Alaska Dude Fishing

Greetings Fishies!

As you know the F/V Aleutian Ballad is being converted into a passenger vessel in order to give you the experience of commercial fishing.

Now you can:

Experience Bristol Bay!
The world's last great wild salmon fishery.
Commercial fishing adventure on the coast of Alaska's Bering Sea!

For more information:
Alaska Dude Fishing on Nushagak Bay with AlaskanWild

Stay tuned!
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AIR STATION SITKA RESCUES THREE

Greetings Fishies!

Here is a press release from the Coast Guard Air Station Sitka:

JUNEAU, Alaska - A Coast Guard helicopter from Sitka rescued three people from the trawling vessel Sea Bear at 11:44 a.m. Thursday.

After running aground in the vicinity of Klag Bay, the crew of the Sea Bear launched their skiff and made it to a nearby shore.

After arriving on scene the Coast Guard HH60 helicopter transported the captain and crew of Sea Bear safely to Sitka.

This is actually a troller, not a trawler. Many will mistake the two terms as they can sound the same when spoken.

Stay tuned!

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Congress looks at fishing deaths

Hello Fishies!

The following is a portion of Wesley Loy’s blog The Highliner, with additional links. Loy writes for the Anchorage Daily News and is usually the first to get fishing industry information and get it right:

Fishing for a living can get you killed.

Congress, the industry, the U.S. Coast Guard and many others have worked for decades to improve safety, and they’ve made a lot of progress. But the work continues.

The House Subcommittee on Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation is holding a hearing on commercial fishing vessel safety beginning at 10 a.m. Wednesday in Washington, D.C. Here’s an agenda.

The industry has seen a string of tragedies in recent months, including the capsizing of the sablefish longliner Ocean Challenger off Sand Point last October, killing three of four crewmen. read more »

Note the comments in that section.

Stay tuned!

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As real as it gets

Hello Fishies!

Last night’s episode of Deadliest Catch finally managed to capture just how dangerous commercial fishing can be.

Equipment failure and operator error can occur on the best kept boats with the most experienced of crews. As you have seen over the years, almost no boat escapes some sort of breakdown. A broken propeller fluke such as that on the Cornelia Marie happens with more frequency than you might expect. Usually it is because the boat runs over something, such as a log, floating just below the water’s surface.

The rescue of the crewman from the Trail Blazer was as real as it gets. The raw terror amongst the men of the Time Bandit as they desperately sought to retrieve Josh from the water was not an act. I do not know if there is footage of the actual rescue itself, if there is I hope that it is shown. It appeared that Russ got into a Mustang immersion suit (Ocean Commander Immersion Suit with Harness :: Mustang Survival) and harness; this would enable him to be sent over the side and help the drowning man. If that is what happened, that is a brave and heroic deed, one that not many would even consider let alone try.

While this in no way demeans the valiant actions of the Time Bandit crew, this rescue did not happen in the middle of the crab season as the producers of the show would lead you to believe. These boats were in fact finished fishing and heading for home.

The name of the boat that the crewman fell from is the F/V Trail Blazer. It is a good boat, and its owners have a long and successful history with many stories to tell. Did you notice that the name of the boat was blurred out? I wonder why that was....but then again, maybe not!

Stay tuned!

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FISHING BOAT CAPSIZES NEAR LA PUSH, WASH.

Hello Fishies!

Coast Guard press release:

SEATTLE - A 63-foot fishing vessel with three people aboard capsized Saturday near La Push, Wash.

At 2:14 p.m., the crew of the fishing vessel Lady Cecilia contacted the Coast Guard to report that the Miss Mary capsized 24 miles west of Cape Johnson.

Minutes later, an HH-65 Dolphin helicopter crew from Air Station Port Angeles, Wash., and a 47-foot motor lifeboat crew from Station Quillayute River were launched to assist.

After the master of the Lady Cecilia reported that his crew had rescued the crew of the Miss Mary, the Coast Guard helicopter and motor lifeboat were diverted to respond to a separate case involving a vessel taking on water.

The Lady Cecilia reported that the three crewmen were uninjured and later transported them safely to shore.

The capsized vessel is believed to have sunk sometime Saturday night approximately 22 miles off the coast, leaving a sheen 50 yards wide and two miles long in a location inside the boundary of the Olympic Coast National Marine Sanctuary.

The Miss Mary has the potential to hold 1,500 gallons of diesel fuel.

The Coast Guard and the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration are continuing to monitor the site.

The cause of the incident is under investigation.

Stay tuned!

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NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC SPECIAL REALLY STINKS

Hello Fishies!

That is the banner across the cover of this month’s Pacific Fishing Magazine. The page six article in their Department of Televised Abominations is titled: Television’s Bristol Bay special stinks (Or, you can take the cow out of the cowboy, but never the boy).

Quotes from a fisherman by the name of Fritz Johnson make up the bulk of the article. In it he states: “A better title of the show should have been Ass***** of the Sea. If the producers’ intent was to highlight the worst aspects of the 19^th century commercial fishery, they succeeded.”

The editors of the magazine go on to agree with Johnson and describe it so: A few dozen boats play bump-and-grind while crowding the Naknek river line. Instead of skill, these skippers rely on intimidation and blunt instruments (their boats) to set as close to the line as possible, without drifting over it.

All you need, according to National Geographic, is a big boat and a loud voice.

The writer is upset that you were not shown things such as setting at the right time in the right place, carefully calculating wind, tide and time. Johnson says “They ignored the universe of issues surrounding sustainability, the environment, and Alaskan fishing cultures in favor of a myopic, egomaniacal, and greed-driven view of the industry.”

I both agree and respectfully disagree. What NG showed you was, in fact, what goes on not only out on the line, but all the way up and down the river. NG focused on the most dramatic portions that they could as we all know that is what sells.

Been there, seen that.

Stay tuned!

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Crabber Blames Rationalization for Near-Tragedy

Hello Fishies!

From this month's Pacific Fishing Magazine:

KODIAK -- Longtime Kodiak fisherman Bill Prout blames individual processor quotas (IPQ) for a recent near-disaster when his boat, the Nordic Viking, along with four other boats, became stuck in tightly packed ice March 28 for 14 hours near St. Paul in the Pribilofs. [more...]

Stay tuned!

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Whoa!

Greetings Fishies!

