Sorted by date Results 1 - 25 of 1012
August 5 – A caller reported shooing a black bear out of the city shop area at the end of S 2nd St. and towards Hammer Slough. Corey Wilson was arrested for 2nd degree felony misconduct involving a controlled substance and on three counts of 2nd degree felony misconduct involving weapons. An officer provided a highly intoxicated individual a courtesy transport to Excel St. An intoxicated individual at Bushmann Park made a report that was determined to be unfounded. A vehicle parked on the Birch St. sidewalk was moved at the direction of an o...
Pink salmon - the backbone of Petersburg's seine fleet - have finally started to show up last over the past week, after what state biologists were comparing to the poorest early returns on the books. "Pink salmon's been, up until this last week - in particular Sunday - pretty poor so far," Troy Thynes, the Southeast Alaska management coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, told the Pilot. He described strong escapement and harvest in District 13 near Sitka, and a dramatic jump in...
June 25, 1926 – Although it was declared impossible to dredge inside the docks, we are going to have deep water in front of the two big docks. This means that the large boats may stop here in any tide, as well as come through the Narrows when the dredging is finished. It will mean a boost for Petersburg as it makes the town easy to access for any sized boat. Petersburg has always had the reputation of having the best harbor for small craft in Alaska. Sheltered from the winds, it is an ideal stopping place for fishing boats. The only trouble has...
Mitkof Island, like much of Alaska, is home to black and brown bears. Living in bear country, securing trash is a vital management procedure in the fall. This was seen last year, when, due to bears entering town and going through trash cans, several were killed by local law enforcement. Petersburg has time now to prepare for the fall season. Wildlife Biologist at Fish and Game Frank Robbins stresses that keeping trash secured is the most important thing for residents to manage the bears coming to town this year. “The solution is not p...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, is opening the entirety of Blind Slough to king salmon retention and increasing harvest opportunity. The following regulations will be in effect for the Blind Slough/Wrangell Narrows Terminal Harvest Area from 12:01 a.m. Saturday, July 18, through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, August 15, 2026: Resident Anglers: 3 king salmon per day, 3 in possession, any size, no annual limit; Nonresident Anglers: 2 king salmon per day, 2 in possession, any size, no annual limit; the area upstream of a...
July 9, 2026— King Salmon: King salmon fishing in the Wrangell Narrows/Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area (THA) has gone quite well. If you have not given it a try, you should get out there as the king season is winding down. While we are past the peak fishing time, there are still bright kings moving into the system. The area open to king salmon retention outside of the THA has also seen decent catches. If looking to target wild king salmon, an angler in the Wrangell could fish Steamer Pt, Earnest Sound, or Bradfield Canal. If starting from P...
Invasive European Green Crabs first showed up in Alaska on July 19, 2022, and have been slowly but surely advancing north, with Etolin Island just south of Wrangell being their northernmost sighting. Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program Agent Sunny Rice and her Community Engaged Fellowship intern Bergen Kludt-Painter checked traps kept on Mitkof Island on July 2, 2026 to see if any European Green Crabs had arrived. To their relief, there were no Green Crab in the traps at Woodpecker Cove....
HAINES — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game last week increased the king salmon take allowed for non-resident anglers this summer, in response, department officials say, to lower-than-expected harvest. Previously, non-residents across Southeast had been permitted to keep one king salmon from July 1 onward. With the new regulations, non-residents will be permitted two, with king salmon caught before July 1 counted toward that limit. The new regulations make no changes to other user groups; resident anglers may keep two king salmon per day w...
King Salmon King salmon fishing in the Wrangell Narrows/Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area (THA) is going well, with many anglers reporting early catches. We have creel technicians both on the docks and out at Blind Slough. A few minutes of your time may be asked for to record your catch and effort. If you caught a fish, it may be sampled by one of our technicians. This information helps support healthy and sustainable fisheries. Harvest should increase over the next few weeks throughout the THA, usually peaking around the third week in June....
An Arizona hunter was cited last month for unlawfully taking a brown bear on Kupreanof Island after mistaking it for a black bear, the second such mistaken-identity case involving a non-resident hunter in the area in roughly a year, according to Petersburg-based Alaska Wildlife Trooper Sgt. Cody Litster. William DeGrave, 38, of Vail, Arizona, was cited May 19 for taking a brown bear in Game Management Unit 3 without the proper tag, registration permit or guide while hunting black bear at Duncan...
May 29, 1926 – No organized campaign has been started but nevertheless Petersburg is enjoying a “clean-up” and “paint up” period. Springtime with fine, sunshiny days has brought the painters out in flocks. Boats, houses and other buildings are all beginning to tone up. Some of the buildings downtown which have been feeling the painter’s brush are the Salvation Army hall, M.A. Missick’s tailor shop and the superintendent’s residence of the Petersburg Packing Company. A marked improvement on the latter is especially noticeable on account of the...
King Salmon: King salmon fishing began on May 15 in the Wrangell Narrows/Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area (THA), where Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon are returning. We will have a creel technician on the docks starting this weekend, asking anglers about their catch and taking biological samples. I have heard of king salmon being caught in the saltwater portion of the THA. I have not heard of a king salmon being caught in the freshwater portion (Blind Slough), where we have a creel technician this summer, but I have heard the trout...
