Bristol Bay Update: The regional EPA office in Alaska (Region 10) is reviewing its Clean Water Act Section 404(c) actions. Read more below. In September, Charles Witek, in his article, The Pendulum Swings for Bristol Bay, noted, “Right now, events seem to be coming full circle, with the balance again seeming to favor Bristol Bay […]
Category Archives: Policy
Christmas Came Early For Shortfin Makos
Perhaps no one ever captured the essence of the shortfin mako as well as Ernest Hemingway: He was a very big Mako shark, built to swim as fast as the fastest fish in the sea and everything about him was beautiful except his jaws. His back was as blue as a swordfish’s and his belly […]
The Wild Steelhead Coalition’s Call to Arms
“As fish runs have fallen year after year, we all crowd onto the few rivers that still remain open and pointlessly argue online about who is to blame for the situation. The baseline has kept shifting downward until today when we have reached an undeniable inflection point where hype has finally run up against heartbreaking, […]
NOAA Taking Comments for Proposed Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary
Harbor at Morro Bay; Photo by Robert Schwemmer On November 10, NOAA began a 60-day comment period (ends January 10, 2022) for the public to tell NOAA what they think about the proposed designation of the Chumash Heritage National Marine Sanctuary. As NOAA Administrator Rick Spinrad stated in a video announcement: Some of the earliest […]
NOAA Requests Information on Advancing America the Beautiful Goals
On Friday October 29, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) began a 60-day comment period (ends Dec. 28, 2021) for the public to offer their thoughts on how NOAA can advance the goals and recommendations in the Conserving and Restoring America the Beautiful report (report). The report was a product of one of the […]
Can Science-Based Policy Address Bering Sea Seafood Challenges?
This piece comes to us from fisherman Alexus Kwachka of Kodiak, Alaska (photo above, bio below) and is the latest installment in the Network’s National Seafood Month series. The natural world is the ultimate source of our food, our drinking water, the very air we breathe, and everything we create for our consumption. In short, […]
National Seafood Month – A Retrospective on the Resilience of Our Industry (Part I)
Lyf and salmon with Portland in the background Part I: The Providers For those of us who catch, cook, or sell fish, National Seafood Month is a key time to reflect on how we’ve fared lately. In normal years we gather to celebrate what we’ve achieved and look back on what has changed. In a […]
A View from the Hill: October 2021
What a year it’s been so far. While infrastructure and reconciliation remain a focus of Capitol Hill and nearly all of D.C., there has been action on several other Network priorities this past year. In January, a stunned nation and world watched a mob swarm the Capitol building, former President Trump was a impeached a […]