The first of July is usually a bad day for Unalaska’s subsistence fishermen. By regulation, restrictions are usually put on salmon fishing at Wislow for the first part of the month, limiting fishing opportunities.
But this year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is permitting subsistence fishing in Reese Bay to the end of the McLees Lake stream outlet, instead of closing off a 500 yard section. That’s because ADFG met their minimum escapement goal of 10,000 sockeye salmon.
Gov. Sean Parnell signed the budget for the coming year this afternoon. The operating and capital budgets combined amounted to $11.4 billion. Parnell vetoed $412 million worth of projects that had been approved by the legislature, citing declining oil production and a poor economic climate as reasons for slashing the budget.
Unalaska escaped those cuts entirely. The city will be receiving $4 million from the state for a new wastewater treatment plant and $3.1 million for a water treatment plant. Last year, the governor had cut funding for the wastewater treatment plant. Additionally, the city will also be receiving $25.7 million in federal funds for the airport repaving project.
City council will meet tonight to discuss progress on various capital projects.
The first order of business is a discussion of EPA and Department of Justice issues that will take place in executive session. The city has long been in talks with the two agencies over the wastewater treatment plant, and last week, the DOJ filed a lawsuit against the city and the State of Alaska, alleging that nearly 5,000 violations of the Clean Water Act were made between 2004 and 2010. The city holds that matter stems from complications with the permitting process, not excessive pollutant discharge.
NASA may be shutting down its manned space flight program, but it’s increasing its presence in a place that’s almost as foreign to most humans – the Arctic.
KUCB’s Alexandra Gutierrez reports that the agency is wrapping up its first oceanographic mission, ICESCAPE.
A research team is on the western Aleutian Island of Amchitka looking for residual contamination from a 20th century military legacy that culminated in three underground nuclear tests.
The crew of the tug Aries was successfully rescued near Saint Paul yesterday, after the 68-foot vessel sank for reasons still unknown. The tug was pulling a barge full of construction equipment, and the crew managed to evacuate to the barge before being rescued by a Coast Guard helicopter.
The Aries was about 100 miles from Saint Paul when it started taking on water in the early morning, and a mayday call was made at 6:11 am. The F/V Alaskan Knight responded to a radio call for assistance, along with two Coast Guard helicopters. The Coast Guard icebreaker Healy, which is currently bound for the Arctic as part of NASA’s ICESCAPE mission, was also diverted to Saint Paul to assist.
The minimum escapement goal at Wislow was achieved last week. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has set the escapement goal at 10,000 to 60,000 fish, and as of Thursday, more than 11,000 sockeye salmon had passed through the weir at McLees Lake.
On the same day last year, a total of just over 1,500 fish had been counted.
The Coast Guard and the Alaska State Troopers will be teaming up this weekend for Operation Dry Water, an annual initiative that aims to discourage drug and alcohol use on boats.
Megan Peters with the Alaska State Troopers says that Operation Dry Water is meant to be more informative than punitive.
“It’s not just so we can bust people for BUI. We don’t like going around giving tickets or arresting people. That’s not the main purpose of our job,” says Peters. “Overall, law enforcement’s main goal is to really get people to just follow the laws and be safe.”
Unalaska residents reacted swiftly following a tsunami warning triggered by a 7.3 earthquake that struck this evening 108 miles east of Atka at 7:09 p.m. local time.
Hundreds of people sought high ground and vessels left the harbor as the city's tsunami sirens blared warning against a potential tsunami that threatened low-lying areas. An evacuation order was given advising people to move to at least 50 feet above sea level.
