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The State Department of Fish and Game has set the regulations for non-pelagic rockfish for Southeast waters. The regulations remained unchanged from last year’s season, which pertains only to non-pelagic, or deepwater rockfish, said Petersburg-Wrangell Area Management Biologist Doug Fleming. “It appears to be for all purposes pretty much the same as last year,” he said. The regulations for all Southeast waters are as follows: All non-pelagic rockfish caught must be retained until the bag limit is reached. Persons sport fishing from a chart...
January Petersburg residents contributed a record amount to the Salvation Army Christmas program last year-$15,618.17-more than $9,700 than the year before. Jan. 4, a 7.5 magnitude earthquake struck 58 miles west of Craig and 203 miles south of Juneau prompting a tsunami warning across Southeast. Petersburg Police Chief Jim Agner and Sergeant Heidi Agner announced their intentions to retire. Officer Ben King joined the Petersburg Police Department. The Petersburg Borough Assembly members were... Full story
PETERSBURG — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that seasons for the 2013/2014 commercial Tanner and golden king crab fisheries in Southeast Alaska will open by regulation at 12:00 noon on Monday, February 10, 2014. The season start date for the Tanner and golden king crab fisheries is based on the date with the smallest Juneau tidal range between February 10 and February 17 [5 AAC 35.110(a) and 5 AAC 34.110(b)]. Fishermen are also reminded that weather delay criteria for Tanner and king crab fisheries have been recently a...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced a preseason run size for Stikine River king salmon at 26,000 fish. Because the size of the forecast is small there will be no directed fisheries in early May. Tom Kowalske, ADFG assistant area management biologist in Wrangell, said estimated run sizes have recently been reduced by nearly half. “For the past seven years the run size was overestimated by an average of 45 percent or so,” Kowalske said. The Stikine River king salmon forecast model initially produced an estimated run size of 37,...
It comes as no surprise that the recommendations for next year’s halibut catches are down again for all regions except Southeast Alaska. Fishery scientists with the International Pacific Halibut Commission have recommended a 2014 coast wide commercial catch total of 24.45 million pounds, a 21% decrease from the 31 million pounds allowed for this year. That includes catches in Alaska, British Columbia and the Pacific Coast states. In a summation at a meeting in Seattle last week, the IPHC said: “The results of the 2013 stock assessment ind...
Golden king crab harvests are slightly down this season but prices for the shellfish are well above average. According to Alaska Department of Fish and Game data, the current golden crab price average is $10.10 per pound. That’s more than $2 more per pound compared to last season and nearly double the previous five-year average. This season’s preliminary golden crab harvest is 510,743 pounds compared to last season’s 599,234 pounds. Joe Stratman, ADF&G Region 1 Lead Crab Biologist, said the Southeast openings and closures are based solely on fi... Full story
December 6, 1913 – Excitement ran high a day or two ago down the Company's landing float. Men were seen running back and forth for a few minutes. An inquiry made of the cause revealed the fact that one of the fishermen had, without hook or line, caught the largest sucker anyone had ever seen in these waters. The fishermen, when telling about his catch, remarked that the funny part of the happening was the sucker hadn't a hair on his head. This statement was followed by more inquiry resulting in the discovery that the “sucker” was no fish at all...
Juneau — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announces that the season for the commercial Dungeness crab fishery in Registration Area A (Southeast) will close in most areas by regulation at 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, November 30, 2013, consistent with 5 AAC 32.110. Districts 1 and 2, and Section 13-B outside of the Sitka Sound Special Use Area [5 AAC 32.150(10)] will remain open until February 28, 2014. For those areas that close at 11:59 p.m. on November 30, all Dungeness pots must be removed from the water except that pots may be stored on t...
The commercial sea cucumber fishery is wrapping up with a total of 1.4 million pounds harvested as of last Thursday. Scott Walker, Ketchikan Area Management Biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the fishery started out with around 195 commercial divers when it opened in early October. “The bulk of the fishery is over,” walker said. “The week before last was the last big push we had with around 113 divers. This week we’re down to 25 divers, maybe 30.” According to Alaska Fisheries Entry Commission data, there are around 30... Full story
Southeast Alaska’s 2013 pink salmon harvest estimates are predicted to be around 22 million fish. Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports those numbers to be below the recent 10-year average of around 41 million pinks but close to average of the past five even years. Andy Piston, ADFG research biologist, said through most of the 1990s and early 2000s the odd and even year harvests weren’t much different. But in 2006 their poor survivals changed the cycle of the fish. “Even year pinks were way below average,” Piston said. “Ever since the...
The Subsistence Division of Alaska Department of Fish and Game is looking to interview local residents about their experiences on the Stikine River as it attempts to better understand Chinook salmon declines. The Chinook Salmon Research Initiative, a state-funded research project aimed at better understanding statewide salmon stocks, is funding the local project. In 2001, fishermen harvested more than 70,000 Chinooks from the Stikine. By 2009, those numbers dipped below 20,000 harvested fish. Rosalie Grant, Subsistence Research Specialist for...
October 25, 1913 – The residents of this town are fond of amusement. That being so, they are willing to pay for any kind of evening entertainment. Having that in mind, Mr. Oscar Nickleson is working overtime to prepare a place where the residents may go and find comfort as well as amusement. The place between the pool room and drug store is being fitted up nicely and unless the unforeseen happens, a picture show will be opened the latter part of next week. Mr. Nickleson still retains the l...
