Tag Archives: Cordova
Overall impact of disastrous pink salmon fishery still being calculated
Fallout from what’s being described by commercial fishermen as a pink salmon disaster in Prince William Sound is still being calculated, but troubling times began earlier this year when high insurance costs kept some from ever going out in their boats. Low runs of humpies, mounting fuel costs and some processors opening up late all appear to be spelling big economic challenges for the Prince William Sound economy. “It’s going to be a big hit for the town,” said Cordova City Council Member Kristen Carpenter, who is anticipating a significant loss of raw fish tax dollars to the city this year. “It was an absolute disaster,” said veteran salmon harvester John Renner, chair of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Copper River/Prince William Sound Advisory Committee. One young man lost his boat, said Renner. “Anyone who has payments to make is in trouble unless they have dual permits and are making money off of gillnetting or longlining,” he said. “Fuel is $5 a gallon and insurance costs are up 25%.” more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 13:55
Copper River salmon aficionados hail arrival of first fish
In Cordova the first 12-hour opener of the Copper River commercial salmon fishery, with 376 deliveries, yielded a catch of nearly 43,000 sockeye salmon, 1,108 Chinook, 247 chum, and two cohos to processors. The second opener, with 400 deliveries, brought in another 51,994 sockeye, 1,284 Chinook, 2,182 chum, and 62 coho salmon. As of May 21, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Cordova office said that the overall catch stood at 93,851 sockeye, 2,392 Chinook, 2,433 chum, and 64 coho salmon. Processors were offering $7 a pound for sockeyes and $16 a pound for kings. Meanwhile, a chance to sample the first Copper River sockeye salmon drew some 400 seafood fans to Anchorage ski slopes on Saturday, May 18, where they dined on appetizers prepared by top chefs and bid in an auction that raised $8,350 for the Make A Wish Foundation. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 14:17
Anchoring the Family: The Life, Labor and Love of an Alaskan Fishing Mom
It’s called a labor of love for a reason. A life in fishing – especially in Alaska – can be equally rough and rewarding, spending days at sea where the wonders of the world take shape in glacial ridges and splashes of fish slipping over each other on deck. What you don’t always see is the effort, will, patience and passion of the people caring for those on the water from behind the shoreline. On the rugged coast of southern Alaska, where icy waters provide hope for a rich season, Kinsey Brown and her husband, Zeke, have woven their lives into the fabric of their small fishing community. It’s been said countless times by dedicated seafood harvesters across the globe that fishing is more than a livelihood. It’s a calling, community and a legacy that nearly all who fish hope to pass down to the newest generations of their fishing families. Video, photos, more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 10:30
Eagle, Eagle, what are you going to do?
Dick and Carl Arvidson had sister ships built in Seattle. Carl named his the “Eagle,” and when they were transiting through the locks out of Lake Washington, Dick was in the lead. Evidently there was confusion for Carl, as over a loudspeaker, he heard an urgent announcement: “Eagle! Eagle! What are you going to do?” Dick and Carl were good friends and had both begun fishing in the Cordova area at a young age. Dick loved to tell the story about the maiden voyage of their matching boats. It was always good for a laugh. The Eagle still sits in the Cordova boat harbor and is used in set net operations by the Kritchens on the other side of the Sound. Seeing it reminded me of another eagle story witnessed from Renner’s Dragonfly. >>click to read<< 15:09
If these stories aren’t told right
George Olsen passed away Saturday night. The following story includes an interview with Olsen in 2014, and is running this week in honor and celebration of his memory.
