Bristol Bay

by Christine Kim Saturday, February 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Alaska Board of Fisheries sent a letter this week to the Legislature asking it to evaluate the permitting protections and standards in Bristol Bay. In addition, it asked for additional safeguards to protect the fish and game habitat. The letter comes after public testimony before the board in December on Proposal 13, to create a fish refuge in some river drainages. Many who were against more protection say it creates additional restrictions and will affect economic development.

It has been slow going for sockeyes in Bristol Bay. The commercial fishing season historically hits its peak on July 4, but this year that wasn't the case. Biologists say the delay can be blamed on the weather, which in Naknek has been rainy and cold. The weather may have slowed down the salmon, but the same can't be said for the fishermen. "I've been doing it for 24 years and my dad's been up here since '62, commercial fishing every summer," said commercial fisherman Marcus Williams.

by Christine Kim Wednesday, March 31, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Obama administration's announcement Wednesday of its plans for offshore U.S. oil and gas exploration will strongly affect Alaska's Arctic Ocean coastline and the Bristol Bay region. The expansion of Outer Continental Shelf development gives Alaska's largest-grossing lease sale clearance to continue its plans for drilling. "This was one of the important milestones on our continual effort to mobilize a drilling ship into the Chukchi or the Beaufort (seas)

Gov. Sarah Palin was in Bristol Bay Monday, where she granted interviews to several national television networks. All of them wanted more details about why she plans to resign later this month -- as the Palins tried to net salmon, reporters fished for answers.  CNN brought its cameras. ABC news was there too, as well as NBC's Andrea Mitchell. Mitchell met Palin's famous son Trig, and tried to pry information out of her daughter, Piper. "Piper, which way did you vote when your mom polled the family?

Alaska's commercial salmon fisheries have netted 19.9 million fish so far this year, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.  In Bristol Bay, fishermen are over halfway to the state's forecast harvest.  As of July 1st, fishermen have netted about 15 million fish. The state forecast a harvest of 28.5 million, with an run of 38.5 million.   "In Bristol Bay, you know which is the big fishery, right now, the big fishery in June and the first half of July is the sockeye fishery, and that is tracking fairly close to last year," said Geron Bruce, the assistant director of Commercial Fisheries for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

A new study by two professors with the University of Washington looks at five decades of data from Bristol Bay salmon surveys and harvest records, as part of in-depth research into the bay's rich sockeye salmon fishery. One environmental group is using the findings to support its claim that the fishery should be protected from any future development. "Bristol Bay is a one-of-a-kind resource -- it's the greatest remaining salmon fishery on the planet," said Tim Bristol, Alaska program director of Trout Unlimited.

by The Associated Press Thursday, June 10, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Trout Unlimited Alaska is hosting a salmon cook-off. The group, which is opposed to the development of the Pebble Mine, hopes to inform people on what they can do to help protect Bristol Bay. The group says the Bristol Bay wild salmon fishery faces an unprecedented threat from Pebble -- a huge copper and gold deposit in southwest Alaska. Trout Unlimited says its first Savor Bristol Bay event will be held on June 19 from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the South Anchorage Farmers' Market.

Congress is weighing in on the debate over the proposed gold and copper mine, known as Pebble Mine, in the Bristol Bay area.  Monday, Washington state Democratic Sen. Maria Cantwell sent a letter to the Environmental Protection Agency Administrator Lisa Jackson urging her to prohibit Pebble Mine if a watershed assessment showed the project could harm valuable fish stock in the area.  In February, the EPA announced it would conduct a...

The award-winning PBS Television series, "Frontline" examined Pebble Mine in a documentary that aired Tuesday night and the subject manner continues to generate mixed reactions. And one day after the program was broadcast, supporters of the mine seemed displeased with the documentary, while mine opponents largely liked it. The hour-long show was a comprehensive look at Pebble, and it comes just two weeks before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is due to return to Anchorage for a scientific discussion of water-quality issues related to the proposed mine.

by Jackie Bartz Tuesday, July 6, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Sockeye salmon pulled from Bristol Bay are the focus of a regional grassroots campaign in Washington and Oregon. "Savor Bristol Bay" is targeting the proposed Pebble Mine using the dinner plates of customers.          Nearly 50 restaurants in Seattle and Portland have teamed up with the anti-Pebble group Trout Unlimited. All week they'll be exclusively serving up sockeye salmon to bring awareness to their anti-pebble campaign.

Numerous boats sitting in dry storage in Naknek are a quiet precursor to the busy sockeye salmon fishing season that transforms this community. The population increases tenfold in the summer to support the most profitable commercial sockeye fishery in the world. While other areas of the state have seen commercial fishing hurt by low king salmon returns, Bristol Bay remains a strong economic engine. The mayor of the Bristol Bay Borough, Daniel O'Hara, says fishing's importance to the region is like oil's importance to the State of Alaska.

