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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...
From record high opening prices in March for halibut and black cod to robust projections of returning pinks to Southeast and Prince William Sound, both fishermen and processors are expressing cautious optimism for the upcoming season. "It's a catch-up year for both fishermen and processors," stated one Petersburg cannery manager. Boats are in the yard making repairs, some are buying new nets and there is guarded enthusiasm around town. With Southeast Pinks expected to hit the 43 million mark,...
PETERSBURG (AP) – A seafood processing company will stop canning salmon at its facility in the southeast Alaska city of Petersburg this year in response to a growing demand for frozen salmon. Tom Sunderland, vice president of marketing for Ocean Beauty Seafoods, said the company will make more money selling frozen salmon than canned salmon this year. He said the company will focus on freezing salmon at its plant northwest of Petersburg in Excursion Inlet, which has “substantial freezing capacity,” KFSK-FM reported. “And by doing so, the hope is...
With the seasonal peak behind it, Alaska’s commercial fishing industry is expecting one of the worst shortfalls for salmon in recent memory. As of last Tuesday, Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s in-season blue sheet summary estimated just over 102,245,000 salmon had been caught statewide, with less than a quarter of that caught in Southeast. Despite a fair showing for sockeye, the state’s fishermen would be fortunate enough to harvest half the 263,463,000 salmon estimated caught last year. The news has not been good for the local comme... Full story
Brian Mattson and Doug Corl are no strangers to catching fish, the pair have fished together for almost two decades, and last weekend was no exception. Around 10 p.m. on Saturday the local fishermen hooked a monster. They made a quick trip on the F/V Day Spring to Thomas Bay, rather than going south of town, because they drew a NOAA observer. Two sets later they had a nearly 400-pound halibut aboard. They caught the fish "right where everybody goes tanner crabbing," Mattson says. "Normally we... Full story
Karen Hofstad has a collection of a couple hundred or so seafood related cans and labels that would make fishing industry historians salivate. The majority of the collection represents the salmon industry and canneries throughout Alaska, including Kodiak, Petersburg and Wrangell, and they are the inspiration for trash cans worthy of a framed photograph. Last summer Bruce Schactler, a fisherman from Kodiak, contacted Hofstad to ask her to share her labels to create 30 trash cans to help... Full story
Dear, Santa i would like a Hachet, i would like a dirt bike to, and a psa game boy and a sky Drone and a pare of snow showes and some Fishing tackle and a pare of corce logeing Bootes. Senserliy, Davis DEAR SANTA, I WOULD LIKE A MAKEUP KIT AND JULIE'S BEd FOR MY DOLL. IVE BEEN GOOD. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? I WOULD ALSO LIKE THE FIREELF LEGOS. LOVE LEXIE Lexie Tow, Age 6 DEAR SANTA, I HAVE BEEN A GOOD GIRL. I WOULD LIKE A CAMERA, AND A PlAY CAR, AND A ZOOMER KITTY. AND A GIRLSCOUT OVEN. THANK YOU,...
Police arrested Mark Diega, 50, of Chula Vista, Calif., on a Class C felony charge of Terroristic Threatening in the 2nd Degree on Friday after he allegedly threatened to kill PFI staff and went shopping at the Trading Union (TU) Hardware store for a gun and ammunition. Prior to the incident, Diega was employed as a seasonal worker for PFI. According to a probable cause statement submitted by Sergeant James Kerr to the court, Diega was looking at a .22 caliber assault-style rifle and 1,000 rounds of ammunition, before leaving the store, saying... Full story
The Humpy 500 go-cart race, a 20-year Petersburg tradition that saw local kids and families teaming up to build and decorate carts for racing down PFI hill, will come to end this year. The event has been held annually in October to celebrate the end of the canning and summer fishing seasons, but in recent years the number of participants has dwindled, said PFI Manager Patrick Wilson. “Trying to energize the town, community and families to do it doesn’t seem to be working well,” he said. “So we’re gonna call it quits for now.” Wilson said... Full story
Owner Paine & Partners, LLC of San Francisco has entered into agreements with two different groups to sell Icicle Seafoods. According to the press release issued, Convergence Holdings, Inc. will acquire Icicle's land-based wild seafood processing and farmed salmon activities while Dominion Catchers, LLC will acquire the company’s harvesting and processing vessels, as well as associated fishing rights. Dominion Catchers is a limited liability company licensed by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Development. C... Full story
Borough Manager Steve Giesbrecht gave the following report at Monday’s regular Assembly meeting: • PFI manager Patrick Wilson has been chosen as the Grand Marshal for the 4th of July festivities. This year’s theme is “Freedom, FROZEN in time.” • Public Works staff helped expand the running track at the school. While not a full-distance track, it will be better for the kids to have some straightaways to practice on. • Crews will take advantage of dry weather to paint crosswalks and curbs downtown in the coming days before Mayfest. • Public Works...
