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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...
After deliberation on Saturday the Alaska Board of Fisheries rejected a proposal to scrap the Southeast Alaska management plan for Dungeness crab fisheries. The BoF is currently convened in Sitka for its meeting on the region’s shellfish and finfish regulation change proposals. It meets every three years, the last one being held in Wrangell in January 2015. Starting its shellfish meeting on January 11, members took testimony for 155 different proposals related to crab, shrimp and other miscellaneous shellfish. A late comer to this year’s sla...
DOUGLAS, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska man says his dog came nose-to-nose with a wolf while they were walking at a Douglas park. The incident happened last Saturday while Peter Fellman and his wife, Jane Pierson, were walking their two dogs in Savikko Park, also referred to as Sandy Beach. Neither Fellman, his wife nor their dogs were harmed in the encounter, the Juneau Empire reported . Fellman said his dog Bingo’s benign nature allowed the group to remain unharmed. The couple was on their way to a dinner at a friend’s house when they decided to st...
January The Borough assembly started approval of a program called Local Improvement Districts, which asks Petersburg residents whether they would pay for road work in their neighborhoods. The Petersburg School Board discussed the possible loss of federal funding through a program called Secure Rural Schools. The school district reported a case of a Pertussis, or whooping cough, confirmed in Petersburg. Superintendent Erica Kludt-Painter said it was not a public health emergency. An engineer led...
A Petersburg man pleaded guilty last Tuesday of interfering with crab pots belonging to four other fishermen in town, coming after a hearing with testimony from a remorseful defendant and community members questioning whether the punishment was harsh enough. In a change of plea hearing on December 19, James Andrew Knight, 54 of Petersburg, told Judge William B Carey he was guilty of three misdemeanors, including interfering with commercial fishing gear, unlawful use of pot tags and operating more than 300 Dungeness crab pots. Knight was fined...
Action plans for the emergency management of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaskan rivers have been drafted ahead of next month's Board of Fisheries meeting in Sitka. The board, which reviews regulatory oversight of fisheries across the state, planned to meet on January 11 to discuss shellfish and finfish proposals for the coming year. But added to its plate will be a trio of action plans drawn up by the Department of Fish and Game designating king salmon populations in several rivers as stocks...
A town hall on opioids was held in Petersburg last week, and state representatives continued a tour through Alaska communities in search of ideas and questions on the recently-declared drug disaster. "We're not here with an action plan. So often we do this, at the government level," started Andy Jones, director of the Office of Misuse and Addiction Prevention in Alaska, addressing about 50 people at the Sons of Norway Hall. "We create something and we come to you guys and say, 'here ya go, what...
WRANGELL - A preseason forecast for next year's king salmon return to the Stikine River has come up worryingly short, boding ill for local fisheries. Released last week by Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the preseason terminal run size forecast for the Stikine River was at only 6,900 fish, less than half the lower threshold of the stock's escapement goal range. The Stikine EGR is between 14,000 and 28,000 Chinook salmon, and such a low forecast does not allow for an allowable catch under tre...
The furbearer trapping season is open in Petersburg and the Alaska Department Fish and Game is asking pet owners to control their animals to avoid legally set traps. “Leash laws, where applicable, should be followed,” said Richard Lowell, an area management biologist with the department, who issued a press release on Wednesday. “A person may not obstruct, hinder, or disturb a lawful trapping effort.” The department is asking hunters to use discretion when setting traps near trails, recreational or residential areas where there are people...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game advised caution for hikers and for dog walkers in Juneau as wolf sightings have increased. Anecdotal reports of wolf sightings in Juneau have increased this year, but assistant area management biologist Carl Koch cannot be sure whether that’s due to an increase in wolf awareness from encounters posted to social media or a reflection of a population increase in Juneau, the Juneau Empire reported . “I’d say the anecdotal reports are higher (this year) than they have been,” Koch said...