The Olsen’s home is across from the new elementary school built just above Main Street. If you follow the road down its steep decline, you’ll reach the harbor where the docks are lined with fishing boats and the gulls squawk mercilessly lured to the salty stench of the day’s catch being hauled in. The fishermen, he says, are worried about next year’s salmon runs with the low water levels. He used to be one. A fisherman, that is. “Was your father a fisherman too?” I ask. He scrunches his brow and cocks his head ever so slightly, staring at me as if I had just asked him whether the ocean was filled with water. “Of course,” he enunciates, making clear the stupidity in asking such a question. >click to read< 11:16
Big changes are coming to Cordova’s south harbor
Long overdue renovation of Cordova’s south harbor begins this fall, with a schedule that sets completion of the $40 million project in the spring of 2024. The project is under contract with Turnagain Marine Construction, an Anchorage firm that specializes in heavy civil marine construction, said Tony Schinella, who has served as harbormaster at Cordova for about a decade. “We are definitely excited,” said Schinella. “We’re well overdue for a facelift. The existing docks have been there about 40 years.” The revamp, initially expected to cost about $30 million,,, >click to read< 16:50
In memory of Carl Arvidson
Cordova recently lost a great fisherman. Carl Godfred Arvidson passed away during the evening of Feb. 21 in the arms of his wife, Suzanne Arvidson, in Carson City, Nevada. Carl was born in Cordova. His family entered the local fisheries in the early 1900s, when his father, Gus (John Gustav) Arvidson, made his way from Sweden to Alaska. Gus married another young immigrant, Minnie,,, Gus Arvidson plied his trade in the waters of the Copper River Delta. When he started fishing, he had to row his boat to the fishing grounds and haul in his net by hand, both formidable feats. At the young age of 38, he suffered an injury while at sea, returned to town and passed away. He was survived by his wife and seven young children. At the time, Carl was a tender 5 years old. When Carl and his three brothers, Gus, George and Bob, came of age, they knew their best opportunity for success in Cordova was in the commercial fishing industry. They all entered the treacherous industry. >click to read< 18:35
Cordova: Fishing is the Name of the Game
With the tempo picking up all over town, one can tell another fishing season is right around the corner. The streets and intersections are filled with vehicles, and what I call “summer” speed limits, as well as vanishing parking spaces, now seem to be the norm. Nautical writer William Snaith, in his essay “About Figaro” wrote much about the naming of sailing vessels, but his truisms apply to all craft. For example, consider the F/V Aquaholic, clearly hooked on the Copper River’s murky waters, anticipating reds and kings hitting the gear in that first set of the season. Or how about the F/V Net Profit? Clever. Then there is the F/V Slo Learner,,, >click to read< 08:25
Long-Awaited Cordova South Harbor Project Is Finally Underway
“We’ve been needing it for a long time; the harbor that is being replaced was being built in 1981 when I first came here and was expected to have about a thirty-year lifespan,” says fisherman Jeff Bailey of the FV Odyssey and FV Miss Margeaux. “Now, it’s on year forty.” Bailey adds, “Every year, more floats become waterlogged and roll over, and the cleats on the dock have broken loose with a number of larger vessels… It’s not uncommon for floats to break loose with boats attached, and we have to go corral them.” Though the state originally built Cordova’s South Harbor, it later turned it over to the community, which became responsible for maintenance and repairs. “As fishermen, we invest in our equipment every year, building new boats and new fishing nets and making modifications and improvements, but the harbor didn’t evolve in this same way,” >click to read< 11:55
Seine season brings ‘bright light’ to struggling fleet
In a year when the fishery was shut down for 16 days, inflicting economic pain on gillnetters, the seine season proved a bright light overall for commercial salmon harvesters, “Many of us were nervous after the 2019 drought and uncertainties with what that meant for returns in 2021,” “It’s heartbreaking to see our community continue to struggle, to know it’s impacting families, our city’s fish tax revenue, and ultimately the city and school budget.” >click to read< 20:09
Church offers “Do It Yourself” blessing kits for faithful fishermen
