Oscar Dyson overhaul

NOAA has awarded a $95.4 million contract to a Seward shipyard for major upgrades to the fisheries survey vessel Oscar Dyson.

King Cove's plight

With the collapse last year of Peter Pan Seafood, the remote Alaska Peninsula community of King Cove now faces another salmon season without its mainstay processing plant.

The town is meeting the "nightmare" situation with a blend of anger, determination and hope, King Cove Mayor Warren Wilson writes here.

A big boost for Cook Inlet EEZ sockeye

The National Marine Fisheries Service has published a total allowable catch of 800,126 sockeye for this year's Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone salmon fishery.

That's well above last year's TAC of 492,100 sockeye.

This will be the second season fishing in the EEZ will operate under federal management, not state.

Efforts continue to salvage burned car carrier

The fire-damaged cargo ship Morning Midas, laden with electric and other vehicles, remains disabled in the North Pacific, with a difficult mission still ongoing to salvage the vessel.

The U.S. Coast Guard posted this update Monday on X:

Yesterday, tug Garth Foss took over the tow of the Morning Midas (350 mi SW Adak) & is controlling vessel's movement, awaiting arrival of long-range towing vessel in about a week. No signs of smoke, flames, flooding, or pollution.

Tug Gretchen Dunlap previously responded to the scene.

Photos of the Morning Midas show the vessel scorched pretty much from bow to stern.

The fire was first reported on June 3 aboard the 600-foot ship.

Here's a news account on the gCaptain website.

Salmon notes

Here are observations from the young salmon season so far.

• Action is picking up across Alaska, with anticipation building for the big Bristol Bay fishery. The statewide harvest just clicked over 1 million salmon, with most coming from the Prince William Sound region including the Copper River. You can track the catch on the Blue Sheet.

• Speaking of the Copper River, the sockeye catch stands at about 274,000 fish, which lags the 20-year average for this date of 595,000. Measures to conserve the weak Chinook run have constrained the sockeye fishery. But fishermen are still getting openers, with the Copper River District opening today for a 12-hour driftnet fishing period.

Beware the bolts

We're not sure if lightning is ever a concern for Alaska fishermen, but we'll note that June 22-28 is National Lightning Safety Awareness Week.

Have you ever encountered lightning while fishing in Alaska waters? If so, please tell us about it in the comments section!

The governor's fish vetoes

Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy yesterday signed the new state budget, but vetoed some significant spending.

A couple of fish-related items were affected.

First, Dunleavy chopped a $10 million appropriation for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to $5 million.

He also nixed $800,000 for completion of the South Peninsula king salmon genetics study.