Deadliest Catch...

[ourbluenation]

what say you Alaskans? Good or bad thing? I frigging love this show. Edited to add...is over crabbing a problem? Sweet jesus - the fleet hauls in crab by the boatload. pun in tended.

[Blue_In_AK]

1. I can't speak for all Alaskans, of course,

but we love those shows here in our home. Ice Road Truckers, Tougher in Alaska, all of them. We watch all the National Geographic specials about Alaska, Discovery Channel, whatever. I've lived here for 34 years, but I still love to see shows about Alaska on TV. My brother used to own a bakery down in Homer, and the boyfriend of his employee was a deck hand on one of the boats in the first season of Deadliest Catch.

I don't know much about the crab fishery, so I can't say if they're overfishing. I do believe that the pollack trawlers are bad news, though, because they waste a huge amount of king salmon bycatch which hurts the commercial and subsistence fishermen along the rivers on the West Coast.

[ourbluenation]

2. Homer looks like a cool town. I think that's the hillstrand brothers hometown.

one of these days I'm going to make it up to your amazing state for a vacation. my husband was there over 25 years ago and remembers it fondly. lots of mosquitos though. :)

[Blue_In_AK]

3. Homer's a great little town.

We always enjoy visiting down there. Any time of the year, it's a beautiful drive from Anchorage to Homer. I have some photographs here http://www.northernvisions.smugmug.com/gallery/5151558_22cBe#311727603_rAApH if you're interested.

[canaar]

4. Your mention of the

Chinook bycatch by the Bering Sea trawlers is a story that needs much greater distribution. The Yukon Chinook fishery was until recently a crown jewel of economic development on the Lower Yukon that provided much needed cash income to supplement the subsistence activities that sustained the first American population on the river. In 2007 the bycatch was 120000 Chinook salmon, all of which were wasted. Adding the Chinook bycatch numbers to the 75000 Chinook escapement into Canada required by the recent US-Canada treaty has resulted in not only the closure of the commercial Chinook fishery on the Yukon but the closure of the Chinook subsistence fishery as well. This is having a devastating impact on the Lower Yukon people already hard hit by fuel prices and record spring ice jam flooding. In the same way that Bread has been characterized as the Indo-European 'staff of life,' Chinook salmon are the foundation of the Lower Yukon people's diet and food supply.

Recently, a 65 year old resident of one of the Yukon River communities was cited for his act of 'civil disobedience' for disregarding the ban and catching 20 chinook to feed himself and his 75 year old wife. Although 20 Chinook may sound like a lot of fish, the method of take (river gill net) would make this a modest catch. Also, a family will normally prepare (drying and smoking) 100-150 chinook salmon per year to fulfil their need for this staple source of protein and fat (Alaska being notoriously carbohydrate poor - particularly in the winter months). It waits to be seen the degree to which the state of Alaska wildlife troopers and state attorney are going to pursue a criminal complaint. The penalty could be substantial including a several thousand dollar fine, up to a year in jail and confiscation of the means of take (i.e. net, boat and motor - another $10-$15K investment for a family living in a region where the average annual household income is below the Federal poverty level).

Apologies for going a bit further than the topic intended. However, this issue is a matter of family concern to me.

[Blue_In_AK]

5. You are absolutely correct,

and I do wish this story would get out. Phil Munger at ProgressiveAlaska has been my main source of information about this disaster. He has had some really informational posts about this whole issue.

[canaar]

6. Thanks

I'll check him out.

[Blue_In_AK]

7. I had to dig back through the voluminous amount

of Sarah Palin stuff but here are a few relevant posts at Phil's blog about the crisis in Western Alaska:


http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/01/lower-yukon-community-crisis-awareness.html

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/01/salmon-habitat-quality-questions-in.html

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/02/saturday-alaska-progressive-blog_28.html

http://progressivealaska.blogspot.com/2009/02/post-super-bowl-perspective-on-yukon.html

[canaar]

8. Thanks for the Links

I have needed to add Prog Ak to my required reading for some time.

[Shagbark Hickory]

9. How many crab boats are out there? The show makes it look like just a handful.

And why don't they use a submarine and just use that to find the crab and scoop up the little bastards? It seems like in this day & age, they could get a little more advanced and not have to stand out in the cold for 30 hours at a time with 40' seas and pound ice.

And seriously, who is eating this crab? That's a lot of crab they catch. In better times I would indulge but the king crab runs about $42 if you buy it at a restaurant. The snow crab I can understand but the king crab... must be those health insurance CEO's eating all that stuff.