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Federal managers shut down a major Alaska fishery Wednesday after two Kodiak-based boats targeting whitefish caught some 2,000 king salmon — an unintentional harvest that drew near-instant condemnation from advocates who want better protections for the struggling species. The Kodiak-based trawl fleet has caught just over one-fourth of its seasonal quota of pollock — a whitefish that’s typically processed into items like fish sticks, fish pies and surimi, the paste used to make fake crab. But about 20 boats will now be forced to end their season...
Alaska had the biggest decline in average life expectancy of all U.S. states in 2021, a year when health outcomes were heavily influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent national report. Alaska’s life expectancy in 2021 was 74.5 years, down from the average of 76.6 years in 2020, according to the report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Overall, U.S. life expectancy declined by 0.6 years in that time, mostly because of the COVID-19 pandemic and increases in drug overdose deaths and other unintentional i...
In early August an ad-hoc meeting was held in Ketchikan by a group consisting of knowledgeable residents who had followed the Alaska Marine Highway Service (AMHS) since its inception in the early 1960s. The purpose of the meeting was to discuss how to revise the system. We addressed AMHS maintenance: when vessels are taken out of service, why can’t they be promptly repaired? They could then be made ready for service. We discussed using money made available to AMHS through the Infrastructure Legislation to restructure the system. Finally, we d...
September 2, 1949 – Convicted on three out of six counts brought against him by the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Frank Richardson, 72, was sentenced Wednesday by U. S. Commissioner Dale H. Hirt to thirty days in federal jail and fined a total of $750.* Richardson was apprehended on August 19 in Blind Slough by FWS Enforcement Agent L. J. Dugger. On that occasion the 45-year resident of West Petersburg was charged with fishing above the markers, using more than one net, using a gillnet, and fishing without a license or boat registration. On...
The SS Princess Alice was a steel-built passenger liner in the coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway. Along with her sister ships, the SS Princess Adelaide, SS Princess Sophia, and SS Princess Mary, she cruised the Inside Passage along the coast of British Columbia. In 1913 the SS Princess Alice made several cruises through Southeast Alaska, with stops in Petersburg, at a reduced rate of sixty dollars round trip ($1,906 today). The 291-foot ship was built in 1911 by Swan Hunter...
Skyler DuPont, 29, is officially the new executive director at local nonprofit Working Against Violence for Everyone (WAVE). They are entering the role in succession of Everett Bennett, who stepped down from the position earlier this year to work at PIA. WAVE is a small independent nonprofit that provides support and advocacy for victims of domestic violence and sexual assault, and promotes safe relationships and community in the Petersburg Borough. "The work that [WAVE] does, I love that ......
Petersburg this year will go without state ferry service for almost three weeks in late November and early December under the fall and winter schedule released Aug. 2. The service gap will occur between the time the Alaska Marine Highway System pulls the Kennicott out of service for major work and until it can transfer crew from the Kennicott to the Columbia, and outfit the Columbia, said Sam Dapcevich, Alaska Department of Transportation spokesman. The Columbia has been out service for repairs since last November. Other than the three-week...
A cyanide spill at a major gold mine in the Yukon Territory — high in the Yukon River watershed — has sparked widespread concern in Canada. But Alaska salmon advocates say the mishap isn’t just a problem for Yukoners: The spill happened upstream of a tributary of the Yukon River. The Yukon is Alaska’s biggest transboundary waterway, and residents along its shores who have depended on salmon for generations are already suffering amid crashes of multiple species. Officials on both sides of the border say it’s too early to know the full impact of...
Fishery managers overseeing Alaska’s faltering salmon runs should be able to rely on a more comprehensive and holistic approach to science that considers all habitat, from the middle of the ocean to freshwater spawning streams far inland, according to a task force report on salmon research needs. The report was issued last week by the Alaska Salmon Research Task Force, a group established through a 2022 act of Congress to identify knowledge gaps and research needs. The task force comprises close to 20 members and includes scientists, f... Full story
July 4, 1924 – The Herald fully agrees with Pat O’Cotter in an article in the Alaska Weekly in which he says, among other things: “Captain Lathrop and George Edward Lewis made a real Alaskan picture, ‘The Chechacoes.’ It was financed and also filmed in Alaska, and nine-tenths of the cast were real Alaskans. It was the first picture ever made in Alaska and when the big producers in the East saw it, they grabbed it and they are giving it the biggest kick-off that a picture ever got in America, and it’s all because it’s a genuine Alaska picture. I...
Mountain lions are not commonly spotted in Southeast Alaska, but earlier this month one was killed on the south end of Wrangell Island. Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game were notified that a mountain lion had been shot and killed on June 3. They took possession of the carcass and are conducting an investigation. Troopers leading the investigation declined to comment. Riley Woodford, information officer with the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation in Juneau, said he knew of three other documented sightings...
May 30, 1924 – A Good Suggestion. Dear Editor: Will you kindly pass this suggestion along to the ladies of your city while it will do the most good? Whilst we know conditions in hotel accommodations are not conducive to stop-overs for tourists, I would like to respectfully suggest that you form a Tourist Welcome Committee to meet all steamships, to welcome and meet all visitors and people coming to Petersburg. I know such a committee would be valuable to your town, aiding your businessmen by giving the visitor a cordial handshake, a friendly g...
The Alaska state ferry Columbia - which has been out of service since late November for its annual overhaul and repairs but was supposed to go back to work this summer - will be laid up until the end of the year. Extensive corrosion in the 51-year-old ship's fire suppression system is the reason for the extra time in the shipyard, Department of Transportation spokesman Sam Dapcevich said Friday, May 17. During the Columbia's extended absence, the Alaska Marine Highway System has diverted the...