This year, the Rev. Michael Kim is offering a special service for Coronavirus conscious Catholics: a “do-it-yourself” kit that fishermen can use to bless their own boats and gear. The blessing kits distributed by St. Joseph’s Catholic Church include the text of a prayer to be read aloud, and holy water in a bottle designed for easy sprinkling. Parishioners hoping for abundant catches or for protection from stormy weather sometimes ask for blessings, Kim said. However, the coronavirus pandemic has made close interpersonal contact more complicated. So, Kim readied 15 kits in preparation for the 2021 fishing season. Kim said he was ready to prepare more kits if demand should increase during the fishing season. >click to read< 09:39
Look at those!! Golden king crab harvesters bring in the first 2,000 pounds
For the first time in over 30 years there was fresh golden king crab for sale at the dock in Cordova and 60° North Seafoods, LLC plans to sell most of it retail throughout the United States for the coming holiday season. The crew of the Nip ‘N Tuck, owned by Teal Lohse, brought in a catch of 2,000 pounds of golden king crab, weighing on average a little over eight pounds on their first trip, said Rich Wheeler, chief executive officer. “We brought them back to the plant and sold them off the dock,” he said. Locals snapped up about 500-600 pounds of the succulent crab. >click to read< 17:41
Around The World: Fishing For Cordova Salmon
Located on Prince William Sound in southeast Alaska and framed by the Chugach Mountain Range, Cordova, AK, was home to Eyak native peoples when named “Puerto Cordova” after a Spanish admiral by explorer Salvador Fidalgo in 1790. In 1886 the New England Fish Orca Cannery was built three miles north of present-day Cordova. It at one time processed most of Prince William Sound’s salmon harvest and employed hundreds of workers. It remained in operation until 1986.,, Priced at about $175,000 apiece, around 500 salmon fishing permits are issued every year in Cordova. They are divided into three categories: drift gillnets, set gillnets, and purse seines. photos, >click to read<, To view past articles and pictures, go to www.DaveGibsonImages.com. 14:17
Mark Adams, an Alaskan fisherman and devoted family man
Mark David Adams, an Alaskan fisherman and devoted family man died peacefully on June 3, 2020 in Cordova, AK, at home. He was born in Spokane, WA, to Bonnie and Gene Adams on March 21, 1963 and grew up in Metaline, WA, where he graduated from Selkirk High School in 1981. He was known for his hilarious storytelling, his knack for managing his commercial fishing business with several boats and motley crews, and his unending enthusiasm for coaching basketball. Foremost, he was a loyal and loving family man whose children were his pride and joy >click to read< 09:39
The Mayor of Kiniklik
Time had slipped by while studying each of the 118 Memorial Plaques attached to the railings that surround Joan Bugbee Jackson’s inspiring statute of a rain-battered fisherman steering into heavy seas. Having lived in Cordova all my life and worked on tenders or crewed on seine boats for years dating back to the early 1960s, it was hard not to be lost in memories inspired by these tributes to so many famous local fishermen. Each plaque had a story to tell, and indeed, as is often the case with those who go to the sea, each of the bygone was a master storyteller. Many of the plaques had tidbits I did not know. Yet the plaque that fascinated me the most was a tribute to The Mayor of Kiniklik. No, Cliff Alber had not been elected to this office. The term is used in this context to signify a fisherman who spends his whole season at one particular spot, learning the secret nuances of time, tide, currents and hidden underwater obstacles, as well as their impact on the flow of salmon in that area. photo ‘s, >click to read< 10:35
Slow going for the Copper River opener
A 12-hour opener marking the start of the 2020 Copper River commercial salmon season proved slow going, with a catch of 1,650 Chinook and 1,500 sockeye salmon, down from 2,300 kings and 20,400 reds in the 2019 opener. Prices for the catch were also down, due to lack of demand during the COVID-19 pandemic, with upscale restaurants that normally feature Copper River entrees following the start of the fishery still closed. Even with fewer fishermen on the grounds, it was tough going. One veteran harvester said his 12-hour effort produced a total of five fish. Worries over a potential low price for the prized fish, coupled with concerns that the novel coronavirus pandemic might stop the fishery lowered the competition for the fish, said Cordova Mayor Clay Koplin, who calculated that as much of one fourth of the fleet never left the harbor. >click to read< 08:34
An Alaska commercial fishing season unlike any other kicked off in Cordova on Thursday
Normally, the Copper River gillnet season, the first salmon fishery to open in the state, is known for high-priced fish and celebrity-level fanfare: One of the first fish to be caught is flown to Seattle via Alaska Airlines jet, and greeted with a red carpet photo opportunity. In this pandemic year, things are different all around: The Alaska Airlines first fish photo op will still happen, but the festivities have been tamped down and six-foot distancing and masks are now required. Instead of a cooking contest pitting Seattle chefs against each other, a salmon bake for workers at Swedish Hospital in Ballard is planned. And this year, Cordova’s first-in-the-state salmon fishery will be a high stakes test,,, >click here< 10:15
