Margaret Bauman
Margaret Bauman is a veteran Alaska journalist focused on covering fisheries and environmental issues. Bauman has been writing for The Cordova Times since 2010. You can reach her at fisheriesreporter@gmail.com.
Stock abundance on the rise
Results of a newly released project led by the University of Washington says that thanks to effective management nearly half of the fish caught worldwide are at sustainable levels or successfully rebuilding.
Ocean pollution legislation passes Senate
Legislation aimed at fighting the onslaught of plastic and other ocean debris has cleared the U.S. Senate, with a multi-million-dollar financial component, and it now remains for a companion bill in the House to be approved.
Escape of Atlantic salmon raises concerns
Impacts of some 21,000 farmed Atlantic salmon that fled a damaged British Columbia net pen in late December remain an unknown, but concerns remain over the risk of them competing with wild fish for habitat or food and spreading parasites and other pathogens.
Forecast is robust for Sitka Sound herring fishery
All signs point to a robust forecast for the Sitka Sound
herring sac roe fishery in 2020, with a guideline harvest level of 25,824 tons,
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Kodiak BOF session to take up intercept issues
ng-term controversy over interception of salmon stocks between Kodiak Island and Cook Inlet is expected to highlight the upcoming meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting at Kodiak Jan. 11-14.
The latest: Coast Guard identifies 2 survivors, 5 missing from Scandies Rose
“The decision to suspend an active search and rescue case is never easy, and it’s only made after careful consideration of a myriad of factors,” said Rear Adm. Matthew Bell. “Our deepest condolences to the friends and families impacted by this tragedy.”
PWS state waters Pacific cod fishery opens Feb. 1
A Prince William Sound commercial state waters Pacific cod fishery opens Feb. 1 for all gear types, with a guideline harvest level of 437,425 pounds, a 53 percent drop from last year’s 936,965-pound quota.
Search suspended: 2 rescued, 5 missing from crab boat
The latest: Two crew members were rescued from the lifeboat of a 130-foot crab boat that sank 170 miles southwest of Kodiak, but the search for five other missing crew was suspended after no sign of them was found by the U.S. Coast Guard over a 1,400 square mile area.
Coast Guard working to improve PWS communications
U.S. Coast Guard officials are working with a new Alaska Native communications firm to try and reduce intermittent VHF-FM radio issues critical to mariners around Prince William Sound.
Unemployment report doesn’t mention BP job losses
In an odd sequence of events this past week, Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy heralded November as the fourth straight month of record low unemployment in the state, while BP Alaska announced hundreds of employees lose their jobs with sale of the company to Hilcorp.
