Groundfish quotas, the effects of crab rationalization, and the merits of a halibut catch share plan are the big items on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council’s agenda this week.
Their December meeting opened up at the Anchorage Hilton this morning. The council spent today listening to reports, but starting tomorrow they will begin discussing the amount of pollock, Pacific cod, and other groundfish that fishermen should be allowed to catch in the Bering Sea. There is a 2 million metric ton limit on how much groundfish can be harvested, and yesterday the council’s science and statistical committee determined that the proportion of that being taken from the pollock fishery should be capped at 1.22 million metric tons. That’s a slight drop from last year’s acceptable biological catch of 1.270 million metric tons.
Almost two years ago, schoolteacher Candice Berner was found dead alongside the snowy road to Chignik Lake. There were animal tracks around her body, and at the time investigators determined that the 32-year-old Pennsylvanian had been mauled by wolves.
Now the Alaska Department of Fish and Game completed its DNA analysis of the evidence and confirmed that the state’s initial conclusion was correct. According to a report released today, Berner was attacked by up to four wolves during her evening jog. The wolves were not rabid or malnourished, and they were not used to being around humans.
The 656-foot cargo vessel Morning Cedar is adrift in the western Bering Sea. The ship was 10 miles northeast of Tanaga Island, near Adak, on December 5 when a hydraulic leak left the rudder stuck hard to starboard.
Using a combination of the ship’s bow thrusters and forward propulsion, the crew was able to direct the vessel away from land and keep it from turning in circles. On December 6 crew were able to release the rudder from its fixed position, but still aren’t able to control it.
On Friday, the United States Department of Labor announced that the unemployment rate had come down to 8.6 percent. The State of Alaska won’t release its November numbers for another month, but its most recent data puts unemployment at just 7.4 percent. Alaska has now held below the national average for three years.
In Unalaska, the picture is even rosier. The seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the Aleutians West Census area for October was put at 6.6 percent. That’s a slight drop from September rate of 6.8 percent. The area typically has a lower rate than the state does because of the large supply of jobs from the fishing industry.
On Thursday night, the city’s planning commission met to get feedback on a few potential changes to Unalaska’s building requirements. City staff was looking forward to discussing a proposal that could reduce the minimum lot size requirement and open up more land for development. However, little of the public testimony focused on that.
The commission instead got an earful about a proposed change that would create a 10-foot easement along the perimeter of all new lots. That space would then allow the city to make utility upgrades and perform maintenance work with greater ease. But it would also require property owners to keep a substantial portion of their lots clear and prevent them from developing that space out.
Most of us take it for granted that if we have a heart attack on a Sunday or lop off a finger while making grilled cheese in the middle of the night, there will be nurses and doctors available to take care of us at the Iliuliuk Clinic.
That’s actually a fairly unusual expectation. In other parts of the country, clinics are responsible for short-term, non-life threatening care, usually only during business hours. It's hospitals that operate around the clock and take care of more urgent medical needs. Of course, the nearest hospital to Unalaska is in Anchorage, so the Clinic fills that role after dark or in bad weather, when medevac planes can’t fly.
If you want to build a house in Unalaska, you need to have a decent amount of land to work on. That could change soon, since the city is considering a rule change that would allow for smaller lots.
Planning Director Erin Reinders says that smaller lots could mean more housing for the community.
“Let’s just pretend that you had a pretty simple lot that was 12,000 square feet that was zoned to allow for single family or duplex residential,” says Reinders. “Now, you would be able to subdivide, sell off half of that property, and develop that for another single family unit or a duplex.”
How to manage Steller sea lions is a controversial topic. The State of Alaska recently sued the National Marine Fisheries Service over its decision to close fisheries in parts of the Aleutian chain in order to protect the endangered western stock. That case will be heard in court on December 21.
NFMS says the population out west is declining because the sea lions have to compete with commercial fisheries for food. The State says there isn’t enough data to back that theory up.
The Department of Education has listed Unalaska City School as one of the nation’s best. Yesterday, the school held a ceremony to celebrate that achievement.
