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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...
Anglers who purchased an Alaska sport fishing license in 2017 may soon receive a copy of the 2017 Alaska Sport Fishing Survey—an annual mail survey conducted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to assess where sport fishing occurs and how many fish are caught and kept by anglers in Alaska. This week, ADF&G Division of Sport Fish will begin mailing the first wave of 2017 Alaska Sport Fishing Surveys. The survey is sent to approximately 47,000 randomly selected Alaska resident and nonresident households having a person who purchased...
Hunters still have until tomorrow to get their harvest reports in, but the 2017 moose hunt has already broken the RM038 district record. As of Tuesday afternoon some 117 animals had been logged by hunters in the Wrangell and Petersburg area. It surpasses the 111 taken last year, and marks the fourth year in a row where the harvest has exceeded 100 moose. The month-long season started September 15 and wrapped up Sunday. The majority of moose were taken on surrounding islands, with 48 taken on...
Kodiak is at the center of a national push to produce biofuels from seaweeds. Agents from the U.S. Department of Energy’s Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy (ARPA-E) recently traveled to the island to meet with a team of academics, scientists, businesses and local growers to plan the first steps of a bi-coastal pilot project to modernize methods to grow sugar kelp as a fuel source. The project is bankrolled by a $500,000 grant to the University of Alaska/Fairbanks through a new DOE program called Macroalgae Research Inspiring Novel E...
With one weekend to go in the 2017 moose hunting season, numbers were approaching 100 as of Tuesday. Ninety-five bull moose had been reported by hunters in the Petersburg-Wrangell management area, only seven of which have been confiscated due to noncompliance with local antler restrictions. “It seems like a nice, lower number of illegals,” Department of Fish and Game wildlife biologist Rich Lowell said of the year. Typically about 10 percent of the total harvest is deemed illegal by management officials, making this year’s slightly bette...
First the bad news. Stakeholders were stunned to learn that surveys yielded the lowest numbers ever for Pacific cod in the federally managed waters of the Gulf of Alaska, meaning from three to 200 miles offshore. Seafood.com was the first to report the bad news as the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting got underway last week in Anchorage. Fisheries biologist Steve Barbeaux of the Alaska Fisheries Science Center in Seattle said the summer survey, done every other year, revealed that the cod year classes for 2012 and 2013 appeared...
The Petersburg-Wrangell area moose harvest seems set to break 100 again this year, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. So far 67 moose have been checked in during the first 18 days of the monthlong hunt. Petersburg ADFG wildlife biologist Rich Lowell explained that generally the larger share of bulls are killed during the first half of the season. Over the past eight years the final two-week average has seen around 45 moose harvested, ranging from a low of 36 to a high of 57. The number of moose taken illegally in the district...
Undaunted by pouring rain, hunters in the Wrangell and Petersburg areas have been bringing in their fill of moose for the 2017 season. As of Tuesday afternoon, Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported a total of 47 bulls have so far been shot since the season’s opener on September 15. Of these, only three have so far been confirmed as noncompliant specimens. “We’ve got a couple that we’re looking at,” ADFG wildlife biologist Rich Lowell added. The department investigates the carcass in conjunction with the State Troopers, and the two agenc...
JUNEAU, AK - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is announcing the reopening of the Southeast Alaska and Yakutat sport fishery for king salmon. The following regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Sunday, October 1, 2017 through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, March 31, 2018. The regulations are: Alaskan Resident • The resident bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresident • The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length; • The nonresident annual limit is three...
October is National Seafood Month, a distinction bestowed by Congress 30 years ago to recognize one of America’s oldest industries. Alaska merits special recognition because its fishing fleets provide 65 percent of the nation’s wild caught seafood, more than all of the other states combined. Ironically, there is little to no fanfare in Alaska during seafood month. My hometown of Kodiak, for example, (the #2 U.S. fishing port) never gives a shout out to our fishermen and processors, nor do local restaurants celebrate seafood on their Oct...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — Hungry bears seeking garbage have been seen in much larger numbers than normal this year and five have been killed so far in 2017, officials said. The number of bears killed is a 15-year high for the area, The Ketchikan Daily News reported Wednesday, quoting Alaska Department of Fish and Game Biologist Boyd Porter. Police killed one of the bears and officers have received constant calls from residents about bears wandering in the city, said Ketchikan Police Chief Joe White. “I’d say at least two or three calls a day p...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) will be conducting a Bowhunter Education Course if enough individuals are interested. An NBEF / IBEP bowhunter certificate is required in Alaska to hunt in “Bowhunting Only” areas of the state. Many drawing permit hunts near urban areas are for bowhunting only and hunters may not apply for the permit unless they have successfully completed a bowhunting certification course approved by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The Alaska Bowhunter education program meets the National Bowhunter Edu...
