Unalaska, AK – Opilio crab TACs might be drastically lowered this year - from 58.6 million pounds last season to as low as 16 million pounds. This is the recommendation of the crab plan team, which advises the North Pacific Fishery Management Council and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game on setting the total allowable catches for the crab fisheries. Fisheries biologist and plan team member Forrest Bowers said that when they met last month they discussed the health of the opilio stocks. Snow crabs were declared overfished in 1999 and fisheries managers implemented a 10-year-long rebuilding plan. This is the eighth year.
Unalaska, AK – The StoryCorps project records conversations between ordinary people about their lives. It aims to honor and remember the stories of Americans through the act of listening. StoryCorps recently collected stories from Unalaskans. Maria Turnpaugh and Katherine Chagin Grimnas reminisced about life in Unalaska during the 1940s and 50s. During that time one man, old Pop Hortman, helped the community survive.
Unalaska, AK – The World Wildlife Fund recently received a $364,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA) for its Smart Gear program. WWF, with the help of a group of international judges, awards prizes of up to $30,000 to people, including fishermen, who develop new, innovative ways to avoid all types of bycatch. WWF senior program officer Mike Osmond said the entries include a wide variety of ideas that can be used in many different fisheries.
Unalaska, AK – At about 2:30 am on Saturday a drunk driver struck two electrical switches near Airport-Beach Road causing a massive power outage through out the city. According to court documents, 21-year old Ryan J. Bruce was using his brother's vehicle to drive friends home from the bar. He tried to make a last minute turn onto East Point Road but instead struck two electrical switches. Bruce blames the accident partially on the car's "mushy brakes."
Unalaska, AK – After 10 weeks of work, the F/V Mar-Gun was successfully removed from Staraya Beach on St. George Island Tuesday night. The 112-foot fishing vessel went aground there on March 5th. The Coast Guard and Magone Marine spent the first few weeks of the recovery process removing 19,000 gallons of diesel and 660 gallons of lube oil from the vessel. Then they moved the trawl nets, trawl doors and other heavy items off the ship to make it easier to move. Coast Guard Petty Officer Sara Francis said they used three anchors weighing between 8,000 and 10,000 pounds each and a winch system to move the vessel.
Unalaska, AK – The Department of Public Safety has located the gun involved in Monday night's shooting on the F/V Lady Gudny at the Spit Dock. On Monday around 10 pm, Joshua Scott, 32, contacted public safety and said Brian Gaphing, 37, shot at him with a rifle. Both men worked and lived on the F/V Lady Gudny and were inebriated at the time of the incident. Police officers managed to safely get to Scott where he was hiding in a phone booth by the Spit Dock and then to safely board the vessel. Once there, they could not find a fire arm. One of the people on the boat said the gun had been dropped overboard and that it had been stolen from another vessel. Brian Graphing was arrested for one felony charge for assault with a weapon.
Unalaska, AK – Representatives from Shell Oil hosted a community presentation this week and talked about their plans for Unalaska. They haven't bought any leases in the North Aleutian Basin yet -- they aren't available for sale and won't necessarily ever be -- but they might. KUCB's Anne Hillman spoke with them about their plans.
Unalaska, AK – Unalaska is now officially going smoke-free. The city council unanimously passed the smoking ordinance Tuesday night. It will go into effect immediately and will be fully enforceable in 90 days, on August 9th. Before final passage Dennis Robinson proposed two amendments. The first allows businesses to build separate, stand-alone smoking designated outdoor buildings.
"I thought that given the environment that we're in, it's only fair to allow a company, if they so choose to provide an enclosed area that's separate from any other building for smokers," he explained.
Unalaska, AK – A man was arrested for a felony assault with a weapon Monday night after an incident aboard the Lady Gudny at the Spit Dock. First Sgt. Matt Betzen said the Department of Public Safety was contacted around 10 pm.
"We received a call from a confused, upset person claiming that someone had fired a gun at them and that they had fled the Lady Gudney. We responded. The individual had gotten away from the boat and was near some pay phones on the Spit Dock," Betzen said.
