Fatality reported on fishing vessel near Akutan

KUCB radio has the story.

Waste of rockfish, cod charged

Details in this press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

Visit our companion blog The Brig for lots more fisheries enforcement news.

4 million pounds of cod up for grabs at Chignik

But does anyone want it?

More details in this Alaska Department of Fish and Game announcement.

Federal disaster dollars reportedly inch closer

Here's a press release from Alaska's congressional delegation.

More catch shares coming

Quite a few Alaska fisheries operate under some form of catch shares.

Now comes another catch share program, the first implemented in Alaska since 2012.

This program applies to the Pacific cod trawl catcher vessel sector in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.

Fishing under the program is scheduled to start in January. Read more about it here.

Gulf of Alaska cod regains MSC certification

Here's a press release.

Disaster relief plans proposed

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has posted distribution plans for federal disaster funds.

The state is inviting public comments on the proposed plans, which cover two fisheries:

2018 Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod
2018 Chignik sockeye salmon

Cod freezer longliners hook up in big deal

Here's the press release.

Disaster aid OK'd for cod, Chignik salmon fisheries

Alaska's congressional delegation says $24.4 million in disaster relief has been approved for the 2018 cod crash and $10.3 million for the 2018 sockeye failure at Chignik.

More details in this press release.

Disaster declarations for Gulf cod, Chignik sockeye

The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced a raft of disaster declarations in multiple states.

Julie Speegle, spokeswoman for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau, tells us the declarations include the 2018 Gulf of Alaska Pacific cod fishery and the 2018 Chignik sockeye salmon fishery.

Calling for cod help

The state has sent a letter requesting a federal disaster declaration for the 2018 Pacific cod fishery in the Gulf of Alaska.

Cod trouble

As expected and feared, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council has slashed the quota for Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska.

The total allowable catch for Gulf cod in 2018 is 13,096 metric tons, down 80 percent from this year's 64,442 tons.

The council is meeting through the weekend in Anchorage. Its quota recommendations are subject to U.S. commerce secretary approval.

State secures convictions against three trawlers, wins forfeiture of Pacific cod worth $106,326

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Kagalaska Strait
Type: Commercial fish closed waters
On 2/24/15 Dutch Harbor Wildlife Troopers received information regarding three commercial trawl vessels that had fished within closed waters between 175 and 178 degrees W longitude in the Aleutian Islands area. The three vessels were the 296-foot Katie Ann operated by Daniel Skauge, of Oregon; the 102-foot Muir Milach operated by David Willmore, of Washington; and the 88-foot Aleutian Challenger operated by Michael Murdock, of Washington. Investigation revealed the three vessels made multiple tows with their trawls through state waters in violation of state regulations. A non-pelagic trawl used to harvest Pacific cod during the state waters A season may not be more than 60 feet in overall length. Skauge pled guilty to three counts of commercial fishing in closed waters, with a $6,000 fine and forfeiture of 6,989 pounds of cod. Willmore pled guilty to one count of commercial fishing in closed waters, with a $3,000 fine and forfeiture of 248,035 pounds of cod. Murdock pled guilty to one count of commercial fishing in closed waters, with a $3,000 fine and forfeiture of 138,767 pounds of cod. The approximate value of cod forfeited to the state was $106,326.

Editor's note: All three defendants entered their pleas on Aug. 25 in Unalaska District Court.

Tough spot

Efforts are under way to salvage the F/V Savannah Ray from the rocks at Long Island, five miles southeast of Kodiak. The boat, with 25,000 pounds of cod aboard, grounded about 3 a.m. Feb. 16. The U.S. Coast Guard rescued the crew. A new situation report says most of the boat's fuel has been removed. Representatives for the vessel owner "will submit plans for hull and wreck removal to the Unified Command in the near future," the report says. Public records show the boat belongs to Mystic Blue LLC. USCG photo

Blue North fined, ordered to pay $179,000 in restitution after guilty plea to illegal cod catch

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Dutch Harbor
Type: Sentencing
On 12/15/10 Alaska Wildlife Troopers in Dutch Harbor were contacted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which reported that the F/V Blue Ace, a 124-foot catcher-processor, had taken Pacific cod with longline gear in state waters closed to vessels 60 feet or greater in overall length. Investigation revealed the Blue Ace was owned by Blue North Fisheries Inc. and operated by Boi Njardvik, 51, of Seattle, and over the course of three separate trips during the B season for Aleutian Islands District cod had taken 417,436 pounds of round-weight cod inside state waters closed to fishing vessels of the Blue Ace's size and gear type. The case was referred to the state Office of Special Prosecutions and Appeals for review. On 6/5/13 Njardvik pled guilty to commercial fishing in closed waters and was fined $3,000 with $1,500 suspended. Blue North Fisheries also pled guilty to commercial fishing in closed waters and was fined $10,000 with $5,000 suspended and placed on probation for three years. In addition, Blue North Fisheries was ordered to pay the state restitution of $179,145.68 for the cod that was taken illegally.

