USDA agrees to take Alaska pink salmon

Gov. Sean Parnell just announced the U.S. Department of Agriculture has granted his request to buy surplus canned Alaska pink salmon.

"The purchase of Alaska's canned salmon achieves several goals: It corrects the inventory surplus, helps Alaska's fishing families, and provides high-quality nutrition for food and assistance programs," Parnell said. "Alaska's bounty of pink salmon will provide delicious and nourishing meals for hundreds of thousands of American families. I appreciate the effort of Sen. Lisa Murkowski to make this purchase possible, which will benefit Alaska's families."

Another endorsement for Begich

The Purse Seine Vessel Owners Association likes U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, for another term. Read the endorsement here.

Lawmakers propose ban on Russian seafood imports

Read the Alaska congressional delegation's letter to the president.

The ex-husband wins

Here's an interesting opinion from the Alaska Supreme Court in a case involving a marital dispute over individual fishing quota.

Fisherman with foot injury needs medevac

A Coast Guard helicopter today hoisted an injured crewman off the 116-foot fishing vessel Patricia Lee, located near Dutch Harbor.

The crewman, 27, was reported to have suffered a foot injury, the Coast Guard said.

More on those disaster relief payments

Here's a press release from the National Marine Fisheries Service.

Disaster relief payments coming

Cook Inlet and Yukon River commercial fishermen will receive $7.8 million in "direct payments" to compensate for losses resulting from poor Chinook salmon runs, this federal notice says.

Checks "hopefully will go out in September or October," an aide to U.S. Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, tells Deckboss.

This is the first installment of the $20.8 million allocated to Alaska under a congressional response to multiple fishery disasters across the nation.