Fish Factor: Bering Sea crab fisheries underway; Salmon ups and downs; & Share the bounty By LAINE WELCH - Bering Sea crab fisheries got underway on Oct. 15 with the eastern waters at Bristol Bay seeing the most action right off the bat.

Fish and Game at Dutch Harbor said 93 boats pre-registered for the red king crab fishery, and 62 dropped pots on opening day. The guideline harvest at Bristol Bay is 16 million pounds of red king crab, a drop of almost 22% from 2008. Another 1.2 million pounds of blue king crab can be harvested at St. Matthew Island this year, the first opener there for a decade.

But the overall drop in king crab supply from Alaska won't be reflected in higher prices to fishermen - due to the global recession and the 23 million pounds of king crab coming into the U.S. from Russia.

According to the Inter-Cooperative Exchange (ICE), which represents nearly 70% of the king and snow crab caught in the Bering Sea, crabbers approved an advance price of $4.67/lb for red king crab.

"Based on a wholesale price of $9.00/lb, Trident agreed to advance 96% of that amount on the fish ticket ($4.48). Other processors are advancing 94.4% ($4.40). The final price will be determined after sufficient sales have been made. We are appreciative of the efforts of Trident Seafoods to work with us toward a mutually beneficial climate of cooperation," said ICE spokesman Jake Jacobson.

Trident also posted a price of $2.48 for smaller blue king crab from St. Matthew Island, which opened for the first time in a decade.

The snow crab fishery also opened on Oct. 15 but the fleet won't target those crab until January. That quota also is reduced to 48 million pounds, down 18%.

Freezers are chock full of snow crab, sales are slow and product is backing up said Seafood Trend market analyst Ken Talley. Snow crab landings from fisheries just wrapping up in Canada totaled 190 million pounds and imports to the U.S. are up nearly 27%.

Of all the crab markets, Dungeness is the most active. Talley said strong sales reflect the dungies' popularity as a local favorite all along the West Coast. Southeast Alaska's fall Dungeness fishery got underway October 1, where crabbers will take about one million pounds and enjoy higher prices --- Southeast Dungeness prices were reported at $1.80-$2/lb, up from $1.50 this summer.

Salmon ups and downs

Wholesale prices show some real ups and downs for Alaska salmon sales this summer. The state Dept. of Revenue's Tax Division compiles volumes and values each quarter by region for six salmon products. By far, most of Alaska's salmon sells as frozen H&G, or headed and gutted product. The biggest shocker is the downward spiral of roe prices - notably, wholesale prices for pink and chum roe were down by half. Lots of sales will be made in coming months and wholesale prices will change by year's end. Meanwhile, here are 2009 salmon wholesale prices for May through August, with comparisons to the same time last year -- - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

Alaska: Energy Recommendations Released - Senator Bill Wielechowski (D-Anchorage) and Senator Lesil McGuire (R-Anchorage), chairs of the Alaska State Senate Resources and Energy Committees, today released a series of recommendations designed to promote more reliable and affordable energy for Alaskans.

"This is a plan to help Alaskan families save money and make Alaskan businesses more profitable and competitive," Senator Wielechowski said. "It will help ensure that Alaska has a robust economy, fueled by affordable and abundant energy."

The draft plan released today establishes seven energy goals for the state and sets out a detailed list of recommendations to achieve them.

Goal 1: Ensure all Alaskans have access to reliable energy supplies at the lowest cost over the long·term.

Goal 2: Develop Alaska's energy resources in a responsible manner to sustain Alaska's economy and provide for the growth of Alaska's communities and industries.

Goal 3: Ensure continued responsible exploration and development of Alaska's oil and gas resources and manage these resources for the maximum long·term benefit of all Alaskans.

Goal 4: Reduce the dependence of Alaskan communities on fossil fuels for electricity and heat by developing our renewable and alternative energy resources and by promoting energy efficiency and conservation.

Goal 5: Strive to produce 50% renewable energy by 2025 and to increase energy efficiency by 10% by 2015.

Goal 6: Maintain a commitment to environmental stewardship and responsible resource development, anticipating the environmental effects of and regulatory response to climate change.

