Daily Sitka Sentinel from Sitka, Alaska • Page 7

Page Daily Sitka Sentinel, Sitka, Alaska, Wednesday, November 5.198C Alaska White Fish Fetching High Price ANCHORAGE (AP) Prices for Alaska pollock and cod are soaring as U.S. and international markets compete for fillets, nuggets and surimi- based seafood products made from the white fish. Processors are getting paid up to $1.45 a pound for top-quality fillets of pollock, nearly double the price of a year ago. Surimi, the pollock paste used to simulate crab and other seafoods, now commands prices of up to $1.50 a pound. A year ago, surimi prices ranged from 70 cents to $1.50 a pound, depending on quality.

Cod prices also have jumped. Top- grade fillets now fetch more than $2 a pound, nearly 50 percent higher than six months ago, according to Jim Branson, executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council. The higher prices haven't always meant bigger paychecks for the North Pacific fishermen, most of whom are locked into seasonal contracts that were negotiated before the latest price rise. But U.S. factory trawlers, which catch and process fish, have profited from some of the gains, Branson said.

reason for the rising prices is a cyclical decline in Atlantic cod and o'ther white fish that have been a mainstay of European and U.S. markets. "There's a worldwide shortage of cod, from Canada to Norway to Iceland," said Mike Girton, a vice presdient of Clouston Foods, an international seafood marketing company that sells pollock and cod. Also, U.S. demand for fish has risen as many people begin to reduce their consumption of red meat in favor of seafood.

Last year, per-capita consumption of fish products in the United States edged up from 13.7 to 14.5 pounds, which translates into an extra 199 million pounds of fish overall. Much of that has been pollock nuggets, cod fillets and other white fish products that have been promoted heavily by North Pacific processors. A few years ago, North Pacific pollock was viewed by most U.S. distributors as a low-grade seafood fit only for soggy fish sticks. But lately, processors have developed new freezing techniques to improve quality.

"Factory trawlers seem to have created a market that they are now having real trouble filling," Branson said. Girton said his company is sold out of pollock. "We sold about a million pounds in a month. And every other pollock producer that we know of is sold out of the product until they get new deliveries." Number of Miners in Circle District Drops Pulp Mill Fined Over Asbestos KETCHIKAN (AP) Ketchikan Pulp Co. has been fined $6,000 by the state for violating regulations controlling exposure of employees to cancer-causing asbestos fibers.

A citation issued last month by the Department of Labor's occupational safety and health division cited the company for improper storage and disposal of asbestos-containing materials. The materials were found throughout the pulp mill during a two- day inspection in July, the citation said. Friable, or crumbling, asbestos was stored where it could disperse easily into the air, the citation said. The fine resulted from a complaint lodged by an unidentified source, said Raymond Jorgenson, the state's chief industrial hygienist. The agency recommends that the pulp mill develop a comprehensive asbestos abatement plan, use better- placed signs to warn employees of asbestos removal work, and improve locker and shower facilities to decrease the chance of workers carrying contaminants home with them.

Four employees assigned to asbestos removal were fired last June after they asked for better working conditions. They were eventually rehired. Each employee filed discrimination complaints after they were refused unemployment insurance benefits. The results of those complaints have not been announced publicly, but hearings have taken place before a three- member review board. Mill officials had no comment on the fine.

Jorgenson said they have until Nov. 7 if they wish to appeal the penalty. Libertarians Lose ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) The Libertarian Party, which believes less government is best, got out of the governing business Tuesday when state Rep. Andre Marrou of Homer lost his re-election bid to a Democrat. Marrou is believed to be the only Libertarian in the nation holding statewide office.

A three-way race gave Marrou 36 percent of the vote, Democrat C.E. Swackhammer 42 percent, and Republican Marilyn Dimmick 21 percent, with 19 of 20 precincts reporting from the Kenai Peninsula's Districts. Marrou, a real estate broker, was elected to the House in 1984. Always ready to debate, he introduced 61 bills and resolutions in his first session, far more than any other legislator. Most of the measures would have eliminated statutes already on the books.

Only one passed the House. Repeated calls Tuesday and Wednesday to Marrou's home and real estate business went unanswered. His defeat is a reflection of the Libertarian Party's general deterioration in Alaska. The party's heyday was in 1980, when voters returned the state party's charismatic leader, Dick Randolph, to another two- year term in the state House. Also elected was a second Libertarian representative, Ken Fanning of Fairbanks.

Two years later, Randolph drew 15 percent of the governor's race, assuring the Libertarians official party status in Alaska. This year, Randolph defected to the Republican party, mounting a gubernatorial campaign that was cut short in the Aug. 26 primary. The Libertarian party's run for governor this year was marked by confusion and infighting. Mary Q'Brannon won the Libertarian nomination with 179 votes in the Aug.

26 primary election. Libertarian Ed Hoch received 162. But O'Brannon had left Alaska months earlier and did not campaign for the nomination. Party leaders sought to replace O'Brannon with Hoch on the ballot. When that request was refused by the state Division of Elections, they started a write-in campaign.

