Vol. XXVI, No. 12
December 2006
Dolly Garza, professor of fisheries, has retired from the SFOS Marine Advisory Program. Garza was hired as a Marine Advisory agent at the University of Alaska in 1983, and worked with the public in that position in Kotzebue, Sitka, and Ketchikan. She earned her Ph.D. in marine policy from the University of Delaware in 1996.
Garza's main focus has been on traditional use of marine resources by Alaska Native cultures, marine mammal management, youth and family marine safety, and intertidal foods. She has authored many publications on fish marketing, fisheries management, marine mammal management, boating safety, coastal survival, subsistence, and Native Alaskan health and science. She received awards for several of her publications, including the 2003 Alaska Native Literature Award for Tlingit Moon and Tide.
Garza is a sought-after community leader, and has served on the Marine Protected Areas Federal Advisory Committee, The Alaska Sea Otter and Sea Lion Commission, Sitka Marine Mammal Commission, Alaska Native Science Commission, Alaska Marine Safety Education Association board, and the Southeast Subsistence Advisory Council, and she has chaired several of these groups.
Garza's constituents will be happy to hear that she plans to continue similar marine resource and community work in Southeast Alaska and neighboring British Columbia. The Marine Advisory Program nominated Garza for professor emeritus status.
UAA graduate student Mike Hendee is working with professor Orson Smith on a Sea Grant project titled Responses to Coastal Erosion in Alaska: A Guide for Coastal Residents, Businesses, Resource Managers, Engineers, and Builders. Hendee, a professional engineer employed by Michael Baker Jr., Inc., is pursuing a master of civil engineering degree. He expects to finish the degree in May 2008.
Smith and Hendee participated in community workshops in August to prepare for writing the book on coastal erosion responses. In Homer they presented erosion information to community leaders and engineers who work on coastal erosion on the Kenai Peninsula. The group discussed ways to protect coastal property without adverse impacts on neighbors, and toured erosion control works in the area. A public workshop also was held in Homer, attended by 56 residents.
MAP agent Liz Brown organized a similar event in Dillingham, the Coastal Hazards Seminar, attended by Bristol Bay leaders. Following technical presentations, the group toured the Snag Point seawall and nearby eroding shorelines. Smith and Hendee are considering the concerns expressed at the workshops, as they develop the guide to help Alaskans face coastal erosion problems with awareness of all their options.
Some erosion mitigation solutions in Alaska have been effective, in response to the unique climate and geographic causes of coastal erosion. But many mistakes have been made in hasty, ill-advised projects, which have created conflict, undo expense, and even acceleration of erosion. The book, expected in 2007, will address the increased need to solve erosion problems with wisdom and a long-term community perspective as Alaska's population grows and coastal development increases.
Just published is the first of two books on coastal erosion on Alaska Sea Grant's docket. Coastal Erosion Responses for Alaska: Workshop Proceedings, edited by Orson Smith, includes ten articles by coastal engineering experts presented at a January 2006 workshop. They address coastal processes and trends that drive shoreline retreat and coastal erosion. Topics include non-structural coastal zone management, successfully proven constructed responses, and limitations of constructed works. While shoreline construction in Alaska is young and unproven, Alaskans can learn from tribulations in other parts of the world. Coastal managers will find the information useful in making wise decisions regarding coastal erosion responses for Alaska. 80 pages, $10.00, see seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/AK-SG-06-03.html.
SFOS graduate student Celeste Leroux shepherded 28 blue king crabs from St. Paul Island to the Seward Marine Center, for the Alaska King Crab Research and Rehabilitation Program. The program, run by Alaska Sea Grant, will develop and test techniques to mass-culture king crab for release into the wild. The crabs, 15 egg-bearing females and 13 males and non-egg bearing females, will serve as brood stock and research specimens.
The Central Bering Sea Fishermen's Association secured the ADFG permit, and contracted with fisherman Bill Widing to collect the crabs.
"CBSFA has undertaken with Aleutian Pribilof Island Community Development Association this first critical step toward restoring blue king crab to benefit the Bering Sea resources and our fishing-dependent communities of the Pribilof Islands," said Heather McCarty, CBSFA blue king crab program leader. Populations of Pribilof Island blue king crab plummeted in the early 1980s, and the fishery is currently closed.
Alaska Sea Grant's fourth Advisory Committee meeting took place in Anchorage last month, attended by 22 members, the Sea Grant management team, and some MAP faculty and Sea Grant staff. Lawson Brigham, chair of the Arctic Council's Arctic Marine Shipping Assessment project, spoke about the future year-round passage through the Arctic Ocean, which will create new opportunities as well as human impacts and new pathways for pollution. Keith Criddle, UAF Ted Stevens Distinguished Professor of Marine Policy, gave a presentation on the Aleutians Regional Marine Research Plan, as well as his thoughts on developing a marine policy program at UA. The Advisory Committee helped identify research areas for Alaska Sea Grant's upcoming RFP, for 2008–2010 funding. The RFP will be released in early December, with preproposals due at the end of January 2007.
Ecosystems approaches to fisheries management will be the topic of the 2007 Wakefield Fisheries Symposium. Sherri Pristash will coordinate the meeting. For more information contact fyconf@uaf.edu.