Tag Archives: Homer

Adventurer/Commercial Fisherman Carla Jean Milburn has passed away peacefully in her sleep in Homer, Ak.

Carla Jean Milburn, born June 24, 1955, passed away peacefully in her sleep in the early morning hours of November 2, 2024 in Homer, Alaska. Born in Spokane, WA to Jeannine Fay (McLaren) Milburn and Don Devereaux Milburn, Carla attended Manson schools in Lake Chelan. After graduation in 1973 she was ready for …. adventure! Living in a fishing town Carla was lured to the water and soon took jobs on seiners and drift commercial boats in the Cook Inlet. Loving to work with fibers she then picked up the skill of mending and building nets. In short order she built a big shop on her property for fitting the long nets in. more, >>CLICK TO READ<< 09:18

Commercial Fisherman Timothy J. Moore of Homer, Alaska, has passed away

Timothy J. Moore, age 65, of Homer, Alaska, passed peacefully from this world into the loving arms of Jesus, the Great Fisher of Men on Dec. 2, 2021. After his family, Tim enjoyed hunting and sport fishing, but commercial fishing was his passion. his first fishing experience was set netting for salmon on his Uncle Pat McElroy’s sites as a skinny 13-year-old during a summer visit to Alaska in 1967. In 1991 the acquisition of the F/V Iliamna Bay allowed him to expand his herring fisheries to include Togiak and to participate in the halibut fishery during those crazy “derby” days before IFQs. The F/V Iliamna Bay was also the beginning of his Prince William Sound salmon seining career where he made many memories fishing with the family and some amazing crew. >click to read< 15:19

Commercial Fisherman Leroy “Roy” Wilbur Cabana has passed away in Homer, Alaska,

Leroy “Roy” Wilbur Cabana passed away peacefully at his home in Homer, Alaska, surrounded by his family on Oct. 22, 2021, at 10:22 p.m. Even in his final moments he was still full of his quick wit and banter. Some of his final words were “turn it loose,” which was a tribute to his life as a commercial fisherman. Through his employment as a longshoreman, bus driver, body shop co-owner, professional hunter/trapper, or his later careers of a boat builder, catcher/processor, vessel owner, crabber and commercial fisherman, the legacy of his life is the fishing enterprise that he and his wife started for his children and grandchildren and future upcoming great grandchildren. >click to read< 21:20

“Sailing Back To the Bay” trip gets closer to launch

The launch of No. 76, a 29-foot restored Libby, McNeil and Libby double-ender sailboat once used for commercial fishing in Bristol Bay, and its journey in the decades-old wake of fishing boats traveling from Homer to the bay have been rescheduled for 2022. The delay was fortuitous, allowing time for Frank Schattauer Sails of Seattle to complete a new sail that was hoisted on the vessel’s single mast by Dave Seaman and friends on July 3, in the NOMAR parking lot. Seaman oversaw the restoration work and will captain No. 76 when it makes its voyage a year from now. “(The vessels) had keels and ribs of white oak, planking of Port Orford, Oregon’s yellow cedar, and were sprit-rigged with a wing-shaped sail,” said Seaman. “Belying their sweet lines, these boats were built for work.” photos,  >click to read< 14:44

A battle between oil and fishing – How an oil industry fiasco saved Kachemak Bay 40 years ago

Clem%20Tillion%2002_0The trouble in Homer in 1976 brought world attention to oil politics in the Alaska Legislature and vindicated fishermen who had been fighting oil drilling for three years politically and in court. On Sunday, I visited Clem Tillion at his home here on the south side of the bay, to recall those events. When he was a state senator, the George Ferris fiasco gave him the support he needed to pass a bill that had seemed to have little hope — buying back the leases and declaring Kachemak Bay a critical habitat area to be protected evermore. The issue also helped elect Jay Hammond as our only conservation-oriented governor — and he became the father of the Permanent Fund. And it set Homer on the path to be the eco-tourism center it is today rather than an oil town. Read the story here 09:30

What happens to those halibut after being caught?

Dave Fry, Commercial FishermanWhen you pull over Baycrest Hill and catch a glimpse of the Spit, it almost looks like a hook dangling in the gaping mouth of Kachemak Bay.And then you pass the sign proclaiming Homer to be the “Halibut Fishing Capital of the World.” Last year, 2.8 million pounds of halibut came over the Homer dock. That was 18 percent of total commercial halibut landings in the United States, and the most poundage of any Alaska port. Which makes the Homer dock a busy place.  Here are the people involved in bringing one meal to the table: Dave Fry, commercial fisherman, Ray Starzec, individual quota holder,  Erica Walli, deckhand,,, Read the rest here 13:51

Seward tops commercial fisheries – Wolfgang Kurtz

While Homer, Kodiak and Seward continue to compete for the top spot in commercial halibut landings this year, Seward has taken a big lead when sablefish is added into the mix.,,,Between halibut and sablefish, commonly called black cod, Seward has more pounds of fish landed so far this season than Homer and Kodiak combined. Read more here  19:33