PETERSBURG, Alaska (AP) — Two nuisance black bears that were lurking around Petersburg have been captured and relocated. A 200-pound (91-kilogram) bear was caught Sept. 3 near downtown Petersburg after a slightly smaller bear was captured in August, KFSK-FM reported Monday. The bears were dropped off near Farragut Bay and Thomas Bay. A poor berry crop, reduced fish runs or fish not being accessible to the bears could be causing the bears to look for food near populated areas, said Rich Lowell, a state Fish and Game wildlife biologist. ...
September 7, 1917 – When the period for military registration in Alaska closed, 189 men between the ages of 21 and 31 had received cards from Registrar Otness. A summarization of the cards show that of the 145 citizens and declarants who registered, 101 ask no exemption, 33 have dependent relatives, and ten, including officers of the geodetic survey, indicate occupational exemption. The remaining 44 of the total are aliens, two of whom are from enemy countries. So far as reported, all residents of Petersburg subject to registration are b...
The 2017 moose season is set to begin next week, with the monthlong harvest opening on September 15. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already seen an increase in permits being issued as the season approaches. Last year's harvest for District 3 – encompassing Wrangell, Petersburg, and surrounding islands – had seen 110 moose taken, according to ADFG harvest records. It was the district's best on record, surpassing 109 harvested in 2009. "Everything's pretty much the same," Pet...
August 31, 1917 – The Petersburg public schools open for the new term next Tuesday morning. Miss Burke, of Seattle to set to fill the vacancy left by Miss Murphy, of Montana. She is expected to arrive on the City of Seattle, together with Miss Kirchiem, from Tacoma. Miss Edna Miller, who has been attending the State Normal School at Bellingham for the summer term, has arrived back home on the Al-Ki. Miss Taylor, who has been here since early summer is the fourth member of the teaching corps. Arrangements as to grades to be taught by each w...
Richard Lowell of Alaska Department of Fish and Game said he received a text message on Tuesday that read "this is why we have bears in town." Along with the text was a photograph of salmon carcasses sprawled across the center of Mill Slough in Petersburg. Reports of discarded salmon bodies near the city are common, unfortunately, and a significant driver of increased bear activity in residential areas, said Lowell. Those who get rid of fish on public or private land and along roads can see...
There are new species of squid near Petersburg, and determining their population is like measuring fog, according to one researcher who has defied Alaska squid assumptions for years. In a presentation at the Public Library on Tuesday, Stephanie Hayes, a PhD student in Marine Biology, which she has refined to squid research, described the Armhook species. New to the Petersburg area, the Armhook Squid has increased in prevalence, despite being told that it hadn't been the case, Hayes said....
Alaska’s salmon season is winding down and while catches have made the record books in some regions, the statewide take will fall a bit short of the 204 million fish forecast. “We are within about 10 percent of the forecast, so that’s very positive and overall it’s been a pretty good season,” said Forrest Bowers, deputy director of the commercial fisheries division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The statewide salmon catch through Friday topped 191 million. The shortfall, Bowers said, again stems from the arrival of fewer pink salmon...
Alaska department of Fish & Game trapped a black bear on Howkan Street Monday evening, which comes as officials are ratcheting-up outreach to residents about securing garbage cans in residential areas. The Police Department retrieved the trap at about 11:00 p.m. on Monday. Inside the cylinder cage was a roughly 175-pound, "medium-sized" bear, said Captain John Hamilton. The bear will be transported to mainland Alaska and released at the north side of Thomas Bay, he said. This appears to be one...
