British Columbia Minister of Energy, Mines and Low Carbon Innovation Bruce Ralston is moving to boost communications with Alaska to collaborate further on protect habitat in the salmon-rich Stikine Unuk and Taku rivers flowing into Southeast Alaska.
Ralston said in correspondence on June 11 to the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission (SEITC) that the province is committed to ensuring that the effect of mining projects proposed within British Columbia are appropriately assessed in environmental assessment and permitting processes, including appropriate consideration of downstream and cumulative effects.
They also agreed to enhance engagement on the issue with indigenous nations in BC and Alaska Native tribes. Ralston told the SEITC that his staff would connect with the commission soon to arrange a meeting to identify gaps in current engagements.
Commercial, sport and subsistence fisheries, as well as the future of mining, are of economic and environmental concern to residents living in both BC and Alaska. Discussion has been underway for years on whether fisheries and mines can co-exist without having a severe adverse impact on fisheries. Backers of Canadian mining projects in Alaska have maintained that modern technology would allow for mine development that would not damage fish habitat.
Teck Resources, which is responsible for cleanup and closure of the Tulsequah Chief mine, has committed over $1.5 million toward reclamation efforts at that mine site, which has been putting acid rock drainage into the Taku River for decades. The Tulsequah Chief was initially owned by Cominco, which later merged with Teck to become Teck Cominco and is now known as Teck Resources. The mine itself has not operated since 1957.
Staff of the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and their BC counterparts have been meeting on a regular basis regarding the mine cleanup.
Last October, Ontario’s Superior Court of Justice ruled to end the long receivership process for Chieftain Metals, owner of the Tulsequah Chief Mine. Without that decision, the BC government was prevented from taking specific steps to assume responsibility for the cleanup. The court did, however, give Chieftain Metals’ largest creditor, West Face Capital, until August 2022 to find a buyer for the mine and petition the court to resume the receivership process.
On June 14, the SEITC and two environmental entities issued a statement saying they are cautiously encouraged by efforts to date regarding the Tulsequah Chief, but there is still more to be done.
“We recognize that British Columbia is moving to take over responsibility for the cleanup and closure of the Tulsequah Chief mine site, but we’re largely in the dark as to specific details, timelines, funding, and BC’s long-term plans for the lower Taku River area,” SEITC Executive Director Frederick Olsen, Jr. said. “This is a cautionary tale of the industry for us downstream.”
Wednesday, June 16, 2021
Wednesday, June 9, 2021
From the Editor: Containing Container Spillage
By Mark Nero, Managing Editor
According to data from the Center for Biological Diversity, thousands of shipping containers have fallen from cargo ships into the ocean since October, 2020.
And if that isn’t bad enough, that number of spillages isn’t a global total; it refers to incidents that occurred solely in the Pacific Ocean while containers were being transported between the Asia and the United States.
At least six spills since last fall have dumped 3,000 cargo containers into the Pacific Ocean along shipping routes between the U.S. and Asian countries, CBD data show.
The largest of these spills was a November 2020 incident in which a 1,200-foot cargo ship packed with thousands of containers full of goods was sailing from China to the Port of Long Beach. In remote waters 1,600 miles northwest of Hawai’i, the container stack lashed to the ship’s deck collapsed, tossing more than 1,800 containers into the sea.
Also included in the total: the loss of 750 containers from a cargo vessel on Jan. 16; and 100 containers that fell from a cargo ship last Oct. 30. Both ships encountered rough weather while delivering goods to the United States.
Although these incidents tend to fly under the radar of some within the goods transport industry, the rise in the occurrences, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, is adding to a growing marine plastic pollution problem and poses risks to ocean health and wildlife, as well as mariners.
Many spillages occur due to jostling and shifting of containers and restraints caused by bad weather in rough seas, but investigations sometimes reveal underlying problems in lashing and other practices that occur before vessels even leave port.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (commonly called the CTU Code), is a global code of practice for cargo ships that addresses packing, stacking and lashing of containers. Although the code isn’t mandatory for shippers, it provides comprehensive information and references on all aspects of loading and securing of cargo in containers and other intermodal transport are provided, taking account of the requirements of all sea and land transport modes.
