Izetta Chambers, an Extension Agent with the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program in Dillingham, has published a guide to safely composting fish waste, without attracting the attention of local authorities. Major considerations are the attraction of nuisance bears and control of offensive odors.
In closing hours of the Bush Administration, new National Security and Homeland Security Presidential Directives were issued that address arctic region policy for the United States. A key statement found in the documents reinforces the notion that the United States is an Arctic nation.
The Alaska Clean Harbors Certification Program offers guidance to harbormasters and marina managers on how to operate their mooring facilities in an eco-friendly way.
On December 23, 2009, Crowley Maritime Corporation’s tugboat Pathfinder was serving as an ice scout vessel in Prince William Sound. At about 6:18 pm that evening, the 136-foot vessel ran aground on Bligh Reef, the same reef on which the Exxon Valdez grounded twenty years earlier. The Coast Guard’s official report on the Pathfinder incident, released in May of this year, lists a number of factors that contributed to the event. At the root of these factors lies a story of inattention and complacency on the part of the tug’s master and crew, resulting in their failure to follow standard procedures, poor communication between them, and a loss of situational awareness.
With the seasonal transit of the Northwest Passage becoming a reality, an increase in Arctic shipping traffic is inevitable. The energy, shipping and cruise industry all see opportunities for their operations in the Arctic Ocean.
Research Geologist Bruce Molnia of the United States Geological Survey (USGS) has authored a comprehensive report on the condition of glaciers in Alaska that bears an obvious title The Glaciers of Alaska . Glaciers are ubiquitous features of the Alaskan landscape and contribute to our mental image of the Great Land. A disturbing conclusion for [...]
Boaters can look forward to having valuable oceanographic data available to them from multiple sources, in real-time on a single website. It is called AOOS. Mariners like commercial fishermen and recreational boaters need to sift through a great deal of data from many different sites to track the weather environment, visual conditions, and wave states [...]
Boats can and do discharge a variety of substances into the marine environment. Among these discharges are effluent from engine operations, liquid graywater wastes generated by laundry, galley and shower use, and washdown water from cleaning decks, bilges and fish holds.