I finally got a response from Blake's family and permission to post this from the family website:

Season Two - King crab filmed October 2006, aired April 2006

I don't necessarily blame Discovery Channel for the editing that was done on this series. That finger I point at Original Productions. Why they chose to present the story line they did is beyond me, perhaps they felt they needed a human piñata in order to help with the ratings. As you will see, they knew the truth. Maybe they need to preface the show with something like "dramatized for effect".

First let me ask you one question. How did you react when you had the biggest disappointment in your life handed to you?

Contrary to public opinion thanks to some very creative editing, Blake did not leave. He was upset, he swallowed it and he went on back to work. Despite being denied what he had been promised, he remained on the Maverick and completed the season. Justin threatened to leave the boat if Blake was made captain. What many do not know is that would have left the boat short handed with no way to replace the crewman. Blake could have done that, I think that there are some who would have. He could have got off in St Paul and left the Maverick high and dry, but what would that have accomplished? Instead he acted like a man and he stayed and finished the season.

Justin was the only one on board that did not want Blake in the captains seat. Blake has been running boats since he was 18, he is now 27. As far as we know, no one has ever refused to go to sea with him.

Now about that Opilio season and the real reason Blake was not there.

Blake's father was diagnosed with an aggressive form of cancer in 2005. He endured a 6 hour surgery and a very long and difficult recovery. Blake was running the Maverick for herring tendering at that time, but he flew down to run the Evening Star for black cod and halibut for us.

It was during the king crab season that Jeff had to have a second surgery. That left him totally unable to run our dungeness crab operation and Blake committed to handling it for us. Dungie season traditionally begins Dec. 1, and runs for several months. The states did not allow it to open as the crab had not filled out their shells from the earlier molt. In fact, the season did not open until mid-January, six weeks late.

The opilio season was in full swing at that time and with the new ratz rules, the Maverick had to catch and deliver by a certain date. The intention was to have Blake up to Alaska by that time, but due to the delay in the dungeness season, that was not possible and Rick fished the boat.

**********

My God, just how callous are these pukes?

They said they will have an update to their site soon and you can find that at:

F/V Evening Star

Stay tuned

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Can you say LAWSUIT?

Hello Fishies!

What a fiasco! And reading the message boards makes it clear that many were sucked into the drama and completely fooled.

The license that is being taken with this show seems to know no bounds. One shot shows some weather with Rowe’s voice over declaring it ever so dangerous, while the next shows crews working the deck in tee-shirts. Huh?

Some of the boats are pulling nothing but blanks and yet they are moving up the crab count board. Huh?

And that whole edited radio crab/revenge piece. What a load of hooey. I was amazed that they showed the CM removing about a thousand bucks worth of crab from another fisherman’s pot. Uh fishies, that is a crime.

People sure turned into a pack of jackals over the whole thing. Is it believing what they want to believe or what they think they saw? Even when Captain Blake posted this to the forums people still chose not to believe him:

this is blake painter. i think everyone should know

how much B.S. there is on this show. you all should

pay close attention to the edditing done in order for

original productions to achieve the desired drama

(even at the cost of peoples career's)the so desire

for ratings!the drama with phil and i tonight was a

collection of 20days worth of footage,strategically

spliced together to get what they wanted!if you pay

attention you can see one side of the conversation is

in the dark and on a telephone,where as i am on a

radio and in the daylight.not to mention the radio on

channel 9 is a hailing channel!im fed up with the b.s.

of the whole show, i dont understand why straight

forward footage of us fishing isnt enuf . the last 2

seasons have become a soap opera!you wont be seeing

the maverick on season 4 if there is one!but thank you

to all of you who have possitive feed back. Blake

To me the editing was so poorly done; I can not believe anyone actually fell for it. Phil is talking to some one on a phone, hangs up the handset, and next shot he is talking on it again. Blake is talking on a radio and yes Channel 9 is a hailing channel. You have daylight and nighttime going on in the same conversation and the usual clothing issues we all have noticed in the past.

No one should have to defend themselves when they have been wronged. The damage that was done last year when his dad had cancer was bad enough, but this adds insult to injury. I hope he sues the ever lovin’ crap out of ‘em.

Stay tuned!

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DOJ Advice

Hello Fishies!

I have brought you information regarding processor quotas and the arbitration system. These items are in place and functioning poorly. Below you will find that NOAA asked for and recieved an analysis from the Department of Justice about these items.

The DOJ advised against it and they did it anyway!

STATEMENT OF J. BRUCE MCDONALD
DEPUTY ASSISTANT ATTORNEY GENERAL
ANTITRUST DIVISION

Before the

COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE, SCIENCE, AND TRANSPORTATION

UNITED STATES SENATE

CONCERNING

THE ECONOMIC IMPLICATIONS OF SEAFOOD PROCESSOR QUOTAS

PRESENTED ON FEBRUARY 25, 2004

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee, I am pleased to be here on behalf of the Antitrust Division to discuss our comments on the Alaska crab rationalization plan developed by North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) asked the Antitrust Division last year to comment on the crab rationalization program that had been proposed by the Council. In particular, NOAA asked us to comment on the likely effects on competition of the rationalization plan and to identify antitrust issues associated with the plan's price arbitration system.

To prepare a response to NOAA, we reviewed the rationalization plan, interviewed industry participants, and examined economic research on rationalization programs. In a letter of August 27, 2003, we discussed the conclusions we were able to draw on the competitive effects of the proposed plan, which I will summarize here.

Individual Fishing Quotas

Annual limits or quotas are an important part of sound fishery management and conservation. Given the need for an annual quota, in our letter we recommended that NOAA support replacing the current fishery-wide quota system, which generates a dangerous and wasteful "race to fish" as soon as the season opens, with Individual Fishing Quotas, or IFQ. IFQ would be more efficient than the current industry-wide quota, and would be an effective way to eliminate the race to fish.

Under the IFQ system, crab harvesters with IFQ could catch their quota at any time during the legal season, replacing the rush beginning on opening day as each harvester hurries to bring in as many crabs as possible before the window closes, which is the primary problem of the current system. Under the IFQ system, harvesters would not need the excessive investment in equipment, boats, and crew needed in a race to fish; more importantly, IFQ would allow harvesters to proceed without the dangerous rush that today's system encourages.

We stated that while auctioning the initial IFQ might further improve economic efficiency, the Council's proposal to give the IFQ to established harvesters as compensation for overcapacity was also an acceptable approach, as long as the IFQ were easily transferable. We emphasized that making the IFQ easily transferable was important for maximizing healthy competitive incentives for harvesters.