Goal 7: Promote energy research at Alaska's universities, energy education in our public schools, and workforce development programs at our post·secondary institutions and vocational schools.

"The recommendations focus on improving energy efficiency, among many other strategies," said Senator Lesil McGuire. "Increasing efficiency is a way to cut costs without compromising comfort or productivity. Energy efficiency is a way to do the same or more with less, to use energy smartly."

McGuire said the recommendations also call for investing more in renewable energy with tax credits and low-interest loans. "While we recognize that Alaska relies on fossil fuels for the vast majority of its power production and heating, we have seen the benefits of transitioning to more local, sustainable, and flat-priced sources of energy," McGuire said. "Southeast Alaska with its interconnected hydro systems is a model for other parts of the state." - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

DAVE KIFFER: Ex Gov Sideswiped By 'Rogue' Rage - Memo: From the Office of Sue Sitna,

Director of External Relations, Sarah Palin Inc.

Dear Valued Colleagues in the Media,

It has come to our attention that the Media has been focused like a 30.06, moose eye splitting bullet on the upcoming publication of Sarah Palin's memoir ( "Going Rogue" at a bookstore near you on November 17!!!!!!).

For that we are thankful.

Even though former Governor Palin is clearly the most admired politician in American history, we certainly appreciate your efforts in the media to keep her name front and center.

We also appreciate your efforts to keep stories about the Palin "family" to a minimum.

Perhaps you could extend the "family" status to certain hockey playing, Playgirl posing, pistachio plugging, running off at the mouthing, low life?

Heckfire, we almost did.

Boy, that sure was a close one!

I think we can all agree that we have certainly heard enough of him, right? - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

FLOYD & MARY BETH BROWN: The Hidden Costs of Obama Care - How much is this going to cost? This is a simple and reasonable question to ask before signing a document stating that you are responsible and will pay any amount not covered by your medical insurance when having a procedure done. Try asking it the next time you have an x-ray (or any other procedure.) A family member of ours did recently when he was experiencing back pain, and when registering, asked the woman working at the radiology company how much an x-ray of the back cost. The x-ray was ordered by his doctor. The woman said she couldn't tell him the price because it varied and the rate was going to be worked out later with his insurance company. "Can't you give me a rough idea how much an x-ray of the back costs?" he said. "Isn't there a set rate for each procedure that I can see?" "No," she said, "there is no way of knowing the price right now. I'm sorry."

Just imagine having any other service or purchasing a product and being told you couldn't know the cost beforehand, although you are required to blindly sign a legally binding contract saying you will pay whatever they later decide to charge you. That's unethical and ridiculous you'd say. Well, welcome to the American health care system. - More....
Monday - October 19, 2009

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Conservative vs. Liberal By A.M. Johnson - Often there is debate on what differentiates a Conservative from a Liberal persona. the need has become paramount with the current political scene being played out by our current President and his Congress. - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

Fighting at bus stops By Kara (McElroy) Steele - My question to Karen Brown is WHY didn't you call 911 immediately seeing this all unfold??? That's where it apparently needs to start, then on to the parents about their children's behavior at the bus stop. Unfortunately this has been going on for sometime if they think they can do that openly around others. Next time call the police, and make sure they pursue on to the parents to start reeling in their kids. - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

Disenrollment By Alice and Gene Sloan - If a family must move from their tribal area to find work, why must they be removed from the rolls? If a spouse chooses to live near their partner's family in a different community as many do, why should they be disenrolled/disenfranchised? In this vast world that is becoming smaller everyday with communicaton and travel, why must this type of action be taken? - More...
Monday - October 19, 2009

KIC Election October 19th: No to Proposition 2 By Axel & Kathleen Svenson - Get out and vote at the KIC Special election at the Mall Monday, 8 - 8! This election is crucial for all tribal members. The silence surrounding the election, and particularly the silence on Proposition 2, should speak volumes to you. This silence is a big red flag waving to all concerned. - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

WARD COVE FOCUS GROUP By Rob Holston - A group of local interested citizens met for nearly 2 hours on Oct. 13, 2009 at the offices of R&M Engineering to discuss Ward Cove. Trevor Sande provided maps of the pulp mill side of the cove with subdivision and roadway boundaries indicated. The subdivision plan had been previously prepared for a past owner of Ward Cove. - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