ASAA 1A & 2A Basketball Tournament, Sullivan Arena Tuesday's Semifinals 1A Girls Cook Inlet Academy def. Newhalen, 44-27 Nikolaevsk def. Aniak, 60-29 Championship Game 2:00 Wednesday 2A Girls Dillingham def. Point Hope, 43-42 Craig def. Glennallen, 39-29 Championship Game 6:30 Wednesday 1A Boys Klawock def. King Cove, 62-37 Noorvik def. Lumen Christi, 61-49 Championship Game 4:00 Wednesday 2A Boys Hooper Bay def. Dillingham, 43-42 Metlakatla def. Bristol Bay, 42-39 Championship Game 8:30 Wednesday              

ASAA Basketball Tournament--Sullivan Arena Monday's 1A Girls Quarterfinals Newhalen def. Huslia, 52-41 Cook Inlet Academy def. Klawock, 46-37 Aniak Def. Koliganek, 37-34 Nikolaevsk def. Alak, 53-50  Monday's 1A Boys Quarterfinals Klawock def. Noatak, 66-63, 2OT King Cove def. Toksook Bay, 65-51 Noorvik def. New Stuyahok, 55-37 Lumen Christi def. Scammon Bay, 66-39   Monday's 2A Girls Quarterfinals Point Hope def. Nenana, 59-34 Dillingham def. Metlakatla, 50-37 Craig def. Unalakleet, 39-21 Glennallen def.

The Environmental Protection Agency says it is revising its assessment of large-scale mining activities near Bristol Bay -- including the proposed Pebble Mine -- in response to comments from peer reviewers as well as the general public. In a Tuesday statement, the EPA says it received more than 230,000 public comments on its draft assessment of how major mining may affect the Kvichak and Nushagak river systems' water quality and salmon ecosystems. “EPA is using the comments and suggestions from the public and the 12 peer reviewers to revise the assessment,” agency officials wrote.

Tonight (Sunday), on the eve of a major public forum concerning the Pebble Mine, Pebble opponents are saying they're deeply concerned over apparent discrepancies in Pebble's $120 million dollar environmental study on its own proposed project. That project -- if approved -- could become one of the largest open pit mines in North America. Documents on hand with the S-E-C indicate the pit could be one mile deep and 3 miles wide. The Pebble Limited Partnership would mine gold, molylbdenum and copper.  Today former Alaska Senator Rick Halford showed Channel 2 News a written statement from Dr. Carol Ann Woody, a fish biologist who's been working with "The Nature Conservancy".

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's efforts to assess the environmental impacts of the Pebble Mine are now causing repercussions on Capitol Hill. The Anchorage Daily News reported this week that some congressional republicans are challenging the E.P.A's authority to rule on Pebble Mine. Some Congressman feel that Pebble is an Alaska issue, not a federal one. But this week, the E.P.A. said that critics who challenge its authority on this issue are wrong. The Agency says that under the Federal Clean Water Act of 1972, it has the responsibility to protect the nation's waterways.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency today (Wednesday) wrapped-up the public portion of its scientific "Peer Review" of the proposed Pebble Mine. Twelve scientists will spend the next few months -- in closed-door sessions -- gathering information that will eventually allow the agency to determine whether Pebble can be operated in compliance with the "Clean Water Act of 1972. " The Bristol Bay Fishermen -- and Alaska Natives --  who brought the E.P.A. Into the decision process allege that Alaska State authorities have never blocked a major mine project in the history of the state.

The award-winning PBS Television series, "Frontline" examined Pebble Mine in a documentary that aired Tuesday night and the subject manner continues to generate mixed reactions. And one day after the program was broadcast, supporters of the mine seemed displeased with the documentary, while mine opponents largely liked it. The hour-long show was a comprehensive look at Pebble, and it comes just two weeks before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is due to return to Anchorage for a scientific discussion of water-quality issues related to the proposed mine.

This has been a gloomy week for most the Alaska.  Fortunately, warmer temperatures and sunshine is re-emerging for parts of the state.  Places like Fairbanks, McGrath, Bethel and Denali Park will see a fair dose of sun and temps in the 60s to near 70. Not everyone is done with the wet weather, however. From the northern Panhandle into PWS. rain is likely with 24 hour totals surpassing one inch.  Breezy to windy conditions, particularly through channeled terrain, will accompany the rain.  Scattered showers will persist another day Bristol Bay and the Alaska Peninsula, also.

Hundreds of people showed up to an EPA meeting Monday night about the impact of mining on Bristol Bay salmon. Along with the arguments both for and against the proposed Pebble Mine project were several complaints to the EPA and the federal government for how it's handling its investigation of how mining might impact the salmon, centered around a report released last month. Some argued that people needed more time to understand all the information in the huge report.  Others were upset that the first meeting about the Alaska issue took place in Seattle.