Neither candidate made much of an impact Tuesday. O'Brannon collected 665 votes, about 0.5 percent of the total. Hoch attracted 97 votes. Man Loses Arm ANCHORAGE (AP)--AnAnchorage man was reported in serious but stable condition Tuesday after having his right arm severed in an accident at a downtown construction site. Jim remained conscious while paramedics transported him to Humana Hospital, where his arm was amputated just below the shoulder.

It could not be reattached because the nerves and blood vessels were crushed beyond repair. "It wasn't like anything I'd felt before," he said from his hospital bed. "It was excruciating pain." Crane had just replaced the safety brakes on an elevator and was crawling out of the shaft Monday when the pound counterweight smashed down on his arm. "I screamed. I could see my arm.

I climbed up a couple of feet and got out. I didn't have time to be scared," Crane said. "Sooner or later things happen, and this was one those instances," he said. "I'm still alive." Mining Chief Quits Early ANCHORAGE (AP) The director of the Division of Mining and Geology has retired a month earlier than planned, but he denies it's because he refused to go along with an order blocking new mining claims along the Hatcher Pass Road. Pedro Denton planned to retire Dec.

1, but stepped down Monday after the order issued by the Department of Natural Resources. Jim Barnett, deputy DNR commissioner, signed the order. Denton said he moved up his retirement because work on the transition to a new administration had been completed. In his dissent to the Hatcher Pass order Denton wrote "The Hatcher Pass area is one of the better documented mineral areas in the state. No conflict with mineral development has been identified that cannot be managed thu (sic) mineral leases.

"I also do not agree that the proposed use is a higher use than mining and am very disappointed that we (the mining division) were not consulted prior to overturning the consensus that was reached at the staff level." Barnett said the ban, effective Dec. was in response to recreationists who have complained that mining operations in the area are unsightly. The area has been mined for gold for nearly a century. The order allows skiing, hiking and snowmachining along the noad corridor. It is part of a management plan that has been under development for the area for several years.

Barnett disagreed that the staff consensus was to keep the area open to mining. -FAIRBANKS (AP) -The number of placer mines operating in the Circle Mining District has dropped by 74 percent in the past three years, and the trend is expected to continue. the lawsuits, the water quality regulations and the lack of support we've been getting from the current (state) administration," said Bruce Geraghty, director of the Miners Advocacy Council. "Those three factors have been mostly responsible for deciding whether to mine or not to mine." In 1984,94 operations were licensed to mine gold by placer methods in the Circle district, which covers much of the area between Fairbanks and the That total fell by nearly half in each of rthe next.two mining Surveys miners in recent weeks indicate ttie' number is expected to decline by half again. That would leave only 11 mining operations in the field during the summer of 1987.

Placer mining requires large volumes of water to separate the heavier gold from lighter rock and dirt, a process that has been used in the area since the turn of the century. In 1972, Congress passed the Clean Water Act, which contained provisions establishing water quality standards for various industries using stream or Accused Gunman Pleads Innocent ANCHORAGE (AP) A man -accused of setting off a smoke bomb in The Anchorage Times and then shooting up its executive offices has pleaded innocent in Anchorage Superior Court. Donald L. Ramsey, a 41-year-old taxi driver, was charged with arson, attempted first-degree assault, third- degree assault and reckless endangerment after a gunman charged into the newspaper, bolted its doors and set off a smoke bomb and firecrackers. The smoke bomb set off a fire.

gunman then fired several shots in; the Times' executive offices before he was subdued. After Ramsey's plea Monday, Judge Victor Carlson set a trial date of Jan. 191 He assigned the case to Judge William Fuld. Ramsey has been jailed since his Oct. 21 arrest in lieu of $500,000 cash-only bail.

Seward to Get New Postmaster SEWARD (AP) Deane Nelson becomes the new postmaster at Seward on Friday. She assumes the job left vacant in early June with the retirement of Dolores Ferguson. Mrs. Nelson is the former postmaster at Barrow, where she served for eight years, first as a window clerk and then as acting postmaster. Gail Sampson becomes the acting postmaster in Barrow, Officials said.

Fundraiser Set Planned Parenthood has scheduled a hair "cut-a-thon" fundraiser 10 a.m.- 3:30 p.m. Sunday at the Silver Shears, located in the Triune Building. No appointment is necessary, and customers will be taken on a first- come, first-served basis. The cost is $10 and clean hair is requested. For further information, call 747-3883.

river water. Federal officials and environmentalists say the regulations are necessary to protect the environment, but miners say the standards are unrealistic and unreasonable. To date, more than 20 Alaska miners have been charged by the state and federal governments with water quality violations. They face fines of up to $10,000 per day if convicted. Based on results from field tests in the summer of 1985, 24 other miners were required to come into compliance or face prosecution.

