Sorted by date Results 476 - 500 of 931
The Federal Subsistence Board announced on Monday it will be closing its Chinook salmon subsistence fishery in the Stikine River this year due to low expected returns. Under the authority delegated him by the board, Ranger Bob Dalrymple of Wrangell's Forest Service district made the decision to close down the fishery. Preseason forecasts made by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game informed the decision, with 6,900 king salmon greater than 28 inches in length expected to return. Management...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced this week that the lingcod sport fishing seasons, bag and possession limits, annual limits, and size limits have been established for the Northern Southeast Area (see attached map). In this area the following regulations apply: Northern Southeast Area Season: May 16 – November 30. Limits: o Residents – 1 daily, 2 in possession, no size limit. o Nonresidents – 1 daily, 1 in possession, size limit: 30 inches or greater in length and less than 35 in...
A shuffle in some funding leaves Alaska’s commercial fisheries division in good shape to manage the resources and target important projects across the state. At first glance, the $69 million operating budget for FY19 appears to be down slightly from last year’s $72.3 million but that’s not the case. “Most of that difference is a sort of ‘cleanup’ in authority we no longer had funding for, such as the Alaska Sustainable Salmon Fund, test fishing and some interagency items. The rest is due to $1.1 million shortfall in Commercial Fisheries E...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A ballot initiative that aims to strengthen a state law that protects salmon habitat has made its way before the Alaska Supreme Court. The court heard arguments Thursday on whether the initiative dubbed Yes for Salmon can appear on the November ballot, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. State attorney Joanne Grace argued that the ballot initiative would ban large development projects like mines, which cannot avoid disturbing salmon habitat. By the initiative enacting such a ban, the state claimed the L...
Two commercial fisheries open each spring at Upper Cook Inlet that attract little notice and few participants, but each pays big bucks to fishermen. The first is a food and bait herring fishery that runs from April 20 through the end of May. The 150 ton catch quota is small compared to most of Alaska’s other herring fisheries, but the payout is far higher than all others. “They get $1.00 to $1.50 a pound, or $2,000 to $3,000 for a short ton, and the herring goes primarily into the halibut commercial bait fishery or the sport bait fis...
SITKA, Alaska (AP) — This season’s salmon harvest in Bristol Bay is looking to be a sizable one. Alaska officials project the sockeye salmon run to be 51.3 million fish, not far off from last season’s return of 56.5 million. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game expects 37.6 million fish to be potentially available for commercial harvest when the bay’s salmon season begins on June 1, the Daily Sitka Sentinel reported Thursday. The bay’s harvest of sockeye salmon last season was 37.7 million. In 2016, the catch was lower with 37.3 million and r...
The state Department of Fish and Game has announced its 2018 preseason estimates for Chinook salmon, and its all-gear harvest limit for Southeast Alaska under provisions of the Pacific Salmon Treaty. In its release last week, the department set the year’s limit at 130,000 “treaty fish,” nearly 80,000 fish lower than the preseason limit available in 2017. This also includes a 10-percent reduction in response to conservation needs for the king salmon stocks in Southeast, northern British Columbia, and their transboundary rivers. The annual all-g...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) — A man was injured north of Anchorage after a moose that he had just kicked stomped his foot in return, state officials said. KTVA-TV reported the man escaped major injuries in the encounter Thursday with the moose and her calf. “It sounds like the moose were on a trail and in this case, it sounds like the guy was trying to go through them,” State Department of Fish and Game spokesman Ken Marsh said. “That’s never a good idea.” The two moose left the area after the man had his foot stomped, said Alaska Troopers sp...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery closed Tuesday for the remainder of the 2018 season after two days and about 8,300 tons short of guideline harvest level. The Alaska Department Fish and Game closed the Sitka fishery after the roughly 30 boats hauled in 2,800 tons of fish. “The last fishery occurred on March 26,” read a Tuesday press release from Eric Coonradt, area marine biologist with the Alaska Department Fish and Game Division of Commercial Fisheries. “And since then the department has not been able to identify a body of good quali...
WRANGELL — The Chamber of Commerce’s annual king salmon derby has been cancelled, it announced last week, following emergency management orders issued by the Department of Fish and Game (see king salmon story). A tradition for over 60 years, initially the month-long fishing derby was to be pared down to weekends this year, given restrictions ADFG had at first countenanced that would have centered around the Stikine River’s mouth in District 8. The eventual orders released last Thursday were far more expansive, encompassing nearly all inner...
WRANGELL - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced late last week the extent of its expected king salmon sport fishing restrictions for this season. The region wide closure to retention of Chinook began on Sunday, April 1, to last through the first half of the summer for some waters. Citing a poor preseason forecast, ADFG has decided to close the majority of marine waters within the Petersburg-Wrangell area, not only in District 8 but also in 6, 7 and 10. (see map) The lengthiest...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game said it has been overestimating how many Chinook and sockeye salmon make it up the Taku River. Department officials said the statistical bias is being corrected by new state-of-the-art studies, the Juneau Empire reported Sunday. The department said it had been overestimating the salmon numbers by 30 to 40 percent. The estimates were conducted using a decades-old “mark-recapture” system. Department coordinator Ed Jones said seal predation and the old system have caused much of the prob...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Thursday the extent of its king salmon sport fishing restrictions this season. Citing a poor preseason forecast, the department has decided to close the majority of marine waters within the Petersburg-Wrangell area, not only in District 8 but also in 6, 7 and 10. (See map) In the waters adjacent to the Stikine River, which include District 8 and a portion of the Back Channel in District 7, the retention of king salmon will be prohibited starting... Full story
Daily aerial surveys by the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game continue as the Sitka Sound Herring Fishery was placed on two-hour notice on Tuesday, March 20. During the past week herring have been located in deeper waters of Sitka Sound, but test samples continued to show immature roe. On Wednesday, herring predators such as whales and sea lions continued to be seen in the area northwest of Bieli Rock, according to an ADF&G release. A vessel survey conducted by the R/V Kestrel showed a large...
