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”A new lender is offering loans to young Alaska fishermen who want to buy into the halibut and sablefish fisheries, and repayment is based on their catches. The Local Fish Fund opened its doors this month to provide alternative loan structures to young fishermen as a way to help turn the tide on the trend called the “graying of the fleet.” The average age of an Alaska fisherman today is 50 and fewer recruits are choosing the fishing life. A big part of what’s turning them away is the cost to buy into fisheries that are limited through permits...
Ketchikan — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the following closures for eulachon smelt (Thaleichthys pacificus) for the 2019 season. These closures are in effect beginning 12:01 a.m., Monday, February 25, 2019: District 1: will be closed to commercial, personal use, and subsistence eulachon smelt fishing in all waters. This includes all Revillagigedo Island and mainland drainages. District 7: will be closed to commercial, personal use, and subsistence eulachon smelt fishing in all waters. District 8: will be closed to c...
Alaska’s new slogan is “open for business” but good luck trying to find out any budget details when it comes to the business of fishing. The Dunleavy administration has a full gag order in place at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and all budget questions, no matter how basic, are referred to press secretary Matt Shuckerow. Likewise, queries to the many deputies and assistants at the ADF&G commissioner’s office are deferred to Shuckerow who did not acknowledge messages for information. “It isn’t just the media or Alaskans. Legislators...
Mary Ann Phillips, 65 and a lifelong Wrangell resident, passed away February 5, 2019 in Zihuatanejo, Mexico while on vacation with her family. She was born on November 18, 1953 in Bishop Rowe Hospital to Maurice and Mary Buness. She attended Wrangell Public Schools until her family moved to the Tacoma area in 1964. She returned to Wrangell with them in January 1970 and made her home here since. After graduating from Wrangell High School, she attended the University of Alaska Fairbanks. She... Full story
Small electronic beacons that are being widely used by increasing numbers of fishermen could net them big fines. Automatic Identification Systems (AIS) are easily attached to nets, longlines and pots and signal the locations of the gear via a vessel’s navigation system, laptops, even cell phones. The inexpensive buoys, which range from $47 to $199 from most online retailers, are regarded as a God send by fishermen in the way they help locate gear as well as being a potential money saver. “If you’re not sitting on your gear with your vesse...
The Sitka black-tailed deer hunting season is now closed in Southeast Alaska. All hunters who obtained deer harvest tickets, even those who did not hunt or harvest a deer, must return completed hunt reports to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. If you haven’t submitted your hunt report, do so immediately. Hunt reports may be submitted by mail, in person at a Fish and Game office, or online at http://hunt.alaska.gov. For information or for assistance call the Petersburg office at 907-772-5228....
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announced this week that the District 8 commercial beam trawl shrimp fishery closed January 23, 2019. Effort levels and harvest data obtained from fish tickets and call in information indicate that the 94,000- pound guideline harvest level for the fourth fishing period in District 8 will be reached at the time of the closure. Shrimp tickets must be submitted to an ADF&G office within seven days of the closure. Fishermen are reminded that catcher-sellers intending to sell shrimp to persons...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the winners of the 2019 Excellence in Service Award earlier this month. Up to five members of advisory committees across the state are given this award each year. This year, David Rak was one of the five recipients for serving as secretary of the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee, according to the Department of Fish and Game, for "24 plus" years. "I haven't gone back in my records to see how much 'plus' there is," Rak said with a laugh....
WRANGELL - Moose meat was an important topic of discussion at the Wrangell Fish and Game Advisory Committee meeting on Mon., Jan. 7. The process by which meat from a forfeited moose is distributed through town is somewhat disorganized, said Committee Chair Chris Guggenbickler. The committee, and others around Wrangell, is interested in seeing a better system of distribution set up, one with more local control. As many Alaskans know, there are some tight restrictions on moose hunting. Alaska...
When most people think of Alaska crab, they envision huge boats pulling up “7 bys” for millions of pounds of bounty in the Bering Sea. (7 bys refers to the 7’x7’x3’ size of the crab pots.) But it is the smaller, local crab fisheries that each winter give a big economic boost to dozens of coastal communities across the Gulf of Alaska. They occur at a time when many fishing towns are feeling a lull while awaiting the March start of halibut and herring openers. The gearing up means a nice pulse of extra work and money for just about every bus...
Over the course of five days this past week, The Alaska Board of Game held five meetings where they heard public testimony and held deliberations for over 50 proposals for changes to hunting regulations in Southeast Alaska. The Alaska Board of Game, a division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, is a regulatory board that has an open public process where anyone can submit proposals to change hunting regulations. Once every three years, the board members, which are all appointed by the governor, vote on whether or not to adopt submitted...
The government shutdown has caused few problems so far in Alaska’s fisheries, but concern is growing as it enters a third week. The shutdown of nine out of 15 federal departments and agencies on Dec. 21 has furloughed about 800,000 workers nationwide, most with no pay, including fishery oversight and research jobs. In many cases, that means there’s no one to issue fishing permits, licenses or other documents and services required before setting out. “I have not heard of any problems, but that’s not to say that there aren’t any,” said Forres...
January The borough assembly received a proposed update to its zoning code that would introduce a new form of affordable housing, an expansion of the historical and industrial districts and the end of a requirement for businesses to include parking downtown. The borough assembly held a work session to discuss a plan to impose restrictions on the senior tax exemption. A possible annual fee to sales tax exemption card holders was agreed upon ranging between $50 and $60. Police Chief Kelly Swihart...