To be honest, if more shippers, shipping lines and longshore workers in the U.S. and abroad adhered to the guidelines in the CTU Code, there’s no guarantee that it would reduce the number of cargo containers that go overboard and wind up in the ocean in any given year. But there’s also no guarantee that it wouldn’t. And utilizing a document that was created with the purpose of standardizing best practices couldn’t or shouldn’t be a bad thing – especially if the document can help prevent or reduce cargo loss and also help protect the environment.
The CTU Code is currently available on the website for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and is downloadable in English, Spanish, Chinese and other languages.
Managing Editor Mark Nero can be reached at: mark@maritimepublishing.com
At least six spills since last fall have dumped 3,000 cargo containers into the Pacific Ocean along shipping routes between the U.S. and Asian countries, CBD data show.
The largest of these spills was a November 2020 incident in which a 1,200-foot cargo ship packed with thousands of containers full of goods was sailing from China to the Port of Long Beach. In remote waters 1,600 miles northwest of Hawai’i, the container stack lashed to the ship’s deck collapsed, tossing more than 1,800 containers into the sea.
Also included in the total: the loss of 750 containers from a cargo vessel on Jan. 16; and 100 containers that fell from a cargo ship last Oct. 30. Both ships encountered rough weather while delivering goods to the United States.
Although these incidents tend to fly under the radar of some within the goods transport industry, the rise in the occurrences, according to the Center for Biological Diversity, is adding to a growing marine plastic pollution problem and poses risks to ocean health and wildlife, as well as mariners.
Many spillages occur due to jostling and shifting of containers and restraints caused by bad weather in rough seas, but investigations sometimes reveal underlying problems in lashing and other practices that occur before vessels even leave port.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. The Code of Practice for Packing of Cargo Transport Units (commonly called the CTU Code), is a global code of practice for cargo ships that addresses packing, stacking and lashing of containers. Although the code isn’t mandatory for shippers, it provides comprehensive information and references on all aspects of loading and securing of cargo in containers and other intermodal transport are provided, taking account of the requirements of all sea and land transport modes.
To be honest, if more shippers, shipping lines and longshore workers in the U.S. and abroad adhered to the guidelines in the CTU Code, there’s no guarantee that it would reduce the number of cargo containers that go overboard and wind up in the ocean in any given year. But there’s also no guarantee that it wouldn’t. And utilizing a document that was created with the purpose of standardizing best practices couldn’t or shouldn’t be a bad thing – especially if the document can help prevent or reduce cargo loss and also help protect the environment.
The CTU Code is currently available on the website for the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, and is downloadable in English, Spanish, Chinese and other languages.
Managing Editor Mark Nero can be reached at: mark@maritimepublishing.com
Growth in Marine Economy Outpaces Overall National Economy
A new U.S. Commerce Department report says businesses that are dependent on the nation’s oceans, coasts and Great Lakes saw their marine-related gross domestic product grow 4.2% from 2018 to 2019, compared to 2.2% growth of the national GDP.
Businesses included in the report – including commercial fishing, aquaculture, ship and boat building – generated a total of $665.7 billion in sales and supported 2.4 million jobs in 2019, according to the report announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on June 8.
“These statistics show how powerful America’s blue economy is as a driver of jobs, innovation and economic growth,” Acting NOAA Administrator Ben Friedman said. “This information will assist our nation’s economic recovery by helping policymakers, industry advocates and organizations track and accelerate investments in target markets.”
The 10 sectors ranked by NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) by their sales include: tourism/ recreation/recreational fishing, $235 billion; national defense and public administration, $180 billion; offshore minerals, $93 billion; transportation and warehousing, $64 billion; commercial ship and boat building, $31 billion; living resources, including commercial fishing and aquaculture, $27 billion; utilities, $12 billion; research and education, $10.4 billion; construction, $7 billion; and professional and technical services, $6.3 billion.
Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Services, said such statistics are further proof of the importance of the blue economy.
“It is nearly impossible to go a single day without eating, wearing or using items that come from or through our ports and coastal communities,” she said.
In 2020, NOAA and the BEA released ocean economy prototype statistics for 2014-2018. This year’s statistics offer updated national estimates for ocean, coastal and Great Lakes-related economic activity by major sectors, accounting for inflation.
Additional data and related materials are online at Marine Economy | US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and on NOAA’s Digital Coast website.
Businesses included in the report – including commercial fishing, aquaculture, ship and boat building – generated a total of $665.7 billion in sales and supported 2.4 million jobs in 2019, according to the report announced by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration on June 8.
“These statistics show how powerful America’s blue economy is as a driver of jobs, innovation and economic growth,” Acting NOAA Administrator Ben Friedman said. “This information will assist our nation’s economic recovery by helping policymakers, industry advocates and organizations track and accelerate investments in target markets.”
The 10 sectors ranked by NOAA and the Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) by their sales include: tourism/ recreation/recreational fishing, $235 billion; national defense and public administration, $180 billion; offshore minerals, $93 billion; transportation and warehousing, $64 billion; commercial ship and boat building, $31 billion; living resources, including commercial fishing and aquaculture, $27 billion; utilities, $12 billion; research and education, $10.4 billion; construction, $7 billion; and professional and technical services, $6.3 billion.
Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAA’s National Ocean Services, said such statistics are further proof of the importance of the blue economy.
“It is nearly impossible to go a single day without eating, wearing or using items that come from or through our ports and coastal communities,” she said.
In 2020, NOAA and the BEA released ocean economy prototype statistics for 2014-2018. This year’s statistics offer updated national estimates for ocean, coastal and Great Lakes-related economic activity by major sectors, accounting for inflation.
Additional data and related materials are online at Marine Economy | US Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) and on NOAA’s Digital Coast website.
NPAFC Says 2020 Salmon Harvests Were Lowest in Four Decades
A new report from the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission says preliminary North Pacific-wide total salmon harvests in 2020, as reported by member countries, were the lowest recorded since 1982, as indexed by aggregate commercial catches.
Member countries portions of that catch include 48 % by Russia, (292.7 thousand metric tons), 41% by the United States (245.7 thousand metric tons of which 241.1 thousand metric tons was caught in Alaska), 10% by Japan (61.1 thousand metric tons), about 1% by Canada (7.1 thousand metric tons) and less than 1% by South Korea (139 metric tons).
The majority of the total commercial catch, 46% by weight, was pink salmon, followed by chum, 27% and sockeye salmon 23%. Coho comprised just 3% of the catch. Chinook salmon, cherry salmon and steelhead trout were each less than 1% of the catch by weight.
NPAFC officials said pink and chum salmon dominate Asian catches with their overall harvests generally declining since 2011. Pink salmon harvests reached a high of 516.9 thousand metric tons in 2018, but declined to 178.2 thousand metric tons in 2020.
The total North American catch of 252.7 thousand metric tons was the lowest since 1988. The 2020 chum salmon catch in Alaska, 28.1 thousand metric tons, was the lowest since 1989. In Canada, pink, chum and sockeye salmon were the most abundant species caught. Even as catches remain historically low, harvests of sockeye, pink and chum salmon rose compared to 2019. In Washington, Oregon and California Chinook, chum and coho salmon are typically the most abundant species harvested.
Particularly low catches of chum and sockeye salmon in 2020 resulted in the lowest total catches of salmon on record, 4.5 thousand metric tons in the NPAFC database for those three states combined, the report said.
Hatchery releases of salmon and steelhead from NPAFC member countries have remained stable since 1993, with some five billion fish released annually. Hatcheries in 2020 released 2,002 million fish (39% of the total) in the United States, 1,593 million, or 31% in Japan; 1,287 million, or 25% in Russia, 209 million, or 4% in Canada, and 8 million (about 1%) in South Korea.
