Vol. XXIII, No. 1–2
January-February 2003

Garza on Federal MPA Committee
Dolly Garza, Ketchikan MAP agent, was tapped for the new NOAA National Marine Protected Area (MPA) Federal Advisory Committee. The 30-person committee represents a broad community, including scientists, academia, commercial and recreational fishermen, resource users and managers, and environmentalists. The committee will advise the Secretaries of Commerce and the Interior on implementing the MPA executive order.

The committee is supported by the National MPA Center, established by NOAA in cooperation with the Department of the Interior. The MPA Center is charged with providing federal, state, territorial, tribal, and local governments with the information, technologies, training, and strategies to coordinate activities related to MPAs.

Sea Grant Has New Director
Brian Allee started as new director of the Alaska Sea Grant College Program on February 3. Allee's focus in his new job is to identify Alaska's critical marine resource problems, nurture collaborative partnerships to help solve Alaska's marine resource problems, and provide Sea Grant funding for scientifically sound research, education, and extension. You can find him in the Sea Grant office, 205 O'Neill Bldg.

Allee brings 30 years of work experience to the job. Most recently he worked for the Northwest Power Planning Council as project manager for subbasin planning in the Columbia River, encompassing Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and Montana. Prior to that he was executive director of the Columbia Basin Fish and Wildlife Authority in Portland, Oregon; director of the Fisheries Rehabilitation, Enhancement and Development Division, Alaska Department of Fish and Game; and president and operations manager at Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation, Alaska.

In addition he has been president of the American Fisheries Society Fish Culture Section; board chair of the Western Regional Aquaculture Center, University of Washington; member of the Scientific and Statistical Committee, Pacific Fishery Management Council; chair of Fisheries Technical Review, Alaska Science and Technology Foundation; and member of the advisory council, SFOS, UAF. Allee has served in an advisory capacity for three Sea Grant programs, Washington, Oregon, and Alaska.

Allee has a Ph.D. in fisheries from the University of Washington, and a B.A. in zoology from the University of California. In his free time he enjoys lap swimming, fishing, hiking, and bird-watching.

Program Coordinator
Adie Callahan is the new Alaska Sea Grant program coordinator. Callahan is the primary public contact for the program, she handles purchasing and travel for Sea Grant, tracks proposals and projects, and also helps with Web site development and publications distribution. Callahan started in the position in December 2002, right after she finished her bachelor's degree in sociology at UAF. Having recently returned to Alaska after a 20-year absence, she is immersing herself in all winter activities, the most challenging being curling and winter driving. She loves to travel (especially to foreign countries), take pictures, practice yoga, and be with her family and friends.

Sea Grant RFP
Alaska Sea Grant has issued the biennial call for preliminary research proposals for 2004-2006 funding. The 4-page pre-proposals are due in the Alaska Sea Grant office March 3, 2003. Pre-proposals will be evaluated by an advisory panel, and faculty will be advised by March 31, 2003, whether they should submit a full proposal. Full proposals will be due June 3, and funding will begin February 1, 2004. For more information go to http://seagrant.uaf.edu/research/rfp/index.html.

Salmon Workshop Held
The workshop "Enhancing the Quality and Markets for Alaska's Salmon," held in January in Anchorage, was the second in a series of statewide workshops addressing the economic crisis facing Alaska's salmon industry and coastal communities. The workshops are part of a UA, Alaska Sea Grant, and Washington Sea Grant initiative called "Tools for the Salmon Industry." Conference coordinators were Paula Cullenberg, Quentin Fong, and Chuck Crapo of MAP and Pete Granger of Washington Sea Grant. MAP staffers Terry Johnson and Don Kramer also presented.

The workshop examined ideas and new directions for the industry, with presentations by experts in the fish business as well as marketers of other products. Topics included mandatory quality changes, changing export markets, what domestic customers expect, how to increase domestic market share, branding, and direct marketing by Alaska fishermen and cooperatives.

The text of presentations given at the first salmon workshop, "Options for Restructuring Alaska's Salmon Fisheries," held in October 2002, are available on the Web at http://www.sfos.uaf.edu/salmontools/edu/workshops/2002/options/index.html.

Fish Direct Marketing
Petersburg MAP agent Brian Paust spoke at a recent class in Ketchikan, "Direct Marketing for Fishermen." Twenty-five people attended, from Metlakatla, Craig, and Ketchikan. All attendees are currently engaged in the harvesting sector and appeared eager to initiate direct marketing ventures. The class was sponsored by Ketchikan Small Business Development Center and UAS Ketchikan Campus. William Taylor, economic development specialist at UAS Ketchikan, organized the class.

AMSEA Board
Paula Cullenberg, MAP coastal community specialist, now represents MAP on the board of directors for the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association (AMSEA). Cullenberg has been involved with AMSEA since 1986, and previously represented the North Pacific Fisheries Observer Training Center on the board. Cullenberg replaces Dolly Garza, who served as MAP representative and in other AMSEA board positions during her 17-year tenure. While on the board, Garza provided guidance on safe boating for rural Native populations on the river systems, among other valuable contributions.

ASJ Radio
Alaska Sea Grant's Arctic Science Journeys will be broadcast by Sirius Satellite Radio, thanks to an agreement with Icicle Networks. Sirius is a subscription-based satellite radio service that broadcasts 100 channels of radio to the United States.

RadioSource.Net, an Internet-based audio delivery site, has also agreed to add ASJ Radio. RadioSource.Net promotes research, extension, and education efforts of land grant universities. Members upload audio programs to the site, and the audio is then made available to broadcasters.

ASJ Radio's weekly science stories, about 4 minutes long, are broadcast throughout Alaska on Alaska Public Radio stations, as well as on the Voice of America, the Environmental News Network, and its own Web site, http://www.ASJNews.org.

Beating the Odds Revised
Alaska Sea Grant's Beating the Odds book is now better than ever! With up-to-date content, a new title, and new cover, Beating the Odds on Northern Waters continues to be the first choice of fishermen and safety trainers in the Pacific Northwest. North Atlantic fishermen are also catching on to this top-notch safety tool. The book teaches simple safety practices that can stand between coming home alive and not coming home at all.

The Alaska Marine Safety Education Association has produced a video to go along with the book, Beating the Odds: Onboard Emergency Drills. Both are available at the Sea Grant office, 888-789-0090. The book sells for $15, the video for $20.

Electronic Newsletter
Would you like to change from a paper subscription of Fishlines to electronic only? Please contact Sue Keller at fnsk@uaf.edu. Each month we will send you an email linked to the electronic copy on the Sea Grant Web site.

Fishlines is a monthly in-house newsletter reporting Alaska Sea Grant activities to staff, students, and principal investigators of Alaska Sea Grant and the Marine Advisory Program, and staff of the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences. For more information contact Sue Keller, (907) 474-6703, FNSK@uaf.edu.