Individual Processor Quotas

We recommended that NOAA oppose the individual processor quotas, or IPQ, element of the Council's proposed program. Processor quotas would impose new regulatory requirements that produce anticompetitive results in the processing market.

Proponents of IPQ expressed two arguments in favor of IPQ. First, they say that processors and harvesters should be treated equally; if the new program is to compensate harvesters for past overcapitalization, it should compensate processors, too. Moreover, they were concerned that processors with excess capacity would, in an attempt to fill that capacity, bid more for crabs; this would shift the historic division of rents toward harvesters to the detriment of processors. Second, they were concerned that without IPQ, processors that are less competitive would fare poorly in the market; this, in turn, could harm local economies that depend on crab processing.

We appreciate the concerns that motivated the Council to propose IPQ. We acknowledged in our letter that eliminating the race to fish should eliminate processors' need for the excess investment in equipment that has been necessary to hurriedly process a crab harvest that harvesters delivered over a very short season. We proposed that, if the Council concluded it was desirable that processors be compensated for their past overinvestment, this could be addressed more directly and efficiently, rather than constructing an artificial marketplace in which competition is inhibited. We predicted that the effect on price that processors were concerned about would be temporary, that once excess capacity was curtailed for both harvesting and processing, prices would move back to more competitive levels.

We explained that IPQ would eliminate beneficial competition between processors and inhibit product innovation and efficient use of resources. If a processor were entitled to a fixed share of the harvest, then the processor would have less incentive to invest in new equipment or otherwise work to cut costs or improve quality, as those efforts would not be rewarded with greater market share. Moreover, we noted, IPQ were not needed to address the overcapitalization and safety concerns that would be addressed by replacing the fishery-wide quota with IFQ. Finally, we were concerned that the Council's plan limited transferability of IPQ out of any community, which would only prolong the inefficiencies resulting from IPQ.

In short, any quota system distorts the operation of a free market. Although a harvest quota of some sort is necessary for stock management, IFQ is better than the current system because it directly improves safety as well as eliminating incentives to overinvest in harvesting and processing capacity. Adding IPQ further distorts the market's operation, and introduces competitive harm, without offering similar kinds of competitive benefits.

Binding Arbitration

The third element of the Council's proposed program, binding arbitration, was evidently designed to prevent a new quota system from shifting the historic division of rents between harvesters and processors that has developed under the current quota system. The Council proposed a binding arbitration system for harvesters and processors who could not agree on price in independent negotiations. This process would begin before the fishing season with the announcement by a jointly-selected arbitrator of a non-binding benchmark price, based on information provided by all participants to the arbitrator, to be used for guidance in negotiations and later arbitrations. Then, any harvester who has been unable to negotiate a contract with a processor could initiate a binding arbitration with any processor to which the harvester was willing to sell and who had remaining capacity under its quota.

The Antitrust Division recommended that NOAA oppose the arbitration proposal as a poor substitute for competitive pricing. In addition, as NOAA requested, we described the possible antitrust violations that could result — but would not necessarily result — from conduct by arbitration participants and from the information sharing that was contemplated by the arbitration program.

First, we cautioned that any agreement among processors with respect to price could be viewed as a per se violation of section 1 of the Sherman Act. We read the Council's proposal as envisioning that each processor would make its own independent decisions about its use of arbitration: whether to use the benchmark price as a starting point for negotiations, whether to put harvesters to arbitration before forming a contract. Each binding arbitration would involve only one processor and would determine only that processor's prices. We stated that it would be critical for processors to act independently, and not coordinate with other processors, to avoid potential antitrust liability for collusion.

We noted that because of the Fishermen's Collective Marketing Act, these restrictions would not apply to harvesters as long as they were acting through a cooperative. Harvesters in cooperatives may bargain jointly and may agree on the basis for negotiations without risking antitrust liability. We cautioned, however, that an FCMA cooperative could not act jointly with non-FCMA cooperative harvesters, and that the courts had never addressed whether an integrated harvester/processor could be eligible for FCMA immunity.

Second, we cautioned that sharing information in conjunction with arbitration, including information from other arbitrations, could violate the antitrust laws. An agreement among competitors to share information regarding price and output, even through the conduit of an arbitrator, can have the effect of dampening competition, and if so can be illegal under the Sherman Act even in the absence of a direct agreement on price. Although harvesters participating in an FCMA cooperative could share such information within their cooperative, they too would risk antitrust liability if they shared such information outside the cooperative.

Other Issues

In our analysis, we did not evaluate factors outside our legal authority and expertise in antitrust and competition policy, such as the goals of protecting jobs in historic fishing villages or balancing the regulatory effects evenly among harvesters and processors. We certainly recognize that these are legitimate issues for policymakers, but they are beyond the purview of the Antitrust Division.

Stay tuned!

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Arbitration System

Hello Fishies!

As I have mentioned in the past and DC did not tell you, the king crabbers were "on strike" at the beginning of the season. Here is some information from the government website about how this is supposed to be resolved....

What is the Arbitration System?

The Arbitration System (System) is a series of steps that harvesters and processors can use to negotiate delivery and price contracts. Most of the System is regulated through private contracts among QS/IFQ holders and PQS/IPQ holders. The System is designed to minimize antitrust risks for crab harvesters and processors.

The System has two main parts:

1. Each year three groups of experts are hired: one to produce an annual Market Report, one to determine a Non-Binding Price Formula for negotiations, and one or more experts to assist in mediation and contract negotiations.
2. Once these experts are selected, some IFQ and IPQ holders can use a series of negotiation approaches established in the System to resolve delivery and price conflicts. The negotiation approaches are limited to IFQ holders who don't also hold PQS/IPQ, and who aren't affiliated with PQS/IPQ holders. These are Arbitration IFQ holders. They can negotiate with a single IPQ holder. The contracts with the experts must limit the sharing of information.

Do I have to participate in the Arbitration System?

YES. All CVO QS/IFQ and PQS/IPQ holders must participate by joining an Arbitration Organization by May 1 of each year. This Organization will establish contracts with the three groups of experts, give copies of the reports to its members, and collect fees for the Arbitration System. CVC IFQ holders are not required to join an Arbitration Organization until the 2008/2009 fishing year.

What happens if the fleet does not participate?

