Tag Archives: ADF&G

Chignik fishermen stuck ashore as sockeye run fails

Communities around the Gulf of Alaska are struggling with low sockeye returns, and villages near the Chignik River are no different. The region is experiencing its weakest recorded run in the last in 50 years.  Fishermen are stuck waiting for a commercial opener,,, There’s really only one thing to talk about in Chignik Bay these days — where are the sockeye? “Shock is pretty much the guaranteed feeling of most people as kinda everybody walking around dazed.” according to Ben Allen, a local fisherman. It’s to the point where residents have pulled their subsistence nets voluntarily to try and get every salmon they can up the Chignik River.,, And, like other nearby communities, red salmon is the main source of income that keeps the lights on in the village. >click to read<18:12

Deadly success?

Twenty-eight years ago, the state of Alaska banned fish farming in favor of salmon ranching. The idea was simple: Catch a bunch of fish, squeeze out their eggs and sperm, mix the two together, hatch the eggs, raise the little fish in a hatchery, dump them in the ocean, wait for them to come back, and net the money. What could possibly go wrong? Maybe this: From 1985 to 1994, before the hatchery program seriously geared up in the Prince William Sound, the commercial catch of sockeye (red) salmon in Cook Inlet averaged about 5.3 million fish per year.>click to read<10:34

Fleet catches a quarter of herring quota in non-competitive fishery

The Sitka sac roe herring fishery stood down on Tuesday (03-27-18), as the Alaska Department of Fish & Game carried out aerial surveys of Sitka Sound. According to a press release issued at 3:30 pm., weather during the flight was poor with 20 knot winds and snow squalls. No herring were spotted from the air. So far, ADF&G has permitted the fleet to fish twice this week in northern Sitka Sound. The fleet landed approximately 2,400 tons during a five hour opening on Sunday (03-25-18) and 400 tons during a four-and-a-half hour opening on Monday (03-26-18).  >click to read< 22:44

Board of Fisheries weighs proposals protecting Chinook stocks in Southeast

The future of king salmon fishing in Southeast will change this week as the Board of Fisheries considers proposals to boost struggling Chinook stocks on the Chilkat and Taku rivers. The board convened in Sitka Thursday for a 13-day meeting that will resume Monday morning. The meeting isn’t limited to king salmon. This year’s proposals cover everything from the number of crab pots a commercial Dungeness fisherman can use, to the use of deep-sea release mechanisms for rockfish and the opening of a commercial squid fishery. >click here to read<17:50 

20,030,171: final tally on Nushagak District banner year

With final tally from fish tickets, Bristol Bay’s westside district officially reached a milestone most never thought possible. After Bristol Bay’s sockeye season winds down, the Department of Fish and Game works on inputting all the data from fish tickets, both the electronic and paper kind. Westside area management biologist Tim Sands says this gives a more accurate tally, which coincidentally just pushed his district to a new milestone. click here to read the story

Petersburg fishermen share concerns with ADFG leadership

Two of Alaska’s top Fish and Game leaders visited Petersburg April 28 to hear from local fishermen. They discussed a variety of topics including state budget cuts to herring management and the federal observer program. About two dozen fishermen are packed into the office of the Petersburg Vessel Owner’s Association. Among the makeshift circle is Sam Cotten, the Commissioner of Fish and Game and Scott Kelley, the Director of the Division of Commercial Fisheries. Besides herring, the local fishermen also want to discuss the observer program for long liners of halibut and sable fish. It’s not a hugely popular program with fishermen because it requires them to take along a designated person to watch the fishing and document the catches. And fishermen help pay for the program through fees. They’re wondering why isn’t the program getting cut? And why are they having to fill out surveys on their catches and get observed? click here to read, listen to an audio report 10:55

Prince William Sound humpy forecast of 67.16 million fish is largest on record!

State fisheries biologists are forecasting what would be the largest pink salmon run on record into Prince William Sound, with liberal fishing time and area anticipated if the returns prove as strong as expected. Meanwhile, in the Copper River district, the first commercial fishing period is expected to begin during the week of May 14, with harvest projections of 889,000 sockeyes, 207,000 cohos and 4,000 Chinook salmon. The forecast calls for a pink salmon total run of 67.16 million fish, with a commercial harvest of 58.92 million pinks. That would be in marked contrast to 2016, where the run forecast was 40.9 million pinks, but the commercial harvest of 8.65 million pinks was the lowest harvest since 2002 and the second lowest in 20 years, biologists said. click here to read the story 15:08

ADF&G says its up to fishermen to avoid problems with walrus hauling out near Ugashik north line

walrus_at_cape_greig_4_6_16The new walrus haul out at Cape Greig in Bristol Bay could create some problems for the Ugashik and Egegik salmon fishing districts. But right now the Department of Fish and Game says they’ll start the fishery business-as-usual. While a new, more accessible walrus haul out might be welcome by some, that spot is awfully close to the boundaries of the Ugashik commercial fishing district. The Dept. of Fish and Game area management biologist for Ugashik and Egegik is Paul Salomone has been looking at pictures of the haul out over the past month or so. That could be a problem in one of the busiest, most crowded fisheries in the state. Last July, when the fishing in Ugashik got hot, there were over 300 Bristol Bay drift permits registered to fish there. Just north of that district, even more fishermen keep their nets wet in the Egegik district. Audio, Read the rest here 15:38

