Juneau watch

The Alaska Legislature opened its new session today, and Rep. Andy Josephson, D-Anchorage, introduced a resolution opposing orca bycatch.

Trolling for help

The Alaska Trollers Association is asking the City and Borough of Sitka for $25,000 to help fight a lawsuit that threatens to close the Southeast Alaska Chinook troll fishery.

Here's a letter from the association's president, Matt Donohoe.

And here's a background legal summary from the association's attorney.

The Sitka Assembly is set to consider the funding request on Jan. 10.

Troll fishery in jeopardy?

The Wild Fish Conservancy is celebrating progress in its legal challenge to Southeast Alaska's Chinook salmon troll fishery, which the Seattle-area group contends is a threat to "starving" killer whales.

More on those orcas

The National Marine Fisheries Service has provided more information regarding the two orcas taken as bycatch last year.

The orcas died as a result of the bycatch. Or as NMFS put it: "Unfortunately, this was a marine mammal bycatch mortality incident."

NMFS declined to name the vessel involved, saying that information is confidential. However, the agency would say this much: "The killer whales were incidentally taken in the Bering Sea/Aleutian Islands flatfish trawl fishery."

NMFS provided an observer's photos from the incident. "All identifying information and metadata have been removed or blurred out in these photos in accordance with Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act and Marine Mammal Protection Act confidentiality provisions," the agency said.

Readers are advised the images are fairly grisly, and you might find they take a bit of time to download. See the photos here.

What else?

"Observers were able to collect tissue samples from the whales, which have been sent to a lab for genetic analysis and possible identification for stock of origin," NMFS said. "This analysis has not yet been conducted, as regular lab activities have been delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic."

Bycatch of orcas in Alaska fisheries is not unprecedented. NMFS cited its most recent technical memo on human-caused mortality and injury of Alaska marine mammals. Search "killer whale" for a number of regrettable orca encounters with fishing vessels and gear — not only trawl but also longline and pot.

#orcabycatch

The National Marine Fisheries Service recently posted an agency statement to "clear up the disinformation surrounding a photo being circulated on social media of two orca whales taken as bycatch by a trawler in Alaskan waters."

The statement perhaps clears up the disinformation, but it doesn't cure the lack of information about this unfortunate bycatch event, which is said to have occurred a year ago.

Deckboss is pursuing more info, namely:

• What happened to the orcas? Did they die as a result of the bycatch?

• What fishing vessel was involved?

We're also requesting a copy of any incident or investigative report associated with this case. And we're asking the agency to officially release any photos or videos.

Just feeding the orcas?

A trawl fleet representative defends the practice of halibut deck sorting.

'Harassed nonstop'

Here's a letter to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council recounting one halibut captain's epic struggle with thieving orcas.

Stellers and orcas: 'sudden, traumatic death'

We've long heard the theory that marauding killer whales might be largely responsible for the Steller sea lion's endangered status, not lack of food or some other cause.

Now comes some intriguing new science from Oregon State University to bolster the theory.