Seafood processing worker is Cordova’s first positive coronavirus case
Cordova’s first positive case of the new coronavirus is an Ocean Beauty Seafoods worker who had recently traveled to the Prince William Sound community from outside of Alaska, officials announced Wednesday. The worker was asymptomatic, but his case was caught by his company’s routine testing of employees, said Mark Palmer, the president of Ocean Beauty Seafoods, in a KLAM radio briefing Wednesday afternoon. The worker, who arrived in Alaska two weeks ago from the Lower 48, tested positive for COVID-19 on Tuesday night. “This person showed no signs of illness,” Palmer said. “But our testing procedure caught that person.” >click to read< 10:46
As Alaska fishing season set to begin, fearful communities and seafood industry try to prevent spread of coronavirus
Trident and other seafood-company officials hope to ensure that factory trawlers making their way through remote swaths of the Bering Sea do not replay any of the harrowing scenarios that unfolded on cruise ships this year, when waves of the virus sickened passengers. “The chance of having one hiccup — it’s going to ruin the season for everyone,” Hall said. “The boat has to be virus free.” Processors face another daunting challenge in launching salmon operations in remote Alaska communities, many of which suffered losses in the flu pandemic of more than a century ago and are fearful of thousands of seasonal workers spreading COVID-19. photos, >click to read< 11:43
Coronavirus: Cordova faces big decisions over how to run its famous early-season salmon fishery
The famous Copper River drift gillnet season, known for prized fish that fetch high prices and high demand across America, is the earliest salmon fishery to start in the state, usually kicking off the first or second week of May. Thousands of fishermen and processing and support workers are expected to enter Cordova, a community with about 2,500 year-round residents and a hospital without any ICU beds. Some residents have called on officials to restrict travel into town, seeing it as the best way to keep the new coronavirus from spreading. >click to read< 09:18
Cordova: All fishing vessel operators must sign coronavirus safety agreements
Businesses and individuals, including fishing vessel operators, will be required to sign coronavirus safety agreements to conduct commercial operations in Cordova.,, Under a mutual aid agreement, an operator must educate their employees about coronavirus symptoms and safety measures that may prevent infection, ensure compliance with the city’s coronavirus emergency rules and complete a health risk assessment form for all operators and employees working in Cordova or its waters. An operator must notify the city within 24 hours if any individual fails a health risk assessment and confirm that that individual has been placed under quarantine. An operator also agrees,,, >click to read< 09:53
The legacy of a 60-year-old boat
The growth of the gillnet and seine fleet is astonishing in both size and efficiency, and 99 percent of the boats now in the harbor are either aluminum or fiberglass. Yet tied at the end of Float B in the North harbor is a craft that appears to be fiberglass but in fact was originally wood, a vestige of a different era and style of fishing. It was built in a Parks Cannery boat shop that still stands today, amidst a group of Copper River Seafoods buildings, by a local character who was a master with the band saw, when he wasn’t busy sharing suds with patrons at many of Cordova’s favorite waterholes. Named the Vecci, it was assembled by Martin Andersen in the winter of 1959, with longtime Cordova fisherman Charlie Simpler partnering in the project. >click to read< 19:06
Horrible timing
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game was Wednesday lobbying Alaska residents to buy Chitina dipnet permits to fish the Copper River even as the troubled, 2018 return of sockeye salmon to that big, muddy drainage was fading so badly that Cordova commercial fishermen pleaded to have the dipnet fishery shut down. “As of today sonar counts are well below projected counts and remain below the minimum threshold of 360,000 sockeye salmon for spawning escapements,” the Cordova District Fishermen United said in a letter to state officials. “In light of the weak early run component, restrictive closures on commercial fishing openers, and no noticeable increase in counts at the sonar currently, it is in the best interest of our sockeye runs to close the Copper River personal use and sport fisheries.” >click to read<18:26
Cordova disaster?