Under the final rule (see §680.20), NMFS will not issue IFQ or IPQ in a crab QS fishery until Arbitration Organizations representing enough QS and PQS holders to account for at least 50 percent of the QS and 50 percent of the PQS issued for a fishery select the Market Analyst, Formula Arbitrator, and Contract Arbitrators, and notify NMFS of their selection. Once these experts are selected, that fishery's fleet will be issued IFQ and IPQ. This requirement is intended to ensure that the Arbitration System is in place prior to the start of the fishery.

What is the Arbitration System timeline during the 2006/2007 season?

• May 1, 2006 is the deadline for QS and PQS holders to join an Arbitration Organization.
• May 1, 2006 is the deadline for Arbitration Organizations with members who are QS or PQS holders to submit a complete Annual Arbitration Organization Report.
• June 1, 2006 is the deadline for Arbitration Organizations to select the Market Analyst, Formula Arbitrator, and Contract Arbitrators and notify NMFS.
• 50 days prior to the start of the crab fishing season established by ADF&G is the deadline for the completion of the Market Report produced by the Market Analyst and Non-Binding Price Formula produced by the Formula Arbitrator

- June 25, 2006 for the Aleutian Island Eastern and Western Golden crab fisheries.
- July 25, 2006 for all other fisheries (e.g., Bristol Bay red king crab, Tanner, and Snow crab)

What are the Stages in the Arbitration System?

• Join an Arbitration Organization
• Commitment of shares by an IFQ holder to an IPQ holder.
• Select Experts to provide necessary information for the fleet through mutual agreement among Arbitration IFQ holders and IPQ holders.
• Select an approach for negotiations: IFQ and IPQ can reach agreements on price through open negotiations, a lengthy season approach, or share matching.
• Negotiate, mediate, or enter a binding arbitration if price negotiations are not successful.

What is an Arbitration Organization?

An Arbitration Organization is an association designed to assist harvesters and processors in establishing contracts with experts and facilitating compliance with the contracts. There are three types of Arbitration Organizations: one for PQS and IPQ holders; one for QS and IFQ holders that are affiliated with PQS and IPQ holders; and one for QS and IFQ holders who are not affiliated with a PQS or IPQ holder. Arbitration Organizations have formed for all of the crab fisheries and contact information is available on our website.

What is commitment of IFQ or IPQ?

A harvester commits Class A IFQ to an IPQ holder by notifying the IPQ holder. This commitment provides an assurance that a Class A IFQ holder has a processor with matching IFQ to deliver their crab. When IFQ is committed to an IPQ holder, that IPQ holder cannot use the IPQ that has been committed for processing another IFQ holder’s crab. A commitment lasts unless both parties choose to terminate it.

Who are the experts?

There are three experts who provide information or assist in the arbitration process. These experts are selected by the unaffiliated QS/IFQ Arbitration Organization and the PQS/IPQ Arbitration Organization.

What is the Market Report?

It is an analysis of market conditions and historic price agreements among harvesters and processors.

What is the Non-Binding Price Formula?

It is an estimate of prices in a crab fishery. It can be used in the negotiation approaches.

What are the negotiation approaches?

There are three basic approaches. At any point prior to the season, any IFQ holder (including affiliated IFQ holders) and any IPQ holder can engage in Open Negotiations. Other approaches that may be used by Arbitration IFQ holders and IPQ holders include a Lengthy Season approach, in which some delivery terms are decided pre-season others are negotiated mid-season. Share Matching is another preseason approach in which Arbitration IFQ holders "match up" shares pre-season with IPQ holders that have available IPQ. There are some limits on when these approaches can be used.

Once the season begins, if there is not resolution on specific issues, IFQ and IPQ holders can enter into Binding Arbitration in which an arbitrator uses the Market Report, Non-Binding Price Formula and other information to establish binding contract terms. This system uses the last-best offer approach.

During the season, the System allows for Post Arbitration Opt-in. Arbitration IFQ holders who aren't committed can opt-in to a contract with an IPQ holder with available IPQ under the same conditions as an existing contract. The system also allows for quality and performance disputes to be addressed with the assistance of an arbitrator.

Can we bargain collectively in cooperatives?

Only QS/IFQ holders who are in an FCMA cooperative can bargain collectively. PQS/IPQ holders cannot. An FCMA cooperative can form among harvesters that are not affiliated with a PQS or IPQ holder. Collective bargaining for price can only be done by an FCMA cooperative that is bargaining on behalf of its members.

The Arbitration System regulations establish contracts among the Arbitration Organizations and the Contract Arbitrators. The regulations outlining the requirements of these contracts do not specifically prohibit two or more FCMA crab harvesting cooperatives from participating collectively in a binding arbitration (See the regulations at 680.20(h)(3)(ii)(A)). However, the ability of FCMA cooperatives to collectively engage in a binding arbitration depends on the interpretation and application of the specific terms of the contracts among the Arbitration Organizations and the Contract Arbitrators. In any case collective arbitration should only be undertaken after a careful review of existing antitrust laws. Information on pertinent antitrust laws and precedent is available through the Antitrust Division of the Department of Justice http://www.usdoj.gov/atr/. A helpful and comprehensive guide on cooperatives and antitrust law is available at http://www.rurdev.usda.gov/rbs/pub/cir59.pdf.

It is important to note that the contracts are intended to include terms that prohibit collective activity among the members of two or more cooperatives. To minimize potential conflicts with this regulatory requirement, collective binding arbitration activity should be undertaken among cooperatives' authorized representatives, and not among the individual members of a cooperative.

How has the Share Matching System Changed?

NMFS has modified the timing for "matching shares" between unaffiliated IFQ holders and IPQ holders. NMFS has also modified when an IFQ holder must initiate a binding arbitration proceeding. This regulatory change is effective August 14, 2006. NMFS modified the arbitration system to allow harvesters and processors 5 days (120 hours) after NMFS issues IFQ and IPQ (NMFS will post those amounts on our website) to voluntarily "match up" their IFQ and IPQ shares. This allows harvesters and processors time to finalize any voluntary matches once their IFQ and IPQ amounts are issued. From 5 (120 hours) to 15 days (360 hours) after the issuance of IFQ and IPQ for a specific crab fishery, harvesters unaffiliated with a processor can unilaterally match IFQ shares with a processor with available IPQ. If the harvesters and processor cannot agree on price and other delivery terms, and the unaffiliated IFQ holder wishes to initiate a binding arbitration proceeding, the harvester must do so by the end of that 15 day (360 hour) period. This change will allow unaffiliated IFQ holders to use the arbitration system as originally intended by the Council--as a means to provide a pre-season or early season resolution to price and other delivery terms.

