A selfie with Alba Olzabal and Jose Manuel Valesco posted to Facebook. (Courtesy of Alba Olazabal) Kayla Desroches/KMXT A man was found dead in Kodiak earlier this month, floating in the water downtown. Jose Manuel Velasco has been a member of the community for more than 20 years. He’d fallen on hard times, but those who knew him remember him …

Sockeye salmon schooling in Hidden Lake. (Photo by USFWS/Katrina Mueller) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The west side and south end of Kodiak Island opened to commercial sockeye salmon fishing Monday, but it looks like there might be less variety of certain fish ages. Alaska Department of Fish and Game Salmon biologist James Jackson says sockeye may spend a year to three years …

Members of the Bayside fire station stand next to Bayside’s two new vehicles. (Photo by Kayla Desroches / KMXT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Bayside Volunteer Fire Department exhibited its new equipment at the Kodiak Island Borough Assembly regular meeting Thursday. The department parked its two new vehicles, a fire engine and a tender, outside the borough building to show assembly members …

Alaska Aerospace Corporation launch facility on Narrow Cape. (Photo courtesy of Alaska Aerospace Corporation) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Alaska Aerospace Corporation has scheduled a launch for next month at its Kodiak facility. President and CEO Craig Campbell says a commercial company will conduct the launch sometime between July 14 and 20. He says the site will be closed for certain hours …

Capt. Mark Morin (left) transfers command to Capt. Bryan Dailey (right) during a change of command ceremony at Coast Guard Air Station Kodiak. (Photo by Petty Officer 1st Class Charly Hengen / Coast Guard) Kayla Desroches/KMXT A new commanding officer took over at Air Station Kodiak today. According to Coast Guard public affairs, Capt. Mark Morin has been in the …

A photo taken on board the Tustumena. and shared with DOT officials. (Photo courtesy of Alaska DOT) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Passengers on the ferry Tustumena saw the vessel collide with a whale Wednesday morning. That’s according to Julie Speegle, a spokesperson for NOAA Fisheries Alaska region. NOAA received a report of the incident from the Alaska Marine Highway System. The ferry …

On this week’s Alaska Fisheries Report, the China tariffs on Alaska seafood is definitely bad news for the industry, though there appears to be a bright spot for reprocessed fish. Some good news, after a long wait, federal disaster relief for the 2016 pink salmon season is finally allocated. Also, Sitka salmon fishermen voice concerns about the Pacific Salmon Treaty. …

Pink salmon in Valdez. (Photo by Kimberly Holzer / Flickr) Kayla Desroches/KMXT Yesterday, the state learned how much of $200 million in federal funds will go to recovery from the 2016 pink salmon season disaster in the Gulf of Alaska. Barbara Blake, senior adviser with Governor Bill Walker’s office, says Alaska received a little over $56 million. “We’re really happy. …

Flag of the Philippines. (Photo via Pexel) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The Kodiak City Council has declared this month Filipino American Heritage Month. Kodiak boasts a sizeable Filipino population, as does the state. Mary Guilas-Hawver is the board chair of the Filipino American Association of Kodiak. She says the Fil-Am Association has been around for many years, but participation dropped off until …

A pair of spawning salmon. (Photo by Katrina Mueller / USFWS) Kayla Desroches/KMXT The sockeye salmon run remains sluggish. According to James Jackson, salmon biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Kodiak’s sockeye run is the slowest it’s been for the last 40 years. He writes that it ranks as the 6th worst harvest since 1970. But Jackson …