complimentary air freight to transport the cans from Sitka to Anchorage was provided by Alaska Airlines.
The Salmon Sisters, both commercial harvesters, offer in their product line sockeye salmon portions and halibut sourced from sustainable fisheries. They also sell a colorful range of hoodies and tee shirts, leggings, mugs, salmon leather wallets, tote bags, and aprons.
The delivery represents a donation from the first quarter of the Give: Fish Project established by co-founders Emma Teal Laukitis and Claire Neaton, daughters of veteran Homer commercial fisherman Buck Laukitis, president of the Magic Fish Co. and recently appointed member of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.
Silver Bay Seafoods, the Sitka-based seafood processor to which the Neaton and Laukitis family fishing boats deliver, provided discounted canned salmon to further aid the project. Silver Bay CEO Richard Riggs said his company takes great pride in being proactive community stewards, and is proud to have Silver Bay’s canned salmon products reaching those with needs in communities across Alaska.
Complimentary air freight to transport the cans from Sitka to Anchorage was provided by Alaska Airlines.
The Salmon Sisters, both commercial harvesters, offer in their product line sockeye salmon portions and halibut sourced from sustainable fisheries. They also sell a colorful range of hoodies and tee shirts, leggings, mugs, salmon leather wallets, tote bags, and aprons.
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