The previous share match approach to resolve price disputes had not met the needs of IFQ holders because they were not able to initiate arbitration 15 days prior to the start of the season, as required by previous regulation. IFQ holders have noted a desire to use the share match approach as originally intended. Under the current schedule for stock assessments and TAC setting, NMFS typically does not issue IFQ and IPQ 15 days prior to a season opening. NMFS issued quota 5 days prior to the season during the 2005/2006 fishing year for most fisheries. This schedule effectively limits the ability of IFQ holders to rely on the share match approach to achieve a price resolution. The change in the timing for share matching and initiating binding arbitrations should correct this problem.

Stay tuned

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Survivor: American Idol on the Bering Sea?

Greetings Fishies!

Today I share my thoughts on some of the various internet sites with forums and the complete lack of decent behavior exhibited by some members there. Looking carefully at the numbers, it is clear that while there really are only a handful of posters engaging in the nastiness, they are sucking some of the life out of the place.

I read the various postings and many things go through my mind. First and foremost, did your mama raise you to behave like that? If you were all in a room together with the people that you are drooling over or attempting to destroy, and everyone knew your face and name, would you have the nerve to say the things you do? How about if we got to watch a few minutes of heavily edited tv and give our opinions about you? Maybe share a bunch of personal information about you and your family?

The “Just Plain Ugly” award goes to the people who are sitting in judgment of and posting the private information about Hiram. While he may have his personal demons, that really is none of your business. It has no bearing on the show and I am sure he didn’t sign on for that.

"Nootka" claims to be married to a crabber and living somewhere near Hiram. I can imagine a conversation in that household:

Nootka “I just got so sick and tired of all that stuff on tv and so I put up on the internet all about how he got arrested. People need to know this stuff!”

Crabber: “You did WHAT??? What the F*** is the matter with you? What name did you use? Can anybody figure out its you? I gotta work around these guys! We go down out there and it may be them that saves my ass.”

And then there is the fringe lunatic whose screen name starts with tnt. This gal is a real winner and just thinking about her makes my gag reflex kick in. Her postings are BOLD AND IN COLOR! NOTICE ME! ITS ALL ABOUT ME AND MY OPINIONS! I WILL COPY EVERYTHING SO MY POST IS BIG BIG BIG! IF YOU DISAGREE WITH ME I WILL SCREAM AND YELL AT YOU EVEN THOUGH I HAVE NO CLUE WHAT I AM TALKING ABOUT.

Tnt, honey, they make medication for someone like you. I can almost see the wildly spinning eyes and spittle flying from her mouth when she makes her posts. One thing she did get almost right was the one about opinions. We have all heard this one: Opinions are like assholes, everyone has one and some are bigger and uglier than others. (To my detractors: yeah, I know mine included.)

When the show first started, almost everyone who made forum postings was at least respectful. They asked questions, captains and crew along with their families would drop in from time to time and answer questions. All the “I love ____,” “or _____ is sooooo hot” got pretty close to X-rated, but eventually that slowed down. Today, I see almost no one from any season, past or present, going anywhere near some of these places. Reading the hate-filled vitriol from people who have never met a fisherman, let alone the people from the Deadliest Catch, I can understand why they don’t. The Hansen’s have started a website with forums, which was a smart move. (Although there are some pretty juvenile things going on over there that need to be moderated. Here is a clue – if some one has had their account suspended on the DC forums, there is a reason. They are behaving the same on your site.) I see where other boats are following suit and I can’t say I blame them at all. Who wants to deal with the cess pool that some of the forums have devolved into?

Frankly I have been stumped by it all, couldn’t quite figure it out. Then I heard a couple of different news analysts talking about the behavior of people in general. They were referring to the politics of personal destruction and talked about the influence of the internet, that you can post up almost anything and there are no consequences for it. Then they cited shows such as American Idol, how both the judges and the viewers feel free to spew forth nothing but degrading comments and shattering criticisms.

So with the ability to vote continually for or against the boats, almost Survivor style, and make internet postings with no thought as to who they may harm, I am going to try to understand.

No, on second thought, I won’t.

My momma raised me better than that.

Stay tuned.

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Here we go again

Hello Fishies!

Two episodes in and I am even more irritated with this show. The editing is so flagrantly bad that it makes my head spin.

Yes, I know that the show has sky high ratings. I know that we are seeing and hearing these guys on the radio and in the am morning shows on local affiliates. I am well aware of all the media hype and the articles in the press. But are you aware that aside from just a few little columns in the past, this show gets absolutely NO coverage in any of the fishing industry trade publications? Almost every fisherman I have talked to says they don’t even watch it (but I think they do) because it’s all scripted.

Last week we watched a staged safety drill with the Coast Guard aboard the Time Bandit. Fishies, the vessel safety inspections do not include this. They deal primarily with equipment and paperwork.

We saw a radio conversation between the Time Bandit and the Maverick about finding crab and last night we saw that Jonathan Hillstrand had not even set his gear. I am more than ever suspect of all the “conversations” we see the boats have. Looking out the wheel house windows you can see a difference in day and night, land in the background, weather etc. These guys don’t necessarily fish around one another as a rule, and I would not make a bet that the locations of each on the Lexus graphic are to be believed.

During the east coast airing Discovery Channel was touting the live chat with greenhorn captain Greg Moncrief…Greg is an accomplished skipper and not new to Bering Sea crabbing. While it’s pretty apparent that Raghnild is aboard because the cameras are, she is no stranger to the sea. Comparing and contrasting the shopping/buying style between the boys of the TB and Raghnild was funny, but to insinuate she would not know what to buy to feed her men was foolish. Any of you happen to catch the different clothing she had on in one supposed day? Flipped back and forth in one conversation, but we have seen that one before.

I get a kick out of Dirty Jobs and enjoy Mike Rowe. He has a great voice and does a decent job of narrating the series. But man, the script that they have him reading. It’s pretty obvious that was lined out in Hollywood without any reliable input whatsoever.

As many are aware, sponsorship and logos are plastered all over the screen. To some it is distracting and furthers the theory that this show has gone totally Hollywood, others don’t notice it or seem to care. To me, the most telling part of how these hacks feel about the people involved, was the very end of last nights episode. Instead of Alltell being splatted in the middle of your screen, it should have read:

In Memory of the Fishermen and families of the F/V Ocean Challenger.

