Wednesday, August 4, 2021

Alaska COVID Cases Continue to Surge in Alaska, Fishing Communities Battle Virus Differently SeafoodNews.com by Peggy Parker - August 3, 2021 Alaska’s three-day case count over the weekend was 751 cases, all driven by the highly infectious delta variant. Last week, according to statewide health officials, the average daily new cases count was over 200. The state decided yesterday to resume daily (Monday-Friday) updates of all dashboards on the data hub. The state has been in a red alert for a few weeks, prompting some fishing communities to tighten rules againt the spread of the virus. Sitka’s daily cases peaked July 21 with 39 cases that day, more than at any time during the pandemic. It has dropped since then, with 20 cases on July 31, and an average of about 14 per day. Last week the Sitka City and Borough Assembly voted to mandate masking again in public meetings or communal spaces. The Assembly also agreed to designate quarantine locations for travelers who test positive and provide funds to support residents who must miss work to quarantine. In Cordova, where pink salmon season is at its height, only seven new COVID cases were reported over the weekend. The City of Cordova has decided to stop reporting COVID-19 vaccination numbers, cumulative case counts, death and hospitalization counts, as well as other statistics for a variety of reasons, reported the Cordova Times last week. Fifty-three percent of people in the Valdez-Cordova Census Area have received at least one dose of novel coronavirus vaccine, according to DHSS data. Sixty-three percent of people age 12 and over in the census area have received at least one dose of vaccine. Kodiak has reported 27 new cases since 7/27, with 11 of those on July 31. Only two are attributed to travelers, the rest caused by community spread as in the rest of the state. Statewide, vaccinations are slowly rising. As of yesterday, 57.8% of Alaskans age 12 and older have received at least their first vaccine dose and 52.4% of Alaskans 12 and older have been fully vaccinated. The safest communities, those with the highest vaccination rate, are Juneau with 74.3%, Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta area, and Southeast Alaska, all with over 61% vaccinated. The most at risk area is the Matanuska-Susitna Region with only 36.7% of 12 and older residents vaccinated, the Kenai Peninsula Region at 44.5%, Fairbanks North Star Borough at 46.4%, other Interior regions at 53.5%, Anchorage at 54.3% and the Northwest Region at 56.6%. Of the 751 new cases, 283 were in Anchorage, 40 in Kenai, 34 in Soldotna, 27 in Sitka, 21 in Juneau, 19 in Kodiak, 11 in Prince Of Wales-Hyder Census Area, 9 in Craig, 8 in Ketchikan and 8 in Kotzebue, 7 in Cordova and less than 6 in over a dozen areas around the state. Hospital administrators told the Anchorage Daily News last week that the recent hospitalized patients are on average younger and sicker than those seen previously, and that the vast majority of hospitalizations are of people who are unvaccinated. Dr. Mark Peterson, who is the medical director for Nome’s Norton Sound Health Corporation told residents, “If you’re not vaccinated, this news should be alarming to you,” he said. “The Delta variant is 200 times more catchy than the original strain, so those who are not vaccinated should call the clinic and go in and get vaccinated.” “I have certainly suggested that the City take a look at [the mandatory testing] because we see this surge of cases before school starts back up,” he said in a Nome Nugget interview last week. “It wouldn’t be a bad idea if we are seeing an uptick in cases. We’re just taking it a week at a time right now.” The first day of school in Nome begins August 25 this year. https://www.seafoodnews.com/Story/1204852/COVID-Cases-Continue-to-Surge-in-Alaska-Fishing-Communities-Battle-Virus-Differently West Coast Bellingham has wanted to restore this salmon habitat for a decade. It’s finally happening Bellingham Herald by Ysabelle Kempe - August 2, 2021 The water in the inlet is calm, but underneath its surface thrives a diverse collection of Pacific Northwest wildlife. A great blue heron perches by tall grasses, whose tips swing softly in the ocean breeze. In the waters below, steelhead trout and juvenile Chinook salmon weave among the plants. A pedestrian bridge arches over a narrow portion of the body of water, allowing passersby the opportunity to get a glimpse of this bustling habitat. Above the tranquil scene sits the elevated tracks of the BNSF railway, which cuts through Bellingham. https://www.bellinghamherald.com/news/local/article252911333.html National NOAA Fisheries: Celebrating 150 Years of Service We’re celebrating 150 years of scientific research, resource management, and the protection and conservation of marine life. NOAA Fisheries - June 28, 2021 First U.S. Fish Commissioner Spencer Baird (on shore, at right) and colleagues seining in Little Harbor, Woods Hole, circa 1875. Credit: NOAA Fisheries/NEFSC Historical Collection. https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/video/noaa-fisheries-celebrating-150-years-service FYI’s A lifetime of subsistence fishing tells a story of community and culture KDLG by Stephanie Maltarich - August 2, 2021 Each summer, Alaskans take to the rivers, bays and oceans to subsistence fish. Some head out to set nets, others may use dip nets, but the end goal is the same: to stock up on enough fresh fish to last the winter. KDLG’s Stephanie Maltarich spent a day with one woman who has fished on a river near her home in Aleknagik since she was a child. https://www.kdlg.org/post/lifetime-subsistence-fishing-tells-story-community-and-culture#stream/0 Pacific Seafood Processors Association 1900 W Emerson Place Suite 205, Seattle, WA 98119 Phone: 206.281.1667 E-mail: admin@pspafish.net; Website: www.pspafish.net Our office days/hours are Monday-Friday 8:00 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, any copyrighted work in this message is distributed under fair use without profit or payment to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving this information for non-profit research and educational purposes only. *Inclusion of a news article, report, or other document in this email does not imply PSPA support or endorsement of the information or opinion expressed in the document.