The NPAFC, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, met virtually in late May. Member nations continued to support efforts of the International Year of the Salmon. The commission plans to launch a multi-vessel expedition in the winter of 2022, a collaborative international effort to send multiple research vessels to survey the winter ecology of Pacific salmon across the entire North Pacific Ocean.
Member countries portions of that catch include 48 % by Russia, (292.7 thousand metric tons), 41% by the United States (245.7 thousand metric tons of which 241.1 thousand metric tons was caught in Alaska), 10% by Japan (61.1 thousand metric tons), about 1% by Canada (7.1 thousand metric tons) and less than 1% by South Korea (139 metric tons).
The majority of the total commercial catch, 46% by weight, was pink salmon, followed by chum, 27% and sockeye salmon 23%. Coho comprised just 3% of the catch. Chinook salmon, cherry salmon and steelhead trout were each less than 1% of the catch by weight.
NPAFC officials said pink and chum salmon dominate Asian catches with their overall harvests generally declining since 2011. Pink salmon harvests reached a high of 516.9 thousand metric tons in 2018, but declined to 178.2 thousand metric tons in 2020.
The total North American catch of 252.7 thousand metric tons was the lowest since 1988. The 2020 chum salmon catch in Alaska, 28.1 thousand metric tons, was the lowest since 1989. In Canada, pink, chum and sockeye salmon were the most abundant species caught. Even as catches remain historically low, harvests of sockeye, pink and chum salmon rose compared to 2019. In Washington, Oregon and California Chinook, chum and coho salmon are typically the most abundant species harvested.
Particularly low catches of chum and sockeye salmon in 2020 resulted in the lowest total catches of salmon on record, 4.5 thousand metric tons in the NPAFC database for those three states combined, the report said.
Hatchery releases of salmon and steelhead from NPAFC member countries have remained stable since 1993, with some five billion fish released annually. Hatcheries in 2020 released 2,002 million fish (39% of the total) in the United States, 1,593 million, or 31% in Japan; 1,287 million, or 25% in Russia, 209 million, or 4% in Canada, and 8 million (about 1%) in South Korea.
The NPAFC, based in Vancouver, British Columbia, met virtually in late May. Member nations continued to support efforts of the International Year of the Salmon. The commission plans to launch a multi-vessel expedition in the winter of 2022, a collaborative international effort to send multiple research vessels to survey the winter ecology of Pacific salmon across the entire North Pacific Ocean.
Merchant Mariner Examination Working Group Resumes Meetings
Officials with the National Maritime Center (NMC) have announced the resumption of working group meetings to review existing and new examination questions for accuracy and availability of examination references.
These meetings were cancelled in 2020 due to the global novel coronavirus pandemic. With the continued reduction of COVID restrictions, NMC announced on Monday, June 7, that the process is resuming.
NMC has accordingly scheduled an engine session for Aug. 10-12 and a deck session for Aug. 24-26, both at NMC headquarters in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Anyone wishing to participate in these or future sessions should follow application instructions on the examinations page (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/examinations/) of the NMC website (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/national_maritime_center/).
Once on the examinations page click “Working Group” to access application information. Submit the required information to the NMCExamWorkingGroup@scg.mil.
All requests will be reviewed and individuals will be contacted to discuss further details and confirm the session the individual wishes to attend.
Additional information regarding building access and health and safety protocols (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/NMC/pdfs/medical/mcp_fm_nmc3_25_visitor_health_screen_encl_1.pdf) will be provided to work group attendees in a separate email.
These meetings were cancelled in 2020 due to the global novel coronavirus pandemic. With the continued reduction of COVID restrictions, NMC announced on Monday, June 7, that the process is resuming.
NMC has accordingly scheduled an engine session for Aug. 10-12 and a deck session for Aug. 24-26, both at NMC headquarters in Martinsburg, West Virginia.
Anyone wishing to participate in these or future sessions should follow application instructions on the examinations page (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/nmc/examinations/) of the NMC website (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/national_maritime_center/).
