Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
July 2007

Russell Sandstrom
Fish and Game’s musical visionary boat officer

By Amy Carroll

“Hello Nome!”

Antonio Diaz' voice rang out from the stage. The house was packed and the Latin band Salsa Borealis was about to start their performance as the guest artist at the seventh annual Nome Folk Festival.

The solstice-week event was a big deal for Nome, and for the Juneau-based band as well. Nome had booked them solid for their entire four-day stay. “We realized the impact we had at the first afternoon workshop for kids,” said guitarist Russell Sandstrom. “The whole room ...   Musical Boat Officer ArticleContinued

Giant North Pacific Octopus

By Riley Woodford and Kim Donohue

Charismatic mollusk are not words that are generally used together, but that's exactly how researcher James Browning describes the giant north Pacific octopus. Biologists are exploring the potential for a commercial fishery for these fascinating, short-lived and abundant creatures.

The giant north Pacific octopus (Enteroctopus dofleini) is the largest species of octopus in the world. The animals grow to 70 or 100 pounds in their three-to-five year life span. It's unusual to find an animal ...   Giant Octopus ArticleContinued

eBird
New Tool for Alaska Birders

By Riley Woodford

Alaska bird lovers have a powerful new tool called eBird.

The interactive website benefits backyard birders and biologists, said Rich Capitan, an education specialist with Audubon Alaska. A real-time online monitoring tool that allows citizens and scientists to look at trends, abundance, distribution and seasonal activity of birds, eBird also helps birders of all skill levels compile and better understand their own observations.

“You can do as much as you want with eBird,” Capitan ...   eBird ArticleContinued

Northern Pike
An Unwelcome Invader

By Kristine Dunker

If you talk to anglers in Southcentral Alaska, you will inevitably hear stories about lakes that used to provide good fishing for rainbows and salmon – that is until northern pike were introduced. This is the problem with northern pike in Southcentral. They destroy fisheries.

The northern pike is actually native to most of the state, but it does not naturally occur south of the Alaska Range except for a small population near Yakutat. Pike are top-level predators in aquatic food chains, ...   Northern Pike ArticleContinued

Editorial
Sharing Halibut

By Doug Vincent-Lang

Alaskans and visitors to our state value halibut fishing, whether it's done for commercial, sport, or subsistence purposes. Halibut fishing is also an important element of Alaska's economy, contributing to significantly to economies of Alaska's numerous coastal communities.

Fortunately, unlike many other highly sought after fish, there are no significant conservation concerns with halibut. However, they are fully allocated and, because they are highly sought after, their allocation ...   Halibut Editorial ArticleContinued

Halibut Fajitas

By Therese Jones and Kevin McDougall

A delicious one-pan recipe that can be prepared in the galley of a fishing boat or a well-equipped kitchen. There are a couple tricks to success: don't over stir, and remove the onions when cooking the halibut. Read on.




One pound halibut
One onion
One bell pepper
½ cup soy sauce
½ cup ketchup
Garlic
Olive oil

Marinade the halibut. Cube the halibut, about one pound for four people. Marinade in ½ cup soy sauce, ½ cup ketchup, 3 tablespoons crushed ...   Halibut Fajitas ArticleContinued