Deep Sea Fishermen's Union

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News Updates: 01/06/10 Charter Halibut Moratorium NOAA Fisheries has announced a new fishery management program passed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council that limits the number of charter boats in the guided sport halibut fishery in Southeast Alaska and the central Gulf of Alaska Final Rule Federal Register 12/15/09 IPHC Annual Meeting January 25 - January 29, 2010 The Eighty-sixth Annual Meeting of the International Pacific Halibut Commission will be held from Tuesday, January 26 through Friday, January 29, 2010 at the Seattle Marriott Waterfront. Agenda 12/08/09 IPHC Preliminary Staff Recommendations News Release You can view the News Release on their website at this link . 09/09/09 Take Your Best Shot Photo Contest - Pacific Fishing Magazine Deadline: October 15, 2009 Complete Contest Rules and entry form are available online at www.pacificfishing.com by clicking on "Photo Contest". Print and digital photos are welcome. Entry must be accompanied by entry form . Entries must be received by October 15, 2009. Top Prizes are: 1st - 2 round trip tickets anywhere Alaska Airlines flies 2nd - $1,000 gift certificate from WESMAR 3rd - $500 gift certificate from Redden Marine 09/02/09 News Release - IPHC 2009 Halibut Landing Report No 7 Highlights: 1) QS Commercial Fisheries Update 2) Area 2A Commercial Tribal Fisheries 3) Incidental Commercial Halibut Catch in the Area Fixed Gear Sablefish Fishery 4) Area 2A Incidental Commercial Halibut Fishery during the Salmon Troll Season 5) Annette Islands Reserve Fishery in Area 2C Read the News Release 09/04/09 Agenda for NPFMC October 2009 meeting The North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting will be held at the Anchorage Hilton Hotel. The Advisory Panel and Scientific and Statistical Committee begin Monday, October 1st at 8am. The IFQ Implementation Team meets September 30th from 9am - 5pm in the Chart Room. You can view the agenda in its entirety. 08/24/09 News Release - IPHC $100 Reward for tags from double-tagged halibut. IPHC will be double-tagging halibut in late August 2009 near Trinity Island in Regulatory Areas 3A -3B, using bright pink wire check tags in combination with external "backpack tags" and internal "gut tags". IPHC is asking for harvesters to look for tagged halibut, bearing in mind that the fish should carry two tags. All fish will bear a check tag. Gut tags will be surgically implanted in the gut cavity, but will have a red stalk protruding out of the belly on the fish's dark side. Please inform your crew to look for stalks on the dark side of the fish before gutting, to avoid the possibility of throwing $100 overboard! Each tag will yield a reward of $100, so make sure you keep and return both tags. In addition, fishers who hold IFQ/IVQ should be aware that the weight of these tagged fish should NOT be deducted from the fisher's halibut IFQ/IVQ. For further information on what to do when you do catch a double-tagged halibut read the News Release and/or contact Dr. Tim Loher at 206.634.1938 (ext 212) or via email at tim@iphc.washington.edu . News Updates: 06/09 June 2009 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their June meeting in Anchorage. The next meeting is October 2009 in Anchorage. News Updates: 04/09 April 2009 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their April meeting in Anchorage. The next meeting is June 2009 in Anchorage. News Updates: 02/09 February 2009 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their February meeting in Seattle. The next meeting is April 2009 in Anchorage. 12/22/2008 News Release - NOAA Proposes Rule to Reduce Halibut Charter Catch in S.E. Public comment on the proposed rule is open through Jan. 21, 2009. After considering public comment, NOAA expects to publish a final rule in the spring of 2009. To read the proposed rule and see how to submit comments, go to http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov . Contact Sheela McLean or Doug Mecum for additional information: (907) 586-7221. NOAA today proposed reducing the number of halibut that charter vessel anglers in southeast Alaska can keep, from two each day to one. "Sport charter fishing has grown in southeast Alaska while halibut abundance has decreased," said Doug Mecum, NOAA's Fisheries Service acting regional administrator for Alaska. "We're proposing to reduce the charter halibut catch to protect the halibut resource." The proposed rule, which would take effect this spring, would allow each charter vessel client to use only one fishing line, and no more than six lines targeting halibut would be allowed on a charter vessel at one time. The rule would prohibit guides and crew from catching and retaining halibut while charter halibut clients are on board. NOAA's Fisheries Service put a similar rule in place last spring, but sport charter halibut operators challenged it on procedural grounds and the agency withdrew the rule. Public comment on the proposed rule is open through Jan. 21, 2009. After considering public comment, NOAA expects to publish a final rule in the spring of 2009. To read the proposed rule and see how to submit comments, go to http://alaskafisheries.noaa.gov . Charter halibut operators in southeast Alaska waters have exceeded their guideline harvest level of 1.43 million pounds for the past four years. The actual sport charter harvest was 1.75 million pounds in 2004, 1.95 million pounds in 2005, 1.86 million pounds in 2006, and 1.92 million pounds in 2007. The guideline harvest level dropped to 0.93 million pounds for 2008. Managers expect that it will have been exceeded for 2008 when the harvest numbers are final. The International Pacific Halibut Commission, with representatives from the U.S. and Canada, annually estimates halibut abundance in each halibut fishing area along the Pacific Coast. NOAA's Fisheries Service, in cooperation with the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, establishes the charter vessel guideline harvest levels based on