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The popular January Tanner crab fishery has been called off for the third year running throughout the Westward Region (Kodiak, Chignik and the South Peninsula), leaving fishermen and managers wondering where all the crab has gone. State managers for several years have been tracking a huge plug of crab that appeared poised to enter the 2016 Tanner fishery, but based on this summer’s surveys, the crab have failed to materialize. “In 2013 saw a very large cohort of juveniles in the survey estimated at over 200 million crab, which was one of the...
About one fourth of crabbers are soaking their pots this fall compared to those fishing last summer, despite high prices. Dungeness crab prices crept up one cent from $2.99 per pound to $3.00 per pound since summer. Dungeness prices have averaged around $2.40 during the past five years. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game data, 54 permit holders are fishing crab since October 1, compared to the 195 crabbers who fished this past summer and the 137 permit holders who fished last fall. This fall, crabbers brought home 55,234 pounds of...
September 24 Paul Menish appeared before Magistrate Judge Burrell on a charge of Marking Requirements of Dungeness Crab Gear. The defendant entered a plea of no contest. The court fined Menish $2,000 with $1,500 suspended and probation for one year. September 25 Allan Mathisen appeared before Deputy Magistrate Brandy Boggs to plead guilty to a DUI charge. Mathisen was sentenced to 72 hours in jail, a $1,500 fine, a $50 surcharge, $300 cost of imprisonment, six months IID requirement, mandatory alcohol counseling and one year probation among oth...
Bering Sea crabbers are again facing the possibility of a delayed fishery as Congressional Republicans threaten to shut down the government, this time over federal funding of Planned Parenthood. A shutdown two years ago stalled the crab opener by two days, costing the fleet more than $5 million in food, fuel and other fees as the boats stood idly by for a week or more awaiting an outcome. “It was a huge mess last time,” said Mark Gleason, executive director of the trade group, Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers. “We have a very tight time frame – whe...
August 26 Brittaney Ruiz appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for an arraignment. The defendant pled guilty to a charge of Assault in the 4th Degree and was sentenced to 120 days in jail with 110 days suspended, $200 in surcharges with $100 suspended and two years of probation. Ruiz must also be evaluated by a substance abuse agency and may not drink alcohol or be on the premises of any establishment where alcohol is the primary item for sale. Jase Payne appeared before Superior Court Judge William Carey for sentencing. Payne...
September 1 Derek Knudsen, 27, of Petersburg was cited for Unlawful Storage of Commercial Dungeness Crab Gear. Knudsen, the permit holder aboard the F/V Curlew had failed to recover all of his commercial crab gear from the waters near Duncan Canal. An arraignment is set for Sept. 29 in the Petersburg Courthouse. Jacob Hammer, 37, of Petersburg was cited for Unlawful Storage of Commercial Dungeness Crab Gear. Hammer was the permit holder aboard the F/V Viking and had failed to recover crab gear from the waters near Hamilton Bay. An arraignment...
Fish deaths, drought in California, tropical creatures appearing in cold waters – those freakish happenings and more are being blamed on a giant splotch of warm water that for two years has been pushing against coastlines on the West Coast, Canada and into Alaska. “They call it the Blob because of its original circular shape on the sea surface,” explained Dr. Carol Janzen, an oceanographer and Operations Director at the Alaska Ocean Observing System in Anchorage. “However, this feature is not static, it’s constantly reshaping itself in circul...
July 19 James Vick and Julie Ruhle were cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers for Dungeness Crab Marking Requirements. Vick and Ruhle are the registered permit holders on the F/V Midnight Ryder. They were documented fishing with crab gear marked with tags that were previously reported as lost and therefore voided. Arraignment is set for Sept. 1 in the Petersburg District Court. July 22 Ila Marie Cantrell, 60, of Petersburg, was cited by Alaska Wildlife Troopers for making a false statement on her 2015 resident sport license application. Cantrell...
