Tag Archives: Gig Harbor fishing fleet

Commercial fishing fleet still waiting for its homeport

Members of Gig Harbor’s fishing fleet have waited more than a decade for the city to build a Commercial Fishing Homeport, which has been part of the plan for Ancich Park since 2013. It looks like they will have to wait at least another year. Negotiations between the city and the National Marine Fisheries Service over mitigation for the $3.2 million project have stalled. The city likely will miss the so-called “fish window” for overwater construction this year. The city already has a design, local and state permits, and financing — including a substantial donation from the Gig Harbor Commercial Fishermen’s Club. But it doesn’t have the go-ahead from NMFS, which determines what mitigation is necessary to proceed. For the local commercial fishing industry, the clock is ticking. Photos, more, >>click to read<< 06:36

The Gig Harbor fishing fleet had a bonanza season in Alaska this year

“This has been our best season in six years,” said Matt Munkres, who skippers the Gig Harbor-based Julien, a 54-foot purse seiner. “And we got good prices, so all in all, it was pretty good.” Fishermen were glad to see it, because the previous two years had been disappointing. Gregg Lovrovich, president of the Gig Harbor Commercial Fishermen’s Club, says fishing “is like farming, you take the good and the not so good, and over the years, it kind of balances out.” Lovrovich, who runs the 58-foot Sea Fury, says he was late leaving for Alaska because of a daughter’s wedding, so he was only able to fish for a month and a half. “Still, it was one of the best months I’ve ever had,” he said. >click to read< 09:52