The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute has been diving into the effects of COVID-19 on the seafood industry for a while now.
Mainly, it’s been using interviews, anecdotal evidence and market research to compile briefings about how fishermen and other industry stakeholders have fared.
Now, the association is looking for more quantitative data about the effects of the pandemic. It’s sending out two surveys — one for fishermen and one for processors.
An Alaska resident last year would have to pay $29 for a sport fishing license. Same goes for the 14 years before that.
This year, the same license costs $20. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game scrapped the surcharge after paying off a bond debt on the construction of two hatcheries.
But the reduction might just be temporary. Legislators are considering levying another, smaller surcharge on those licenses this summer. This time, the charge would fund maintenance projects at sport fish hatcheries around the state.
The families of four passengers killed in a mid-air crash last summer are suing the estate of Gary Knopp, the former Alaska state representative who was piloting the plane that collided with theirs.
Representatives for Kristen Wright, Caleb Hulsey, MacKay Hulsey and Heather Hulsey, all of South Carolina, filed two separate federal lawsuits today against Knopp’s estate and his wife, Helen Knopp.
Since the November 2020 election, lawmakers in states across the country have ramped up efforts to change election laws, making it more difficult for people to vote. This week, the Georgia House passed an election bill that would limit early voting. An Alaska state senator has proposed a bill to limit by-mail voting throughout the state.
Next month, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly will hear an ordinance that would make it easier for borough residents to vote. The borough is planning to buy seven ADA-compliant voting machines and lease 26 others, geared to help voters who are visually impaired.
Don't forget your favorite brews with Flagship February, plus a look at the ancient Egyptian history of brewing and what's new with Big Delta Brewing and Kenai River Brewing Co. Cheers!
Sen. Peter Micciche's attempt to update the state's alcohol laws is starting yet another round through the legislative process. Will 2021 be the year it makes it to the finish line? Stay tuned to find out. Plus, Bill chats with Lee Ellis, head of brewery operations at Midnight Sun Brewing Company and president of the Brewer's Guild of Alaska, and Jake Wade, operations manager of Bear Paw River Brewing in Wasilla. Cheers!
East Cook Inlet beaches have been closed to harvesting razor clams due to low abundance since 2015. The only clam digging since has been by scientists gathering data to quantify the razors' slow recovery and to try and figure out what is inhibiting the population's rebound.
Mike Booz and Holly Dickson, lower Cook Inlet area management biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game Sportfish Division, share the research and theories on what’s happening beneath the sand.
Dr. Kristin Mitchell, with Central Peninsula Internal Medicine, Justin Rufridge, co-owner of Soldotna Professional Pharmacy, and Dan Nelson, manager of the Kenai Peninsula Borough Office of Emergency Management, are here to discuss the COVID vaccine this week.
Welcome to the debut of Gherkin Radio Theater! Thanks to Dr. Stephen White at Gentle Dental in Soldotna for bringing Gherkin Radio Theater to life. Pandemic time on his hands turned into a fun theatrical project to bring entertainment to the airwaves.