Stay tuned

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Crossing the Bar

Crossing the Bar

Alfred, Lord Tennyson

Sunset and evening star,
And one clear call for me!
And may there be no moaning of the bar,
When I put out to sea,
But such a tide as moving seems asleep,
Too full for sound and foam,
When that which drew from out the boundless deep
Turns again home.

Twilight and evening bell,
And after that the dark!
And may there be no sadness of farewell,
When I embark;
For tho' from out our bourne of Time and Place
The flood may bear me far,
I hope to see my Pilot face to face
When I have crost the bar.

The Things You Need (For Someone Considering Crab Fishing In the Bering Sea)

Hello Fishies!

I had forgotten about this great piece that was in the Anchorage Press several years ago, written by well known Fisher Poet Toby Sullivan. Look for his work.

This Alaskan Life
The Things You Need
by Toby Sullivan

March 28 - April 3, 2002 / Vol. 11, Ed. 13

The Things You Need

(For Someone Considering Crab Fishing In the Bering Sea)

Toby Sullivan

You need Xtra Tuffs boots – two pairs for when the ankles get holes from being folded down to dry. Two sets of orange Grunden’s raingear, jacket and pants. Dutch Harbor brand gear is OK too, they even have pockets now. But the hoods on the Helly Hansen jackets are too small for some guys, and the dark green color is invisible at night in the water if you go over. If anything happens.

The rest of this wonderful prose is something you should not miss and is available here:

Press: This Alaskan Life

Grunden’s: Grundens - Quality Foulweather Gear

Stay tuned!

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PS to Toby: I didn't get down to the gathering and have been trying to find you!

Shame on you DC

Hello Fishies!

Discovery Channel and Original Productions win my personal Hall of Shame award for the second year in a row. I can only imagine the heartache felt by the families of those aboard the F/V Ocean Challenger watching the rescue and recovery of their loved ones when they had not been told about it. Cowboy Hasselquist’s daughter-in-law posted this on the DC Forums:

It came as a shock to my husband Rooney and I as we were watching the opening season of the Deadliest Catch last night when we heard a mayday distress call from the Ocean Challenger, fishing vessel.

My father in law David "Cowboy" Hasselquist (captain) was the voice we heard. We broke into tears and spent the remainder of the show in shock as we watced them rescue the only survivor of the capsized vessel.

The person they pulled out of the water was 28 year old Kevin aka Slim, he was the only surviovor of four. One body was sadly never recovered.

My father in law was a wonderful man loved by many. My mother in law told us that he just bought me, my husband and my son Tyler all Deadliest Catch T-Shirts before his last trip out, because he knew we watched the show, we never received those shirts as they went down w/the boat.

The accident happend on Alaska Day, October 18, 2006.

And in another post:

Slim is what they call him. He was a mate of my father in laws who did not survive this horrific accident. It came as a shock to my husband and I as we were not aware that the mayday call was going to be a part of the opening season of the Deadliest Catch. The next episode will be very hard for us to watch as they recover the body of my husbands father David "Cowboy" Hasselquist. All other crew members did not survive and one body was sadly never recovered.

I find this lack of respect for the families absolutely appalling. Someone should have met with them and told them exactly what to expect in both this and the next episode. You see Fishies; you will be shown more of the rescue and the recovery of the men on Tuesday night. This may include the retrieval of those who did not survive.

Immediately upon being hoisted into the helicopter survivors are interviewed by the Coast Guard. The reason for this is because of a phenomenon called “after drop”. After drop occurs when a victim of hypothermia’s internal temperature continues to plummet even though he/she has been removed from the cold and wrapped in warming blankets. This sends them into shock, and can lead to a heart attack from the cold temperature of their blood.

DC has this interview on film and I understand they will be showing some of it to you. Part of me is glad that the general public will have a better understanding of the who-what-when-where-how of these situations. The other is genuinely bent about capitalizing on a heartbreaking occurrence. The sinking of the F/V Ocean Challenger during the filming of the king crab was of course purely coincidental. I have been told that the camera crews were station with the Coast Guard at Cold Bay “just in case something happened,” and sadly it did.

I want to remind you that the Challenger was operating south of the Aleutian Island chain while the crabbers were working north of it. The crabbers aiding in the rescue/recovery was not even an option, it would something akin to a State Trooper from Iowa driving to Florida to help at the scene of a traffic accident.

It is apparent to those of us with knowledge of how commercial fishing in the lower 48 and Alaska works, this show is living down to its expectations within the industry. As one fisherman said to me “It’s not about crabbing, it’s about ratings.”

Stay tuned.

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High Seas Soap Opera

Greetings Fishies!

I had to watch the premier of Deadliest Catch Season Three a couple of times just to be sure of what I was seeing. The editing of this episode fascinates me and if Sig Hansen and Larry Hendricks are consulting on this they should be ashamed.

There is something that needs to be re-stated here and that is this: you are seeing eight boats out of 81 total that fished in the 2006 king crab season. That’s a touch under 10% of the boats. If any of you believe that these boats are the real high-liners of the fleet you would be very sadly mistaken. The numbers head north dramatically when opilio season rolls around with some boats delivering in excess of a million pounds.

Right now I am wondering what on earth possessed any of these men to allow those cameras on the boats. I know, for you who are not familiar with the industry and those involved you are getting a look at what they do; it’s an education of sorts I guess. And it gives me a whole host of topics for blogs along with the idiotic stuff on forums and message boards.

Stay tuned!

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EPIRB Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacon

Greetings Fishies!

Prior to the development of the EPIRB when a vessel sank the skipper would give his LORAN or latitude and longitude coordinates, if he could. Very often during the hellish events of a vessel in distress it is subjected to flooding which can short out the electrical systems and/or kill the engines and generators and prevent a mayday call being issued.

Recalling the tragedy of the F/V Big Valley you may remember that no distress call was made. Had it not been for the EPIRB activation, no one would have known her location.

While some of the following is a bit dated, Wikipedia has some information about them:

Emergency Position-Indicating Radio Beacons (EPIRBs), Emergency Locator Transmitters (ELTs) and Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs) are tracking transmitters that operate as part of the Cospas-Sarsat satellite system. When activated, the beacons send out a distress signal that allows the beacon to be located by the satellite system and search and rescue aircraft to locate the people, boats and aircraft needing rescue.

