The winning team (clockwise from bottom R): Sean Perry, Roger Bacon, Dawson Bacon, and Justin Perry. (Jeri Rosenthal/KUCB)
A heavy mist fell on Unalaska’s 4th of July festivities this weekend, but the weather was fine for fishing. As KUCB's Lauren Rosenthal reports, a group of anglers spent this holiday searching for a monster halibut -- and a big payoff.
Derbies are an old tradition in Unalaska, dating back to the days when you could catch a record-breaking halibut right outside town.
The sockeye salmon run at Cape Wislow has hit 10,000 fish, meaning the whole creek is open again for subsistence fishing.
The run met the Alaska Department of Fish & Game’s minimum goal yesterday, with a total of 10,005 fish.
That milestone comes later this year than in 2013. Assistant area management biologist Nat Nichols says the number of salmon passing through their fish weir at McLees Lake is just now picking up speed.
At a magnitude 7.9, last week’s deep-sea earthquake was the most powerful to hit the Western Aleutians in 50 years.
The quake didn’t cause any structural damage -- but it was a reminder that life in the islands can change in an instant.
The first tsunami warning issued after last Monday’s earthquake didn’t include Unalaska. In fact, the quake’s epicenter was far away from the town – deep underwater, 600 miles across the chain.
But that didn’t stop residents from taking notice.
The campsite at Korovin Beach on Atka. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)
A pop-up subsistence school has opened in the Western Aleutians. As KUCB’s Lauren Rosenthal reports, Atka’s second-annual culture camp is meant to keep Unangan traditions going strong.
Earlier this spring, Danny Snigaroff visited the campsite where he’d be teaching younger folks how to fish and hunt.
"At culture camp, we don’t eat no hot dogs -- no beef hamburgers, nothing [like that]," Snigaroff said. "It’s all Native food."
Snigaroff and other Unangan elders grew up on sea lions, birds, and seal.
Unalaska’s Independence Day celebration will kick off bright and early tomorrow morning with the return of an old tradition.
"The halibut derby is basically just a competition to see which boat can catch the heaviest halibut," says organizer Nick Cron. He’ll be at the Carl E. Moses harbor at 6 a.m. tomorrow to register fishermen.
Unalaska anglers haven't squared off in a halibut derby for years. It's back as a city-organized event, with support from the old hosts -- Pacific Stevedoring.
The 738-foot cargo vessel Golden Seas was at risk of running aground on Adak when it lost power in December 2010. The ship was towed to Unalaska by an icebreaker that happened to be in town. /Courtesy: Marine Exchange of Alaska
Last month, the Canadian government gave conditional approval to the Northern Gateway pipeline in British Columbia. If it’s built, it’ll bring hundreds more oil tankers through the Bering Sea.
That’s putting pressure on the Aleutian Islands to get ready for an increase in vessel traffic.
Canada’s government set out more than 200 conditions for the tar sands pipeline to meet before it moves forward. Many relate to spill prevention – but they don’t extend as far as the Bering Sea.
Wetlands in the Izembek NWR. (Kristine Sowl/USFWS)
The State of Alaska has tried to back up the village of King Cove on their quest to build a road through protected wilderness. Now, the state’s prepared to follow them into court.
If they do, Alaska's lawyers and biologists will be on hand to help with a case against federal officials. They're being sued for turning down a land trade in the Izembek National Wildlife Refuge.
Chiidax at four months old, shortly after arriving in Boston last December. /Courtesy: New England Aquarium
Eight months ago, an abandoned Northern fur seal pup was found on on a doorstep in Sand Point.
Now, the pup has a new home in Boston -- and last week, he got a visit from a boy who helped named him.
Twelve-year-old Logan Thompson traveled from Sand Point all the way to the New England Aquarium, the Associated Press reports. Thompson was on the East Coast to see family.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is opening public comment on a plan to relax Steller sea lion protections and allow more commercial fishing in the western Aleutian Islands.
