Monthly Report to the Dean - June/July 2007
August 10, 2007
To: Denis Wiesenburg, Dean, SFOS and Brian Allee, Alaska Sea Grant Director
From: Paula Cullenberg, Marine Advisory Program Leader
Re: Marine Advisory Program highlights, June-July 2007
Upcoming
- Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit, Anchorage, December 11 and 12
- Field Ecology Class, Nome, August 12-17.
- Business management for Fishermen workshop, Sitka , September 18 - 20, 2007
- Business management for Fishermen workshop, October 23 – 24, 2007 Nome
- “Damage Control of Flooding On Board” video in partnership with AMSEA, funded by the Coast Guard, will be completed in September.
Announcements
- Liz Brown has resigned her position as MAP agent in Bristol Bay, effective August 17th. We wish her well in her pursuits.
- Catherine Crawford is the new Prince William Sound MAP staff assistant working with Torie Baker.
- Chuck Crapo will be on sabbatical from mid August to January.
MAP Highlights for June/July
Coastal Communities and Economies
- Torie Baker, as chair of the Cordova Fish Advisory Committee, conducted a series of committee meetings to evaluate for the City Council a road improvement proposal to DOT being made by a Cordova resident . The proposal involved re-routing a portion of the McCarthy Road in the Long Lake drainage. The committee was asked to evaluate possible salmon habitat impacts; after much deliberation, the committee recommended the Council not support the proposal at this time due to a lack of sufficient project detail and DOT process. The request was subsequently withdrawn from Council consideration.
- Ray RaLonde, Quentin Fong and Glenn Haight participated in a survey of shellfish mariculture operators to determine business management training needs and to do some economic modeling of oyster farms. The surveys were given in Kake, Ketchikan, Cordova and Homer.
- The molluscan broodstock development project managed by Ray RaLonde in Kachemak Bay continued with assessment of oyster growth and farmer training to manage the growout site. The purpose of the project is to develop optimum broodstock for shellfish farmers in Alaska.
- Glenn Haight, Terry Reeve and Paula Cullenberg participated in the Alaska Marketplace competition first round of assessment. Over 250 entrepreneurial proposals from rural Alaska were submitted to this microenterprise competition sponsored by the Alaska Federation of Natives. At the end of the day, about 60 people were able to identify about 65 proposals to go forward to a panel of judges in October in Fairbanks. Cash awards (there is $700K total available) will be distributed to the winning entries.
- Sunny Rice, as chair of the Petersburg Economic Development Council, has been working with the committee to hire an executive director. The Petersburg community cold storage is in its first full month of 24/7 operation.
- Terry Reeve has been working with Chevak, Hooper Bay and the Paimiut areas (Kokechik Bay) to develop assessment of bird tourism in these areas. He is working with an Americorps volunteer, along with Bob Dittrick, of Wilderness Birding Adventures, Craig Wiese (former MAP agent), Odin Brudie, of the State tourism office and a representative from Anchorage Audubon. Very positive response from the birders (after the mud and rain in Chevak cleared up).
- “Alaska Fishing Communities: Harvesting the Future” Proceedings, edited by Paula Cullenberg, is out and available from Alaska Sea Grant. See http://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/pubs/AK-SG-07-02.html
- Clean Harbors is the title of the new issue of Alaska Seas and Coasts. The issue focuses on pollution free harbors and the text was written by Terry Johnson and Alan Sorum, former harbormaster of Valdez. Deborah Mercy laid out the issue with help from Sue Keller. Clean Harbors should be on the MAP website by next weekhttp://seagrant.uaf.edu/bookstore/seasandcoasts/index.html
- Carin Bailey, SFOS information officer, and Paula Cullenberg finished up a collaborative website designed to link students, educators and employers who are all focused on Alaskans pursuing fisheries and marine science careers. It can be found at www.uaf.edu.sfos/future. A related press release was run in rural papers across Alaska.
Ecosystems and Habitats
- Reid Brewer was involved in two community-based coastal monitoring activities in Unalaska. An invasive tunicate monitoring program was started with the Smithsonian Institution. Tunicate settling plates and temperature data loggers were deployed at three sites for a few months time. In addition, an invasive green crab monitoring program with Prince William Sound Regional Citizens Advisory Council (PWS RCAC) deployed eight crab traps at three locations for a 24 hour period. Five community members were involved in the sampling efforts.
- Reid Brewer participated in a month-long research cruise with the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation and the EPA, titled the Environmental Monitoring and Assessment Program (EMAP). Reid was working as one of seven divers characterizing the nearshore rocky subtidal areas of the Aleutian Islands. This project will serve as an ecological characterization of the area and is the first time many of these islands will be surveyed by scuba divers.
- Kate Wynne submitted a journal article for peer-review in the Marine Ecology Progress Series (MEPS): McKenzie, J and K Wynne. Spatial and temporal variation in the diet of Steller sea lions in the Kodiak Archipelago, 1999-2005.
- Heidi Herter travelled with Hokkaido University researchers on the Japanese training ship Oshoro maru with from Dutch Harbor to Nome Alaska in July. The purpose of the cruise was to study the effects of climate change. Heidi’s role was to facilitate the outreach component of the cruise, connecting communities in the Bering Straits region with these scientists. An International Polar Year Mini-symposium was held in Nome on August 4. Heidi travelled at the invitation of Kawerak.