EPIRBs are used for maritime emergencies, where ELTs are used in aircraft applications and PLBs are used for personal use.

The basic purpose of the emergency beacons is to get people rescued within the "golden day" when the majority of survivors can still be saved.

Between 1982 and 2002, these systems enabled the rescue of 14,700 people. As of 2002, there are roughly 82,000 registered beacons, and over 500,000 of the older unregistered type.

Most beacons are brightly-colored, waterproof, fit in a cube about 30 cm on a side, and weigh 2-5 kg. They can be purchased from marine suppliers, aircraft refitters, and (in Australia and the United States) hiking supply stores. The units have a useful life of 10 years, operate across a range of conditions (-40°C to 40°C), and transmit for 24 to 48 hours. As of 2003 the cost varies from US$139 to US$3000, with varying performances (see below). Although modern systems are significantly superior to older ones, even the oldest systems provide an immense improvement in safety, compared to not having a beacon.

Types

There are two types: manually activated, and automatically activated.

In the U.S., offshore beacons are investigated and victims rescued by the Coast Guard. On-shore beacons are investigated by local search and rescue services in Alaska. The Air Force Rescue Coordination Center is charged with land-based emergency signals, usually dispatching volunteer members from The United States Air Force Auxiliary Civil Air Patrol. In the U.S. there are no published notification systems for other locations.

In the U.S. no special license is required, but serial-number registration is required. In some jurisdictions, larger boats and ships are required to carry an ELT.

Current types

Current EPIRBs are generally divided into three classes; Category I, Category II, and Class B (or Category B).

Category I EPIRBs are considered the best but are also the most costly. Category I EPIRBs can be either deployed manually or set to deploy automatically in the event of a disaster at sea. These EPIRBs are generally housed in a specially designed bracket on deck and the buoyant beacon is designed to rise to the surface and emit two signals, an emergency homing signal on 121.5 MHz and a digital identification code on 406 MHz that can be used to identify the stricken vessel. Category I EPIRBs used in American waters must be registered with NOAA.

Category II EPIRBs are similar to Category I EPIRBs but are generally manual deployment only. Also like Category I EPIRBs, Category II units must be registered. Category II EPIRBs are also generally less costly averaging less than US$1,000.

Class B EPIRBs, also called Category B or "Mini B", operate a 121.5 MHz homing signal only and are usually manual deployment only units. They are the cheapest units but also the least capable. Since the signal has no identification component, Class B EPIRBs are not registered. Due to their limitations, Class B EPIRBs are slowly being phased out. The International Cospas-Sarsat program will no longer monitor Category B EPIRB signals as of February 1, 2009. Although the U.S. Coast Guard no longer recommends them, they remain in wide use.

What is meant by Manual and Automatic Deployment and Activation?: For an EPIRB to begin transmitting a signal (or "activate") it first needs to come out of its bracket (or "deploy"). EPIRBs can be activated manually - when a button on the unit is pushed, or automatically - when water comes into contact with the unit's "sea-switch". Deployment can happen either manually - where someone has to physically take it out of its bracket - or automatically - where water pressure will cause a Hydrostatic Release Unit to release the EPIRB from its bracket. If it does not come out of the bracket it will not activate. There is a magnet in the bracket which operates a reed safety switch in the EPIRB. This is to prevent accidental activation when the unit gets wet from rain or shipped seas. The Category I - type is recommended by IMO because a float-free bracket will deploy automatically once the vessel sinks and the EPIRB will then be activated automatically by immersion in water. All modern EPIRBS provide both methods of activation. Depending on the circumstances, they are capable of being activated either manually (crewman flicks a switch) or automatically (the "sea-switch" is activated when the unit is immersed in water).

Registration

Modern emergency beacons transmit a serial number. When the beacon is purchased this number should be registered with the relevant national authority. Registration provides the national authority with phone numbers to call, and a description of the signaling vessel, including its home port. The registration can give much of the information needed for starting the rescue. Also, they provide an easy way for the notification services to check and eliminate false alarms quickly.

How they work

All the systems work something like this: A beacon is activated by a crash, a sinking, or manually by survivors. The beacon's transmission is picked up by one or more satellites. The satellite transmits the beacon's signal to its ground control station. The satellite's ground station processes the signals and forwards the data, including approximate location, to a national authority. The national authority forwards the data to a rescuing authority. The rescuing authority uses its own receiving equipment to locate the beacon and makes the rescue or recovery. Once the satellite data is in, it takes less than a minute to forward the data to any signatory nation.

GPS-based, registered

The most modern 406 MHz beacons with GPS (US$ 1200-$3000 in 2002) locate a beacon with a precision of 100 meters, anywhere in the world, and send a serial number so the government authority can look up phone numbers to notify next-of-kin in four minutes, with rescue commencing shortly afterward. The GPS system permits stationary, wide-view geosynchronous communications satellites to enhance the doppler position received by low Earth orbit satellites. EPIRB beacons with built-in GPS are usually called GPIRBs, for GPS Position-Indicating Radio Beacon or Global Position-Indicating Radio Beacon.

High-precision registered

An intermediate technology 406 MHz beacon (US$ 500-900) has world-wide coverage, locates within 2 km. (12.5 km² search area), notifies kin and rescuers in 2 hours maximum (46 min avg.), and has a serial number to look up phone numbers, etc. This can take up to two hours because it has to use moving weather satellites to locate the beacon. To help locate the beacon, the beacon's frequency is controlled to 2 parts per billion, and its power is a hefty five watts.

Both of the above types of beacons usually include an auxiliary 25 milliwatt beacon at 121.5 MHz to guide rescue aircraft.

There have been instances where the EPIRB was accidently acitvated leading the Coast Guard on a frustrated chase. This usually happens when the EPIRB is knocked off of its bracket. However, some people forget to deactive the EPIRB when it is retired. The satellites have tracked them in the back of garbage trucks, floating in fish ponds, in the mooring basin etc.

Stay tuned!

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Survival Suits

Hello Fishies!

During last nights premier of Deadliest Catch you were able to see a small part of the safety drills and equipment that are aboard vessels. With the footage of the search, rescue and recovery of the F/V Ocean Challenger you saw how that equipment is deployed.

As is obvious from the show, the bright “safety” orange color has better contrast than any other, it draws the eye. All of the equipment is that color – life rings, rafts, survival suits and smoke flares.

