Petersburg Pilot -

More Alaskans are taking to the fishing life, as indicated by upward ticks in harvesting jobs for three years running. That’s according to the November Alaska Economic Trends by the state Labor Department, which provides a look at the numbers of “boots on deck” by region and fishery.

A first: economists Jack Cannon and Josh Warren also looked at how much time is put into fishing pre- and post-season prep work and clean up, and what jobs fishermen do during the off times.

Some highlights: Each month last year, on average 8,189 fishermen plied the waters of the Gulf of Alaska and Berin...