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SEATTLE (AP) — Alaska officials have canceled the fall Bristol Bay red king crab harvest, and for the first time, have also scrapped the winter harvest of smaller snow crab. The move is a double whammy to a fleet from Alaska, Washington and Oregon chasing Bering Sea crab in harvests that in 2016 grossed $280 million, The Seattle Times reported. The closures reflect conservation concerns about both crab species following bleak summer populations surveys. The decisions to shut down the snow crab and fall king crab harvests came after days of d...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is soliciting bids to conduct a test fishery harvesting food and bait herring with purse seine gear in Sitka Sound during fall and winter of 2022/23. The Request for Quotation (RFQ) format for this test fishery will be done in tons of herring. The department is seeking to generate $30,000 from a herring food and bait test fishery in Sitka Sound. The quote must be based on tons of herring to reach that dollar amount. The party that quotes the lowest amount of herring in tons will be awarded the...
The RM038 moose hunt is staying on a steady pace with 77 moose harvested as of Oct. 5 according to Hilary Wood of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Of the 77 harvested, 70 were legal while 7 were determined to be illegal moose. The total number of moose taken is just behind the 81 harvested at this time last year. Hunters have seen by far the most success on Kupreanof Island which has recorded 34 legal moose. The Stikine River and Kuiu Island are currently tied for second in the legal moos...
At a forum on fishery issues held in the seaport town of Kodiak, two of the leading gubernatorial contenders spent time focusing on a man who was not there: incumbent Gov. Mike Dunleavy. After about an hour of in-depth discussions of fishery issues that included climate change and its effects in the oceans, the role of hatchery fish in the ecosystem and economy, the infrastructure and workforce development needs of the fishing industry and state fiscal policies, former state Rep. Les Gara and former Gov. Bill Walker turned their fire directly... Full story
If you have been putting off making room in your freezer, now may be the time to do so. The RM038 moose hunting season opened last Thursday and will last until Oct. 15. The hunt encompasses Units 1B, 3, and a portion of 1C located south of Point Hobart. Areas include Kuiu, Kupreanof, Mitkof, and Wrangell Islands, the Stikine River, and Farragut Bay among others. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, a legal moose is defined as a bull moose with a spike or forked antler, or a...
Cindi Lagoudakis What is your age? 68 What experience do you have? I have served as Assembly Member and as Mayor, and am a current member of the Hospital Board. Why do you seek public office? I see being involved as a responsibility, and one that I enjoy. Do you support the construction of a new Petersburg Medical Center building? Yes, for multiple reasons. Having seen some of the building issues firsthand, I do support construction of a new hospital building. The staff have been making a good...
PETERSBURG – The Etolin Island Area - Unit 3, as described in Alaska Department of Fish & Game hunting regulations, is closed to the harvest of elk under the new Federal General Elk Permit (FE1234). The permit conditions allow for the harvest of one elk from Units 1, 2, 3-Remainder, and 4, excluding Zarembo, Bushy, Shrubby, and Kashevarof Islands and the Etolin Island Area in Unit 3. Successful harvesters are required to bring the complete skull, including the lower jaw, to a local USDA Forest Service office within 48 hours of harvest. R...
Haines — While thousands danced and dined at the Southeast Alaska State Fair last month, Drew Robertson of Sedalia, Colorado was rescuing a half dozen local puppies that might be part wolf. The state suspects at least 10 dogs born at 35 Mile Haines Highway in February could be wolf hybrids, which are illegal to breed or possess in Alaska. The owner of the litter — “Seandog” Brownell — said he suspects the mother, Inja, a lab, could’ve mated with a wild wolf last December on or near his property. Robertson, who runs an organization with wolfdo...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced last Thursday that the commercial Dungeness crab fall season in Southeast Alaska will have a normal length. The length of the fall season was determined after an analysis revealed that an above-average proportion of male legal-sized soft-shelled Dungeness crabs discarded in the first week of the summer season contributed to the full season harvest projection failing to meet the management plan threshold according to Region I Lead Shellfish...
Bear sightings are continuing to rise as they frequent the streets of Petersburg in search of garbage. In response, Petersburg Police Department Chief Jim Kerr spoke during Monday's Petersburg Borough Assembly meeting on the threat bears pose and actions the police department has taken to reduce their presence. "To try and get the bear issue to drop before school starts we started issuing citations enforcing the new garbage ordinance," Kerr said. The ordinance, which was approved by the...
Applications are due by Oct. 31 for more than $39 million in the second round of federal relief funds for those in Alaska’s fishing industry who incurred a greater than 35% income loss in 2020 as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The state was involved in deciding the allocation of the federal aid between different fishing interests in Alaska. The money is Alaska’s share of $255 million in grants being distributed nationwide to help the fishing industry recover from income losses suffered during the worst of the pandemic. The first rou...
