Al Burch, Kodiak fisheries pioneer, crosses the bar

Here's an obituary.

Ed Dersham crosses the bar

Here's an obituary posted on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council website.

Robert Otto crosses the bar

Robert Otto, 76, of Kodiak, died over the holidays, according to an obituary in the local newspaper.

Best known as a crab scientist, Otto formerly was director of the Kodiak Laboratory, part of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

Here's an article marking his retirement in 2005.

Terry Johnson crosses the bar

Here's an obituary.

Bill Hogarth, former head of NMFS, crosses the bar

Here's an obituary.

Ed Luttrell crosses the bar

We received word this week of the passing of Ed Luttrell.

He was the owner of Kinematics Marine Equipment, whose hydraulic deck gear can be found on many Alaska commercial fishing vessels.

Luttrell had quite a career in fisheries, as detailed in this obituary.

Purse seiner Davis Barrett crosses the bar

Here's the obituary.

Dr. White crosses the bar

Here's an online obituary for John White, a Bethel dentist who served on the Alaska Board of Fisheries from 1995 to 2002.

Dick Eliason crosses the bar

KCAW radio in Sitka recounts Eliason's legacy, including his opposition to fish farms.

Lloyd Cannon crosses the bar

Here's news of the death of Lloyd Cannon, founder of All Alaskan Seafoods.

Search and rescue: the Ben Symmes account

It's not every day, thank goodness, that you see an obituary for someone "lost at sea."

That's what I found earlier this week in the Anchorage Daily News.

The obit was for Benjamin Robert Symmes.

Remember him?

He was the 31-year-old crewman who fell off a salmon boat July 31 in Bristol Bay near Togiak.

Symmes grew up in Idaho and Alaska, and graduated from high school in Whitefish, Mont., the obit says.

"From the time he was in high school, Ben spent most summers working as a deckhand on his father's fishing vessel in Bristol Bay," it says.

The obit expresses gratitude toward his would-be rescuers, and includes some really positive news you can use:

"The family offers its profound thanks to the U.S. Coast Guard, the Alaska State Troopers and especially the fishermen, local volunteers and all those who donated time and resources during the search and rescue efforts.

"The Ben Symmes donation account has been established to support search and rescue efforts for commercial fishermen in Alaska. Contributions in Ben's honor may be made to the account at any Wells Fargo bank."