An Alaskan with industry ties to Unalaska will help represent the United States at the Arctic Economic Council’s first meeting.

The Alaska Arctic Policy Commission and the Alaska Chamber of Commerce have chosen three business leaders to join the new group. It'll focus on how to develop businesses in the Arctic while preserving the environment and treating residents of the region responsibly. 

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.

This fall, Alaska will get a new representative on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Simon Kinneen has been appointed to the committee, which is made up of industry stakeholders and experts from Washington State and Alaska.

Commercial fishermen are used to working -- and advocating -- for themselves. Now, a new industry group is trying to pull those interests together under one roof.  

Seafood Harvesters of America is "a national commercial fishing organization here in D.C. to be the voice of fishermen on federal issues," says executive director Brett Veerhusen.

Lobbying isn't necessarily the way to do that. Veerhusen says he’s trying to find common ground among the dozen or so regional fishing groups that have signed up for membership.

F/V Auriga prepares for the start of B season. (Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

As the Bering Sea's largest fishery opened on Tuesday, pollock fishermen were looking forward to a strong B season. They were also wading through a tide of criticism from rural users, who believe the industry's catching too much salmon.

Brent Paine represents more than 70 pollock trawlers for United Catcher Boats. 

"I think a lot of the cooperatives are going to start early -- like right now or this week -- because of their concern for Chinook salmon bycatch," Paine says. "That tends to increase in the later part of the B season."

A grassroots effort to repeal Senate Bill 21 kicked off last week. In Unalaska, organizers for the “Vote Yes! Repeal the Giveaway” campaign are struggling to convince residents that oil taxes matters in their community.

It's been a year since Unalaska started uncovering big problems with a major construction project in town.

Work is moving forward on the city’s new wastewater treatment plant.

But as KUCB's Annie Ropeik reports, staff are still trying to put a price on the damage done.

Delta Western workers on strike in February. /Credit: Pipa Escalante

It’s official: Delta Western fuel supply workers are unionized in Unalaska.

The National Labor Relations Board certified the workers’ vote to join the Inlandboatmen’s Union last week, according to an IBU statement.

Eight of 15 workers voted 'yes' to joining the union in early April. An NLRB representative oversaw the election.

(Lauren Rosenthal/KUCB)

After two months of protests, Delta Western fuel workers in Unalaska have voted to unionize. But it could be the first step in a much longer process.

The Inlandboatmen's Union of the Pacific got majority support among 15 eligible workers in an election on Thursday night. a slim majority in an election on Thursday night -eight of 15 employees who voted. A lawyer from the National Labor Relations Board oversaw the election and tallied the ballots.