Tag Archives: Forrest Bowers
Alaska’s total commercial salmon harvest this year was ultra-low in both quantity and value
The number of Alaska salmon harvested by commercial fishers was the third smallest since all-species records began in 1985, and the value to harvesters, when adjusted for inflation, was the lowest reported since 1975, state officials said. Additionally, the 450 million pounds of salmon that the total harvest contained was the lowest on record, officials said. The totals come from a preliminary recap of this year’s salmon season issued on Nov. 18 by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Only 101.2 million salmon were harvested this year, less than half the 232.2 million harvested last year, the department reported. The money paid to fishers for their catches, known as ex-vessel value, totaled $304 million, down from $398 million last year, the department said, In the Bristol Bay region, site of the world’s biggest sockeye runs, this year’s return was well above projections and 7% higher than the 20-year average, though the amount commercially harvested was a bit below the average. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 16:09
Effort seeks to uncover lake’s purported monster
The mysterious animal that people say they see in Iliamna Lake is dark, longer than 15 feet, and has a long head and tail and distinct fins. It isn’t a whale or a seal, and it often vanishes quickly. Fishermen have tried hooking it. The Anchorage Daily News once offered $100,000 for proof of its existence. But so far, no one has photographed the creature some call the Iliamna Lake monster. Palmer resident Bruce Wright, a former marine ecologist with the National Marine Fisheries Service, hopes to solve the riddle once and for all this summer. >click to read<09:18