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Hatchery managers had hoped that June's steady rainfall would spare them from having to intervene in this year's king salmon run, allowing fish to reach Crystal Lake Hatchery naturally without the stress of human handling. Those hopes evaporated in late July when a few hot days right at the wrong time caused a significant mortality event for king salmon transiting the shallow waters between Blind River Rapids and Crystal Lake Hatchery. On July 20, after observing a hundred or more king salmon...
August 7, 1925 – There was a time when trollers in Alaskan waters lived on a crust of bread and enjoyed few luxuries and far between, but now ‘all the comforts of home’ are available for the fleet, even unto a fresh milk diet. For instance the Dairy and Grocery of Petersburg ships some 90 gallons of fresh milk on every mail boat to Port Alexander. Whether trollers do better on a ‘milk diet’ than they formerly did on ‘sourdough goulash’ or whatever they could rake together quickly on a gasboat for a meal, is something for the scientists to...
We Deserve More Than Shrugs To the Editor: I’m writing because my patience has completely run out. For months, my garbage cans have been pillaged by bears while the troopers and Fish and Game do absolutely nothing – unless you count shrugging, handing out useless advice as ‘action’ and threats of fines. Frankly, I’m tired of watching my street turn into a dumpster buffet for wildlife while the powers that be don’t lift a finger. It’s bad enough that I have to spend my mornings cleaning up after oversized, uninvited guests. Worse, our kids have...
In a new administrative action, Gov. Mike Dunleavy is ordering “efficiency reviews” of state agencies and asking departments to use artificial intelligence software as part of an effort to identify budget cuts. The reviews will take place annually, according to Dunleavy’s new administrative order, published Monday, and would become part of the state’s annual budget process. The reviews will initially focus on “grants to non-State of Alaska entities” and “accounts payable,” according to a copy of the text available online. The reviews are int... Full story
The opportunity is growing for home builders in Petersburg to use locally milled Tongass timber in their new building projects. The sawmill on Falls Creek Road - Alaska Timber and Truss, owned in partnership by Brett Martin and Mike Duman - is offering complete home and cabin kits using locally harvested timber. The operation produces solid wall and timber frame cabin kits and larger stick-built home packages. "The cabin kits are kind of more of a traditional size ... generally speaking, under...
King salmon fishing is back on for nonresident sport anglers in Southeast Alaska, effective Monday, Aug. 4, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced. Chinook retention has been closed since July 7 for nonresidents fishing in Southeast. Fish and Game said at the beginning of July that it would be putting an indefinite pause on out-of-state residents’ harvest because the sport sector was on track to exceed the regionwide sport harvest target for Chinook. The July 7 closure was geared at providing uninterrupted harvest opportunity f...
A group of volunteers searched the south end of Mitkof Island for European green crab on July 18, looking for any sign that the highly invasive species had reached central Southeast Alaska after other sightings southward. After a couple hours of scouring a rocky beach near Woodpecker Cove for crab carapaces (molted shells), there was a close call with a live green crab that the group captured. Sunny Rice, an agent of marine conservation group Alaska Sea Grant, hurried over to inspect it. After...
Nonresident anglers fishing in state and federal waters can’t retain any Chinook salmon that they catch in Southeast Alaska between July 7 and when the season ends Sept. 30, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Monday. The department projects that the sport sector, including both residents and nonresidents, would exceed this year’s sport harvest target by about 5,000 Chinook if no action were taken to curb the nonresident catch, ADF&G Sitka area management biologist Troy Tydingco said in a phone call with the Sentinel on Tue...
Middle school students will have the chance to test water samples under microscopes, hike creek beds with a hydrologist, and learn forest management techniques from a U.S. Forest Service forester through a new science education program launching this summer. The Petersburg Public Library has partnered with Alaska Sea Grant to offer “Wonder Camp,” a series of five separate day-long programs designed to introduce students entering sixth, seventh, or eighth grade to real-world science careers in...
King Salmon: The Blind Slough/Wrangell Narrows Terminal Hatchery Fishery has been ongoing since May 15th with catches improving each day and peaking in a couple weeks. The majority of marine waters in the Petersburg / Wrangell area are open to king salmon retention by June 15. The exception to that are waters adjacent to the Stikine River which will not open until July 15. King salmon regulations have changed since last year. We have a separate set of regulations for the Blind Slough / Wrangell Narrows Terminal Harvest Area, Anita Bay, Gunnuk...
After a poor showing last year, Alaska’s statewide commercial salmon harvest appears poised for a rebound, according to projections by state biologists. This year’s total salmon harvest is expected to be more than twice as big as last year’s total, thanks primarily to stronger returns of pink salmon, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s annual statewide run forecast and commercial harvest projection. The report was released this week. The department’s projected 2025 total harvest is 214.6 million fish, above the 2000-2023... Full story
Markus Anderson What subjects or classes did you enjoy the most, and which ones challenged you the most? I enjoyed math, choir, shop, mactech. I think math was the most challenging but I really enjoyed my teacher. What advice would you give to incoming freshmen? I would say to keep a open mind and try new things. Also procrastinating is one of the worst habits to develope. Play some sports, stay active. Please describe a specific moment or event from high school that stands out as a highlight for you? One moment for me would be going to state...