Once on the examinations page click “Working Group” to access application information. Submit the required information to the NMCExamWorkingGroup@scg.mil.
All requests will be reviewed and individuals will be contacted to discuss further details and confirm the session the individual wishes to attend.
Additional information regarding building access and health and safety protocols (https://www.dco.uscg.mil/Portals/9/NMC/pdfs/medical/mcp_fm_nmc3_25_visitor_health_screen_encl_1.pdf) will be provided to work group attendees in a separate email.
Copper River Salmon Fishery Reopens
Drift gillnetters in the Copper River fishery were on the grounds ready for a long awaited 12-hour opener on Wednesday, June 9, hoping for a robust harvest after two weeks of sitting on the beach. A good commercial harvest is, after all, the economic life blood of Cordova, on Alaska’s Prince William Sound, and demand for Copper River reds and kings is high.
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists in Cordova made the decision on Tuesday, June 8, after seeing a big boost in the sonar count.
“We are back to getting into the goal range,” said Jeremy Botz, finfish area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Cordova. “I think we are seeing a late compressed run.” Botz said he felt that while it may be a relatively small run, it’s still higher than in 2018 and 2020.
The collective Copper River harvest from three periods of fishing stood at an estimated 60,127 salmon from 1,192 deliveries, including 5,259 kings, 52,752 reds and 2,116 chum salmon. Fish are also starting to come in from the Coghill, Eschamy and Prince William Sound general seine fishery and a number of other commercial salmon fisheries will open soon statewide.
Jerry McCune, president of Cordova District Fishermen United, said that he felt that while ADF&G was being very cautious because initial numbers were flat, perhaps they were a bit too cautious. More real time reporting data is also needed on subsistence and personal use harvests, so the abundance of these harvests is known, he added.
Another veteran gillnetter from Cordova, John Renner, said ADF&G should have employed the fleet earlier to collect data, to see if the run was coming in weak or strong, rather than just waiting for the sonar count. Renner said that upwards of 40,000 salmon went past the counter on Tuesday, June 8.
“Nobody knows how many fish have gone up the river,” he said.
Renner estimates this is going to be a moderate run, maybe 1.2 million to 1.6 million fish, which would be double that of a year ago.
“They need to use the fishermen to learn what the run is doing,” he said. “We should use the commercial fleet as an indicator of abundance. How do they know what’s going on without us?”
There are 38 systems in the Copper, a very large and complicated system, he said. “The runs we had (fished) were early and they didn’t show much. It’s very tough for the commercial fleet to just sit on the beach. People are upset. It’s not the biologists’ fault, except for not using us to test for abundance.”
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists in Cordova made the decision on Tuesday, June 8, after seeing a big boost in the sonar count.
“We are back to getting into the goal range,” said Jeremy Botz, finfish area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in Cordova. “I think we are seeing a late compressed run.” Botz said he felt that while it may be a relatively small run, it’s still higher than in 2018 and 2020.
The collective Copper River harvest from three periods of fishing stood at an estimated 60,127 salmon from 1,192 deliveries, including 5,259 kings, 52,752 reds and 2,116 chum salmon. Fish are also starting to come in from the Coghill, Eschamy and Prince William Sound general seine fishery and a number of other commercial salmon fisheries will open soon statewide.
Jerry McCune, president of Cordova District Fishermen United, said that he felt that while ADF&G was being very cautious because initial numbers were flat, perhaps they were a bit too cautious. More real time reporting data is also needed on subsistence and personal use harvests, so the abundance of these harvests is known, he added.
Another veteran gillnetter from Cordova, John Renner, said ADF&G should have employed the fleet earlier to collect data, to see if the run was coming in weak or strong, rather than just waiting for the sonar count. Renner said that upwards of 40,000 salmon went past the counter on Tuesday, June 8.
“Nobody knows how many fish have gone up the river,” he said.
Renner estimates this is going to be a moderate run, maybe 1.2 million to 1.6 million fish, which would be double that of a year ago.