August 2 – A citizen reported that a bear is returning regularly to the area around 7th and Kiseno Streets looking for garbage. The Alaska Wildlife Trooper (AWT) and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) were notified. An officer conducted a welfare check on Chief John Lott Street and found the individual of concern was okay. A fire alarm on Harbor Way activated. Petersburg Volunteer Fire Department (PVFD) responded and found all to be okay. An officer spotted a bear in the area of South 2nd Street eating trash. An officer assisted a c...
SITKA (AP) — A bear going through trash has been killed by authorities in Sitka, a community that experienced a record number of bear incidents last year. The weekend shooting of the male brown bear by Sitka police was the first bear shooting this year in the southeast Alaska city, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported. Last year, 14 bears were killed in and around Sitka, which the newspaper reports was a record for the community. Steve Bethune, a wildlife biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said four shots were fired, at l...
Garbage is in season for bears on Mitkof Island who are finding it as an easy, accessible source of food. From July 27 to August 2 there were 15 reported bear sightings according to Petersburg Police Department reports and Petersburg Area Biologist Frank Robbins says the "common thread" is garbage. "I think people come out of the winter where you don't really have to worry so much about managing their garbage and in the spring and early summer where we generally don't have many bears in town... Full story
July 27 – A citizen reported a black bear walking along South 3rd Street. Fish and Game (F&G) and the Alaska Wildlife Trooper (AWT) were notified and responded. A citizen reported suspicious smoke seen on South Nordic Drive. An officer responded and did not find anything concerning. An officer responded to a report of suspicious activity on South Nordic Drive, but found nothing of concern. A citizen turned in property found at the Blind Slough Bridge to the police department. Officers responded to a report of a black bear sow and her cub w...
This summer's commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Southeast was cut short by about two weeks due to low harvest projections and is set to end this Saturday according to Joe Stratman, a shellfish biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The season length is determined by a full season harvest estimate based on pounds landed and permits fished during the first week of the current season along with what percentage of the previous season's total harvest was taken within the first week...
HAINES-Not every day does a wild wolf mate with a domestic dog. But a handful of local puppies born in February might be the product of such an occurrence, which biologists say is rare but not impossible. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) is investigating at least nine pups born at 35 Mile Haines Highway that might be wolfdogs, which are illegal to breed or possess in Alaska. "Somebody contacted me and said they were under the impression there were some dogs running loose in an area...
Shellfish hatcheries could be in Alaska's future, under legislation recently signed into law. The measure allows the Department of Fish and Game to manage shellfish enhancement and restoration projects. Restoration projects are designed to bring a struggling stock back to a self-sustaining level, while enhancement projects would boost the stock to allow for commercial harvest. The new laws give the department another tool to address declining shellfish stock, such as red and blue king crab, sea...
For Alaska salmon fishing, the summer of 2022 is the best of times and the worst of times. In the Bristol Bay region, the sockeye salmon run and harvest amounts set new records, as was predicted in the preseason forecast. As of Monday, the run had totaled over 73.7 million, with a harvest of over 56.3 million. The previous record was set just last year, with a 67.7 million run of sockeyes and a third-biggest-ever harvest of nearly 42 million of the fish. But along the Yukon River, a prized salmo... Full story
I want to thank Larry Edfelt for his thoughtful, albeit troubling comments on the status and potential fate of Taku River king salmon (Juneau Empire’s My Turn, June 23, 2022). There may be little we can do to overcome all of the stressors affecting Taku River king salmon survival, but there are two stressors that we do have the ability and opportunity to overcome and aid in the potential recovery of the Taku River king salmon. As Larry pointed out, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the Canadian Department of Fisheries and Oceans are d...
Hunting guide Logan Canton has been working all over the state since 2008, including conducting black bear hunts in Southeast. He says, one of the biggest changes he's seen locally is an increase in nonresident hunters coming here to hunt bear, and the 2021-2022 season that just wrapped up on June 30 was no exception. For years, good genetics on Prince of Wales Island produced a reputation for black bears with big skulls. That, combined with the infrastructure, road system and an array of...
Over the last two and a half years, we’ve seen the Anchorage economy transition from being strained by job losses, closures and unemployment to being stressed by a workforce shortage, with unfilled positions across nearly every industry. At the University of Alaska Anchorage, we strive to stay responsive to our state’s needs, which is why we continue to invest in our Fast Track Career and additional Occupational Endorsement Certificate programs. Fast Track Career Certificates were created to help people quickly pivot their careers mid...
Sandy Ellis passed away peacefully at her home in Petersburg on Friday, May 13, 2022 with her children by her side after a short second battle with cancer. Last year she was treated by Southeast Radiation and Oncology Center in Juneau. Upon finding that the cancer had recently returned and was terminal, she was treated by staff at Petersburg Medical Center and the Home Health and Hospice Program. The gentle and thoughtful care in her last few days, as well as the support shown to family... Full story
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is announcing revised 2022 sport fishing regulations for king salmon in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. These regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Friday, July 1 through 11:59 p.m. Friday, March 31, 2023. The regulations are: Alaskan Resident The resident bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; From October 1, 2022, through March 31, 2023, a resident sport angler may use two rods when fishing for king salmon; a person...
