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Two big fish stories have been spawned so far by the 2016 Alaska salmon season: 1) sockeyes save the day; and 2) colossal pinks. A larger than expected sockeye salmon catch that has topped 50 million will salvage a summer that has seen lackluster catches of other salmon species, notably, those hard to predict pinks. “I think if you’re a Bristol Bay fisherman, you’re probably pretty happy, and if you fished anywhere else in the state, it probably hasn’t been a great season for you,” said Forrest Bowers, deputy director of commercial fisheries...
ANCHORAGE, Alaska (AP) – Federal wildlife officials are implementing a rule prohibiting predator control on national wildlife refuges in Alaska, more than 73 million acres of land, with some exceptions. The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service may still allow predator control the hunting of predators, such as wolves, to boost moose and caribou populations if the agency determines the effort is in response to conservation concerns, KTUU-TV reported. “Alaska’s national wildlife refuges are incredible landscapes with wildlife populations that suppo...
King salmon might not have been as abundant as gillnetters hoped for earlier this season, but the sockeye fishery on the Stikine starting in mid-June is coming in above predictions, according to Troy Thynes, area management biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. “For the Stikine sockeye, our preseason forecast was 223,000 sockeye,” Thynes said. “Which is an above average run forecast. The average run over the last 10 years is about 180,000.” After a week or so into the season, it became apparent based on strength of catches...
JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) – An Alaska whale-watching cruise turned into a rescue mission for an unusual aquatic species a distressed, swimming deer. The 18-passenger tour vessel from Gastineau Guiding Co. lassoed the struggling deer on Wednesday, pulled it on board and gave it a ride to an island, Juneau radio station KTOO reported. Naturalist Audrey Benson said visitors and crew were watching whales when the boat received a radio transmission that deer were swimming in the saltwater on the west side of Shelter Island. “We heard that there were two...
Who knows more about local salmon and their habitats than Alaska fishermen? That’s the impetus behind a new information-gathering project spawned by United Fishermen of Alaska (UFA) that aims to provide useful and timely news about the health of the state’s salmon runs. The Salmon Habitat Information Program (SHIP) launched last week with an online survey to provide commercial fishermen with a way to share their local intelligence. “We are asking people what issues they are most concerned about in their region,” said SHIP manager Lindsey...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that the commercial golden king crab fishery in the Mid-Chatham Strait and Southern Areas will close at 12:00 noon, Wednesday, June 29, 2016. These areas are being closed in response to continued poor fishery performance. These declines are similar to the time period of the early to mid-1990s when the department routinely closed fishing areas before harvest reached preseason guideline harvest levels (GHL). While the fishery dependent data used to manage golden king crab since 2000 are more...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the commercial spring troll fishery in the Ketchikan Area (101-29) will open to trolling from 12:01 a.m., June 9 through 11:59 p.m., June 12. Tebenkof Bay (109-62) will open to trolling from 12:01 a.m., June 11 through 11:59 p.m., June 11....
The budget impasse with Alaska legislators is wreaking havoc on salmon fisheries across the state, and the industry is bracing for the possibility of a complete shutdown in some regions. If lawmakers can’t agree on a budget by June 1, all state workers will be on notice for layoffs starting July 1. That includes 750 full-time and seasonal workers in the commercial fisheries division, many of whom are the boots on the ground for salmon management. “The word that comes to my mind is catastrophic,” said Scott Kelley, director of the state comme...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Wildlife Conservation in Petersburg reminds the public that deer fawns should not be handled, picked up, or otherwise disturbed. The first fawns of the season are being reported and sightings will increase over the next few weeks. Several consecutive mild winters have resulted in high deer survival in and around Petersburg and Game Management Unit 3 in general. As a result, wildlife managers in the region expect a high number of fawns this season. Although a fawn may appear to be abandoned or...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced on Tuesday that modified king salmon sport fishing regulations that have been in effect for Wrangell and Petersburg’s District 8 are rescinded. As of this morning, the increased sport fishing opportunity for the district has come to an end, bringing regulations back in line with those of the wider Southeast region. Under the regulations, an Alaska resident permit-holder can bag and possess a limit of three king salmon, of 28 inches or greater in length. Nonresidents are limited to one king s...
The 35th Annual Petersburg Chamber of Commerce King Salmon Derby gets underway this Friday, May 27 at 7 a.m. The derby continues through the Memorial Day Weekend and ends Monday at 5 p.m. Two tagged fish worth $10,000 and $5,000 will be available for anglers this year. Derby committee member Doug Welde reported the king salmon were tagged on Wednesday morning near the mouth of Wrangell Narrows. The $10,000 prize is sponsored by Alaska Marine Lines and the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce. The $5,000 tagged fish is sponsored by Hammer and Wikan. N... Full story
Lesley Stella Older Croxton, 89, was born on May 17, 1926 to William and Frances Older in Adreian, Mich. She was four years old when she moved with her parents and sister Lee to California. She met Loren Croxton as the U.S. entered WWII, and they married when he returned after serving in MacArthur's Seventh Fleet in the South Pacific. Together they graduated from Oregon State University, and soon opened a mink ranch in Oregon, where their daughters Ruth and Mary were born. With the post-war decl... Full story
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced last week limits for the year’s lingcod sport fishing season, which for Southeast Alaska began on Monday. Running through to Nov. 30, licensed residents will be limited to bagging one lingcod a day, with two in possession, and no size limitation. During the season nonresident anglers will likewise have a bag limit of one per day, though with only one in possession. In addition, nonresidents may only keep lingcod which are between 30 and 45 inches or else are 55 inches or greater in length. N...