Prior to the development of the first immersion suit by the Bayley Company, if you went into cold water and were not rescued immediately, that was the end for you. One of the starkest examples of the success of the suit happened back in the early 1980’s when a fisherman, (whose name escapes me now) survived 36 hours after the sinking of his boat off the coast of Washington State.

Bayley has a good piece about the history of their suit at its company website:

BayleySuit - Custom Tailored Drysuits

There are several different types of suit available today. On commercial fishing vessels you will find either the Bayley or Stearns survival suits. These are the industry standard and referred to as the “Gumby suit” due to the shape the wearer takes. (I haven’t heard of any plans for a Pokey suit for boat pets.)

Safety drills are absolutely necessary; they familiarize you with the equipment and try to get you to ready to react appropriately in an emergency situation. The harsh reality of it all is that you rarely have a calm deck to roll out the suit and put it on at your leisure. More often than not the crew is awakened to a nightmare that has already progressed to the breaking point. Many a man has gone into the water clutching his suit in a desperate attempt to put it on.

Wikipedia has some good information about the suits:

Survival suit, or more specifically an immersion survival suit, is a special type of waterproof dry suit that protects the wearer from hypothermia from immersion in cold water, after abandoning a sinking or capsized vessel, especially in the open ocean. A survival suit's flotation and thermal protection is usually better than an immersion protection work suit, and typically extends a person's survival by several hours while waiting for rescue.

Usage

Unlike work suits, survival suits are not normally worn, and are stowed in an accessible location onboard the craft. The operator may be required* to have one survival suit of the appropriate size onboard for each crew member, and other passengers. If a survival suit is not accessible from a crew member's work station and berth, then two accessible suits must be provided.

An adult survival suit is often a large bulky one-size-fits-all design meant to fit a wide range of sizes. It typically has large oversize booties and gloves built into the suit, which let the user quickly don it on while fully clothed, and without having to remove shoes. It typically has a waterproof zipper up the front, and a face flap to seal water out around the neck and protect the wearer from ocean spray.

The integral gloves may be a thin waterproof non-insulated type to give the user greater dexterity during donning and evacuation, with a second insulating outer glove tethered to the sleeves to be worn while immersed.

A ship's captain (or master) may be required hold drills periodically to ensure that everyone can get to the survival suit storage quickly, and don the suit in the allotted amount of time. In the event of an emergency, it should be possible to put on a survival suit and abandon ship in about one minute.

Suit construction

Survival suits are normally constructed out of red or bright fluorescent orange or yellow fire-retardant neoprene, for high visibility on the open sea. The Neoprene material used is a synthetic rubber closed-cell foam, containing a multitude of tiny air bubbles making the suit sufficiently buoyant to also be a personal flotation device.

The seams of the neoprene suit are sewn and taped to seal out the cold ocean water, and the suit also has strips of SOLAS specified retroreflective tape on the arms, legs, and head to permit the wearer to be located at night from a rescue aircraft or ship.

Safety features

Survival suits can also be equipped with extra safety options such as:

A whistle on a lanyard to permit the wearer to signal for help

An emergency strobe light beacon with a water-activated battery

An inflatable air bladder to lift the wearer's head up out of the water

Tethered mittens to better insulate the hands

An emergency radio locator beacon

A "Buddy line" to attach to others' suits to keep the group together for rescue

Inflatable Survival Suits

The inflatable survival suit is a special type of survival suit, recently developed, which is similar in construction to an inflatable boat, but shaped to wrap around the arms and legs of the wearer. This type of suit is much more compact than a neoprene survival suit, and very easy to put on when deflated since it is just welded from plastic sheeting to form an air bladder.

Once the inflatable survival suit has been put on and zipped shut, the wearer activates firing handles on compressed carbon dioxide cartridges, which punctures the cartridges and rapidly inflates the suit. This results in a highly buoyant, rigid shape that also offers very high thermal retention properties.

However, like an inflatable boat, the inflatable survival suit loses all protection properties if it is punctured and the gas leaks out. For this reason, the suit may consist of two or more bladders, so that if one fails, a backup air bladder is available.

* they ARE required. Some fishing vessels provide them and others will require you to purchase and maintain your own.

Stay Tuned!

Sea Fever

Sea Fever

by John Masefield

I must go down to the sea again, to the lonely sea and the sky,
And all I ask is a tall ship and a star to steer her by;
And the wheel's kick and the wind's song and the white sail's shaking,
And a grey mist on the sea's face, and a grey dawn breaking.

I must go down to the seas again, for the call of the running tide
Is a wild call and a clear call that may not be denied;
All I ask is a windy day with the white clouds flying,
And the flung spray and the blown spume, and the seagulls crying.

I must go down to the seas again, to the vagrant gypsy life,
To the gull's way and the whale's way, where the wind's like a whetted knife;
And all I ask is a merry yarn from a laughing fellow-rover,
And a quiet sleep and a sweet dream when the long trip's over.

Stay tuned.

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Deadliest Catch Fish Wrap

Hello Fishies!

Here is an interesting marketing tidbit – perhaps you have even seen one.

….in December, the California Milk Processor Board ran afoul of scent-sensitive commuters when it asked that adhesive strips smelling like chocolate chip cookies be affixed to five bus shelters in San Francisco.

Gripes about the aroma from the ads, part of the “Got milk?” campaign, led the local Municipal Transportation Authority to order CBS Outdoor, which maintains the bus shelters, to remove the scent strips.

Such troubles may lead some consumers to conclude that ads in general are good only for wrapping fish. For them, help has arrived.

To promote the series “Deadliest Catch,” which will begin its third season tomorrow night, the Discovery Channel cable network is providing branded wrappers to 12 fish markets in Boston, San Francisco and Seattle.

The estimated 185,000 feet of wrapping paper, enough for more than 100,000 seafood orders, tells shoppers they can now watch “fresh episodes” of the series, which follows crab fisherman in the Bering Sea.

The promotion, which began last week, is to continue through April “or until we run out of paper,” said Julie Gordon Willis, senior vice president for marketing at Discovery Channel in Silver Spring, Md., part of Discovery Communications.

The promotion was developed by PHD, a media agency owned by the Omnicom Group, and produced by Metropolis Media, part of Ubiquitous Media in New York.

Hmm. Perhaps the two promotions can be paired, encouraging those who read newspapers online to buy the printed versions because fish cannot be wrapped in computers.

Stay tuned!

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