For years, Alaska’s commercial fishing fleet has dreaded a rule that would require an EPA permit for even basic boat discharges, like draining a fish hold or rinsing the deck. Now Congress is on the verge of ditching the requirement forever.
Fisheries
With salmon ballot measure’s defeat, Pebble celebrates
In an interview Wednesday, Pebble CEO Tom Collier said even though his company’s mine proposal wasn’t always at the forefront of the debate, the salmon habitat initiative was, in some ways, all about Pebble.
Alaska voters strike down ‘Stand for Salmon’ ballot initiative
Following months of intense debate and millions of dollars in campaign spending, Alaska voters defeated Ballot Measure 1 by a wide margin.
Alaska urges British Columbia to toughen mining standards
The Walker administration is using its final weeks in office to push for tougher mine rules across the border in British Columbia. The province is in the midst of reviewing its mine reclamation laws.
To carry out salmon habitat measure, Alaska must decide what ‘significant’ means
Part of the uncertainty on how the salmon habitat initiative Ballot Measure 1 could affect things like small-scale hydro projects or mom-and-pop placer mines hinges on a single phrase in the ballot measure: “significant adverse effects.”
Unalaska City Council rejects proposal to employ inmates at fish plant — for now
A proposal from the state’s Department of Corrections would allow four inmates to work at an Unalaska fish processing plant. The resolution could still pass if the Unalaska City Council revisits the issue.
Cameras could replace onboard human observers for some fishing boats
The electronic monitoring program uses cameras and recording equipment to keep track of the kinds of fish coming on board, as opposed to the more traditional way of bringing human observers on board a vessel.
Coastal pacific oxygen levels now plummet once a year
The hypoxia season hits Oregon, Washington and California waters in the summer and can last from a few days to a couple of months. Some years it only affects a few square miles of ocean; other years it’s thousands of square miles.
Some Board of Fish members express interest in limiting hatchery production
The Department of Fish and Game’s hatchery-wild research project is due to release the first round of several genetic reports in the coming months, which will inform the board’s discussion on hatchery fish.
Stand for Salmon and Stand for Alaska debate Ballot Measure 1
Stand for Salmon, says state regulations to protect fish habitat are inadequate. An opposition group, Stand for Alaska, though, argues the measure would hurt more than it would help.