Environmental Protection Agency officials say that because of a lack of resources, they have gone after only flagrant violators of the law. Technology is currently being developed through state and federal grants to help give miners the best available means to meet water quality standards, but, with several exceptions, every placer miner in the state is in violation of the regulations. Substantial reform is needed in the regulatory process to eliminate duplication, Geraghty said. He cited the requirement for at least six permits -or as many as 81 depending on the individual circumstances of a mining operation. Water quality standards also must be relaxed, he said.

Another problem, according to Geraghty, is the amount of land held in federal ownership where mining is prohibited or restricted, and lack of access to other areas. "We've got to have more consideration in land plans," he said. "The areas of land closed to mineral entry, at this point, are far and away greater than the lands that have mineral ac- 30 Afognak Elk Killed In Fall Off of a Cliff KODIAK (AP) A mistake by an elk herd's frightened leader may have sent 40 animals tumbling to their death over a cliff on Afognak Island, biologists say. "It was gruesome," said Larry VanDaele, one of two state game biologists assigned the task of sorting out the tangled mass of dead elk at the bottom of a cliff. VanDaele and Roger Smith flew last week from Kodiak to the island, where a group of hunters traveling by skiff first spotted the dead animals on Oct.

24. The elk carcasses were on a beach at the bottom of a rock slide near Steep Cape on the western side of Afognak, which lies northwest of Kodiak Island in the Gulf of Alaska. Smith said it appeared the animals were traveling on a trail near the top of the cliff when the leader made a mistake. "Elk travel in single file and there were many well-used trails along the edge," he said. "At one point, they went over and fell 200 to 300 feet, then slid down an avalanche chute to the beach.

I'm sure they all died instantly," he said. Game biologists in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the fall was extremely unusual. "Obviously something frightened the elk," Smith said. "Either hunters or possibly an aircraft crowded them out on the point. We have no witnesses, so all our evidence is circumstantial." The game department closed the area on southwestern Afognak Island to hunting soon after learning of the mass kill.

They estimated that about 30 animals in the area had already been harvested, bringing the total mortality to 70, the upper limit of the allowable harvest. Meeting Canceled The Al-Anon meeting scheduled for Friday is canceled, but will resume Nov. 14. Attention! Attention! Robert B. Johnstone Detachment Hosts the 211th Marine Corps.

Birthday Ball Monday, Nov. 10 American Legion Hall 7-8pm No-Host Cocktails 8pm Dinner Guest Speaker Capt Thomas Kean, USMC Entertainment by Taska All former Marines in the area call Ray Perkins at 747-8242 or 747-8629. Cherokee Bill's Located in the Potlatch Motel on Katlian Street Dinner prices reduced for winter! Tuesday-Sunday Lunch: llam-4pm; Dinner 5pm-10pm Lunch Special: $5" Dinner Special: 10 95 Friday Saturday Prime Rib 95 Closed Mondays Reservations 747-6030 Ethel Staton: What Is Your Plan? Independents for Shee Atika want to know: 1. What is the plan for Alice and Charcoal Islands? Independents for Shee Atika, Inc. advocate responsible development of Alice and Charcoal in conjunction with organizations like the Sitka Council on Alcoholism and Other Drug Abuse, Sitka Community Association, and the City and Borough of Sitka.

2. What is the plan for Admirality land exchange bill? Independents for Shee Atika, Inc. advocate responsible settlement of our long-standing difficulties with Angoon. This dispute can no longer continue. Peace with Angoori is financially, culturally, socially and politically Independents for Shee Atika, Inc.

appreciate the importance of a land base located in the Sitka area. 3. What is the plan for 1991? Independents for Shee Atika Inc. advocate working in conjunction with the Alaska Native Brotherhood, Alaska Native Sisterhood, Sitka Community Association, TH Community Council, Alaska Federation of Natives, and Alaska Native Coalition to revise the house bill (H.R. 4162) to make it more equitable to Shee Atika, Inc.

shareholders and the children frozen out of ANCSA benefits. For the first time in many years Shee Atika, Inc. shareholders have a choice of Independents. Independents for Shee Atika, Inc. would appreciate being the people's choice.

For proxies or proxy information, call 747-6907 or 747-6866. The Baranot Theatre Guild and Sheldon Jackson College present TKf PULITZER PRIZE MUSICAL PLAY Music by Lyrics by RICHARD RODGERS OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN Book by OSCAR HAMMERSTEIN JOSHUA LOGAN A a A A MICHENER'S Pulitzer i Winning "TALES OF THE SOUTH PACIFIC" Thursday, Friday, Saturday November 13,14,15 Centennial Building 8:15 P.M. Independents for Shee Atika, The best way to deal with the future is WITH A PLAN! This year you have a i clear-cut choice! Make your vote count -Vote for three: Gene M. Bartolaba Gary L. Eddy Raymond C.

Perkins Shirley Yocum Shee Atika, Inc. Board of Directors ELECTIONS ARE NOV. 8,1986. Proxy deadline is Nov. 6, 1986, Paid for by Gary Eddy and Gene Bartolaba.