This year’s moose hunt is the third highest harvest on record with a total of 85 animals taken from the region. The highest record was in 2009 with 108 moose being harvested and the second was in 2011 with 88 moose taken. Rich Lowell, Area Wildlife Biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the majority of moose are taken during the first two weeks of the hunt, which was the case this year as well. Forty-six moose were taken during the first half of the hunt while 39 were taken d... Full story
October 11, 1913 – The progressive Sons of Norway have decided to carry into execution a plan which can result only to the benefit of all the residents of our little town. It is planned to open their hall to all the local lodges as a “Club Room.” To that end, it is proposed that every member of any lodge will have the privilege of joining the club by paying an initiation fee of one dollar, and fifty cents per month thereafter. This will entitle the members to all the privileges afforded by the spacious hall and all the amusements there...
September 27, 1913 – “Rushed to death” is the expression used by Mr. Olaf Arnes, owner and operator of the Scow Bay sawmill. The unpretentious box manufacturing and sawmill plants, which were born of necessity last summer, have done wonderfully well. Mr. Arness reports a very satisfactory season so far. At the present time, there are 15 men employed around the sawmill besides the crew of loggers who supply the mill with the timber. Lumber for thousands of halibut boxes remain to be sawed yet before the close of the season, hence the “rush...
Thirty-seven moose have been checked in to Alaska Department of Fish and Game this season. Rich Lowell, Area Wildlife Biologist for Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said nineteen moose were checked in during the first week, which is close to average for the last 10 years “Most of the harvest occurs within the first two weeks of the season,” Lowell said. As of yesterday afternoon, 12 moose have been harvested from the Stikine, 12 from Kupreanof and six from Mitkof. Although 12 moose were taken from Kupreanof only six were taken from the Kak...
Twenty-six moose have been checked in to Alaska Department of Fish and game this season. Rich Lowell, Area Wildlife Biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said nineteen moose were checked in during the first week, which is close to average for the last 10 years “Most of the harvest occurs within the first two weeks of the season,” Lowell said. As of yesterday afternoon, nine moose have been harvested from the Stikine, seven from Kupreanof and five from Mitkof. Although seven wer... Full story
September 27, 1913 – Better than 40,000 cases of salmon already put up and still the fish keeps coming. That is the situation in which the Pacific Coast & Norway Packing Company finds itself today. Although late in the season when the management got through with the work of putting up the traps, the location of each trap seems to have been favorable and are still fishing quite profitable. It is rumored that the company has ordered more cans and purpose keeping the cannery working as long as the traps keep up the supply. September 28, 1983 – Che...
September 20, 1913 – The Indians of Skidgate, B.C. reported having seen a new kind of sea monster while out fishing recently. This monster struggled so violently in the encounter that it all but upset the canoe, but finally was cut in two. They reported to the Captain and the officers of the steamer Prince Albert that one of their fishing parties in a war canoe had met with a strange denizen of the deep on the fishing grounds. This creature, which appeared to be twenty feet long and from two to three feet in circumference, wrapped itself t...
Alaska’s salmon fishery harvest smashed records this season with everyone from fishermen to cannery workers feeling the tremors. Alaska’s Southeast regions pulled more than one third of the salmon stock from the waters this summer. According to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s website, roughly 103 million salmon were caught in Southeast waters compared to the 265 million salmon caught statewide according to the Alaska Journal of Commerce. The Southeast Alaska purse seine fishery closed for pink salmon September 8. ADFG final harve...
September 13, 1913 – While patroling the beach a short time ago, a life saver by the name of Blackbery of Mansfield, Or., came across a lump of peculiar substance weighing about 85 pounds, but paid no attention at the time and went on his way. After he got home he remembered the material he had been so careless with resembled a picture he had seen of ambergris, which brings $1000 a pound. Blackbery rushed back to the beach and took the substance home. He sent a piece to David Starr Jordan of California, who declared, after an examination, t...
ANCHORAGE AP) — The commercial salmon catch in Alaska reached a record 260 million for the 2013 season as of last week, up from 221 million in 2005, officials said. During the last week of August, commercial fishermen netted about 24 million salmon, according to a state Fish and Game Department estimate. Much of this year's catch came from Southeast Alaska, with 98.4 million salmon, most of them pinks, the Alaska Journal of Commerce reported. Statewide, the harvest of 209.5 million pinks nearly doubled the state's forecast of 117.8 million. I... Full story
August 30, 1913 – Charly Smith, genial owner of the only “Mansion” in Petersburg returned from a trip to Sitka which he reluctantly left after a too short visit and where he joined a lodge. Mr. Smith says that the most courteous class of people in Alaska is found at Sitka. During his visit in the “old town”, every courtesy imaginable was shown him by everybody, and from our former “little Preacher” to the most humble fisherman, a glad hand of welcome was extended. “Now, do you wonder that I was sorry to leave Sitka?” asked Mr. Smith. He rep...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) will be conducting a Bowhunter Education Course if enough individuals are interested in taking the course. An NBEF/IBEP bowhunter certificate is required in Alaska to hunt in “Bowhunting Only” areas of the state. The Alaska Bowhunter education program meets the National Bowhunter Education Foundation, (NBEF) and International Bowhunter Education Program, (IBEP) certification requirements. For information contact Dan McMahon at 772-3584....
August 31, 1983 – Construction of the new harbor office will be subsidized with $60,000 from the Phase III construction funds for the new boat harbor, according to Harbormaster Jim Stromdahl. Harbormaster Stromdahl said the New Harbor project will not be hurt if the $60,000 is removed. The additional funds became necessary when the low bid came in at $122, 990 over the architect's estimate of $238,240. The difference was made up by the state Department of Transportation transferring $60,000 of the $1.9 million set aside for Phase III of the S...
