Tag Archives: Kodiak Island.
In 42 photos, See how Dungeness crab is caught off Kodiak Island, Alaska
Captain Garrett Kavanaugh of the Fishing Vessel Insatiable stands for a portrait in front of his 58’ boat at the harbor in Kodiak, Alaska. As ocean temperatures rise, fishermen everywhere must adapt to harvesting different species. Garrett Kavanaugh, captain of the Fishing Vessel Insatiable out of the port of Kodiak Island, has invested large equipment, fuel, and labor, betting on Dungeness crabs as the future of his Alaskan fishing business. >>click to read<< 20:39
After a yearlong closure, Tanner crab season makes a comeback off Kodiak Island
Dave Kubiak spent a recent rainy Thursday stacking the deck of his boat, the Laura Lee, with crab pots in preparation for Kodiak’s Tanner crab season. According to him, the night before the season is always exciting. “We’ll leave in sufficient time to get there and to go someplace and anchor up,” he said. “And then wait for the morning and then run out and get all nervous and jittery on the opener, which is silly, but we do.” Kubiak said that he got a nickel per pound for Tanner crabs back in the 60s. Due to low supply and high demand across the country, prices for this season, which opens Jan. 15, are much higher,,, >click to read< 09:20
“Oiled: A Fisherman’s Journey” – A deeply personal memoir
Derrell Short, a retired commercial fisherman and handyman, has completed his new book “Oiled: A Fisherman’s Journey”: an exclusive account of the author’s time as a commercial fisherman while raising a family on remote Kodiak Island. It recounts his struggles and experiences while also imparting his unique wisdom that only years of being up against the harsh, yet beautiful landscape of Alaska can provide. As Short states, “In this memoir, various experiences and details are described, including a summary of some of [my] life before and after Alaska, and the trauma and tasks from aiding in cleaning up Exxon’s massive and incompetent oil spill of 1989.” >click to read< 19:35
“Oiled: A Fisherman’s Journey”
Derrell Short, a former fisherman, has released his memoir, covering everything from the Exxon Valdez oil spill to his adventures at sea in Kodiak Island, Alaska. Short covers not just the mishaps of working on a crab boat, but also how he worked on the Exxon Corporation oil spill in 1989. An Exxon tanker had run aground on Bligh Reef in Prince William Sound, an inlet in the Gulf of Alaska, Alaska. The tankard had been transporting crude oil from Valsez, Alaska, to California. Short covers the spill in his memoir and criticizes Exxon on the cleaning up of the oil spill.,, Other sections of the memoir focus on Short’s building his remote cabin, hunting, his many encounters with bears and his time as a fisherman. >click to read< 10:28
Earthquake may have triggered sunken F/V Saint Patrick to spill diesel off Kodiak Island
A shipwreck from decades ago has begun leaking diesel fuel off Kodiak Island. “We know that this is a vessel that sank in 1989 in Women’s Bay and it’s been resting there since,” Jade Gamble, the state’s on-scene spill coordinator,,, “It started leaking after the earthquake.” She says it’s not clear how much diesel and other contaminants are on the former fishing vessel F/V Saint Patrick. The former scallop boat was hit by a rogue wave during a stormy November night in 1981 near Marmot Island. The captain ordered the crew to abandon ship; only two of its 12 crew members survived the frigid waters. >click to read< 09:18
Commercial Crab Fisherman David Anthony Sherwood, Kodiak Island, Alaska
Dave born in Mankato, Mn on January 1, 1957 passed away unexpectedly in his sleep on April 1, 2021. He attended high school at Mankato West where he excelled at swimming and tennis. He joined the Army which took him to Hawaii. Upon completion of his service he stayed in Hawaii for many years. He traded the Hawaiian island for Kodiak Island, Alaska. Dave’s life was bound to Alaska where he was a crab fisherman on the Bering Sea for many years. Our family was on the receiving end of many of his “catch” as he would send home huge boxes of the biggest and best seafood we had ever seen or eaten. >click to read< 09:26
Fatigue the cause of fishing vessel’s grounding
On 6 March 2017, the uninspected commercial fishing vessel ‘St. Dominick’ grounded in Pumicestone Bay, Alaska. The engine room flooded within 10–20 minutes of the grounding, and the four crew abandoned the vessel a short time later. None of them were injured, and no pollution was reported, but the vessel, valued at $1.1 million, was deemed a constructive total loss. US NTSB issued an investigation report on the accident. >click to read< 13:02
After 32 summers fishing with his dad, Cambria songwriter says goodbye to Alaska
Songwriter-singer Van William, a Cambria native son, says his recently released music video and the new songs he performs are deeply, profoundly personal.,, He says the music is a reflection of who and where he’s been, and his life’s successes, upheavals and heartbreaks, which — as is the case for most folks — helped to shape the person he is now. He said his summers spent in Alaska have “always been a huge part of who I am,” but “I’ve never been able to share much of it with anyone other than my immediate family. This video highlights how life feels up there and how heartbreaking it is to say goodbye to my years as a commercial fisherman.” Excellent video, photos, click here 20:53
“What is the price people paid to become a crab fishermen?” – Film maker seeks to preserve Kodiak King Crab History
McDowell Group Report outlines economics of Kodiak Island’s seafood industry. Jobs=38%
Kodiak is grappling with how new ways of managing groundfish might affect the island’s economy. Plans being crafted now affect catches of up to 25 different fish species – which together made up 83 percent of all Kodiak landings in 2014. To provide some guidance, a new economic impact report breaks down how the entire seafood industry plays out throughout the Kodiak Island borough, which includes six outlying villages for a total population of 14,000 residents. The draft report done by the McDowell Group gives a 10 year snapshot starting in 2005, covering all the local actions it takes to be a seafood powerhouse year after year. Nearly 500 million pounds of seafood worth $150 million to fishermen was delivered to Kodiak Island in 2014. Read the rest here 18:08
Lost crab pots still catching king crab in Kodiak Island bay
Derelict crab pots lost on the bottom of a Kodiak Island bay are capturing significant numbers of its king crab, according to scientists with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Abandoned pots, the traps used by fishermen to catch crab, could be killing 16 to 37 percent of the red king crab with shells longer than 40 millimeters in Womens Bay, they concluded in a study. Pots likely were lost when lines were cut by boat propellers, commercial barge towing bridals or ice, the researchers concluded. They also could be lost if floats tied to the pots sank. Read the rest here 20:51
Southcentral Alaska halibut anglers may face bag limit cuts by 2014 – Alaska Dispatch
Once more the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council, a government entity dominated by commercial fishermen, has voted to slash the halibut catch of charter anglers in Alaska. What happens next remains to be seen. A similar council action was vetoed by the National Oceanic Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) last year after,,,,,,,,,,,unities have mainly suffered because of cuts in the commercial fishery tied to unexplained declines in halibut in the North Pacific. Soaring prices for commercially caught halibut have only partially ,,,,,,,the federal government created what are called “individual fishing quotas” and gave commercial fishermen shares of the halibut resource, those shares have been bought and ,,,,,,,the University of Washington warned that the shifts in IFQ shares were gutting the economies of the smallest coastal communities on Kodiak Island. A similar phenomenon has ,,,,Read More
