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Alaska’s wild salmon harvest for 2011 stands at just over 170 million fish of all five species, no small accomplishment for the harvesters, but far below the preseason forecast of 203 million fish. The pink salmon harvest alone was predicted to be especially large at nearly 134 million fish, but as of Sept. 9, the preliminary harvest count showed the pink harvest total to be 112,249,000 pinks. The commercial catch of the famed sockeye salmon had been forecast at 45 million fish, but to date stands at 39,893,000 reds.The Chinook harvest to date stands at 404,000 fish, up from 378,000 kings in 2010.Commercial harvesters also have netted 15,038,000 chum salmon and 2,590,000 silvers, for a total run of 170,174,000 wild salmon. The robust harvest in the Lower Yukon through Sept. 9 included 495,...

ClarificationThe article below posted on Septemeber 14th about a replacement for Arne Fuglvog, former fisheries advisor to Alaska Senator Lisa Murkowski, stated: "Murkowski’s office has declined to offer names of any of those being considered, but industry sources expressed concern that the Washington State-based Freezer Longliner Coalition in Seattle had been asked to provide a list of potential candidates for the job."Kenny Down, Executive Director of the Freezer Longline Coalition in Seattle, says his group has never been asked to provide a list of potential candidates for the job as the story suggests.Down says the story of Arne Fuglvog’s resignation was widespread, and the Freezer Longline Coalition, like many if not most industry representatives with large percentages of Alaskan M...

By Doug SchneiderUniversity of Alaska, Fairbanks (UAF) scientists are working with fishermen, the seafood industry, state and federal researchers and coastal communities to raise king crab in hope of rebuilding once-lucrative fisheries.Inside the Alutiiq Pride Shellfish Hatchery, an otherwise nondescript warehouse on the south end of the fishing and tourism town of Seward, Alaska, thousands of recently hatched red and blue king crab larvae have started to look like crab.Just a few weeks earlier these king crabs were embryos within eggs tucked neatly beneath their mothers’ abdominal flap.The baby crab have so far grown through the major steps of larval development, collectively called the zoeae stage. At the moment, they are well into the next stage, called glaucothoe, during which they tak...

Commercial wild Alaska salmon harvests haven’t come close to the forecast of 203 million salmon of all species for 2011, but they are continuing to climb. As of Sept. 2, a total of 171,423 salmon of all species had been harvested, quite a jump from 124 million reported through Aug. 12. The harvest included 403,000 kings, 13,678,000 chum, 2,308,000 silvers, 115,168,000 pinks, and 39,875,000 sockeye.The Southeast Alaska harvest alone included 61.6 million pinks, and is being heralded as one for the record books, for volume and prices. The value of the seine catch in northern districts of Southeast Alaska has reportedly surpassed a record $100 million.Fish and Game regional biologist Bill Davidson was quoted on public radio saying that the 2011 harvest is going to surpass the preseason foreca...

NOAA’s National Marine Fisheries Service has extended from Sept. 6 to Sept. 21 the deadline to receive public comments on the proposed halibut catch-sharing plan. NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco made that decision in the wake of a visit to Homer, Alaska, last month, where she heard extensive comments from both commercial halibut setline harvesters and charter boat operators. Lubchenco said she wanted to be sure that anyone who wants to participate in this public process has a chance to do so.Both commercial setline and charter operators also offered extensive testimony on Sept. 1 at a hearing called by the Alaska House Special Committee on Fisheries in Anchorage. Charter operators told legislators that the setliners get the lion’s share of the allocation. Rep. Bill Thomas, R-Haines, hims...

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, using the latest assessment information, are projecting the fall chum salmon run on the Yukon River at nearly 930,000 fish.In an announcement released Sept. 4, biologists said the estimated number of fall chum salmon having entered the river through Sept. 2 was 918,000 fish, above the historical average of 739,000 fish for that date. Biologists also said the estimated total number of coho salmon having entered the river as of Sept. 2 stood at 164,000 fish, slightly below the average for that date of 166,000 fish. The estimates are based on run reconstruction using the Pilot Station sonar project counts and harvest below Pilot Station.Commercial fishing on the Lower Yukon opened for a nine-hour period on Sept. 5, with gillnets restricted to a m...

Legislation headed for the US Senate Appropriations committee includes $10.351 billion to help fund Coast Guard operations nationwide, including two separate allotments of $18.3 million for aircraft replacement. Sen. Lisa Murkowski, R-Alaska, who serves on the Homeland security Appropriations subcommittee, requested funds for two H-60 Jayhawk helicopters, one to replace the HH-60 Sitka aircraft lost in a crash last year, and another to give Kodiak the full fleet the Coast Guard indicates it needs. The choppers are often used in rescues at sea.The measure also includes $39 million for the Coast Guard’s Ice Breaker Program in polar regions. Murkowski said the Coast Guard’s Alaska responsibilities dwarf those of most other bases nationwide, and that they deserve all the support the nation can...

September 2011 In a strongly worded opinion, US District Court Judge James Redden ruled last month that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Fisheries Service failed for the third time in ten years to produce a legal and scientifically sound plan to protect endangered Columbia and Snake river salmon from the lethal impacts of federal dams on the Columbia and Snake rivers. This is the fourth NOAA salmon plan overturned in 20 years. More than 50 fishing and conservation groups, including the Pacific Coast Federation of Fishermen’s Associations (PCFFA), had challenged the plan in court. In his decision, Redden called on NOAA to produce a new or supplemental plan that corrects the current one’s reliance on unidentified mitigation measures for populations that have been...

For months now, Vancouver’s Northern Dynasty Minerals has made no secret of its intention to sell its 50 percent stake in the controversial, proposed Pebble Mine, at the headwaters of Bristol Bay, but to date no buyers have come forth. Business news reports in the past week indicate that Pebble, one of the world’s largest undeveloped copper deposits, could be a target for Rio Tinto, one of the mining entities buying out companies in which they have a stake during the economic downturn. Now Pebble is back in the news, with Northern Dynasty CEO Ron Thiessen saying again that the junior mining company is looking for a mega-mining company to move the project forward. The Pebble Limited Partnership to date has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on exploration and engineering and has said it...

United Fishermen of Alaska is renewing its efforts to get Alaska’s salmon fishermen federal funding to relieve the financial pain of high transportation costs. UFA’s Mark Vinsel noted in an announcement on Aug. 29 that 40 Alaska fishermen applied for funding authorized through the Good, Conservation and Energy Act of 2008, the Farm Bill, for payments to help offset the high cost of transportation, just like Alaska farmers and ranchers. All 40 fishermen were initially denied, Vinsel said. Now UFA marketing chair Bruce Schactler has appealed the denal and hs appeal will be considered at a hearing on Sept. 22. Vinsel said that Schactler and the UFA believe the intent of Congress is clear, to include salmon fishermen because they produce an agricultural commodity. If the appeal is successful,...