Heads up to longline and pot vessel owners: the electronic monitoring (EM) pool enrollment is open through November 1. Opting in allows you to skip carrying human observers and fish in more than one regulatory area per trip. Onboard cameras are installed on your vessel at no additional cost to you. Saltwater Inc. is recruiting new vessels for their EM pool. More info here.

NMFS is looking at updating the guidelines for MSA National Standards 4, 8, and 9, which cover bycatch, communities, and allocations. The State of Alaska and the NPFMC oppose any revisions to the guidelines, brushing over the issue of bycatch entirely. That's fine, everything's good, nothing to see here. (NMFS is taking public comments through September 12 if you'd like to chime in.)

NMFS' Alaska Salmon Research Task Force will meet in Anchorage November 14-15 to provide updates on their work. The meeting will be open to the public and offer a virtual option.

This week's Alaska Fisheries Report: The NTSB issues its report on the sinking of the F/V Challenger, and a story about a forty year old salmon hatchery in Kodiak.

Cordova's harbor reconstruction project has been delayed until next month in order to facilitate moving shuffling vessels between harbors, and is now slated to being October 6. 

In Southeast, stray hatchery salmon are competing with wild salmon for oxygen in rivers and streams, causing massive die-offs in the worst of cases, and slowing wild salmon down on their spawning journeys upriver. 

The City of Homer is holding a public meeting on the harbor expansion project. Five alternatives have been selected and the public is invited to come learn more and share ideas on September 23. If you have thoughts to share, SHOW UP!

The State of Alaska has filed a motion against the federal government to reject a lawsuit brought by the feds over state management of Kuskokwim River fisheries. The feds and the state have been battling for control over the river for years.

The PWS Regional Citizens' Advisory Council will hold their annual Board Meeting in Homer September 21-22, and host a public reception the evening of the 21st. More here.

The September 15 tax deadline is coming up. Individuals and calendar-year corporations paying 2023 estimated taxes will owe their third installment, and S corps and partnerships who filed extensions will need to file 2022 tax returns. Be sure to check in with your accountant to make sure you don't have any outstanding "to-do" items (because I'm most certainly not an accountant!).

As a reminder, the State of Alaska Division of Investments will be in Homer September 21-22 to help with new loan applications, loan extension applications, and answer any questions you have about financing, purchasing, etc. More info here.