Issues and Updates

fishing Bristol Bay, Protect Fisheries, Oil and Gas

What the New Interior Secretary Can Do for Bristol Bay

April 12, 2013

Fish Basket Coalition

Categories: Breaking News, Policy

In his final public webchat, outgoing Interior Secretary Ken Salazar answered a question from a Bristol Bay fisherman about his vision for Bristol Bay, home to multi-billion-dollar wild fisheries for salmon, pollock, king crab and others. Salazar proclaimed his support for permanently protecting Bristol Bay from offshore drilling, saying it should be "protected forever." The webchat was meant to answer questions and say farewell before Salazar stepped down as head of the U.S. Department ofRead more

Celebrating Wild Salmon at the Fur Rondy Parade

Keeping it Wild at the Fur Rondy Grand Parade

March 1, 2013

Amy K. Brown, AMCC

Categories:

The Fish Basket Coalition along with the Alaska Marine Conservation Council (AMCC), Renewable Resources Coalition (RRC), World Wildlife Fund (WWF), and Alaska Center for the Environment (ACE) shared our love for WILD Alaska salmon this past Saturday, February 23rd in the Fur Rondy Grand Parade. This is the 3rd year we have collaborated on a float and this year’s theme was “KEEP IT WILD!” The weather was the usual culprit for Rondy season with cool, crisp air and light winds. Pre-paradeRead more

Meet Courtenay Gomez, Director of Natural Resources - Bristol Bay Native Association (BBNA).

January 18, 2013

Verner Wilson III, WWF

Categories: Stories from Bristol Bay

Fish Basket Coaltion member and contributor, Verner Wilson, recently spoke with Courtenay Gomez, Director of the Natural Resources Department at the Bristol Bay Native Association (BBNA). BBNA is a Tribal consortium of 31 Alaska Native tribes throughout the Bristol Bay region that passed a resolution to protect Bristol Bay from offshore drilling. How is your family connected to Bristol Bay? Courtenay: My family is originally from Bristol Bay. My Grandpa was born at a camp on Silver SalmonRead more

Fish Basket in Seattle: Fish Expo and Bristol Bay Fishermen's Reception

December 12, 2012

Verner Wilson III, WWF

Categories:

As a salmon fisherman who was born and raised in Bristol Bay, it was an honor to be part of the Fish Basket Coalition’s booth again this year. My organization, World Wildlife Fund (WWF), who I work for in the off-season of salmon fishing, is proudly part of the Fish Basket Coalition, a consortium of many commercial fishing interests, Alaska Native and environmental groups who are working to protect America’s “fish basket” from offshore drilling. We met with thousands of people connected to theRead more

Seismic Testing & Marine Noise

November 7, 2012

Dave Aplin, WWF

Categories: Policy

Oil and gas development is noisy business. All phases of offshore development – from exploration to extraction - bring a cacophony of sound that can impact the fish, wildlife, local communities, and entire economies. A major victory was recently won for both humans and animals living in the far north of Canada, near Greenland. For the indigenous humans living in five Inuit villages, a court order blocked a German icebreaker from conducting seismic tests in the area, reaffirming the Inuits’Read more

Verner celebrating his catch in Bristol Bay

Oil Spills Then and Now: I was three years old when Exxon happened and we’re STILL fighting for Bristol Bay protection!

September 5, 2012

Verner Wilson III, WWF

Categories: Opinion

On my third birthday in 1989, an article was published in the Schenectady Gazette newspaper (in New York) titled “Oil Spill Seen as Helping Bristol Bay Preservation”. While I was a young, naïve child in Dillingham, oil was gushing out of the Exxon Valdez oil tanker in Prince William Sound, and the nation turned on their televisions to see birds and other wildlife dying, fishermen panicking and fighting for their livelihoods, and other horrific images of the worst oil spill the nation had seenRead more

National Treasure at Risk: Protecting Alaska’s Bristol Bay from Offshore Drilling

August 9, 2012

Amy K. Snider, AMCC

Categories: Breaking News

In the 1970s the U.S. Department of the Interior opened the door for offshore oil and gas drilling in Bristol Bay. Ever since then, communities, the fishing industry, conservation groups and, until recently, the State of Alaska, have resisted. Bristol Bay and the southeast Bering Sea equal 40% of the U.S. fishery production, including the world’s largest wild sockeye salmon run. It is biologically rich in migratory birds and marine mammals. It features extensive coastal wetlands vulnerable toRead more

Wild Alaska Salmon Season in Bristol Bay

“Fish Are More Valuable Than Oil; Water Is More Precious Than Gold”

July 24, 2012

Dorothy Childers, AMCC

Categories: Stories from Bristol Bay

Nowhere was hospitality more abundant than on the Egegik set net beach last week. My co-worker, Amy, and I went camp-to-camp between tides drinking lots of tea and coffee and hearing from fishermen about their views on possible offshore drilling in Bristol Bay after the current delay until 2017 runs out. Almost everyone volunteered that Bristol Bay is the wrong place for such a thing. And “No Pebble” buttons and flags were all over the place. Why here, in the heart of high value fisheries andRead more

A Bristol Bay fisherman from Kodiak getting ready for the season.

Kicking Off Fishing Season in Bristol Bay

June 21, 2012

Amy K. Snider, AMCC

Categories: Stories from Bristol Bay

Summer solstice is upon us and fishermen in Dillingham are busily preparing their boats making final preparations before heading out to fish in one of the last remaining wild salmon fisheries on the planet. I headed into the boat yard to talk with fishermen about the threat of offshore oil drilling in Bristol Bay’s North Aleutian Basin. The sun was shining, folks were mending nets, arranging gear, and making last minute grocery runs. Folks were happy to talk about the threats Bristol Bay facesRead more

Alaska’s Seafood Industry, Buoyed by Bristol Bay, is Crucial to Alaska’s Economy

May 10, 2012

Verner Wilson III, WWF

Categories: Opinion

Bristol Bay and the Southeast Bering Sea’s huge fisheries (pollock, king crab, salmon, flatfish, herring and others) drive Alaska’s coastal economy that benefits people throughout Alaska and the United States. Alaska’s sustainable and renewable seafood industry, buoyed by Bristol Bay and Southwest Alaska’s $4-$5 billion seafood direct and indirect value per year, is the number one supplier of jobs in Alaska -more than oil and gas, mining, timber and tourism combined - and seafood is Alaska'sRead more