A number of businesses are coming to the defense of a trawl fleet possibly facing tighter halibut bycatch limits in the Bering Sea and Aleutian Islands.
Among them is Saltwater Inc., an Anchorage provider of fishery observers.
A proposal to raise the state's fuel tax is again up for debate in the Alaska State Capitol.
House Bill 104 would, among other things, double the tax on motor fuel used in watercraft to a dime per gallon.
However, the bill specifies that "a watercraft licensed ... and used for commercial fishing is entitled to a motor fuel tax refund of 5 cents a gallon if the tax on the motor fuel has been paid."
The U.S. Coast Guard recently concluded a lengthy public hearing into the loss of the fishing vessel Scandies Rose, which sank on New Year's Eve 2019 in heavy seas southwest of Kodiak Island.
Of the seven crewmembers aboard, two were rescued and five were never recovered.
As part of its hearing, the Coast Guard posted numerous exhibits including this subsea survey report on the sunken vessel. Readers are advised that some images and details in the report may be disturbing.
The Board of Fisheries has scheduled a March 16 special meeting to consider an emergency petition to close the Norton Sound commercial red king crab fishery for the
remainder of 2021.
The F/V Haida Lady, which sank near Cobb Island south of Sitka, has been raised with lift bags and dewatering pumps, the U.S. Coast Guard reports. This is the boat as seen Wednesday. USCG photo
After last season ended, Bristol Bay salmon fishermen grumbled over the 70 cents per pound the major processors paid for sockeye. It was a huge drop from the $1.35 paid the prior season.
The reason for the price drop would seem evident and understandable: COVID-19 and the anxiety it created in the markets.
Nevertheless, Bristol Bay fishermen remain angry over last year's fish price.
Many hope the processors will come through with supplemental payments for the 2020 catch.
This week, the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association, which represents drift gillnetters, posted a white paper examining last year’s disappointing sockeye price and options for what the fleet could do about it. Here's a summary of the paper.