Sport fishing on a popular slough south of Petersburg is open to all anglers this summer. Recreational anglers can harvest hatchery-produced king salmon in the Wrangell Narrows-Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area from May 15 to Aug. 15. The area includes a stretch of the Wrangell Narrows saltwater and the Blind Slough freshwater that the salmon travel through when instinctually returning to the Crystal Lake Hatchery upstream. Resident anglers can harvest up to two king salmon a day of any size.... Full story
The federal government has rejected a request to list three populations of Gulf of Alaska king salmon as endangered, according to a public notice scheduled for publication on Thursday. The listing was requested in 2024 by a Washington state conservation group amid long-term declines in king salmon numbers in Alaska. If the listing had been approved, it could have resulted in new limits on development in Alaska as well as major restrictions on commercial, sport and personal-use fishing in the state. State officials opposed the listing, and in a... Full story
The Petersburg Public Library and the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program are offering two youth programs this summer, backed by a new grant that will help cover the cost of both — part of a broader menu of learning and outdoor opportunities available to Petersburg kids in the coming months. The library’s annual reading program is returning in a new form this summer, rebranded as the Great Summer Challenge and running from June 5 through July 19. Program Coordinator Kari Petersen said the six-week initiative is open to children ages zer...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, announced the sport fishing regulations for Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon in the areas near Petersburg and Wrangell. Anita Bay Terminal Harvest Area, described as the waters of Anita Bay south and west of a line from Anita Point to 56° 14.26' N. lat., 132° 23.92' W. long. The following regulations will be in effect Monday, June 1, through Sunday, June 14, 2026: Residents: Bag and possession limit of two king salmon greater than 28 inches in length; Nonresident: Bag and p...
18 – There are no issues in the archive until May 19, 1926. Thank you for your patience. April 27, 1951 – In November we may berate the weather. In January we may say, “I’ve had enough of this damn country.” In January more than one man came home to announce, “Yep, I’ve given up fishing.” But as May 1 rolls round Alaska is a thrilling and a good place to be. The fleet’s going out and most of those men who quit fishing are going down the dock with a bedroll on their shoulder, ready to take their chances with their brother fishermen. Here’s...
Sport anglers in Southeast Alaska can fish more Chinook (king) salmon this year than last year, with a daily bag limit of two fish for residents. Any wild king salmon harvested by sport anglers must be at least 28 inches in length. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game this week announced updated sport fishing regulations for the region that went into effect April 1. Jeff Rice, a state biologist for the Petersburg/Wrangell area, said the updated regulations in place for the fishery are "more...
The 2026 regionwide harvest limits for Chinook salmon announced Tuesday by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game represent a rebound from the rock bottom limits set in 2025. This year, all fishermen in Southeast Alaska can catch a total 205,300 treaty Chinook salmon – fish that didn’t originate in Alaska hatcheries – the department said in the announcement. State fishery managers use their harvest target for treaty Chinook to set catch limits for treaty Chinook in the sport and commercial fisheries. This year's harvest target for South...
The numbers are in for Southeast Alaska’s 2025-26 commercial Dungeness crab season. Participants harvested 2.07 million pounds of crab during the summer and fall/winter fisheries combined. With the estimated overall price averaging $4.17 a pound, the full season amounts to a total value of $8.64 million. Joe Stratman is a regional shellfish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which manages the fishery. He said the full harvest came in lower than what the fishery has seen over the past five years or so. “I think you could say... Full story
The Petersburg Rod and Gun Club has outlined a slate of range improvements and community events for 2026, with some construction already underway and several projects in the pipeline. Reid Brothers Construction is slated to replace the rifle range boardwalk with gravel extending to the 100-yard line and establish truck access to the rifle field. The project, funded through a state capital projects appropriation, is expected to take place this year, though the timeline will depend on Reid Brothers’ schedule, according to Rod and Gun Club c...
I’ve spent years working alongside fishermen in coastal communities throughout the Tongass National Forest — and one thing has never changed: the people who depend on this forest for their livelihoods are the ones who understand it the best. That’s why I’m urging every Petersburg resident to submit comments on the Tongass National Forest Land Management Plan Revision before the deadline Friday night. The Forest Service has opened a 30-day public comment period on its notice of intent to revise the Tongass Land and Resource Management Plan in...
(Petersburg) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, announced this week the sport fishing regulations for Wrangell Narrows/Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area, described as all waters from 56° 46’N. lat. and north and east of the northern tip of Woewodski Island at 56° 36’ N. lat., 132° 59’W. long to a line upstream of Crystal Creek. The following regulations will be in effect Friday, May 15 through Saturday, August 15, 2026: Resident anglers: 2 king salmon per day, 2 in possession, any size. Nonresident anglers:...
The Alaska Board of Game has approved a change expanding where archers can hunt on Petersburg's Mitkof Island. The change opens bow hunting in an area that has been closed to harvesting big game, except for wolves, since 1962. It eliminates a closed area south of town around the Petersburg road system, which served as a quarter-mile corridor for decades, and adds it to a larger management area. The Board approved the change with a 4–3 vote at a late January meeting in Wrangell. Board Member J... Full story
During his 20 years as a member of the Alaska Board of Fisheries, Petersburg commercial fisherman John Jensen relied on a lifetime of experience harvesting salmon, crab and other shellfish as he voted on statewide fishery regulations. But he couldn’t always weigh in with his wisdom, and a Kodiak legislator is looking to change that this year. When the Board of Fisheries held its 2018 Southeast regulatory meeting in Sitka, Jensen had to sit on the sidelines for about a third of the meeting. He couldn’t participate in the board's deliberations on...
