Take Time to Taste the Snowflakes
This Sitka Black-tailed Deer's photo taken in the Cambria area.
Front Page Photo by HEIDI PRENTISS

Southeast Alaska: Halibut Stock Decline Forces Increased Management Measures for Southeast Alaska Charter Fleet - NOAA’s Fisheries Service today announced it is implementing the regulatory recommendations of the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) due to concerns over declining halibut stocks. These regulations include limiting the maximum size of a halibut caught by charter anglers in southeastern Alaska to 37 inches, and retaining the one-fish-per-person-per-day rule that began in 2009.

The halibut stock is declining due to reduced numbers of fish reaching a catchable size range, lower growth rates, and higher than target harvest rates. The stock remains at risk of further declines. Conservation of the halibut resource is the primary concern and management objective of the measures.

At its annual meeting in January, the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) recommended the maximum size rule for charter anglers in Area 2C off southeastern Alaska as a way to maintain charter harvests at the annual guideline harvest level of 788,000 pounds in 2011. The Southeast Alaska charter fleet has exceeded its harvest level every year since 2004.

The IPHC’s recommendation is based on the analysis and methods adopted by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. Because of particular concerns for impacts on small businesses in southeast Alaska, NOAA’s Fisheries Service intends to ask the council to review the methodology used to determine maximum size limits, including a 42-inch limit. If the council chooses to adopt a different limit than the IPHC has recommended, NOAA will go back to the IPHC to ask that they modify their recommendation to match that of the council.

“The declining halibut stock is impacting both charter and commercial halibut fishers all along the west coast from Washington State to Alaska,” said Alaska Fisheries regional administrator Dr. James Balsiger. “NOAA’s Fisheries Service is committed to working cooperatively with our international partners in Canada to jointly manage this important stock for the long-term benefit of both our countries.” - More...
Friday - March 11, 2011

National: Government Report: America's Combined Energy Resources Largest on Earth; Far larger than those of Saudi Arabia, China, and Canada combined - U.S. Sen. James M. Inhofe (R-Okla.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works, and Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Ranking Member of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee, today released an updated government report from the Congressional Research Service (CRS) showing America's combined recoverable oil, natural gas, and coal endowment is the largest on Earth. America's recoverable resources are far larger than those of Saudi Arabia (3rd), China (4th), and Canada (6th) combined. And that's not including America's immense oil shale and methane hydrates deposits.

U. S. Senator Murkowski said, "It comes as no surprise that we are once again estimated to have the largest conventional energy resource endowment on Earth. As we debate ways to reduce gas prices and provide relief to American families and businesses, this report should be required reading for every member of Congress. For the sake of our national security, our economy, and the world's environment, we need to explore and develop more of our own resources."

U.S. Senator Inhofe said, "The Obama Administration has made a conscious policy choice to raise energy prices, accomplished in good measure by restricting access to domestic energy supplies. Those supplies are, according to the Congressional Research Service, the largest on Earth. We could help bring affordable energy to consumers, create new jobs, and grow the economy if the Obama Administration would simply get out of the way so America can realize its true energy potential."

Here's what the Congressional Research Service (CRS) says about America's tremendous resource base: - More...
Friday - March 11, 2011

Alaska - National: President Calls for Increased Oil & Gas Development; Alaska's Senators Comment on Plan to Increase Development in Alaska - In an economy that relies on oil, gas prices affect everybody -– from farmers and truck drivers to restaurant owners and workers as well as consumers. Businesses see rising prices affect their bottom line. Families feel the pinch every time they fill up the tank. For Americans already facing a tough time, it’s an added burden.

Of course, rising prices are not a new phenomenon said President Obama in a press conference this afternoon. Three years ago, before the recession hit, a combination of factors, including rising demand from emerging economies like China, drove gas prices to more than $4 a gallon. The worldwide recession and the decrease in demand pushed prices back down. But over the past year, as the economy has picked up steam and global demand for oil has increased, prices have increased again. Turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East has added uncertainty to the mix and lost production in Libya has tightened supply said Obama.

The President, before taking questions to discuss rising gas prices, which are a concern for virtually every family and business in the country, touched on the causes of the rise, ranging from world-wide economic recovery that has driven up demand and therefore prices, to the recent jolt resulting from the unrest in the Middle East and Libya. He also touched on what is not causing the rise in prices, namely the fiction that his Administration has choked off oil production – as he noted, and as this White House fact sheet (pdf) explains in detail, our oil production is now at its highest level in seven years and oil production from federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico has reached an all-time high – “So any notion that my administration has shut down oil production might make for a good political sound bite, but it doesn’t match up with reality.”

Obama said the hard truth is that as long as our economy depends on foreign oil, we’ll always be subject to price spikes. So we’ve got to get moving on a comprehensive energy strategy that pursues both more energy production and more energy conservation. We need to increase our access to secure energy supplies in the near term, and we’ve got to make our economy more energy-efficient and energy-independent over the long run.

Being more specific Obama said, " First, we need to continue to boost domestic production of oil and gas. Last year, American oil production reached its highest level since 2003. Let me repeat that. Our oil production reached its highest level in seven years. Oil production from federal waters in the Gulf of Mexico reached an all-time high. For the first time in more than a decade, imports accounted for less than half of what we consumed."

Obama said any notion that his administration has shut down oil production might make for a good political sound bite, but it doesn’t match up with reality. "We are encouraging offshore exploration and production. We’re just doing it responsibly. I don’t think anybody has forgotten that we’re only a few months removed from the worst oil spill in our history. So what we’ve done is to put in place common-sense standards like proving that companies can actually contain an underwater spill. And oil companies are stepping up -- we’ve approved more than 35 new offshore drilling permits that meet these new safety and environmental standards." - More...
Friday - March 11, 2011

Fish Factor: Fishing safety programs on cutting room floor By LAINE WELCH - The nation’s most dangerous job could soon become more deadly. As Congress struggles to balance current and future budgets, fishing safety programs are on the cutting room floor. 

The president’s FY2012 budget eliminates funding ($23 million) for all agriculture, forestry and fishing research (AgFF) done by the National Institute of Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH), and it is likely to be trimmed from the FY11 budget being debated now. 

“That means current fishing research would stop,” said Jennifer Lincoln, an Injury Epidemiologist with the Commercial Fishing Research and Design Program based in Anchorage.   Funds for the fishing program  are about $1.5 million, she added.

NIOSH is not a regulatory agency, but a research organization established in 1970 to improve the safety and health of US workers.  Today, NIOSH is part of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) of the U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services.  Lincoln said there is a core group of 6 people who work within the fishing industry component of research. 

“We look at hazards in specific regions and fisheries, identify patterns and then work together with fishermen to come up with practical solutions that protect them and save lives,” Lincoln said.  “No one has ever looked at the entire country to see what the specific problems are in various fisheries.  That’s what NIOSH has brought to the table.”

In Alaska, NIOSH teams have created E-Stops, a simple system that prevents fishermen from becoming entangled in capstan winches, cited as the most dangerous piece of equipment on deck. Two manufacturers have pledged that all new winches will come with E-Stops installed.

In another study, over 200 Alaska fishermen tested different styles of PFDs  (personal flotation devices) for a month during diverse fisheries, and rated the two   they liked best.  NIOSH is now working with manufacturers to include the fishermen’s recommendations in new PFDs.- More...
Friday - March 11, 2011

Viewpoints
Commentary
Opinions/Letters
Basic Rules &
Freedom of Speech