By Sarah Schumann
PROVIDENCE — Times are tough for New England’s commercial fishing industry. Just last week federal fisheries regulators announced sweeping cuts to the number of cod that fishermen are allowed to catch. But even in the midst of regional suffering, Rhode Island’s fishermen recently pulled together to support their colleagues on a distant coast: Bristol Bay, Alaska.
The challenge facing commercial fishermen in Bristol Bay is not how to cope with a shortage of fish, as is the case in several high-profile fisheries in New England. Rather, it is to protect a thriving, abundant salmon resource from the potentially harmful effects associated with the proposed Pebble Mine.
Opposition to the Pebble Mine led Bristol Bay salmon fisherman Katherine Carscallen to spend two weeks touring New England ports and rallying local fishermen to her cause. Carscallen represents the advocacy group Commercial Fishermen for Bristol Bay.
During a Feb. 1 visit to Rhode Island, Carscallen and several local fisheries advocates met with Sen. Jack Reed’s staff to urge support for an Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) action under the Clean Water Act to protect the watersheds of Bristol Bay from mining.
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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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