Tag Archives: Togiak
Halibut fisherman encounters freak storm on trip back from Togiak
“At some point I’m thinking my arm’s failing, my body’s cramping and I’m losing control in my dexterity,” recalled Kaleb Westfall, captain of the F/V Peter. “Those thoughts creep into your head that you can’t do this forever. You are going to fail and it’s hard to multitask and disallow those thoughts and I had to put it to one wave at a time.” >click to read< 10:55
Coronavirus: Togiak herring fishery’s only processor says it aims for “zero impact” to communities
In early March, Icicle Seafoods locked down operations and stopped bringing on new crew members due to the pandemic. It says the workers on board its floating processor haven’t had contact with anyone off the vessel since then.,,, “Our plan is to bring the Gordon Jensen up to Togiak here at the end of the month. We’ll anchor off off shore, and we’ll keep our crew and staff on board the vessel for the duration of the fishery,” he said, adding that Icicle plans to have “zero impact” on the communities.,, Two seine boats and three gillnetters are expected to tap the 80-million pound quota in Togiak this spring. Tim Sands, an area management biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the shrinking participation from processors and fishermen is due to the lack of market for herring. >click to read< 18:33
Fishermen participating in Alaska’s largest herring fishery have a huge quota to fill next year. But the primary customer isn’t buying.
“I’m a recovering herring fisherman,” joked Bruce Schactler. Schactler, who lives in Kodiak, has been fishing in Togiak off and on since 1985. But he won’t be returning this summer. “The market is so bad that Trident will not be buying fish this year, so we’re not going. Every ton that is frozen and shipped off to Japan is a loser. There’s no money being made,” he said. >click to read< 07:06
Togiak sac roe herring’s lone gillnetter calls it a season
Seagulls wheeled under gray skies, and low clouds spit rain as the F/V Wave Ryder motored back into Dillingham after nearly four weeks on the water near Togiak. The purse seine fleet took its quota by May 2, leaving Frank Woods and his crew on their own to fish for the 7,212 tons of herring allocated to gillnetters. On Thursday, he ended his season. The mood on the 32-foot aluminum drift boat was celebratory as it was hauled out and put up in the Peter Pan Seafoods boat yard. Audio, >click to read<22:10
Biologists expect early 2018 Togiak herring run
This year, Togiak could see one of the earliest herring harvests ever recorded. “We’re going to fly our first survey on Friday. And then I expect we’ll be seeing herring by [April] 20th, if not sooner,” said Alaska Department of Fish and Game area biologist Tim Sands. That would be the Togiak fishery’s second-earliest start on record. The earliest recorded date a biomass was spotted in the district was April 14, 2016. But because of the unusual timing, fishing only began three days later. Herring spawn timing depends largely on water temperature >click to read<16:06
2018 Togiak herring forecast to be a little larger than 2017, according to ADF&G
The state has released its forecast for the 2018 Togiak herring fishery. The total forecasted biomass of 136,756 tons of Pacific herring will allow a combined purse seine and gill net harvest of 24,042 tons for the Togiak District Sac Roe Fishery. That biomass is up slightly from 2017’s forecast—130,852 tons. “Pretty much as I expected,” said Bristol Bay area research biologist Greg Buck said about the 2018 forecast. “Maybe a little small and a little older than I would have predicted, but totally in the ballpark. So I expect a fairly normal run.” click here to read the story 20:04
Togiak herring harvested after surprisingly early opener – roe yield sampled at 15 percent!
The first commercial harvest of Togiak herring this season was reported Tuesday. The season started much sooner than expected, and the processors and the fleet have been struggling to get on the grounds since commercial effort was opened Sunday evening. “One company did manage to buy some fish,” said area management biologist Tim Sands Wednesday morning. “We’re still getting reports that it’s too windy in most places to fish, and turbid enough that it’s hard to even see fish. I think other companies are there, and ready to go.” When two companies or less are buying, the Dept. of Fish and Game keeps the details of the harvest confidential. Unofficially, word from the grounds is that the herring caught were big, and the roe yield surprisingly high, perhaps 15 percent. Sands said he had heard the same. Audio, Read the rest here 14:33
Experts expect large herring run in Togiak
The largest herring fishery in Alaska waters is a few short weeks from getting underway. Two looming questions are whether the season will start earlier than predicted and what value the Togiak herring will fetch in the market. bristolbaytimes Read more here 15:00
More Fishing Time in Togiak
Bristol Bay’s final significant sockeye run is to the Togiak River and like the rest of the Bay’s sockeye runs, it’s showing up early. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details.