“They need to use the fishermen to learn what the run is doing,” he said. “We should use the commercial fleet as an indicator of abundance. How do they know what’s going on without us?”
There are 38 systems in the Copper, a very large and complicated system, he said. “The runs we had (fished) were early and they didn’t show much. It’s very tough for the commercial fleet to just sit on the beach. People are upset. It’s not the biologists’ fault, except for not using us to test for abundance.”
Dockside Vessel Exams, Safety Classes Offered in Advance of Bristol Bay Fishery
In advance of this year’s Bristol Bay salmon season, the U.S. Coast Guard has begun conducting courtesy dockside exams of commercial fishing vessels, while the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association is offering maritime safety education to fishermen in Western Alaska and Bristol Bay.
Examiners will look to identify safety issues before mariners leave the dock and won’t issue fines or other penalties for any problems at the dock or before launch, according to the USCG. The exams will note flares, charts, navigational signals, fire extinguishers, emergency radio beacons and the serviceability of immersion suits, among other items.
Exams are being offered June 14-25 at Dillingham, Egegik and King Salmon. To schedule an exam in Dillingham, call (907) 764-5071 and for an appointment in Egegik, the number is (907) 538-8062. For an exam in King Salmon, call (907) 717-6270 or (907) 538-9748.
Fishermen can run a ring buoy up on the mast or on the anchor/bow to show they are ready for an exam.
Russ Hazlett, a fishing vessel safety examiner at Sector Anchorage, noted that these exams are free, ensure compliance with all federal regulations and can reduce the likelihood of getting boarded at sea so long as the vessel passes and earns a decal.
Mariners may also sign up for one-day fishing vessel drill conductor classes on June 10-11 in Naknek and on June 12-13 in Dillingham. Visit https://www.amsea.org/ or call (907) 747-3287 for more.
Jerry Dzugan, executive director of AMSEA, notes that the course provides a comprehensive, hands-on, maritime lifesaving education in a short amount of time.
For more on how to prepare for a vessel exam, visit http://www.fishsafewest.info/.
To make an appointment for a vessel exam at other locations, contact any of the following USCG marine safety offices:
Examiners will look to identify safety issues before mariners leave the dock and won’t issue fines or other penalties for any problems at the dock or before launch, according to the USCG. The exams will note flares, charts, navigational signals, fire extinguishers, emergency radio beacons and the serviceability of immersion suits, among other items.
Exams are being offered June 14-25 at Dillingham, Egegik and King Salmon. To schedule an exam in Dillingham, call (907) 764-5071 and for an appointment in Egegik, the number is (907) 538-8062. For an exam in King Salmon, call (907) 717-6270 or (907) 538-9748.
Fishermen can run a ring buoy up on the mast or on the anchor/bow to show they are ready for an exam.
Russ Hazlett, a fishing vessel safety examiner at Sector Anchorage, noted that these exams are free, ensure compliance with all federal regulations and can reduce the likelihood of getting boarded at sea so long as the vessel passes and earns a decal.
Mariners may also sign up for one-day fishing vessel drill conductor classes on June 10-11 in Naknek and on June 12-13 in Dillingham. Visit https://www.amsea.org/ or call (907) 747-3287 for more.
Jerry Dzugan, executive director of AMSEA, notes that the course provides a comprehensive, hands-on, maritime lifesaving education in a short amount of time.
For more on how to prepare for a vessel exam, visit http://www.fishsafewest.info/.
To make an appointment for a vessel exam at other locations, contact any of the following USCG marine safety offices:
- Marine Safety Unit Valdez: (907) 835-7220
- Marine Safety Detachment Dutch Harbor: (907) 581-3466
- Marine Safety Detachment Kodiak: (907) 486-5918
- Marine Safety Detachment Seward: (907) 224-4784
- Marine Safety Detachment Homer: (907) 235-3292
- Marine Safety Detachment Sitka: (907) 966-5454
- Marine Safety Detachment Ketchikan: (907) 225-4496
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