Those looking to work at Petersburg’s fish processors will have a good chance to jump onboard with this summer’s pink salmon season predicted to be a big one. “The 2015 harvest forecast of 58 million pink salmon is well above the recent 10-year average harvest of 41 million pink salmon, and a harvest of that magnitude would be in the top ten harvests since 1960,” according to a guide put out by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Andy Piston, pink and chum salmon project leader in Ketchikan, and Steve Heinl, Ketchikan regional research...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery opened at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday under a cooperative model. Dave Gordon, area management biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the decision was made by permit holders to eliminate competition and lower costs to “make it worthwhile to go after the product” as the market is poor. It wasn’t a popular decision among tenders, however. “There’s a lot less boats here,” said Tanner Mackiewicz, president of the Alaska Independent Tendermen’s Association. “A lot of people without jobs.” He said the...
The Sitka sac roe herring fishery will be done cooperatively this year, with processing completed in Sitka alone, meaning no fish tax for Petersburg. "This is an industry initiated cooperative," Dave Gordon, area management biologist at the Department of Fish and Game, said of the co-op. He added that the sac roe herring market is "very poor right now," and that the decision was made to eliminate competition and risk - to lower costs to "make it worthwhile to go after the product." "The quota this year is quite small," said Patrick Wilson,... Full story
These ordinances, resolutions and requests came before the Petersburg Borough Assembly at Monday’s regular meeting. Approved by the assembly •The assembly approved a bid award for landscaping at the Petersburg Public Library. Of two bidders, Reid Brothers Construction won the bid for an amount not to exceed $199,332 to do hardscape and rock work at the library along with drainage improvements. Funds for the landscaping project will come from a 2012 State Legislative Grant allocated for the construction of the new facility as well as from pri...
The Petersburg Borough Assembly unanimously approved, on second reading, an ordinance that increases electric rates during the next two years. Before assembly members voted on the ordinance, Patrick Wilson, Petersburg Fisheries (PFI) plant manager, spoke before the assembly to request that the electric rates stay consistent with past year's schedules. Wilson said that even though the percent increase represents a small dollar amount, the increased cost will make PFI less competitive in an increasingly competitive industry. "It (the new rate... Full story
Karen Malcom won this year's King Salmon Derby after battling a 46.4-pound Chinook last Saturday afternoon. Besides fishing the derby one day last year, Malcom hasn't fished during the annual event for 15 years until last weekend. "My husband invited me to spend the weekend fishing with him and I took him up on it," Malcom said. "It was good quality time with he I and my dog. It was a family outing." Stan Malcom and Karen Malcom got skunked Friday. Stan Malcom caught a halibut on Saturday and... Full story
The Petersburg Borough Assembly joined the City of Kupreanof in sending a letter to the University of Alaska President requesting the suspension of contract finalization for timber sales on South Mitkof Island. The first timber sale is located adjacent to Banana Point and the Wilson Creek Recreation Area and the other is along the Wrangell Narrows across from Keene Island. “These timber sales will likely result in the increase of severe landslide potential, loss of critical deer winter range, and visual impacts to the Wrangell Narrows Scenic By... Full story
November 15, 1913 – Agent W.E. Nowell, of the Alaska Steamship company, states that he was successful in his application for a change in the steamer schedule that would afford a better service to Juneau and Ketchikan. He made the trip out for the purpose of consulting the officials of his company on this matter and returned on the last trip of the Jefferson. Under the new plan all of southeastern Alaska will be benefited by a reduced time schedule as far north as Juneau. The Jefferson is to go on a 10-day schedule with Juneau as the northern t...
Aside from massive fish harvest, Petersburg canneries felt the added pressure of worker walkouts and no shows. This summer was the first time the companies couldn’t hire foreign student workers coming on J1 Visas after the federal government ended the program in an attempt to provide more jobs to American workers. Some estimates early in the season put no show rates between 15-20 percent. A local manager said working with a changed employee pool combined with peak production was a “double whammy.” “There were less workers in the pool and mor...
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...
Due to the road construction downtown, the regular program for the annual Humpy 500 has been changed to an indoor race, Saturday, Oct. 6. “The event will be held in the community gym,” Petersburg Fisheries Plant Manager Patrick Wilson said. “The Petersburg Parks and Recreation Department has been kind enough to allow us to use that facility.” Wilson explained that the down side of this is that the kids will not be able to sit in and drive the carts this year. “There will be smaller models ma... Full story
The Southeast Alaska 2012 season’s pink salmon catch was less than half of last year’s but a little higher than expected. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game predicted an all year harvest of 17 million and came in at around 20 million, 19 million of which were caught by the seine fleet. According to Fish and Game Commercial Fisheries Coordinator Biologist Bill Davidson, the runs have been coming in weak in the even years and strong in the odd since 2006 and this year is no exception to the historical rule. “We are a little above forec...
Due to road construction downtown, Petersburg Fisheries will hold the annual Humpy 500 in the PFI Cookhouse. “The Humpy 500 is a tradition here and we want to keep it going,” PFI Plant Manager and Humpy 500 Chairman Patrick Wilson said. “We will still have the races, but on a smaller scale.” Wilson will have containers available to be picked up by contestants immediately and will be sending information and rules home with the kids from the area schools. “We will be providing salmon roll cont... Full story
