On Monday in Anchorage at the first day of the Alaska Marine Science Symposium, where hundreds of scientists gathered to talk ocean science, it was appropriate that the day start with a quote from Martin Luther King, Jr., given the holiday.
"We may have all come on different ships, but we're in the same boat now."
Fitting for a symposium dedicated to sharing ocean research in the Bering Sea, Arctic Ocean and Gulf of Alaska. Keynotes from the day focused on several major issues all Alaska oceans are struggling with -- acidification, tsunami debris and the highest-profile of all: Chinook salmon stocks in decline.
Alaskans have taken particular notice of chinook salmon runs lately because returning numbers of those fish have been dropping steadily in recent years. But 2012 hit the state especially hard — with multiple rivers and regions across the state seeing some of the lowest returns ever, forcing Alaska Fish and Game officials to close or severely limit salmon fishing around the state, including on some of the state's most iconic rivers.
In Western Alaska, Native subsistence fishermen protested the closures, saying they threatened their livelihoods. They were ticketed, and since have begun fighting the citations on grounds of Yup'ik religious and cultural freedom. In Southcentral Alaska, commercial fishermen and sport fishermen dueled over who shared the burden of conservation — leaving both groups beached for most of the summer.
Read the full story at the Alaska Dispatch>>
Callifornia crabbing: Here's a fun video shot on the decks of the Majestik while catching Dungeness crab off the coast of northern California.
Over 500 lots of seafood processing equipment formerly owned by Adak Seafood will be sold at auction on Tuesday, June 18, starting at 10 a.m. Hawaiian-Aleutian Daylight Time at the Hilton Garden Inn in Anchorage Alaska.
The equipment is located in a recently updated 250,000 square foot state-of-the-art processing facility in Adak, Alaska. Farmington Hills, Mich.-based Hilco Industrial, which conducts 75 machinery and equipment auctions in a wide range of industries annually, will conduct the auction.
Adak Seafood opened originally as Ada Fisheries in Anchorage in 1986. The facility, updated in 2005, is located on the island of Adak, the southernmost city in Alaska near the western end of the Aleutian Islands. The facility processed cod primarily, as well as halibut, blackcod, crab and pollock, Hilco says.
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.
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