On July 9, Thomas A. Stammer, 71, of Port Townsend, Wash. was cited by an Alaska Wildlife trooper (AWT) for sport fishing for Dungeness crab without a license near Duncan Canal. Bail is set at $210 with an optional appearance in the Petersburg District Court. On July 3 a Prince of Wales AWT contacted Charles Davis, 41, about a sport fishing incident in the fresh waters of Neck Creek. Davis was issued a citation for attempting to snag coho salmon in fresh waters and bail was set at $110 with an optional appearance in the District Court of...
“Upcycling” seafood byproducts is the business model for Tidal Vision, a Juneau-based company of five entrepreneurs who are making waves with their line of aquatic leather and performance textiles. The start-up is making wallets, belts and other products from sheets of salmon skins using an all-natural, proprietary tanning formula from vegetable oils and other eco-friendly ingredients. “We can produce the same quality and durability products with no formaldehyde, no chrome based tanning chemicals or EPA regulated chemicals to dispose of. And we...
Preliminary prices for Dungeness crab are in and a bit higher than last year’s. The average price for the first week was “a solid” $3 per pound throughout Southeast Alaska, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game Petersburg Assistant Shellfish Biologist Kellii Wood. Last year’s average price was $2.99, according to Petersburg Shellfish Biologist Joe Stratman. Wood noted that 838,156 pounds were caught in the first seven days of the fishery by 169 permit holders. “That is the fourth highest amount the fleet has caught in the first sev...
As Alaska’s salmon season heads into high gear, a few bright spots are surfacing in an otherwise bleak global sales market. Sales and prices for all salmon (especially sockeye) have been in a slump all year. And amidst an overall glut of wild and farmed fish, Alaska is poised for another huge salmon haul, with the largest run of sockeye salmon in 20 years predicted along with a mega-pack of pinks. Meanwhile, the single toughest thing stacked against Alaska’s sales to traditional overseas customers is the strong US dollar. “Overall, the dolla...
Dungeness crab season is now open, and fishermen are flocking to the sea earlier. This time last year, there were 151 permits registered, Alaska Department of Fish and Game Petersburg Shellfish Biologist Joe Stratman said. The 2014-15 season ended with 192 permit holders. This year, there are already 193 permits registered, he added. "We have an increase in effort this year," Stratman said. And the results of last year's season may be a contributor, he added. The 2014-15 season was a good one... Full story
Salmon fisheries are opening up this month from one end of Alaska to the other. Total catches so far of mostly sockeye, were under one million fish, but will add up fast from here on. A total haul for all Alaska salmon this season is pegged at 221 million fish. A highlight so far is a 40 percent increase in troll action at Southeast regions, where nearly 300 fishermen are targeting king salmon. That’s likely due to a boosted price averaging $7.54 a pound, up $1.88 from last year. Speaking of high prices – Alaska halibut fishermen are fet...
May 27 Nelson Samuel Warren appeared for a Change of Plea hearing before Superior Court Judge William Carey. The defendant pled guilty to Attempted Misconduct Involving a Controlled Substance in the 3rd Degree. A full pre-sentencing report was ordered and sentencing set for July. May 28 Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell presided over a minor offense proceeding for Brian Newman, charged with unlawful storage of dungeness crab gear. Neither the defendant nor the state appeared for the hearing, and the case was dismissed on the basis of the state n...
Alaska’s salmon industry is ready to get corked by the inability of state lawmakers to pass a budget. More than 20,000 state workers are bracing for 30 day layoff notices, meaning they’ll be off the job when the new fiscal year starts on July 1. The timing couldn’t be worse for Alaska’s salmon managers who are nearing the peak of a season that could set new records. “There is some budget, about 27 percent of our normal amount for us to work in the field, and do our management responsibilities. But how we proceed from July 1 is what we’re wor...
