December-Issue-3 2011

It’s been a good 2011 for Alaska, all things considering. We could be like most other U.S. states, bogged down in recession. Thanks mainly to oil, we’re not.

It’s been a good 2011 for Alaska, all things considering. We could be like most other U.S. states, bogged down in recession. Thanks mainly to oil, we’re not.

It’s been a good 2011 for Alaska, all things considering. We could be like most other U.S. states, bogged down in recession. Thanks mainly to oil, we’re not.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia stepped closer Dec. 13 to requiring greater permit fees, buffer zones and regulatory oversight for natural gas drillers in the Marcellus shale field, when the state Senate unanimously passed special session legislation to the House of Delegates.

DENVER (AP) — Colorado will require energy companies to disclose the concentrations of all chemicals in hydraulic fracturing and also ask drillers to make public some information about ingredients considered trade secrets.

WASHINGTON (AP) — Two-thirds of chief executives of the largest U.S. companies don’t plan to hire in the next six months, mainly because of sluggish growth in the United States and financial turmoil in Europe.

Sea otters are cleaning out valuable commercial fisheries in Southeast Alaska, and they have been at it for decades. A second report by the McDowell Group of Juneau updates the financial hit the otters have caused to the region’s fisheries since 2005.

It seems there is no end to the good news coming out of Cook Inlet these days.

Just when things looked a bit grim for the month, central banks swooped in and initiated a global easing of policy by providing more liquidity to European banks. I guess if the politicians can’t agree it’s reassuring to know that at least the central bankers are on the same page.

Every year, you’re faced with a quandary.

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is reviewing the literal and practical comprehension around its decade-old “wild, natural, sustainable” advertising tagline after being reminded by new research that the phrase is poorly understood and even confusing to many Japanese seafood buyers.

NEW YORK (AP) — Some of the stress that small business owners feel around the holidays may come from employee issues.

DURHAM, N.H. (AP) — Think poinsettia plants are passe? Had enough holly at the holidays? Try tomatoes.

ATLANTA (AP) — In what’s being called a landmark study, researchers used gene therapy to successfully treat six patients with severe hemophilia, a blood-clotting disorder.

NEW YORK (AP) — “The Protester” has been named Time’s “Person of the Year” for 2011.

Bulletins 12/18/11

It’s been a good 2011 for Alaska, all things considering. We could be like most other U.S. states, bogged down in recession. Thanks mainly to oil, we’re not.

Buying into the Bering Sea crab fishery will take boots on deck or a stake in some steel under requirements now being contemplated by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

It’s been a good 2011 for Alaska, all things considering. We could be like most other U.S. states, bogged down in recession. Thanks mainly to oil, we’re not.

Sea otters are cleaning out valuable commercial fisheries in Southeast Alaska, and they have been at it for decades. A second report by the McDowell Group of Juneau updates the financial hit the otters have caused to the region’s fisheries since 2005.

The time has come for a change in management for Alaska’s charter fishing fleet. The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) recently announced stock assessments for 2012 and the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) is meeting in Anchorage to consider changes to management measures for Alaska’s charter halibut fleet.

Whether the pollock stock in the Bering Sea is as healthy as the quota was a source of debate at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council after several skippers and the largest seafood company in the state asked for a conservative approach for the 2012 season.

With potentially drastic harvest cuts on the horizon in 2013, the battle over the declining halibut resource continued at the latest meeting of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Alaska U.S. District Court Judge Timothy Burgess will take arguments for summary judgment Dec. 21 in a lawsuit filed by the State of Alaska and a coalition of fishing interests challenging wide-ranging closures in the western Aleutian Islands to protect food sources for endangered Steller sea lions.