Petersburg Pilot -

Sitka — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the preliminary guideline harvest level (GHL) for the 2015 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 8,712 tons based on a 19.7% harvest rate of a forecast mature biomass of 44,237 tons.

The department mapped 50 nautical miles of herring spawn in the Sitka Sound area during the spring of 2014, compared to the recent 10-year average of 60 nautical miles. The estimated post-fishery spawning biomass in 2014 was 51,321 tons and the total sac roe harvest was 16,957 tons. An additional 121 tons were harvested in personal use and test fisheri...