Almost $12 Million Cut for ADFG

According to Juneau Resources Weekly, the ADF&G budget reductions budget reductions cut across all divisions with sport fishing facing the most personnel losses at 12 seasonal jobs. The Division of Habitat could lose $400,000; commercial fishing programs are set to lose five positions and an additional $2 million in general fund support. Read the rest here  07:40

Upping their groundfish game – ADFG opens experimental pollock fishery in Cook Inlet

Nelson’s net hangs at about 180 feet deep and fishes at about 150. It isn’t deep enough to go out in the middle of the bay, where he thinks the largest concentrations of pollock might be. If the fishery receives an allocation and becomes a regular fixture in the bay, he’ll consider investing in a new net, he said. It would have to be specially-made for catching pollock, and could cost up to $100,000, he said. It’s a large investment, but just the next step in a long fishing career for Nelson. Read the rest here 21:07

Where have all the Whittier coho gone? – commercial seiners being scrutinized

For the past five years, coho salmon smolt specifically released for  have failed to return as adults. Other nearby coho salmon fisheries in Prince William Sound, which have the same smolt, have not experienced the same declines in returning adult coho. “A possible reason for this is the commercial seiners primarily, not the drifters or setnetters,” Lofland said. “The seiners have started concentrating on the west side of the sound. They are very efficient, and they fish around the points. Read the rest here 12:32

Board of Fisheries readies for annual work session in Juneau Oct. 15 and 16

The board is meeting for its annual work session, where it hears preliminary reports on escapement goals for each of the regions it will discuss as part of its regular meeting cycle for 2014-15. The Board of Fisheries sets the management plans for fisheries throughout the state,,, Read the rest here  14:57

ADFG releases 2014 Cook Inlet commercial fishing outlook

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the fishing outlook for Upper Cook Inlet commercial salmon fisheries today. The full report, which includes a summary of regulatory changes, can be read herealaskajournal  14:22

Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery could open today – fishery on a two-hour notice

That means seiners could have their nets in the water as soon as Thursday morning, if the department’s test samples find a high enough percentage of mature roe, or eggs, in the fish. ktuu  Read more here  Seiners worried by weak herring market  kcaw Listen, and Read more here  10:41

Live Audio: Alaska Board of Fish Starting at Noon Eastern

When in session, the Board of Fish hosts streaming live audio.  The Board will be back on the record 8:00 a.m. February 3, 2014   Link and info here  11:30

Fishermen focus on how ADFG sets, achieves escapement goals

Editor’s note: This is the eighth in the Morris Communications series, “The case for conserving the Kenai king salmon.” Each spring, as the early-run king salmon start returning to the Kenai River, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game begins a four-month effort to manage fishing effort in a way that ensures enough salmon swim past fishermen of all types to meet escapement goals. “’Escapement’ is actually what escapes fisheries and lives to spawn,” said ADFG biologist Tim McKinley, who helped draft the current king salmon escapement goals during the fall and winter of 2012 and 2013. more@alaskastar  12:15

Southeast AK pink salmon catch for 2014 to be “average”

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522The Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest in 2014 is predicted to be in the average range, with a point  estimate of 22 million fish (80% confidence interval: 8–36 million fish).  more@fishradio

Bristol Bay salmon values = $141 million (before bonuses)

FISH-With-Mic-Logo-GRAPHIC-303-x-400-e1360148757522From ADF&G, 9/24/13 –  The following is an overview of the 2013 Bristol Bay commercial salmon season. Fishing has been completed in all districts and preliminary harvest totals should be representative for all species. It should be noted that numbers in the narrative are expressed in rounded forms for simplicity and that all data are considered preliminary.  more@alaskafishradio 13:58

Compass: Finger-pointing won’t put any more kings in the rivers

This summer there have been several ADN Compass  pieces,  articles from other print and electronic media and countless blogs stoking the fires of the Cook inlet fish wars. Recently, however, some have suggested that the lack of fish and fishing opportunity is a problem that can only be solved through a collaborative effort of all users. They are correct. @adn.com

10:00 AM – ADF&G News Release Announceme​nt: Dutch Harbor Food and Bait Herring Fishery Announceme​nt #2 48HR EXTENSION

14:24:25 – Species – Herring – Gear Type – Seine – Gillnet –    Dutch Harbor Food and Bait Herring Fishery Announcement #2 – Westward Region-Alaska Peninsula-Aleutian Islands-Areawi

Commercial Herring Fishery HAS BEEN EXTENDED 48 HRS [email protected]

ADF&G closes shrimp fishing in Juneau

Sport and personal use shrimp fisheries in the Juneau area will be closed starting Monday. The commercial shrimp fishery, which opens in October, will also be closed. Commercial shrimp fishing will be closed for three years, which Harris says is a good portion of the shrimps’ life cycle, to give the stock a chance to rebound. After three years, the Department hopes to have a sustainable level and offer limited openings. Personal use and sport fishing will be closed until further notice. continued@ktoo

ADF&G in Kodiak NEWS RELEASE

2013 Parallel Groundfish Fishery Registration Reminder Vessel owners and operators are reminded that a State of Alaska vessel registration is required for all vessels fishing during parallel seasons in territorial waters (0-3 nautical miles) of Alaska.. ..Beginning January 1, 2013, the National Marine Fisheries Service will implement a new fisheries observer program for Alaska’s federal commercial groundfish and halibut fisheries. Read More. Don’t get in trouble!