“It’s what’s on the inside that counts” is the message Alaska crab marketers are pushing to their customers, encouraging them to put appearances aside. “We’re telling them to Get Ugly,” said Tyson Fick, executive director of the trade group, Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers, speaking of the new campaign launched last week in partnership with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute at the big Seafood Expo in Boston. The promotion showcases Alaska crabs with darker, discolored or scarred shells or adorned with barnacles, that may be less appealing to...
Mike Bangs, who helped pioneer commercial diving in Alaska and was chair of a regional advisory council and Petersburg harbor board, died last week at 62. About 250 people filled the Sons of Norway Hall for the Celebration of Life program on Sunday. Nearly 20 friends and family members told stories about their time with Mr. Bangs. "For many of us here today, the world is already a different place without our friend Mike Bangs," said Glo Wollen, giving remarks at the program. "He passed far too y...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) - Moose thrive in Alaska's largest city with little to fear from natural predators such as wolves or bears, but getting an accurate count of the largest member of the deer family remains a challenge for the state wildlife biologists who must manage their numbers. Traditionally, aerial surveys are performed from low-flying aircraft after there's snow on the ground when spotters can distinguish between male moose with antlers and cows without them, but flight rules from...
The Trump Administration’s $4.4 trillion federal budget for next year takes some mean whacks to programs that affect fisheries. Off the top, the spending plan unveiled on February 12 cuts the budget for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) by 20 percent to $4.6 billion. Among other things, NOAA manages the nation’s fisheries in waters from three to 200 miles offshore, which produce the bulk of Alaska’s seafood landings. It’s the cuts within the cuts that reveal the most. NOAA Fisheries is facing a $110.4 million drop to $8...
Alaska Wildlife Troopers filed charges against two Petersburg teens who allegedly hit multiple deer with a truck last week, filmed it, and then uploaded it to social media. The teens, 17-year-old Sebastian R. Davis and 17-year-old Jasmine C. Ohmer, were charged on Monday with harassing game, a class A misdemeanor, according to court documents. Davis was charged with reckless driving as well, which is a special class misdemeanor. The charges stem from a video that emerged last week on Snapchat, a social media app. The video allegedly shows a...
The Petersburg Chamber of Commerce voted Thursday to cancel this year's salmon derby, saying it would be irresponsible to compete in a time with such depleted salmon stocks. The chamber voted on Thursday to cancel the Memorial Day weekend salmon derby in Petersburg this year. The decision was made after the Alaska Department Fish and Game closed District 8 and part of District 7, a popular derby hole, for May, June and half of July, said Patrick Fowler, a local sport fish area biologist with the...
(Juneau) — Hunting seasons for Sitka black-tailed deer have closed. Hunters who obtained deer harvest tickets, including those who did not hunt or harvest deer, must return completed hunt reports to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Hunters who have not yet submitted hunt reports should do so immediately by mail, in person at a Fish and Game office, or online at http://hunt.alaska.gov. Information provided in hunt reports helps biologists monitor deer populations and estimate changes in area-specific harvest and hunting effort, and p...
WRANGELL — Late last week the Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued a group announcement regarding expected changes for sport fishermen in Southeast this year. In the Petersburg and Wrangell areas, the marine waters of District 8 are going to be closed to the retention of King Salmon between May 1 and July 15. An exception will be made for the area immediately adjacent to Petersburg’s City Creek, which will be open to King Salmon fishing from June 1 to July 31 to target 300 hatchery salmon expected to return to the area. The closure is bei...
Millennials are now the nation’s “peak spenders” and they are gravitating towards healthier eating which favors more seafood. “We see year over year that there is this cohort aged 35 to 54 that is going to be spending far more across categories, including food expenditures, than any others,” said Will Notini, consumer insights manager at Chicago-based Technomic, a leading market tracker for over 50 years.” The company has contracted with the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute to identify trends in seafood consumption and how best to position...
WRANGELL — On its regional meeting’s concluding day last week the Board of Fisheries agreed to draft a letter to federal authorities, encouraging them to support efforts to curb seafood predation by marine mammals. During its 13-day meeting in Sitka, the board reviewed regulatory proposals for both finfish and shellfish for Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. Starting with shellfish on January 11, 155 different items relating to the region’s crab, shrimp and dive fisheries saw comment from both Department of Fish and Game managers and user group...
Sea otters and their devastating impacts on Southeast Alaska shellfish were among the many emotionally-charged topics at the state Board of Fisheries marathon meeting running from January 11-23 in Sitka. The Board was set to address 153 proposals for state subsistence, commercial, sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries for the Southeast and Yakutat regions. Crabbers and fishermen who dive for lucrative sea cucumbers, geoduck clams and urchins again pleaded for changes to regulations to help protect their livelihoods from the voracious...
