Commercial Fishing

After a disastrous king salmon return last year, the state of Alaska is putting millions of dollars toward better understanding what's happening to the large fish. As part of the Chinook salmon research initiative, researchers with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game are preparing to implement new research into the state's King salmon runs. Thirty million dollars has been dedicated to the new research over the next five years. Twelve Chinook salmon stalks from the Yukon River to South East Alaska will be monitored throughout their life cycle to better understand what's happening to the fish.

Location and Climate Bethel is located at the mouth of the Kuskokwim River, 40 miles inland from the Bering Sea. It lies in the Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, 400 air miles west of Anchorage. The community lies at approximately 60.792220° North Latitude and -161.755830° West Longitude.  (Sec. 09, T008N, R071W, Seward Meridian.)   Bethel is located in the Bethel Recording District.  The area encompasses 43.8 sq. miles of land and 5.1 sq. miles of water.  Precipitation averages 16 inches a year in this area and snowfall averages 50 inches per year.

By now, his family says, Hubert Tunuchuk would have been back from a summer of commercial fishing in Bristol Bay, a few months into working a plum new job as a generator maintenance operator in his home village of Chefornak. “No doubt, he would have been a great one,” said his aunt, Esther Stauffer. Tunuchuk, 28, was killed in a hit-and-run collision in Anchorage during the early hours of Easter morning 2011. Six members of Tunuchuk's family were at the Thursday arraignment of 19-year-old Ashley Bashore, who was arrested Wednesday and charged with negligent homicide, leaving the scene of an accident and tampering with evidence charges related to the crash.

A top fisheries advisor to U.S. Sen. Lisa Murkowski signed a plea deal admitting that he falsified commercial fishing records. Arne Fuglvog faces one misdemeanor count under the Lacey Act.   Between 2001 and 2006, Fuglvog fished in one regulatory area, and then falsely reported that the fish were caught in a different area, according to court documents. During that time Fuglvog served on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. "I think that it is a serious violation, it's not a paperwork mistake," said John Sackton, the President of Seafood.com.  "I was shocked because in my opinion Arne was one of the most important Congressional staffers for fisheries.

What started as a perceived weakness for Governor Sean Parnell’s Fish and Game commissioner pick has turned into one of Cora Campbell’s strengths; her age. The House Resources Committee Friday voted to confirm Campbell, who many people initially criticized as too young and inexperienced for the job. Lawmakers said they look forward to new ideas and energy that the 31-year-old commissioner-designee might bring to the table....

The Port of Anchorage's new director, Richard Wilson, was announced Wednesday by Mayor Dan Sullivan. Wilson, who has been an Alaskan for 37 years, spent 13 years as city administrator of St. George in the Pribilof Islands, where he directed port planning, finance, design and construction for a new commercial fishing port on the Bering Sea, as well as negotiating dock use agreements for the facility. “Faced with crisis resulting from a contractor who was unable to fulfill contractual obligations, Wilson led a successful transition to finish construction under City management,” city officials said in a Wednesday statement.

Location and Climate Kenai is located on the western coast of the Kenai Peninsula, fronting Cook Inlet. It lies on the western boundary of the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, on the Kenai Spur Highway. It is approximately 65 air miles and 155 highway miles southwest of Anchorage via the Sterling Highway. The community lies at approximately 60.554440° North Latitude and -151.258330° West Longitude.  (Sec. 05, T005N, R011W, Seward Meridian.)   Kenai is located in the Kenai Recording District.

Location and Climate Dillingham is located at the extreme northern end of Nushagak Bay in northern Bristol Bay, at the confluence of the Wood and Nushagak Rivers. It lies 327 miles southwest of Anchorage, and is a 6 hour flight from Seattle. The community lies at approximately 59.039720° North Latitude and -158.457500° West Longitude.  (Sec. 21, T013S, R055W, Seward Meridian.)   Dillingham is located in the Bristol Bay Recording District.  The area encompasses 33.6 sq. miles of land and 2.1 sq. miles of water.  The primary climatic influence is maritime, however, the arctic climate of the Interior also affects the Bristol Bay coast.

Gov. Sean Parnell’s pick to head the state Department of Revenue, Bryan Butcher, faced some resistance during his confirmation Friday, but it was not enough to block his final approval. Butcher was one of a long list of appointees who went before a joint session of the House and Senate for final consideration. He was confirmed as revenue commissioner on a 51-8 vote, after a lengthy debate during which some Democrats stood to criticize Butcher for not providing proper information during hearings on a bill to reduce oil taxes.

It's an Earth Day movie tradition that I hope continues from Disney. Last year it was "Earth," next year it's African lions, now it's "Oceans," which was shot in areas all over the world, including Alaska. This one was done a little differently than "Earth" was. "Oceans" isn't in story form, but more of going from animal to animal; some familiar, some new, some beautiful, and some ugly. There's also a different narrator this time. "Earth" had golden-toned James Earl Jones; "Oceans" has a British twist with Pierce Brosnan.