Trawler hit with $325,442 enforcement action

Federal enforcement officials have charged the owner and operator of the F/V Pacific Challenger with fishing for Pacific cod in the Western Gulf of Alaska without having a license limitation permit.

A $325,442 notice of violation and assessment has been issued.

The case is listed in a NOAA enforcement summary for the second half of 2012.

You can see several more Alaska cases starting on page 1 of the summary. And on page 16 are five Alaska cases that have settled. One of those, involving the F/V Alaska Dawn, settled for $130,326.

According to state records, the Pacific Challenger is a 116-foot trawler that belongs to Pacific Dawn LLC of Seattle.

Longliners propose further capacity reduction

Perhaps you remember how, in 2007, the Bering Sea freezer longliner fleet took on a $35 million federal loan to buy out three vessels.

Well, the fleet is now proposing to shoulder an additional $2.7 million loan to retire a latent permit and its fishing history.

The fleet would pay for the permit buyout with a small landings fee collected over 30 years.

The permit isn't associated with a vessel, so an additional boat would not be removed from the fishery.

And why would freezer longliners want to retire a latent, or inactive, permit?

"All vessels ... would benefit from a permit buyback because there will be less potential competition for the harvest," says this notice published July 30 in the Federal Register.

The notice, so far as I can tell, does not identify the permit owner.

With more than 30 large vessels, the freezer longliner fleet is a major player in Alaska's groundfish industry. It targets predominantly Pacific cod.

Cod boat to be towed to Dutch after engine fire

This just in from the U.S. Coast Guard:

Oct. 28, 2011

Coast Guard escorting fire-damaged fishing vessel

KODIAK — The Coast Guard cutter Sherman is escorting the fishing vessel Alaskan Leader toward Dutch Harbor after the vessel sustained fire damage.

The Coast Guard in Kodiak received notification Thursday night of a fire in the engine room aboard the 150-foot Alaskan Leader.

The vessel was 103 miles northwest of Unimak Pass in the Bering Sea.

The Coast Guard issued an urgent marine information broadcast over HF and VHF radio channels requesting the support of any vessels in the area.

The fishing vessels Frontier Explorer, Frontier Spirit and Eastern Wind responded to the broadcast and arrived on scene to render assistance. The Coast Guard also diverted the cutter Sherman from its patrol to assist.

The Alaskan Leader crew was able to extinguish the fire themselves by 9:30 p.m. No injuries have been reported among the 23 crew.

The engine room reportedly suffered extensive damage from the starboard engine fire.

The master of the vessel reported they were able to resume their voyage using their port main diesel engine and auxiliary generator, manual steering and manual throttle control.

The Sherman arrived on scene at 3:30 a.m., allowing the three good Samaritan fishing vessels to return to their previous activities.

The vessel is currently under way at 6 mph about 63 miles from Dutch Harbor.

A commercial tug, contracted by the owner, is on scene with the vessel. It will tow the Alaskan Leader to Dutch Harbor. Once in tow the Sherman crew will return to its patrol.

The tug and fishing vessel are expected to reach Dutch Harbor this afternoon.

"The Coast Guard takes fishing vessel safety very seriously and the vessel will be met by marine casualty investigators and inspectors from Marine Safety Detachment Unalaska to assess the damage," said Lt. Cmdr. Bradley Clare, the Coast Guard Sector Anchorage chief of inspections.

The Alaskan Leader is a Kodiak-based catcher-processor and is carrying 5,000 to 6,000 gallons of diesel fuel and 9,000 pounds of frozen cod.

The Sherman is a 378-foot high endurance cutter from San Diego.

King Cove boat laden with cod remains aground

The fishing vessel Capt'n Andrew remained aground near King Cove as of this morning, the U.S. Coast Guard reported. A salvage company, Magone Marine, is working to recover the 58-foot vessel. Responders are trying to remove fuel from the boat, which also has up to 120,000 pounds of Pacific cod in its holds, owner Corey Wilson of King Cove told authorities. No word yet on why the boat ran aground about 6 a.m. Sunday. USCG photo

It's unanimous

The state Board of Fisheries just voted 7-0 to grant the city of Adak's emergency petition.