Petersburg Pilot -

Hundreds of boats are gearing up for the January start of some of Alaska’s largest fisheries in waters managed by the federal government from three to 200 miles offshore.

Meanwhile, the government shut down over Donald Trump’s demand for nearly $6 billion in funding for a border wall of “artistically designed steel slats” has sent hundreds of thousands of workers home.

Nine of the government’s 15 federal departments and several agencies were shuttered at midnight on December 21 and there is no end in sight. That includes the Commerce Department which houses NOAA Fisheries.

In a...