Sorted by date Results 351 - 366 of 366
Absent from supermarket fliers this spring have been ads featuring the year’s first fresh halibut, reflecting the anticipated push back by buyers to the high priced fish. “No ads in the papers. No excitement this year,” said more than one major buyer. In recent years, dwindling supplies of halibut helped push up dock prices to more than $7/lb at major ports, and halibut fillets topped $20/lb at retail. That’s not the case this year. The fishery opened March 23 and the prices for first deliveries at Kodiak were reported at $5.25 - $5.75/l...
ANCHORAGE (AP) — Alaska's challenge to the Clinton administration-era roadless rule in national forests was rejected Monday by a federal judge, who said it came too late to be considered. The rule that was put into place in January 2001 restricts road construction in national forest areas without roads. The Bush administration in 2003 exempted the vast Tongass National Forest, the nation's largest at nearly 26,563 square miles on Alaska's Panhandle. A federal judge in March 2011 overturned that decision and the state of Alaska sued to o...
There’s lots of movement in Alaska’s salmon permit markets, but sales of catch shares are in a stall. Permit values are up and down depending on region, and interest reflects how the salmon runs have been coming in. For example at Bristol Bay, where sockeye runs for two years have been down and another lackluster season is expected this summer, salmon drift permit values have nosedived from a $165,000 high water mark in 2011 to around $90,000 now. “It’s hard to imagine they will go up a lot with a catch forecast of 16 to 17 million salmon...
Halibut catches could be cut by 33 percent next year if proposed numbers get the nod by the International Pacific Halibut Commission next month. That would mean a coast wide harvest of just 22.7 million pounds for fisheries in California, Washington, Oregon, British Columbia and Alaska. Alaska’s share of the halibut catch would be 17.4 million pounds, down from about 25 million this year. Unlike past years, staff scientists are not making catch limit recommendations by separate areas. Instead, they are providing “assessment and advice framework...
Alaska’s salmon harvest and value for 2012 came in well below last year, dropping 21 percent and 30 percent, respectively. According to preliminary state tallies, the value of the salmon catch totaled nearly $506 million at the docks this summer on a statewide catch of 124 million fish. That compares to a 2011 take of 177 million salmon valued at just over $641 million. A breakdown shows that the 2012 Chinook harvest of 333,000 was worth $17.6 million; sockeyes came in at 35.2 million valued at nearly $246 million; the coho catch of 3 m...
October 20, 1982- An unfamiliar building, a strange view from the front window, a new bed-it can be disquieting to an adult, let alone a child. Maria Estelle, director of the Petersburg Children’s Center, is getting nervous thinking about helping 40 children adapt to a new day-home. She is nonetheless looking forward to the move into the new Petersburg Children’s Center. The actual move won’t be made until Nov. 1, but a ribbon cutting ceremony will be held on Oct. 22 at 11 a.m. across from the elementary school. Construction of the cente...
State fishery managers are asking for input from Alaskans to help solve the case of disappearing king salmon. A letter went out last week from Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Cora Campbell inviting stakeholders to a two day symposium in Anchorage later this month titled ‘Understanding Abundance and Productivity Trends of Chinook salmon in Alaska.’ The stated goal is ‘to increase understanding and develop the most complete research plan possible.’ A draft analysis by a newly appointed fisheries research team represents initial...
Questions regarding the decrease in port departures were a topic of discussion by Petersburg City Council Monday evening. Petersburg Mayor Al Dwyer addressed a letter to Alaska Department of Transportation and Public Facilities Deputy Commissioner of Marine Operations Michael Neussl asking about the reduced ferry schedule for 2013. “Our community has seen an overall decrease in port departures by 19.5 percent since 2002 and an 18.6 percent decrease in passenger disembarkment over the same time period,” Dwyer noted. “These two facts are clear... Full story
Gabriel Seaman Army Pvt. Gabriel C. Seaman has graduated from basic combat training at Fort Jackson, Columbia, S.C. During the nine weeks of training, the soldier studied the Army mission, history, tradition and core values, physical fitness, and received instruction and practice in basic combat skills, military weapons, chemical warfare and bayonet training, drill and ceremony, marching, rifle marksmanship, armed and unarmed combat, map reading, field tactics, military courtesy, military justice system, basic first aid, foot marches, and...
The amount of mature sockeye salmon present in the waters of Southeast Alaska and other areas of the Pacific Northwest has been on a downward spiral recently according to a study published last week in the Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences. The study states that the, “widespread decrease in productivity has important implications for management of salmon stocks and requires research into its potential causes to help determine future management strategies.” Dr. Randall Peterman, a professor in fishery science and management at...
The Crystal Lake Hatchery began operation in Petersburg in 1973 and is one of the oldest operating hatcheries in southeast Alaska. “This hatchery was started as a sport fish hatchery,” Crystal Lake Hatchery Manager Loren Thompson explained. “It still is, it’s the only one in southeast Alaska.” According to the Southern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association, the facility was first stocked with Chinook from the Columbia River. Andrews Creek fish were used at the hatchery and spread from ther...
May 26, 1982 - Salmon fishermen in southern Southeastern Alaska can expect to find bright red 7/8 inch diameter plastic disc tags on some adult pink and red salmon they harvest in 1982. The tags are being placed on adult pinks and reds as a part of the joint U.S.—Canada salmon interception research program being conducted in southern Southeastern Alaska and northern British Columbia waters in 1982. This large-scale tagging project is designed to determine the proportion of red and pink salmon from each country that contribute to major i...
The value of Alaska fishing permits has see-sawed over the past year with Cook Inlet prices heading upwards and Bristol Bay on the down side. “Cook Inlet had a really good year last year, and they’re expecting another strong fishery this summer. Salmon drift permits have taken off with sales made at $80,000 compared to around $50,000 last year,” said Doug Bowen of Alaska Boats and Permits in Homer Prices have headed the other way in Bristol Bay. The Bay permits, are not so hot. They ran way up last year on expectations of good fish numbe...
SEATTLE (AP) — Fire destroyed an adventure tour boat being prepared for the Alaska cruise season Friday at Fishermen's Terminal, and the operator says the loss likely will total millions of dollars. Two people escaped from the Safari Spirit by climbing down a mooring line to the dock, said Tim Jacox, vice president of InnerSea Discoveries. Company owner Dan Blanchard was sleeping on board and was awakened at about 1 a.m. by popping noises. He called the fire department and got off the boat along with the engineer, Jacox said. The 105-foot yacht...
As expected there will be less halibut available for fishermen to catch this year – an 18% drop to 33 million pounds, to be split among fisheries along the west coast, British Columbia and Alaska. That follows a 19% cut to the catch last year. The announcement was made at the International Pacific Halibut Commission’s annual meeting last week in Anchorage. Alaska always gets the lion’s share of the catch, which this year will be 25.5 million pounds. Driving the fishing decreases: Pacific halibut stocks continue a decade long decline, there...
Kaitlyn McAvoy has been hired as the Wrangell Sentinel’s new reporter. Her work will also appear in the Petersburg Pilot on occasion. Coming from her hometown just outside Chicago, she brings both experience and a B. A. degree in Journalism, from Columbia College in the Windy City. McAvoy spent the last two years in Western Wyoming writing for a small town newspaper, the Pinedale Roundup. Prior to that, she was an intern for the Chicago Tribune Editorial Board and wrote a blog about the c...