An Alaskan sisterhood of sorts is advancing a line of tundra botanicals mixed with the sea to create potent anti-aging skin care products bearing the best of both. A wild salmon Skin Serum is the first wellness product the Salmon Sisters have added to their popular line that features original designs on clothing and other ocean-themed goods. "We love how smooth and light it feels. There are beautiful notes of crowberries, which we picked throughout our childhood on the tundra behind our...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — Another mass of warmer than normal water is slowly re-emerging in the Gulf of Alaska, scientists said. The new “blob” could affect weather and fisheries in southeastern Alaska, but scientists said it doesn’t appear as strong as the first one in 2013, KTOO Public Media in Juneau reported Monday. Washington State Climatologist Nick Bond coined the term “blob” to refer to water mass in the Pacific Northwest. “Without winds to draw heat out of the ocean and to mix up colder water from below, the near-surface waters, again...
At a Southeast Alaska Purse Seine Task Force meeting on Nov. 28, members from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game gave a detailed run down of the pink salmon seine harvest from the 2018 season showing a below average year for the Petersburg-Wrangell, Sitka and Ketchikan areas. The Petersburg-Wrangell purse seine areas include Districts 5, 6, 7 and 9. The 2018 harvest shows pink salmon coming in below the average annual harvest consistently throughout the four Districts. Between Kuiu Island...
A joint Regional Planning Team (RPT) meeting was held on Thursday between the Northern Southeast Regional Planning Team (NSERPT) and the Southern Southeast Regional Planning Team (SSERPT) to discuss and vote on items regarding fisheries and salmon eggs in Southeast Alaska. “I want to give you a perspective on how unique and successful this enterprise is,” said an RPT representative at the meeting. One vote that hits close to Petersburg was the approval of Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association, Inc.’s (NSRAA) permit alter...
Alaska fishermen are bracing for more cuts to their halibut harvest next year. Results of this year’s surveys showed that the Pacific stock from California to the Bering Sea continues to decline, and will likely result in lower catches. “We estimate that the stock went down until around 2010 from historical highs in the late 1990s. It increased slightly over the subsequent five years and leveled out around 2015 or 2016 and has been decreasing slowly in spawning biomass (total weight of mature fish to catch) since then,” said Ian Stewart, lead...
At a Southeast Alaska Drift Gillnet Task Force meeting on Tuesday, members from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game gave a detailed run down of the gillnet harvest from the 2018 season showing a below average year in the sections and districts surrounding Mitkof Island. A salmon return summary for 2018 and return forecast for 2019 was also given by Douglas Island Pink and Chum, Inc. In district six, the area between Mitkof Island and Wrangell Island and the Stikine River, the sockeye and Coho salmon harvest was below the 10 year average,...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) announces that the District 8 commercial beam trawl shrimp fishery bycatch limit of 6,000 whole pounds of spot shrimp has been reached effective 11:59 p.m., Tuesday, November 27, 2018. Pursuant to 5 AAC 31.116(d) all permit holders fishing in District 8 must retain, weigh, sell, and report on a fish ticket all harvest of spot shrimp taken that are less than 60 count per pound. The permit holder must then surrender all proceeds from the sale of this bycatch overage to the State....
The Southeast Alaska (SEAK) pink salmon harvest in 2019 is predicted to be in the weak range with a point estimate of 18 million fish (80% confidence interval: 15–26 million fish). The categorical ranges of pink salmon harvest in SEAK were formulated from the 20th, 40th, 60th, and 80th percentiles of historical harvest over the 59-year period 1960–2018. In past years, NOAA Fisheries, Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Auke Bay Laboratories (NOAA) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) produced separate pink salmon harvest for...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announces that the season for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Registration Area A (Southeast) will close in most areas by regulation at 11:59 p.m. on Friday, November 30, 2018, consistent with 5 AAC 32.110. Districts 1 and 2, and Section 13-B outside of the Sitka Sound Special Use Area [5 AAC 32.150(10)] will remain open until February 28, 2019. For those areas that close at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, all Dungeness pots must be removed from the water except that pots may be stored on the grounds...
On Nov. 1, Aleria Jensen, a supervising biologist in the Protected Resources Division of NOAA Fisheries Alaska Region, held a lecture in the assembly chambers describing the harm plastics and marine debris in the oceans can have on marine life. “Now, we’re all so connected and none of us are free from this issue,” said Jensen. In her presentation, Jensen gave an overview of plastic and marine debris on a global scale, marine debris in Alaska and conservation efforts being taken by NOAA, or the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Admin...
Alaska salmon fishermen harvested 114.5 million fish during the 2018 season for a payout of $595 million at the docks. That’s down 13 percent from the value of last year’s salmon catch. A preliminary wrap up of the 2018 salmon season by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game provides summaries for every fishing region across the state. It shows that sockeye salmon accounted for nearly 60 percent of the total value and 44 percent of the statewide salmon harvest. A catch of 50 million sockeyes added up to nearly $350 million for Alaska fishermen. Chu...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — An Alaska salmon boat skipper who killed endangered Steller sea lions with a shotgun and hindered an investigation has been fined $20,000 in federal court. Jon Nichols, 31, of Cordova, was sentenced Tuesday to five years' probation, three months of home confinement and 400 hours of community service. U.S. Magistrate Judge Deborah Smith also ordered Nichols to publicly apologize in a national commercial fishing magazine. One of Nichols' crewmen, Theodore ``Teddy'' Turgeon, 21, of Wasilla, also shot the endangered a...
