Missing man found dead in Nushagak River

Here's an update from the Alaska State Troopers on the search for a man who went overboard on the Nushagak River at Bristol Bay:

Location: Dillingham
Type: Death investigation
On 9/12/10 at approximately 0230 hours, the U.S. Coast Guard was notified that Jerome "Ernie" Beltran, 26, of Dillingham, fell overboard off a fishing vessel that was anchored in the Nushagak River approximately a half-mile upstream from Portage Creek. Alaska State Troopers were notified and a search and rescue effort was launched involving the USCG, AST, Alaska Wildlife Troopers, the Dillingham Search and Rescue Team, Choggiung Ltd. and multiple volunteers from the Dillingham area. On 9/14/10 at approximately 1700 hours, a volunteer search party recovered Beltran's body from the Nushagak River near Portage Creek. He was deceased. The AST investigation is continuing, but at this time there is no indication of foul play. AST would like to thank all those who contributed to this search effort, especially the volunteers who contributed so much.

Kookesh subsistence ruling now available

You might have heard that state Sen. Albert Kookesh, D-Angoon, recently won dismissal of a charge that he took an overlimit of subsistence salmon.

We now have the written ruling from the judge.

Deckboss intends to study the ruling carefully as it could be quite significant for Alaska fisheries management.

Searchers look for man overboard on Nushagak

The Alaska State Troopers issued the following press release around 6:50 p.m. Unfortunately, it doesn't say whether the vessel involved was a commercial fishing boat.

Location: Dillingham
Type: Search and rescue
On 9/12/10 at approximately 0245 hours, Alaska State Troopers were notified by the U.S. Coast Guard of a report of a man suspected of falling overboard from a vessel anchored on the Nushagak River near Portage Creek. The USCG, AST, Alaska Wildlife Troopers and private search parties joined in the effort to locate the individual. The individual has not yet been located, but search efforts are continuing.

Ailing seiner crewman airlifted to Kodiak

From the U.S. Coast Guard:

Sept. 11, 2010

Coast Guard medevacs fisherman with possible shellfish poisoning

JUNEAU — A Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter rescue crew this morning medevaced a 28-year-old male reportedly suffering from shellfish poisoning aboard the fishing vessel Miss Michelle in Kupreanof Strait 15 miles northwest of Kodiak.

Jonathon Botz was medevaced after a crewmember on the 55-foot seiner contacted the Sector Anchorage command center via satellite phone. Sector Anchorage in turn contacted the 17th Coast Guard District command center in Juneau at approximately 5 a.m. to coordinate the medevac with the duty flight surgeon.

After the flight surgeon recommended Botz be medevaced, the helicopter was launched at 6:20 a.m.

The crew of the Miss Michelle moored the vessel in Port Lions where the rescue helicopter crew landed and transported Botz to Air Station Kodiak. He was then taken to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center.

Begich just says no to 'gene-spliced' salmon

Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, says Food and Drug Administration approval of genetically engineered Atlantic salmon for human consumption would be "unprecedented, risky and a threat to the survival of wild species."

Here's the full press release.

Hard times on horizon for king crab?

The stock assessment for Alaska's richest shellfish harvest, Bristol Bay red king crab, is out. And it's disappointing.

The assessment incorporates the latest trawl survey, conducted annually in late May and June.

Deckboss spent some time reviewing the hefty document and found words for worry.

"Male abundance from the 2010 summer trawl survey was lower than expected," the assessment says.

Of course, it's only the big, male crabs that fishermen and processors can legally take to market.

The assessment said estimated mature male abundance and biomass were about 7 percent lower than in 2009.

But this isn't the biggest concern. The red king crab stock, not all that strong to begin with, looks to be heading into further decline.

"Due to lack of recruitment, mature and legal crabs should decline next year," the assessment says. "Current crab abundance is still low relative to the late 1970s, and without favorable environmental conditions, recovery to the high levels of the late 1970s is unlikely."

Recruitment is when young crab reach the adult ranks.

OK, so what does this mean in terms of catch limits for this fall and for coming years?

The fishery opens Oct. 15.

Regulators announced the 2009 quota on Sept. 30, and it was 16 million pounds — down 21.6 percent from the prior year.

We seem likely to see another reduction when this year's quota is announced.

Without recruitment, future cuts could be much more severe.

Certainly, the Bristol Bay red king crab fishery has been a story of spectacular boom and bust. The domestic harvest peaked in 1980 with a catch of nearly 130 million pounds.

The fishery never has approached that kind of productivity since, and managers were forced to shut it down as recently as 1994 and 1995.

Still, it's been extremely valuable in recent years, with last season's catch worth $70 million dockside and the 2008 fishery worth $100 million.

For crabbers, losing money like that would be the deadliest pain.

Two fish firms snag export honors

Alaska Gov. Sean Parnell yesterday issued this press release naming recipients of the 2010 Governor's North Star Awards for International Excellence.

Two Alaska seafood companies took the honors for export excellence, the Seafood Producers Cooperative based in Bellingham, Wash., and the Anchorage-based Coastal Villages Region Fund.

Here's what the governor's office had to say about the two companies:

Seafood Producers Cooperative, with 520 members, is the oldest, largest and most successful U.S. seafood cooperative. As a co-op of hook-and-line fishermen for salmon, halibut and black cod, SPC and its members are representative of Southeast Alaska’s fishing communities. With significant investment in its Sitka facilities, SPC was recognized for quality processing and its efforts to market seafood internationally.

Coastal Villages Region Fund is a nonprofit corporation comprised of 20 member villages along the Kuskokwim coast, from Scammon Bay to Platinum. CVRF participates in the Western Alaska Community Development Quota program and uses earnings from the Bering Sea pollock, cod and crab fisheries to provide economic development and other opportunities for its 9,300 residents. In 2009, CVRF completed construction of a $40 million salmon processing plant in Platinum. CVRF began direct international marketing and recently opened an office in Japan.