May 15, 1925 – With its shrimp, clam and crab plants, Petersburg is the center of the shell fish industry in Alaska. Last Saturday an additional payroll was added by the Star Shell Fish Company starting to put up crab meat in the old Ness Shrimp plant on the Union trading dock. The cannery is divided into three rooms – the dooking department, the cleaning room and the picking room. The plant has been made comfortable and modern sanitary methods are used. The incorporators for the new industry are Ben Grondahl, Chris Christensen, Hans Wick and...
April 24, 1925 – A number of property owners along the Scow Bay Road desire annexation to the city. This shows they are progressive and want to share in the benefits and also assume their share of the burden towards a greater Petersburg. It is the old story all over again – when a city is progressive and goes ahead, people can afford to pay taxes. Everything they own and possess increases proportionally in value. A residence or a piece of property without taxable value is of little benefit to the owner or anyone else. Petersburg is going ste...
Southeast Alaska's golden king crab fishery reached an all-time high value of $5 million in 2025, marking an impressive recovery for a fishery that was struggling just a few years ago. The East Central management area, which includes waters around Petersburg, led the record-breaking season with a harvest value of $2.97 million, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game data. The unprecedented value comes despite lower harvest volumes than last year. Fishermen landed 177,060 pounds from...
April 17, 1925 – Can the halibut industry be stabilized? Can boat owners and fishermen reach an agreement among themselves for the conservation of this important industry and in order that they may get their just proportion of the proceeds? Is the present duty of two cents per pound more harmful than good to the industry as a whole? Will it hurt the American fishermen if the Port of Prince Rupert is closed? These are some of the questions those engaged in the industry are now pondering. The Herald welcomes comment on this subject, one of the mo...
On April 15 the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish, announced the sport fishing regulations for Alaska hatchery-produced king salmon in 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 Sunday, June 1 through Saturday, June 14, 2025: Bag and possession limit (all anglers) of one king salmon greater than 28 inches in length; Nonre...
Southeast Alaska fishermen discovered Tuesday that harvest limits for Chinook salmon in 2025 will be almost 40 percent less than last year’s. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an overall allocation of 130,800 treaty Chinook salmon — fish that didn’t originate in Alaska hatcheries — for all gear groups targeting Chinook in waters off Southeast Alaska and Yakutat in 2025. In recent years, Southeast Alaska’s all-gear allocation has ranged between a high of 355,600 treaty kings in 2016 down to 130,000 in 2018, Fish and Game reco...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is announcing the 2025 sport fishing regulations for king salmon in marine waters of Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. These regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, April 3, 2025, through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, April 30, 2026. The regulations are: Alaska Resident The resident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; From October 1 through March 31, a resident sport fish angler may use two rods when fishing for king...
SITKA — Seiners scooped up sets of maturing herring on Saturday and Sunday as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game opened this year’s commercial sac roe herring fishery in waters off the east shore of Kruzof Island from Shoals Point north to Mountain Point, and extending east to 135 degrees 32 minutes west longitude. Fishing efforts shifted north today. At 9:45 a.m., ADF&G announced that the fishery would open at 10:15 a.m. in Hayward Strait and the southern portion of Krestof Sound. The Sitka Sound guideline harvest limit is 36,720 tons of...
Coffman Cove commercial fisherman Dugan Paul Daniels, 55, was sentenced on Monday to six months in prison for illegally “taking” an endangered sperm whale and falsifying fishing records in 2020. The term “take” legally means to harass, harm, pursue, hunt, shoot, wound, kill, trap, capture or collect, or to attempt to engage in any such conduct. According to research done by the prosecution in preparation for Daniels’ case, this appears to be the first Endangered Species Act charge to result from a sperm whale take in the United States. The Nati...
WRANGELL — Jacob Vibbert, of Cheney, Washington, has been charged with illegally killing a mountain lion on the south end of Wrangell Island. According to the state’s report, Vibbert shot the mountain lion on June 3, 2024. There is no mountain lion hunting season in Alaska. The offense, a misdemeanor, can be punishable by up to one year in jail and a fine of up to $25,000. Vibbert was charged in January; his arraignment was scheduled for March 4 at the Wrangell courthouse. The kill was reported by Charles Davis, who was hunting and sport fishin...
The Alaska Board of Fisheries has approved significant changes to the Wrangell Narrows-Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area Salmon Management Plan, creating new king salmon sportfishing opportunities for resident anglers while working to protect crucial hatchery broodstock. Last year’s controversial closure of freshwater fishing for king salmon in Blind Slough prompted a community driven effort to change the area’s salmon management plan. Proposal 159, developed by the Petersburg Fish and Game Advisory Committee with input from community mem...
Red king crab commercial permit holders in Southeast Alaska will have a better chance of fishing in the coming seasons. The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a change in management regulations proposed by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) that allows for a conservative commercial fishery when crab stocks aren’t enough for a typical competitive opening. Red king crab is a low-volume, high-value fishery. The crab can bring in over $100 each. But commercial openings have been few and far between — just one in over a decade. Sev...
February 20, 1925 – Already several canines “have bitten the dust”while running the beaches looking for deer, and others are likely to come to an untimely end. Game Warden Pilcher says the US Biological survey at Juneau has wired instructions to kill dogs whenever and wherever found along the beaches. The game warden is authorized to put up notices to this effect, but from what he has seen he believes that the regular officers assisted by residents will be able to look after the situation. Dog owners are warned to not let their pets stray...
