Nearly a year ago, the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan suffered a catastrophic meltdown after being damaged by a tsunami. In the wake of that disaster, the federal government put their radiation monitoring into gear and tracked fallout levels at 167 sites across the country. Now, the United States Geological Survey has issued a report releasing their final data, and as expected, some of the highest levels of radiation were detected at Alaska sites.

Sea ice is wreaking havoc on the Bering Sea snow crab harvest for the second time this season. 

It happened in a single day.  The ice was way up north, fishing was good, and then overnight the ice was everywhere, covering up pots, blocking harbors and generally causing problems for the crabbers.

National Weather Service ice forecaster Becky Legatt says the Bering Sea ice edge moved south more than 50 miles in a single day last week, effectively shutting down the fishing grounds.

In an incident eerily reminiscent of last week’s fatal accident aboard the Alaska Juris, a flying cable struck a crew member aboard the 327-foot pollock catcher-processor Alaska Ocean on Monday morning. 

The cable hit 47-year-old Franz D’Alquen in the head.  He was lifted from the ship by a passing Coast Guard Jayhawk helicopter and taken to Cold Bay for medical transport.  Petty Officer Charly Hengen says D’Alquen’s condition is reported as stable.

There won’t be an Atka mackerel or Pacific cod fishery in the western Aleutians until at least 2015.  U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess ruled Monday that the National Marine Fisheries Service would have 23 months to assess the impact of its Steller sea lion protection measures in the region.

The agency shut down the Atka mackerel and Pacific cod fisheries in 2011 after determining that they were adversely affecting the endangered western stock of Steller sea lions.  Fisheries groups and the State of Alaska sued NFMS over the closures. 

It was a mixed bag for the Raiders at the Class 3A Western Conference in Anchorage.  The boys opened with a 50-38 win over Bethel on Wednesday, followed by a 59-34 loss against Barrow on Thursday.  The team rallied and managed to come back for a 45-37 win against the Kotzebue Huskies, only to lose the final game of the tournament by two points to the Nome Nanooks. 

That placed the boys fourth overall in the tournament.  They also won the sportsmanship award.  Players JJ Fernandez and Andrew Seman made the 10-person All-Tournament team.

A 25-year-old man died aboard a fishing vessel on Thursday after being struck by a snapped cable.

The Coast Guard received a call Thursday morning that the F/V Alaska Juris was in need of a medevac for a crew member who had sustained a head injury. According to Petty Officer Charly Hengen, the Coast Guard launched two Jayhawk helicopters from Unalaska at 10:40am. Once on scene, a rescue swimmer lowered onto the vessel determined that Andrew Fotu of Seattle, Washington, was dead and could not be revived.  The accident is the first fishing vessel fatality of this year.

Kanaga Volcano is back to normal, according to the Alaska Volcano Observatory.  Scientists at the observatory lowered the alert level for the Aleutian volcano on Friday morning, saying in a release that, “the level of unrest has declined to background levels.”

On February 18 the Observatory issued an advisory after detecting tremors and a small ash cloud in the vicinity of Kanaga.  The volcano lies on a major international flight path and its last eruption in 1994 produced ash clouds that affected air travel to the nearby community of Adak. 

Court documents concerning the murder of Jonathan Adams, a 55-year old seafood processor from Vancouver, Washington, tell the story of a fight spun horribly out of control.

Denison Soria, 40, of Unalaska, and Leonardo Bongolto, Jr., 34, of Maple Valley, Washington, stand accused of fatally beating their co-worker outside of the Bering Fisheries bunk house on Tuesday night. The two were arraigned yesterday, and they were both charged with murder in the first degree.

The Unalaska boys basketball team opened with a strong performance at the Class 3A Western Conference in Anchorage.

The Raiders soundly beat Bethel in an upset on Wednesday. They won the game with a score of 50-38. JJ Fernandez was the team's lead scorer, with 20 points. On Thursday, they face off against Barrow.

Meanwhile, the Lady Raiders struggled in their first game. Kotzebue won the match 50-14.