The Copper River commercial salmon fishery will remain closed on Monday, leaving about 550 gillnet fishermen in Cordova to sit in port and ponder what is increasingly looking like a disaster for what is pound-for-pound Alaska’s most valuable sockeye run. Favored fad-fish of high-scale restaurants, Copper sockeye had a reported price on their heads of $8.50 to$9.50 per pound when the season opened, and everything looked good-to-go despite a below-average, pre-season sockeye forecast. >click to read<09:53
“First fish is a celebration of the start of Alaska’s wild salmon season,” – 60° North Seafoods delivers first fish to Anchorage
While the first Copper River salmon hit markets and tables in Seattle on May 18, the first fish arrived in Anchorage on time for dinner on the day of the first opener, thanks to processing newcomer 60° North Seafoods. Out on the Copper River flats, F/V Genevieve Rose captain John Derek Wiese and deckhand Robert Silveira harvested the Chinooks and Reds, quickly offloading them to the waiting helicopter. A helicopter carrying a sling load of the fresh salmon from 60° North, Cordova’s new fisherman-owned seafood processing plant, arrived at the Merle K. (Mudhole) Smith Airport in Cordova on May 17 while the opener was still in progress. The fish were loaded onto a Piper Navajo Chieftain and off to Anchorage. 19 photo’s, >click to read<15:27
Cordova receives first Tanner crab delivery in 30 years
Deckhands Robert Bernard and Danny Delozier moved energetically around the F/V Ace as it docked at Trident Seafoods. Delozier stood on top of 15 or so crab pots, holding on to a rope while waiting for the first bucket to drop on March 13 to fill with Tanner crabs, the first such delivery in Cordova since 1988. Once the cloudy water drained from the fish hold, piles of bright red, orange and brown Tanner crabs emerged.,, “We had a great crew,” said F/V Ace captain Ronald Blake, as he geared up for another trip into the Sound. “They were hootin’ and hollerin’,” >click to read<18:40
Webber designs on board net washing system
There’s nothing that catches fish better than a brand new net. If you can maintain a clean net you’re fully optimizing your ability to catch. Bill Webber runs Webber Marine and Manufacturing in Cordova, which specializes in the salmon gillnet arena. The net washer is one of the newest tools to come out of his shop. It essentially has vertical water chambers that weld onto the outboard sides of the rollers. The rollers still function as intended and they roll as the net goes through them. On the front and the back of this level line there’s vertical water jet holes in the water columns that spray at each other and through the net as it goes through the level lines. click here to read the story 15:27
Longtime Cordova fisherman found dead after going overboard on Copper River
A Cordova man was found dead Thursday after going overboard in the Copper River flats during a stormy commercial fishing opener. Clifford “Mick” Johns, 69, had been fishing alone that day on his 29-foot gillnetter, named Dances With Clams. At about 9 p.m., the U.S. Coast Guard received a report that the boat was “driving around in circles with no one onboard” near Pete Dahl Slough, an area of the Copper River flats fishing grounds southeast of Cordova, according to the Alaska State Troopers. “It didn’t look like anybody was manning it,” said Petty Officer 1st Class Jon-Paul Rios of the Coast Guard’s District 17 Public Affairs Office in Juneau. A Coast Guard helicopter stationed in Cordova was called in to search from the air. The helicopter crew found Johns’ body in the water, according to Rios. Click here to read the story 08:41
We’re On Board with These Two Fishermen – Salmon Fishing Season Starts Today
Our town of Cordova, Alaska is humming with the sounds of diesel engines firing up, big trucks hurrying around the harbor and fishermen catching up with each across the docks. This week holds so much excitement and anticipation here. Today, May 18th, the fleet of 540 fishermen from this tiny coastal community take off for the Gulf of Alaska where we’ll be setting our nets to catch the first wild salmon making their way back to the Copper River. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game carefully monitors our fishery for long term sustainability and have designated the salmon season to start this week with a 12 hour commercial fishing period starting bright and early at 7 am on Thursday. Click here to read the story 07:42
