Is your boat in order?

Here's an important notice from the U.S. Coast Guard:

Dockside safety exams for most commercial fishing vessels
become mandatory in October

JUNEAU — The Coast Guard is requiring all commercial fishing vessels that operate or fish more than three miles from the territorial sea baseline to complete a mandatory Coast Guard dockside safety exam as of Oct. 16, 2012.

This regulatory change comes as a result of Congress passing the Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010. This change affects commercial fishing fleets nationwide, and the Coast Guard is conducting outreach efforts to ensure those affected are aware of the changes with the goal of having them in compliance before the deadline.

"The Coast Guard Authorization Act of 2010 introduces a number of new rules the Coast Guard will be enforcing," said Ken Lawrenson, the Coast Guard District 17 commercial fishing vessel safety coordinator. "The use of 'three miles from the territorial sea baseline' is a bit of a change from the existing regulation, which uses a complicated definition of the 'boundary line.' It will be a lot easier to understand because most nautical charts show a thin grey line that indicates where that three miles from the territorial sea baseline is located so it becomes very simple to see if you are operating seaward or shoreward of that line. If you are operating, either fishing or transiting your boat, beyond that three-mile line, then the 16th of October deadline applies to you, and your fishing vessel needs to have completed a dockside safety exam."

Dockside examinations are free of charge, and currently no penalties will be issued for discrepancies. If discrepancies are found, vessel owners will be issued a worklist and a reasonable time to correct any issues. The goal is to bring commercial fishermen into compliance while minimizing disruptions to fishing.

"There is no good reason to put off or delay the start of an exam," Lawrenson said. "Exams are free and most vessels already have the safety equipment and documentation to pass a dockside safety exam."

A letter from the Coast Guard to the commercial fishing industry explaining the dockside safety exam requirements is available here.

In Alaska, fishermen are asked to contact their nearest Coast Guard Sector or Marine Safety Detachment to schedule an exam:

• Ketchikan, (907) 225-4496
• Sitka, (907) 966-5454
• Juneau, (907) 463-2448
• Valdez, (907) 835-7223
• Homer, (907) 235-3292
• Kodiak, (907) 486-5918
• Dutch Harbor, (907) 581-3466
• Anchorage, (907) 271-6700

Direct questions or concerns to Lawrenson at (907) 463-2810 or
(907) 321-4110 (cell) or Kenneth.m.lawrenson@uscg.mil.

A mixed outlook for Alaska crab

Fewer snow crab this season? ASMI photo

The quota for Bristol Bay red king crab might go up a bit, but the Bering Sea snow crab quota could see a substantial cut.

That's the outlook in a nutshell for Alaska's two most valuable commercial crab fisheries, based on this technical memorandum detailing results of this summer's eastern Bering Sea bottom trawl survey.

Typically, the quotas for these fisheries are announced at the end of September or in early October, once federal and state scientists have analyzed all the available data and settle on the numbers.

With respect to Bristol Bay red king crab, Deckboss would direct your attention to Table 6 on page 32 of the PDF, under the "Legal male" column. It shows a biomass estimate of 19,713 metric tons of legal-sized male crabs, the big boys that crab fishermen can retain and sell. That's an increase from the prior year's estimate of 15,412 tons.

As for Bering Sea snow crab, also known as opilio, take a look at Table 19 on page 45. It shows a legal male biomass estimate of 104,456 tons, down nearly 29 percent from the 2011 estimate of 146,275 tons.

This suggests we could see a retrenchment from the recent upward trend in harvest quotas for snow crab.

Deckboss cautions that many factors go into calculating harvest quotas. But estimated legal male biomass is one good indicator of where we might be headed for the upcoming season.

The technical memo includes data on other fisheries including Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab, a brawny version of the snow crab. The numbers suggest the fishery is likely to remain closed, as it has been for the past two seasons.

Oh well, better luck next year

The latest statewide tally of Alaska's commercial salmon catch is out, and we now stand at just over 118.5 million fish.

Given that we're a week into September and many fisheries are done, it's likely we won't make the harvest forecast of 132 million.

On a brighter note, it seems that prices have been pretty good this year. Anyone disagree?

Kodiak cucumber, urchin diving begins Oct. 1

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced red sea cucumber and green sea urchin quotas for Kodiak and areas west.

The quotas for the upcoming season, which opens Oct. 1, are just the same as last year's.

Independent experts rip Steller sea lion BiOp

A panel of independent experts is quite critical of the federal government's "biological opinion" that commercial fishing jeopardized endangered Steller sea lions in the Aleutian chain.

The National Marine Fisheries Service, if you'll recall, has imposed costly fishing closures in the region, an action that triggered state and industry lawsuits against the government.

Here are links to the expert reviews of the BiOp:

W.D. Bowen
Brent S. Stewart
Kevin Stokes

Salmon survivors

What happens when a hundred-year flood seemingly wipes out the salmon population in an Alaska stream?

The salmon simply recolonize and recover to pre-flood levels within four years.

That's what British scientists found in a study of Wolf Point Creek in Glacier Bay. Read about it here.

Search for missing Advantage crewman ends

"Suspending a search for a missing person is one of the most difficult decisions we have to make," Coast Guard Capt. Gregory Sanial said in this press release.