Sorted by date Results 176 - 191 of 191
January 29 Charles Melvin Gadd, 28, appeared before Deputy Magistrate Cris Morrison for an arraignment on the charges of commercial fish closed season dungeness crab and unlawful storage of dungeness crab pot gear. Gadd entered a plea of no contest to the charge of commercial fish closed season and the unlawful storage charge was dismissed. He was sentenced with a fine of $3,000 with $1,500 suspended; a surcharge of $10 and one year probation....
Halibut catches could be cut by 33 percent next year if proposed numbers get the nod by the International Pacific Halibut Commission next month. That would mean a coast wide harvest of just 22.7 million pounds for fisheries in California, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Alaska’s share of the halibut catch would be 17.4 million pounds, down from about 25 million this year. Unlike past years, staff scientists are not making catch limit recommendations by separate areas. Instead, they are providing “assessment and advice framework...
October is National Seafood Month – and it also marks the start of one of the busiest months for Alaska’s fishing industry. The state’s biggest crab fisheries get underway in the Bering Sea on October 15 – the Bristol Bay red king crab catch will hold steady at 7.8 million pounds, while the snow crab harvest has taken a dip to 66.3 million pounds, down from about 80 million pounds last season. The St. Matthew Island blue king crab fishery is also down a bit to 1.6 million pounds. Hundreds of divers in Southeast Alaska are plying the depths...
Sept. 20 Justin Michael Neidiffer, 36, appeared before Magistrate Desiree Burrell for an arraignment on a dangerous dog minor offense. Neidiffer pled no contest and was sentenced with a fine of $50; restitution of $260; an apology letter; he was ordered to have his dog on a leash anytime it is out of the house and he is to post beware of dog signs. Byron Lyons, 44, appeared before Magistrate Desiree Burrell for an arraignment on the charges of driving under the influence and misconduct involving weapons. Lyons pled not guilty and was released...
As Alaska’s salmon season winds down, selling the bulk of the harvest gears up for seafood companies that purchased the pack. “This is the season for negotiations, you might say,” said salmon guru Gunnar Knapp, longtime fisheries economist at the University of Alaska/Anchorage. “You never know the price until the product is actually sold.” The salmon season runs on different tracks starting with sockeye, and fish sales have varying schedules and market patterns throughout the year. Plus, salmon markets depend on the species and how they are...
Kodiak fishermen are a happy lot, but they are also anxious about the future of their industry. Those are some of the early findings of an ongoing survey that focuses on the social and cultural perceptions of the fishing life in Kodiak and how things have changed over two decades. The survey is part of a multiyear project titled Social Transitions and Wellbeing in Kodiak Fisheries and Communities by Courtney Carothers, an assistant professor UAF’s School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. Carothers lived for more than a year in Kodiak villages to...
Thanks to a nearly $3 million show of support from the state, high tech buoys will soon be measuring ocean acidity levels year ‘round, and Alaska fishermen will play an important role in the research. Basic chemistry proves that ocean waters are becoming more corrosive and it is happening faster in colder waters. The acidity, caused by increasing carbon dioxide emissions, can prevent shells from forming on crabs or oysters and tiny shrimplike organisms essential to fish diets. Alaska’s monitoring project will allow scientists to develop a “se...
Sea otters are expanding throughout Southeast Alaska and dining on crab, sea cucumbers, geoduck clams and more as they go. An ongoing study aims to track the otters, what they’re eating and where they are going – and researchers hope to get ‘grounds truth’ from Southeast residents. For the past two years, Sea Grant marine advisory agents have spearheaded a project to learn more about the region’s sea otter diets and behaviors. The US Fish & Wildlife Service has provided aerial surveys and otter tagging to track their movements around Kupreono...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that the season for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Registration Area A (Southeastern Alaska) will open by regulation at 12:00 noon on Friday, June 15, 2012. The following information applies to the 2012/2013 commercial fishing season. Closed Waters: Regulatory closed waters are listed in 5 AAC 32.150. District 16 will be open to commercial fishing for Dungeness crab during the 2012/2013 fishing seasons. Permit holders intending to fish in District 16 are asked to contact Joe Stratman...
The value of Alaska fishing permits has see-sawed over the past year with Cook Inlet prices heading upwards and Bristol Bay on the down side. “Cook Inlet had a really good year last year, and they’re expecting another strong fishery this summer. Salmon drift permits have taken off with sales made at $80,000 compared to around $50,000 last year,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer Prices have headed the other way in Bristol Bay. The Bay permits, are not so hot. They ran way up last year on expectations of good fish numbe...
April 12 Lori Ennen entered a plea of guilty in district court to the charge of illegal camping. The court fined Ennen $25. Ricardo Vasquez entered a plea of not guilty in district court to the charges of DUI and driving without a valid driver's license. Vasquez was released, but the court stipulated that he is to stay away from bars, not to have any alcohol and to not leave Petersburg. A court date was set for July 23. April 18 Jay R. Thomassen, Brian D. Lapeyri, and Kyle B. Skinner were all arraigned in district court on charges of fishing...
Alaska Congressman Don Young spoke about a program to revitalize Southeast schools, local businesses and sea otter pelt market possibilities during a brief stop in Petersburg on Tuesday. Young met with the Economic Redevelopment Council on Tuesday in City Council chambers. The hour-long round-table invited members of the council and the community to speak their minds. Young first spoke about the importance of the fishing industry in Southeast Alaska: “You can't just build up a work-force over ni...
March 7 - Abraham McIntyre entered a plea of guilty to a charge of illegal storage of Dungeness crab pots. The court issued a sentence of a fine of $1,000, with $500, suspended, plus a $10 surcharge. The crab pots will be returned to McIntyre after he has paid the fine, the court said. David Lee Braman entered a plea of not-guilty to a second degree felony charge of assault. The next hearing will be on March 27. March 6 - The court charged Jeremy T. Schouweiler with DUI, reckless endangerment and leaving the scene of an accident. The court...
Sea otter population in Southeast Alaska is increasing, and consequently, the animals are depleting marine life, causing an adverse economic impact to local fisheries, according to a presentation given by fisheries experts at the Sons of Norway in Petersburg Sunday night. The presentation was a part of the weeklong Alaska Board of Fisheries meetings being held in Petersburg. The Board’s main role is to “conserve and develop the fishery resources of the state,” according to its website. Howev...
Petersburg will host the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting for Southeast and Yakutat Crab, Shrimp and miscellaneous Shellfish fisheries January 15-21 at the Sons of Norway Hall on Sing Lee Alley. The meeting begins Sunday, Jan. 15 at 8:30 a.m. with introductions of staff and the board members and in the afternoon testimony will be heard from both the public and the advisory committee. Sunday’s public testimony will continue until all those present at the meeting are heard, according to the board’s tentative agenda. At 4:30 p.m. Sunday a Sea...
Putting it in writing To the Editor: To: Steve Giesbrecht, City Manager The City is not telling the whole story. I wanted to clear up a few things in regards to the false statements and allegations of me being unresponsive or unwilling to comply that were made by the city in last week's newspaper. After receiving the letter of alleged violations in August, 2011, I personally escorted Mr. Leo Luczak throughout the Leconte Trailer Park to show him that all of the water and sewer is and has been functional for every space in the trailer park. On...
