Vol. 29, No. 5
May 2009
Beverly Bradley, MAP program coordinator (l), and Izetta Chambers, Bristol Bay
agent.Izetta Chambers has been hired to fill the Bristol Bay Marine Advisory agent position, as assistant professor. She will start the job August 15, and will be based at the UAF Bristol Bay Campus in Dillingham.
Chambers was raised in Naknek, and she and her family operate Naknek Family Fisheries, a small seafood processing operation. She has a bachelor’s degree in business management and a law degree from the University of Arizona. Chambers is past manager of Paug-Vik Development Corporation in Naknek, and worked for the U.S. Small Business Administration there. In addition, she was recently one of nine 2009 winners in the Alaska Marketplace competition, sponsored by the Alaska Federation of Natives, for her new business to produce plant food from salmon byproduct compost.
MAP faculty helped Bob Janes of Gastineau Guiding Service set up an environmental monitoring program in Juneau, as a day excursion for tourists from Holland America cruise ships. Starting this month, GGS will take guests on small boats to collect phytoplankton samples looking for harmful algal blooms, sight birds and mammals, and record marine mammal behavior related to motor sounds. They will also collect beach debris and participate in a bird mortality project for the Coastal Observation and Seabird Survey Team. Called “Cruise with Purpose,” the program will give visitors the opportunity to collect data that will be used by researchers with the goal of protecting the region’s ecosystem.
MAP media specialist Deborah Mercy produced nine short videos for Alaska salmon gillnetters, to help maintain the high quality of their product. The videos are downloadable at http://www.marineadvisory.org. They demonstrate methods used by Alaska drift and set net fishermen, including boat setup, fishing practices, onboard product handling, pressure bleeding, dressing, chilling, unloading, and cleanup, and include footage from several fisheries in Alaska. They will be available on DVD and can be ordered from Alaska Sea Grant at no charge for a single copy.
To find new audiences for educational videos, Alaska Sea Grant recently placed clips of ten videos on YouTube (http://www.youtube.com/alaskaseagrant). Subjects range from seafood quality and sea safety to beach walking, marine debris, and crab research. Ocean Fury, about Alaska tsunamis, is the most popular at 85 viewings in two weeks.
Torie Baker is coordinating a steering committee to rebuild the Cordova gillnet and seine recycling program, with representatives from Cordova District Fishermen United, Native Village of Eyak, Alaska Marine Lines, and City of Cordova. Pacific States Marine Fisheries Commission has two-year funding for programs to recycle the nets in Naknek, Dillingham, Petersburg, and Cordova. Local support in Cordova is high, and a project coordinator will be hired soon. A Cordova net recycle program was discontinued in 1991 because of high transport costs.
Alaska net recycle programs ask volunteers to strip cork and lead lines from old nets, bag the nets, and deposit them into shipping containers at harbors. The nets are then shipped to Washington and sold to a salvage company. Recycled plastics are sent to Asian markets where they are processed, pelletized, and later used to make different plastic products.
Brian Ferris adjusts settings at refrigeration workshop.Nearly 160 Alaska commercial fishermen have been trained in refrigeration technology in the last two years, and evaluations of the daylong MAP workshops have been very positive. The fishermen, who are working to enhance value by improving the quality of their catch, learned maintenance, troubleshooting, and repairs on vessel refrigeration equipment. They also studied refrigeration theory, winterization, controller programming, safety and Freon handling, system sizing, and thermal expansion valve adjustment.
Torie Baker organized the workshops, in partnership with Integrated Marine Services, Alaska Vocational Technical Center, Kachemak Bay Gear Shed, UAA Automotive and Diesel Technology Department, refrigeration businesses in Cordova and Petersburg, Kodiak Community College, and Copper River Seafoods. In addition, many local refrigeration businesses helped with classroom space, equipment logistics, and advertising.
Cordova MAP agent Torie Baker partnered with Cordova District Fishermen United in developing and delivering a safety packet to 235 Prince William Sound seine skippers. Skippers received a NIOSH DVD on deck safety awareness for purse seiners, a magnetized placard with winch safety notes, and a placard with wheel watch tips to improve watch communication between skippers and crews. Skipper Steve Reidel, who received one of the packets, said, "I’m sending this DVD to my newest crew member right away. This and the wheel watch tips are things I’ve been looking for to help me reinforce safety in my operation. This is great stuff. Thanks." View winch safety placard. View wheel watch tips.
Jen Gunderson’s design for the cover of Rat Control for Alaska Waterfront Facilities won a gold award from the Association for Communication Excellence (ACE). “Excellent typography. Having the rats crawl on the type is a creative integration of letters and images for dramatic effect,” said judge Amy Warren. Authored by Terry Johnson, the book is free at http://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/MAB-62.html.
Sea Grant’s 2009 Alaska Coastal Calendar won first place in the National Association of Government Communicators competition, and also scored a silver award from ACE. Touted by teachers as a useful classroom tool, the 2009 calendar commemorates Alaska statehood. Copies are still available at http://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/SG-ED-59.html.
Alaska Sea Grant sponsored several events and talks at ComFish in Kodiak last month. A one-day MAP refrigeration workshop was held, and the Alaska Vocational Technical Center and Sea Grant shared a booth to promote educational products, staffed by Kathy Kurtenbach. Sea Grant also supported travel for SFOS student Markus Janout, who spoke on cooling temperatures in Gulf of Alaska waters. Kate Wynne gave a talk about marine mammal entanglement in fishing gear, and Sara Persselin gave a presentation about the Alaska King Crab Research, Rehabilitation and Biology project (see http://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/projects/initiatives/king_crab/posters_and_presentations).
MAP professor emeritus Don Kramer was the featured speaker at the workshop Commercial Fisheries: Innovations in Great Lakes Fish Handling and Processing. Held in Mackinaw City, in January 2009, the workshop was sponsored by Michigan State University Extension. Kramer retired from Alaska Sea Grant in 2008 and moved to Vancouver, Canada. He regularly returns to Alaska to teach HACCP classes.
Five Alaska Sea Grant authors and editors were honored by Chancellor Brian Rogers at the annual UAF author reception last month in Fairbanks. Books by Terry Reeve, Terry Johnson, Gordon Kruse, Don Kramer, and Brian Allee were highlighted. A total of 26 UAF authors were honored at the event.