Thank you all for a Successful Car Show By Laurel Bray - The Ketchikan Kruzers Car Club would like to extend a huge thank you to the Ketchikan Plaza for allowing us, along with the Ketchikan Harley Riders Association to have a car/bike show inside the Plaza on October 10th and 11th. To Judy and Dave Zenge and your Plaza staff, we can't thank you enough for helping us make this a successful show. Who would have thought 20 cars could fit inside the Plaza. We asked the public to vote for their favorite cars, by Saturday night we had a 3 way tie for all 3 places. We continued the voting on Sunday and the winners were: - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

Kids at bus stops By Karen Brown - Every morning I take my foster grandson to the bus stop. We sit and wait until the bus leaves for Fawn Mountain. In the last few mornings we have watched children from the Houghtling Bus Stop. We have watched them fighting with each other. One morning, one little boy was being sat on while others were "tickling" him, rocks are thrown at kids and at other people's property. There are a lot of children here and some are rather small and can't fight back. My daughter went over and rescued the little boy who was being sat on, the day before or sometime last week she spoke to them about throwing rocks at each other and property. - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

Drinking water By Kirk Amundson - This is to ask a few questions -- what cancers does haloacetic acids cause??? How many years does this take to cause cancer??? Why are we spending 4.2 million if we don't know if this is going to fix the problem??? - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

Focus on the positive By Ivy Rose - I have tried really hard not to write any opinions on Sitnews and to say what is on my mind, but after reading so many of the letters written -- and granted the letters are just opinions -- it made me think. What if when we get put into situations that we don't like or agree with, we look at the situation as a whole? - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

Afghanistan Debacle On The Horizon? By Donald A. Moskowitz - President Obama is trying to decide our military strategy in Afghanistan. He is mulling over input from his civilian and military advisers, and members of Congress, but he cannot make a timely decision because of his lack of military and national security experience. His community organizing background is not very helpful in this situation. - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

RE: LAWYERS AND MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE REFORM By Chris Elliott - Great letter! Between tort reform and making insurance companies compete across state lines, we'd have a winner! - More...
Saturday - October 17, 2009

LAWYERS AND MEANINGFUL HEALTH CARE REFORM By Andy Rauwolf - Thirty years ago my family doctor explained to me that one of the biggest reasons he had to charge so much for his services was because of the high cost of his malpractice insurance. Since that time this problem has only gotten worse. - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

Noise Complaint? By Terri Wenger - Well today was a rough one and it's not over yet. We have had a car alarm going off for over 4 hours, and still going. There has been more than one complaint to the police department. A car alarm is loud and very irritating. Migraine Headache Style. But our police department can't do anything about it, why? I have a scanner and believe me the petty tattle telling that goes on and our police have to respond to is terrible in this town. This isn't petty, why can't you file a noise complaint on car alarms? Why do people use car alarms in this small town? - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

Ridiculous policies By Holly Finley - Oh Lordy don't get me started on how ridiculous KIC's policies are, perhaps they should take some notes from the Native hospital in Anchorage where I've had the pleasure of being taken care of completely by the doctors and staff. - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

High Costs & Judgmental Medicine By Charles Moon - I am so sad that Mr. Parks feels the way he does about his medical care. The fact that he is alive and able to write his opinions means the system worked for him. I am sure Mr. Parks has a family and friends that love him. There is no price that can be put on a human life. I could have been his nurse at KGH or on the ambulance that saved his life. - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

Littering By Dustin Hofeling - To the person(s) who sees fit to throw their McDonald's wrappers out their window on Ketchikan Lakes Road every single day - shame on you! How can you be so disrespectful of other people's property, the land, and our city? - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

Customer Service By Holly Finley - Poor and negligent customer service is on the rise. I understand we all have our days and your energy affects those around you, having said that, I'm not getting paid to shop at your store, however you are getting paid to provide a service. That is your purpose. If you are going to do a job, do it well. A smile and good manners goes a LONG way. - More...
Tuesday - October 13, 2009

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