FISHERMEN! UPDATE YOUR NAVIGATIONAL SOFTWARE TO INCLUDE THE NEW AKORN CABLE POSITIONS.
Alaska Communications Systems Group, Inc. (ACS) has completed work on the Alaska Oregon Network (AKORN) cable project. This new submarine cable starts at Anchorage, Alaska and lands at Florence, Oregon. Installation of the AKORN cable went well with only one known cable exposure (~86 yds. long at ~727 fms. deep). The coordinates of this exposure are as follows:

43 45.838N 124 58.542W @ ~727 fms. (East End)
43 45.852N 124 58.598W @ ~727 fms. (West End)

As a result of this project and other recent cable inspections, Oregon Fishermen's Cable Committee has updated its navigational software programs. Included in the Version 6.5 update are the coordinates of the AKORN Cable and the one known cable exposure on AKORN described above. In addition, this version includes the coordinates of the other cables and all known exposures. Please ensure that you have this update loaded on your vessel's plotter. The OFCC currently has updates available for Nobeltec Visual Navigation Suite and ECC-GLOBE. Maptech Offshore Navigator and P-Sea WindPlot updates will be made available shortly.

$170,000 MARINE DEBRIS CLEANUP PROJECT TO COLLECT DERELICT FISHING GEAR FROM OREGON'S OCEAN
The Oregon Fishermen's Cable Committee (OFCC) recently initiated a marine debris cleanup project aimed at removing lost crab pots and trawl nets from Oregon's ocean waters. The project is a partnership between the OFCC, the Oregon Dungeness Crab and Salmon Commissions, the Oregon Dept. of Fish and Wildlife, and the Oregon State Police, Oregon's commercial fishing and crabbing industries, Tyco Telecommunications, and Oregon Sea Grant. It is being supported by a $50,000 grant from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, a significant corporate donation from Tyco Telecommunications as well as donated services from the other partners, for a total project budget of $170,000.

The derelict crab pot removal phase of the project was completed in September and October 2006. The project successfully recovered derelict crab pots from a site on the Northern Oregon Coast and a site on Southern Oregon coast. This project resulted in approximately 1200 acres being swept and cleaned of marine debris.
The second phase of the project focused on grappling for and removing sacrificed trawl gear from the seafloor. The fishing gear was required to be abandoned to protect telecommunications cables. After inspection of the sites determined that the fishing gear was not hooked on the cable, the nets were slated for removal. Over the course of three days at sea the F/V Seeker successfully recovered three sets of complete gear as well as one partial set of gear.

Both phases of this project not only improve the quality of the ocean seafloor and its habitat but also return valuable fishing grounds to productive use. Collection of this gear minimizes potential gear hangs by reducing the number of seafloor obstructions.

Benefits of OFCC Membership

Current OFCC Committee Members
The committee is made up of representatives from the fishing industry, cable company executives, and a telecommunication specialist.

List of Participating Vessels
Here is the list of trawl vessels that have signed up for membership in the OFCC.

Port Meetings Planned For Westport & Bellingham, WA.
The OFCC will hold port meetings in Westport, WA on Thursday, February 27, 2003 and in Bellingham on Friday, February 28th. These meetings will be held in conjunction with Fishermen’s Marketing Association (FMA) meetings held on the same day. The FMA meetings begin at 10:00 a.m. and the OFCC meetings will begin at noon. All trawl vessel owners and captains are welcome to attend both meetings. Information about the new Tyco cables installed off Oregon will be provided as well as floppy disks with all OFCC cable routes in the format of popular navigation software programs such as Nobeltec©, Maptech©, and P-Sea Windplot©. Lunch will be provided and a door prize given away both days.

GCI and OFCC Sign Agreement
General Communication Inc. (GCI) signed an agreement with the Oregon Fishermen’s Cable Committee on January 17, 2003. The agreement covers a proposed new cable to be known as Alaska United West. The cable will land on Clatsop beach near the town of Warrenton, OR. and in Seward, AK. The cable will be buried through the fishing grounds off Oregon. The agreement is almost identical to the one signed by Tyco Telecommunications for the Tyco Global Network Pacific cable system which has three Oregon landings in Tillamook County, OR. GCI is the largest telecommunications provider in Alaska. The company provides local, wireless, and long distance telephone service, cable television, Internet and data communication. More information about the company can be found at www.gci.com.

Tyco Completes New Cable System
With the successful installation of Tyco Global Network (TGN) Pacific Ring Segment 6 cable off the Oregon coast in August of 2002, the TGN network is now complete. The cable system has three landings in Oregon. Two of the cables carry telecommunications traffic to Japan; one connects to the Los Angeles area of California. The cables are among the highest capacity cables in the world with the ability, when fully equipped, to convey over 5 terabits of data per second on each cable. Tyco installed their own cable and achieved 100% burial in the fishing grounds on Seg. 6. Fisherman Jim Seavers, who was aboard the installation vessel, had high praise for the installation: “Tyco went out of their way to make sure the survey was done well enough to insure we would have a route that would insure good burial, and that is what they accomplished”.