It's a start

The Copper River salmon fishery kicked off a new season on Thursday, with the district producing a modest 27,368 sockeye and 1,083 Chinook on 353 deliveries during a 12-hour opener.

The fishery opened six days later than last season, which saw a surprisingly large opening day haul of around 43,000 sockeye.

The Copper River District will open tomorrow for another 12-hour driftnet fishing period, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced.

Mark your calendar

Organizers of the Pacific Marine Expo trade show have announced the dates for this year's event: Thursday, Nov. 20, through Saturday, Nov. 22, at Lumen Field Event Center in downtown Seattle.

What the Legislature did

The first session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature came to a close on May 20, with legislators managing a modest slate of actions important to the fishing industry.

This could be disappointing in many minds, as the industry has been mired in an economic crisis and a special legislative task force had made numerous recommendations ahead of the session.

The Legislature operates on a two-year cycle, so bills that didn't pass this session will remain alive in the second session next year.

Here's a rundown of what happened during the session that just adjourned.

• Legislators included $10 million in the budget for the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to boost domestic marketing. This might have been the session's most significant fishery action. Now, we wait to see if the sum survives the governor's veto pen.

• Legislators passed House Bill 116 to help commercial fishermen form insurance cooperatives to reduce costs.

• House Bill 31 passed to eliminate the need for state Division of Motor Vehicles registration of commercial fishing vessels already tracked by the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

• Senate Bill 156 provides for a temporary state investment of $3,693,500 in the struggling Alaska Commercial Fishing and Agriculture Bank. United Fishermen of Alaska explained the situation in this letter of support for SB 156.

All the bills now await the governor's signature.

More from Juneau

The House today voted 22-17 in favor of House Bill 125, which specifies membership on the Board of Fisheries. The bill now goes to the Senate for consideration with only a few days remaining in the session.

"HB 125 balances the Board of Fisheries by putting into state law equal representation on the board," said a press release from bill sponsor Rep. Nellie Unangiq Jimmie, D-Toksook Bay. "The bill delineates two seats for subsistence fishing, two for commercial, two for sport, and one for a fisheries scientist."

"My family has subsisted for generations, and many of us fish commercially," Jimmie added. "This bill brings balance across all user groups so that we can protect what is ours."

Juneau watch

The Alaska Legislature yesterday confirmed the governor's picks for the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

The vote was 40 yeas to 20 nays to confirm Tom Carpenter for a second term on the board.

Legislators voted 50 to 10 to confirm newcomer Olivia Irwin.

Legislators also confirmed Rick Green for continued service on the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission.

Full details on the confirmations are available here.

A buyer for Peter Pan's King Cove plant?

Oregon-based processing giant Pacific Seafood is showing interest in acquiring Peter Pan's idled King Cove processing plant.

That's according to this KUCB report.

Crabber gets prison in illegal transport scheme

Here's a press release from the U.S. Attorney's Office.