Last year was one of the busiest years ever for Alaska brokers who help fishermen buy, sell and trade fishing permits and quota shares. “I was really happy to see such a good mix of permits we were selling – it wasn’t just one thing,” said Olivia Olsen of Alaskan Quota and Permits in Petersburg. “We had a lot of Dungeness crab permits, charter halibut permits, salmon and shrimp permits, sea cucumbers, and then whatever IFQs we could find.” Salmon permit sales peak from March through May, and early indicators point to lower salmon prices this...
Meeting in Wrangell last week, the Alaska Board of Fisheries elected to maintain the current Southeast Alaska Area Dungeness Crab Fisheries Management Plan. A trio of policy proposals would have repealed the plan and its early closure thresholds, returning management of the fishery to size, sex and season, as used elsewhere. “I understand the reason this proposal was put forward,” board member John Jensen said of Proposal 58. “Size, sex and season has been a very good way to manage fisheries for a long, long period of time in South...
January 20 Brian Newman appeared before Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell for an arraignment. The defendant is charged with Unlawful Storage of Commercial Dungeness Crab Gear. The defendant pled not guilty to the charge and a trial was tentatively scheduled for March. Magistrate Judge Desiree Burrell presided over an arraignment for Marc Martinsen charged with Unlawful Storage of Commercial Crab Pots. The defendant pled not guilty to the charge and a representation hearing was set for Feb. 10. Dustin Caples appeared before Magistrate Judge...
The Petersburg Advisory Committee met last week to discuss proposals and potential changes to fishing regulations that will eventually head to the Board of Fisheries for ultimate approval. “Every three years anybody and everybody can put in a proposal to the board of fisheries to change existing regulations, add new regulations or delete regulations,” Alaska Department of Fish and Game Petersburg Area Management Biologist Troy Thynes said. “They can’t deal with state statutes but these are just the codified regulations.” The committee...
Salmon will always be the heart of Alaska’s fisheries, and that’s why most people think of summer as the fishing season. But that’s not the case. The heart of winter is when Alaska’s largest fisheries get underway each year. On January first, hundreds of boats with hook and line gear or pots begin plying the waters of the Bering Sea and Gulf of Alaska for Pacific cod, rockfish and other groundfish. Then on January 20th trawlers take to the seas to target Alaska pollock, the world’s largest food fishery with annual harvests topping three bil...
This fall’s Dungeness crab fishery preliminary harvest estimate is totaled at 975,000 pounds with 137 recorded permit holders fishing. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game data, as of November 30, 19 percent of this year’s total fall harvest was caught this fall. During the previous ten year average, 25 percent of the annual harvest is taken in the fall. This year’s total harvest so far is a heaping 5.04 million pounds, well above the 3.78 million pound ten-year average. “With some areas still open it remains to be seen whether...
WRANGELL — Wrangell's advisory committee to Alaska Department of Fish and Game held the second of several public meetings at the Fire Hall Dec. 11, to discuss Board of Fisheries proposals for the 2014-15 meeting cycle. This committee provides a forum for fishing and game management issues, allowing the public to review and discuss new proposals and to provide recommendations to both state boards of Fisheries and Game. To consult with them on crab, shellfish and shrimp management policies were Joe Stratman and Troy Thynes from Petersburg's A...
Alaska’s largest employer continues to add more jobs to its roster. Commercial fishing jobs grew last year to a level not seen since the year 2000, according to the state Department of Labor. Driven primarily by an increased salmon harvest, notably from the record run of pinks, fishing jobs grew by nearly 2.5 percent last year. That brought the annual monthly average to 8,400 jobs, just 400 shy of the record over a decade ago. Seafood harvesting and processing jobs are a focus of the November Alaska Economic Trends, which breaks down the n...
I must admit that US Senate candidate Dan Sullivan achieved something I have been trying to accomplish as a fisheries writer for more than a quarter of a century: he gave long legs to media stories about Alaska’s fisheries and, more importantly, it attracted unparalleled recognition of the seafood industry nationwide. How did that come about for a fractious industry that bemoans a la comedian Rodney Dangerfield—“I don’t get no respect?” When Sullivan’s campaign announced that he would not attend a traditional Kodiak fisheries debate sche...