It’s going to be a tough year for many Alaska fishermen. Following on the heels of announcements of a massive drop in cod stocks, the industry learned last week that Pacific halibut catches are likely to drop by 20 percent next year, and the declines could continue for several years. That could bring the coast wide catch for 2018, meaning from Oregon to British Columbia to the Bering Sea, to about 31 million pounds. Scientists at the International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) interim meeting in Seattle revealed that survey results s...
KODIAK, Alaska (AP) _ Several Kodiak residents have reported seeing bears in town throughout the past few weeks, and at least one area expert believes that’s because of a lackluster berry crop this year. Although the state Department of Fish and Game hasn’t received a higher-than-normal number of reported bear sightings, area wildlife biologist Nathan Svoboda believes a berry crop failure might have something to do with the encounters, the Kodiak Daily Mirror reported Wednesday. In years when the berry crop fails, bears become nut...
The biggest year classes of Alaska fishermen are phasing out of the business and fewer young cohorts are recruiting in. The Alaska Young Fishermen’s Summit has convened over a decade to help stanch that outward flow, and facilitate a future for fishing leaders. The average age of a commercial fisherman in Alaska was 50 in 2014 compared to 40 in 1980. At the same time, the number of Alaskans under 40 holding fishing permits fell to just 17 percent, down from nearly 40 percent of total permits across the state. The Summit coming up this year A...
Fewer men and women went out fishing in Alaska last year, in a familiar cycle that reflects the vagaries of Mother Nature. A focus on commercial fishing in the November Alaska Economic Trends by the State Department of Labor shows that the number of boots on deck fell by five percent in 2016 to about 7,860 harvesters, driven by the huge shortfall in pink salmon returns and big declines in crab quotas. Fishing for salmon, which accounts for the majority of Alaska’s fishing jobs, fell by 6.4 percent statewide in 2016, a loss of 323 workers. T...
Fish and Game board process is a public process To the Editor: Dear Alaskans, As your chairs to the Alaska Boards of Fisheries and Game we want to take this time to update you on our upcoming meeting season for 2017-2018. For those new to Alaska or our state’s fish and game regulatory process, the Boards of Fisheries and Game are composed of seven individuals from around Alaska who meet each year to enact changes to your fish and game management system. For example, by passing a regulation the Board of Game might open a new moose hunt in wester...
WRANGELL – Wrangell delegates returned from last month's annual conference for the Alaska Federation of Natives at Anchorage's Dena'ina Center. AFN is the largest statewide Native organization in Alaska, representing 151 federally recognized tribes, 150 village corporations, 12 regional corporations, and various nonprofit and tribal consortiums. Its annual October conference, this year held between the 19th and 21st, provides AFN membership the opportunity to put forward resolutions as well a...
It’s steady as she goes for the values of Alaska salmon fishing permits, with upticks in the wind at several fishing regions. “There’s a lot of cautious optimism,” said Jeff Osborn of Dock Street Brokers in Seattle. As well there should be after a salmon fishery that produced 225 million fish valued at nearly $680 million, a 67 percent increase over 2016. Bristol Bay drift salmon permits trade more than any other due to the sheer volume (1,800) and it’s no surprise the value is increasing after one of the best fishing seasons ever. But they are...
Preliminary harvest and value figures for the 2017 commercial salmon fishery indicate the season was a step up above the previous year's disastrous harvest. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported a 66.7-percent increase in exvessel value between the two years, with 224.6 million wild salmon worth around $678.8 million brought in by the state's fishing fleet. Chum salmon saw the biggest boon of the year, breaking records with 25.2 million fish, worth about $128.3 million. The haul...
It's not easy to create a five-star dish using beets, anchovies, chili powder, Cheetos and gummy bears. But that's just what the 16 chefs in this year's Chilkat Chef Competition in Haines had to accomplish recently. More than 140 people attended a cooking competition in Harriet Hall where six teams had 50 minutes to incorporate those five mystery ingredients, revealed after the timer started, with a Chilkat coho salmon. The chefs had to prepare four plates for each judge and a fifth plate to...