the commission's abundance estimates. The commission annually establishes the commercial halibut fishery catch limits in each area, taking into account charter vessel harvests and other sources of halibut mortality in order to protect the halibut resource from overharvest. The commission has reduced the commercial halibut catch in southeast Alaska from nearly 11 million pounds annually between 2004 and 2006 to just over six million pounds for 2008. The final commercial harvest level for 2009, proposed at four and a half million pounds, will be set by the International Pacific Halibut Commission in January. NOAA understands and predicts changes in the Earth's environment, from the depths of the ocean to the surface of the sun, and conserves and manages our coastal and marine resources. Visit http://www.noaa.gov . . News Updates: 12/23/2008 December 2008 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their December meeting in Anchorage. The next meeting is February 2009 in Anchorage. News Updates: 10/15/2008 October 2008 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their October meeting in Anchorage, specifically the Pacific Halibut Catch Sharing Plan among other issues. The next meeting is December 8-16th in Anchorage. 09/10/08 Sarah Palin's Earmarks: Not just for the halibut By Ben Smith Senator John McCain recently told reporters that Alaska Governor Sarah Palin has "learned that earmarks are bad." But not that bad apparently. Read the full article at politico.com or in pdf form . 09/05/08 Agenda for NPFMC September/October meeting The agenda for the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting to be held at the Sheraton Hotel, 401 E 6th Avenue, Anchorage, AK. The Advisory Panel and Scientific and Statistical Committee begin Monday, September 29th at 8am. You can view the agenda in its entirety. Final Action is scheduled on Halibut Management Issues: 1) Charter Halibut Catch Sharing Plan; 2) Area 3A GHL Measures. BSAI Crab Issues include 1) Final Action on St. George Protection Measures; 2) Receive 3-year Review Report; 3) Receive Crab Committee Report/Crew Proposals; 4) Review Crab 90/10 Amendment alternatives Written comments and materials to be included in the Council meeting notebooks must be received at the Council office by 5:00pm (Alaska Time) on Wednesday, September 24th. Written and oral comments should include a statement of the source and date of information provided as well as a brief description of the background and interests of the person's) submitting the statement. Comments can be sent by mail or fax - do not submit comments by e-mail. 8/29/08 Alaska Governor Sarah Palin running for Vice President of the United States with John McCain "Not only did the announcement shock the country but it rocked the state's political world." written by Jason Moore as reported on the KTUU website 07/29/2008 Senator Ted Stevens of Alaska Indicted Hal Bernton, Seattle Times staff, reports Alaska Senator Ted Stevens repeatedly turned to an oil-industry executive for free labor on a home remodel, free construction materials and even a cut-rate deal on a new Land Rover, according to a federal indictment filed Tuesday against the longest serving Republican in the U.S. Senate. He has served in the Senate since 1968. The 7-count felony indictment accuses Stevens of benefiting from more than $250,000 in largesse from Bill Allen, a friend and former chairman of VECO, an oil-field-services company, and intentionally failing to report the gifts on Senate financial-disclosure documents. Here is a copy of the indictment. Stevens stepped down Tuesday as ranking member of the Commerce Committee and Defense Appropriations Subcommittee, as required by GOP Conference rules. He was arraigned on Wednesday. Senator Stevens expects to be cleared of charges that he lied on Senate disclosure forms. 06/2008 June 2008 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their June meeting in Kodiak. The next meeting is the end of September into the first week of October 2008. 06/10/2008 Judge Blocks Halibut Limit in Southeast A U.S. District Judge in Washington, D.C., issued a temporary restraining order today. A hearing on whether to extend the order as a preliminary injunction has been scheduled before the court for June 20, 2008. The court ruling means that in Southeast, charter clients go back to the previous rule, which allows two fish per day as long as the second halibut is less than 32 inches in length. The full story can be read online at the Anchorage Daily News . 06/08 Confusion over Charter Fishing Regs in Homer Charter fishermen in Homer losing business because of misunderstanding by public that Homer is included in the restricted area 2C when in fact, Homer and its surrounding waters are area 3A not currently restricted by the rule. Read full story in Homer News . 06/08 Charter Fishermen Sue Over Halibut Limit Charter Halibut Fishermen have filed suit against Secretary of Commerce Gutierrez. Read more online at Anchorage Daily News . 04/2008 April 2008 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their April meeting in Anchorage. The next meeting is in Kodiak the first week of June 2008. 02/2008 February 2008 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their February meeting in Seattle. The next meeting is in Kodiak the first week of April 2008. 12/2007 December 2007 NPFMC Newsletter For the latest news from the North Pacific Fishery Management Council please read the pdf version of their newsletter . It will fill you in on the council activities and decisions during their December meeting in Anchorage. The next meeting is in Seattle the first week of February. 11/15/07 Read It Read It Read all about It Would permanent harvest rights be revoked? ADF&G commissioner, Denby Lloyd, released the final paper last week from Professors Daniel Bromley and Seth Macinko that challenges many assumptions in previous fishery rationalization plans such as halibut, pollock, and crab. The paper provides advice on alternatives to the

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