The success of the Ktunaxa Nation to finally convince the governments of Canada and the United States to convene the International Joint Commission (IJC) to address the long-standing coal mining pollution in the Elk Valley in southeast British Columbia (B.C.) and Montana is a very big deal. The IJC is provided for and guided by the Boundary Waters Treaty, signed by Canada and the United States in 1909. The IJC studies and recommends solutions to transboundary issues when asked to do so by the national governments. While this is great news, the...
WRANGELL - One hundred and fifty years ago, the Stikine beckoned people to its rugged landscape with the promise of wealth. This was the Cassiar gold rush of 1874, a huge moment in Wrangell history, according to Ronan Rooney, historian and creator of the podcast "Wrangell History Unlocked." Rooney's newest series "Strange Customs" tells the story of the gold rush in Wrangell in three parts. The story, however, is not just about the search for gold on the Stikine. It involves a political corrupti...
The Alaska Marine Highway System’s ongoing crew shortage has eased up for entry-level steward positions but remains a significant problem in the wheelhouse and for engineers, likely keeping the Kennicott out of service again this summer. As of March 8, the state ferry system was short almost 50 crew of what it would need to put its full operational fleet to sea this summer, which means keeping the Kennicott tied to the dock, Craig Tornga, the system’s marine director, reported to a state Senate budget subcommittee on March 19. That is abo...
March 21, 1924 – Since Petersburg has been having such splendid weather and all of the snow has gone, and the frost is out of the ground, considerable building, improving of land and clearing of lots have started. Chris Wick has enlarged his house and built a splendid basement. Hans Zahl has been assisting Mr. Wick. Jack Matison and Billy Worth have built new houses and are now finishing the interiors. Anton Noried is clearing his lot and laying the foundation for his house. Mr. Noried’s lot is beside the lots of Thomas Lando and Louie Sev...
WRANGELL — Clean water advocates believe a seafood consumption survey among Wrangell residents might help in their push for higher water quality standards. Together, the Wrangell Cooperative Association and the Southeast Alaska Indigenous Transboundary Commission will conduct a survey in Wrangell to determine the quantity and types of seafood community members consume. The goal of the survey is to update the region’s outdated fish consumption rate, said Esther Aaltséen Reese, WCA tribal administrator. The metric is used by the U.S. Envi...
Even in winter, there are hot opportunities. And since the state’s prospects for economic well-being are in short supply these days — like being short of buyers for Alaska salmon, running short of energy for Southcentral residents and businesses, and falling woefully short of funding for public schools — the state needs to seize whatever unexpected opportunities arise. Alaskans have long prided themselves on ingenuity, making something anew from the discard piles left behind by others. In this case, there are six ice-class liquefied natur...
Crew shortages continue to plague the Alaska Marine Highway, the ferry system’s director told a gathering of Southeast officials last week. “Our biggest shortage is in the engineering department,” where the 54 ship engineers on the payroll as of Jan. 26 were far short of the 81 needed for full staffing, Craig Tornga told a gathering of community, business and government leaders at the Southeast Conference on Feb. 7 in Juneau. “We’re short in the wheelhouse,” he added, down eight from a full contingent of 79 in the master, chief mate, secon...
The International Pacific Halibut Commission released the halibut numbers for 2024 on Feb. 5 following their annual meeting. The IPHC oversees management of halibut along the Pacific coast — from California, through British Columbia, and across coastal Alaska. During their annual meeting in January each year, the commission adopts the total mortality limits for halibut distributed across the areas they regulate. The adopted total mortality limits for 2024 amount to a net weight of 35.28 million pounds (Mlb), a decrease from the 36.97 Mlb d...
February 8, 1924 – An interesting discussion took place before the meeting of the Petersburg Men’s Club last Saturday evening when Thos. Elsemore, at that time a candidate on the Republican ticket for the Senate, and C. Christensen, a candidate on the Democratic ticket for the House, appeared and answered questions. Both candidates frankly admitted that so far they had not worked out a platform in detail, but were prepared to act to the best of their abilities for the general good of the Territory. A feature of the meeting was a talk by Rev. Jo...
In January The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously voted to award the construction contract for the Blind Slough Hydroelectric refurbishment project to McG/Dawson Joint Venture for an amount not to exceed $5,744,000. The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved an ordinance in its first reading that would rezone a lot located at 10 N. 12th Street for commercial use. The rezoning was requested by the Petersburg Indian Association ahead of their prospective purchase of the lot, which h...
With the rusty Matanuska out of service pending repairs, the Kennicott scheduled for tie-up due to lack of crew and the Tazlina in the shipyard to add crew quarters, the state ferry system’s draft summer 2024 schedule is limited by the number of vessels in service and looks about the same as this past summer. The Columbia would make a weekly northbound stop in Petersburg on Sundays and a weekly southbound visit on Wednesdays on its run between Bellingham, Washington, and Southeast Alaska. The marine highway system released its draft schedule D...
Staff for Gov. Mike Dunleavy quashed the publication of a new Department of Labor and Workforce Development report examining the competitiveness of teacher pay in Alaska, an act that current and former staff say could damage the apolitical reputation of the division that publishes state economic data. “This is data that typically is available to the public, and it’s never good to suppress good, objective data,” said Neal Fried, who retired in July after almost 45 years as an economist with the department. The report, which had been the cover... Full story