In the face of Alaska’s multi-billion dollar budget shortfalls, state policy makers are putting the onus on fishermen to cover the costs of going fishing. “One of the sources we have to offset general fund decreases is increased test fishing. We don’t like to catch fish or crab or anything just to raise money, but in this climate we’re having to look at that long and hard,” said Scott Kelley, director of the Commercial Fisheries for the Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game. Test fishing is typically done by department chartered vessels to assess st...
In a news brief released April 28, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced additional sport fishing opportunities for king salmon would be available to Wrangell and Petersburg’s District 8. Sport fishing for king salmon in the district may be conducted with the use of two rods per angler, with no more than six lines fished from a vessel. Resident anglers have a bag limit of three king salmon 28 inches or greater in length, with a limit of six in possession. Nonresidents have a bag and possession limit of two, up to six for the year. Ch...
Sitka — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has announced the results from the 2016 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery and spawn observations. This season the target harvest level was set at 14,741. The final harvest was 9,758 tons with overall mature roe recovery of 10.7% based on fish ticket information. The harvest and roe recovery by date was as follows: There were two spawning events in the Sitka Sound area this season. The first spawn occurred from March 18 until March 28. The total shoreline mapped with spawn during this initial e...
Cuts affecting Alaska’s fisheries will be spread across all regions and species, depending on the final budget that is approved by state legislators. As it stands now, the total commercial fisheries budget for FY 2017 from all state and federal funding sources is about $64 million, a drop of $10 million over two years. “With cuts of that magnitude, everything is on the table,” said Scott Kelley, director of the Commercial Fisheries Division at the Dept. of Fish and Game. Last year 109 fishery projects were axed, and another 65 are on the cut l...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game earlier this month released this year’s regulations regarding sport and commercial King salmon regulations. The resident bag and possession limit is three King salmon, 28 inches or greater and the non-resident limit is one King, 28 inches or greater except during May and June when non-residents are allowed two King’s 28 inches or greater. The non-resident annual limit is six Kings at those same length restrictions. Those regulations are in effect from 12:01 a.m. April 12, 2016 through 11:59 p.m. May 1,...
Increasingly corrosive oceans are raising more red flags for Bering Sea crab stocks. Results from a first ever, two year project on baby Tanner crabs show that higher ocean acidity (pH) affects both their shell production and the immune systems. Bairdi Tanner crab, the larger cousins of snow crab, are growing into one of Alaska’s largest crab fisheries with a nearly 20 million pound harvest this season. “We put mom crabs from the Bering Sea in a tank, and allowed her embryos to grow and hatch in an acidified treatment,” explained project leade...
JUNEAU (AP) — Students and teaching assistants have arrived back in Juneau from a remote mountaineering class that was cut short when one of their professors was mauled by a brown bear. They said Tuesday night that they were tired and not yet ready to talk about Forest Wagner, 35, who was teaching the class on Mount Emmerich near Haines when he was attacked by the brown bear sow on Monday. The mountain is near Kicking Horse River in Alaska's panhandle. A student hiked into cellphone range on the mountain and called Haines police, who r...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is looking for citizen scientists to track bat local bats in an effort to track the development of a deadly fungus affecting bats known as 'white nose syndrome.' ADFG's Fish and Wildlife technician Steve Lewis gave a talk at the Petersburg Public Library Saturday where he provided a bat primer and informed locals on how they can help ADFG better understand local bat populations. Lewis said no one knows where white nose syndrome came from but that it's prese... Full story
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the first opening of the Southeast Alaska drift gillnet fishery will begin Monday, May 2, 2016. This opening is directed at returns of Stikine River king salmon and will occur in the following area: District 8: will be open from 8:00 a.m., Monday, May 2 - 8:00 a.m., Tuesday, May 3, with some restrictions at the Stikine River, Beacon Point/Point Frederick Area, Bear Creek and Wrangell Harbor Area. Gillnet Gear Restrictions: The gear allowed will be the standard length and depth (300 fathoms and...
Clare Painter has always liked a little adventure in her life, and she recently undertook a challenge she never saw coming–reality TV. She will appear on Fox Network's new reality show "American Grit" on Thursday, April 14, at 5 p.m. local time. Painter moved to Petersburg in 1986, and spent two summers working salmon and black cod at Cold Storage, then spent the next 20 years working on fishing boats. "Fishing was always challenging, it was always changing," Painter says. One of the biggest p...
Alaska Senator Dan Sullivan has scored seats on nearly every Congressional committee that deal with issues on, over and under the oceans. That fulfills a commitment he made to Kodiak when he ran for office two years ago, he said at a ComFish town meeting during a two day stay on “the Rock.” Sullivan ticked off a list of fishery related actions he’s had a hand in getting accomplished over the past year: passage of an enforcement act that combats global fish pirating and seafood fraud; adding language to bills that lifts pricey class...
KETCHIKAN, Alaska (AP) — Commercial fishermen in Alaska are expected to harvest fewer salmon this year. The Ketchikan Daily News reports that according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's run forecast and harvest projections, this year's salmon harvest is expected to catch about 161 million statewide, more than 100 million less than in 2015. Fish and Game officials say the decline is due to fewer pink salmon, which are the backbone of Southeast Alaska's annual commercial salmon landings. Southeast Alaska's commercial fleets, mostly p...
