After nearly a year of meetings and conversations with the Army Corps of Engineers, the Ventura Port District learned this week it will receive $2.5 million to dredge the Ventura Harbor, officials announced Wednesday.
District and city officials launched a drive to secure the money after learning the federal budget for 2013 had no money for dredging — the first time dredging had been excluded since 1983.
Officials met with the corps in Los Angeles, Oakland and Washington, D.C., during the past 10 months. The Federal Reconciliation Authority eventually approved the $2.5 million.
Business activity at the harbor generated $246 million for the economy in 2011. Commercial fishing generated $46 million in revenue, while the National Park Service headquarters for Channel Islands National Park generated more than $24 million in visitor spending.
Read the full story at Ventura County Star>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Alaska fisherman and commercial fisheries activist Kevin Adams was elected chairman at the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute board of directors meeting on May 9 in Anchorage.
The governor-appointed board consists of seven members: five seafood processors and two industry representatives actively engaged in commercial fishing. Adams was appointed to fill a harvester seat by Gov. Frank Murkowski in 2004.
With 38 years of fishing experience in Bristol Bay, Adams has long been an active member in the Alaska fishing industry, ASMI says. He has worked for both the Alaska Fisheries Development Foundation and the Bering Sea Fisherman's Association, and represents Alaska fishermen on numerous boards.
The Northeast Regional Planning Body, a group of state, tribal and federal representatives from New England who are working to implement the National Ocean Policy and address critical New England ocean issues, is holding a series of public meetings in May and June.
The meetings are being held to discuss draft regional ocean planning goals and associated potential actions. The planning body seeks input on these goals and actions. Additional information on the group's progress can be found here.
The meetings will also provide an opportunity to review draft maps and products from initial efforts to gather information on the natural resources and diverse uses of the ocean, including fishing, transportation, energy and infrastructure, aquaculture, and recreation.
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