Fisheries
- Quentin Fong coordinated a tour of the Kodiak fisheries and environment for a Chinese media group in partnership with the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce. The group, funded by the Alaska Fisheries Marketing Board, is developing video information for the Chinese about Alaska as part of a seafood promotional effort in that country. Kate Wynne presented to the group concerning marine mammals and the environment of Kodiak.
- “Intro to Direct Marketing for Fishermen” workshop was held by Seafood Business Specialist Glenn Haight and MAP business contractor, Greg Fisk in Kenai and Homer in partnership with Kenai Wild.
- Don Kramer taught fish identification class and Kate Wynne taught marine mammal identification and sampling to NOAA groundfish observer trainees at the UAA Observer Training Center during two classes in June and July.
- Terry Reeve worked with ADF&G in Bethel and the Kuskokwim Fisheries Management Group to open the fishery specifically for catcher/seller harvesters. Since bigger buyers are limited in the Bethel area, this allows individual fishermen to harvest salmon and two have taken part in fresh fish sales at the local Saturday market.
- Liz Brown responded to an increased presence by the Coast Guard in Bristol Bay. She– publicized courtesy inspection details, researched documentation and noise-making devices, helped fishermen contact the documentation center, with radio and EPIRB registration, and distributed placards.
Marine Literacy
Reid Brewer worked with the Qawalangin Tribe and the Unalaska City School District to rearticulate and hang a Baird’s beaked whale in the Unalaska high school. Several groups aided in this three year effort including the Qawalangin Tribe, Unalaska City School District, the Unalaska Boy Scouts, and several other adult volunteers. This may be the only rearticulated Baird’s beaked whale in the world.
- Torie Baker, at the invitation of US Forest Service Glacier Ranger District staff, presented a commercial and subsistence fisheries and resource management talk to 14 resident high school students and counselors involved in a USFS summer Copper River watershed outdoor education program. In addition to her presentation, participants had floated the Copper River and visited salmon research sites within the watershed.
- Ray RaLonde participated as an instructor for three days at a Juneau School District sponsored science summer camp for gifted students. Ray taught sessions addressing topics in marine ecology, bivalves, and PSP testing.
- Kate Wynne reviewed text for new Alaska Department of Fish and Game marine mammal information sheets for the Southcentral and Southwest Alaska Marine Highway System.
- Heidi Herter taught an “Ocean Explorers” section with the Norton Sound Health Corporation’s CAMP/Summercise program . She led fieldtrips to local beaches, rivers and wetlands for youth aged 8-12. Students learned about fish and other aquatic animals, their life cycles, food webs and community structure (5-10 students in attendance each field trip).
Seafood Science and Technology
- Chuck Crapo taught a salmon quality and handling workshop in Teller organized by Nome MAP agent Heidi Herter. This will be the first time there has been a commercial salmon fishery in Teller (18 in attendance).
- Chuck also taught a two-day HAACP course in Nome during that same trip (4 in attendance, all certified) and consulted with recent graduate of MAP’s Alaska Seafood Processing Leadership Institute and seafood plant manager, Josh Osborne on crab quality at the NSEDC seafood plant in Nome.
- Don Kramer coordinated the evaluation of student paper abstracts for papers submitted to the Aquatic Food Products Division for the 2007 Annual Meeting of the Institute of Food Technologists. Of the 5 finalists, two were from the University of Alaska Fishery Industrial Technology Center. First place went to Jiaqi Huang for work on purification of red salmon oil working under the direction of Dr. Subramaniam Sathivel , FITC former faculty member.
- Chuck Crapo taught “Just in Time” workshops in Kodiak, Ketchikan, Juneau and Haines. JIT is a quality training session for seafood processing workers offered by Chuck at the request of plants. Funding for travel for these workshops is provided by the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI).
- Chuck also consulted with various seafood smokers in Petersburg, Juneau, Haines, Seward and Anchorage on HACCP, sanitation, product formation and shelf life.
University Service
- Ray RaLonde participated as a committee member for graduate student Stan Triebenbach, Master's Degree Candidate. Reviewed thesis and participated in thesis defense and comprehensive review.
Response
- Deborah Mercy sent some footage she shot in of the red king crab fishery to NBC news in Washington DC. They will be using it for a story about how the Discovery Channels program, Dangerous Catch, is created so much interest in the fishery.
- General response including: assisted a high school student with a job search, assisted a start-up fish retailer with business resources, was contacted by a researcher regarding USCG mariner license requirements for vessel charter RFP specifications, advised potential graduate student interested in fisheries economics and scholarship support, sold several SG publications to tourists. Answered walk- and call-in questions about salmon recipes, salmon quality control at a Metlakatla plant, DEC and DOR permitting for direct marketers, the new DCCED grant programs for Southeast, using octopus ink for art projects, the proposed halibut charter IFQ program, food-grade chlorine dips, and labeling rules for custom-processed products, among others. Also helped a local catcher/seller get the $100 he was mistakenly charged for a business license back from DCCED. More questions about salmon roe, HACCP, gilling techniques, Viagra and oysters, Better Process Control School, ocean acidification, edible films, Whole Foods merger, fishing crew contracts, lease agreements and carbon dating.
