copperriver – Fishermens News

Funding Frozen for Weir Project Critical to Alaska’s Copper River Salmon Fishery

19Feb

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Funding Frozen for Weir Project Critical to Alaska’s Copper River Salmon Fishery

A collaborative project to replace a weir critical to the Copper River salmon fishery in Alaska is in jeopardy after the Trump administration froze millions of dollars in funding, including $3.5 million in construction funds for the weir project. The Copper River Watershed Project (CRWP) in Cordova, Alaska, had been working for over five years to replace the failing weir in Eyak Lake, a barrier built to control water flow, which had been in place for years. They had worked with their project partner, The Eyak Corp. in Cordova, to finalize an agreement with the Federal Highway Administration, including $3.5 million for construction, which is a significant chunk of the overall construction cost. Bids on the project came in just days after the Trump administration announced a fun...

First Copper River Commercial Salmon Opener Harvest Yields Nearly 43,000 Sockeyes

22May

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First Copper River Commercial Salmon Opener Harvest Yields Nearly 43,000 Sockeyes

Commercial harvesters in the first Copper River salmon opener delivered nearly 43,000 sockeye salmon, 1,108 Chinook, 247 chum and two coho salmon to processors. The estimated harvest was compiled from 376 deliveries by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Cordova office. The second 12-hour opener of the season was underway May 20 under partly cloudy skies, with temperatures in the low 50s. ADF&G biologist Jeremy Botz in Cordova said the sockeye salmon harvest in that first fishing period exceeded expectations. Botz noted that there’s still a lot of ice in the river system, that the water levels are low for the date, and that there has been only limited sonar deployment on the north bank so far, with no fish observed. Botz estimated between 325 and 350 drift gillnetter ...

8May

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Alaska’s Copper River Wild Salmon Fishery Opens May 16: ADF&G

Alaska’s celebrated Copper River wild salmon fishery opens on Thursday, May 16 for a 12-hour commercial drift gillnet fishing period, while waters within the expanded Chinook salmon inside closure area closed for that same period. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the opener May 1, noting that subsistence harvest will also be allowed in the Copper River District during commercial fishing periods, until the season ends. ADF&G biologists said their Miles Lake sonar camp was scheduled to open May 7, but that the banks of the river are still covered with shore ice in the vicinity of the sonar sites. Commercial fishing in the Bering River District also are scheduled to open May 16 for a 12-hour commercial drift gillnet fishing period. The next announcement fro...

Copper River Commercial Drift Gillnet Harvest Climbs

24May

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Copper River Commercial Drift Gillnet Harvest Climbs

Breakup is happening slowly in Alaska’s famed Copper River commercial salmon fishery, where more than 300 drift gillnetters have delivered an estimated 24,444 fish from the first two 12-hour openers, and a third 12-hour opener was underway on Monday, May 22. The harvest from those first two openers includes approximately 21,822 sockeyes, 1,859 Chinooks and 763 chums. The entire 2022 Prince William Sound salmon season commercial and hatchery cost recovery harvest was 33.14 million fish, composed of 13,000 Chinook, 1.61 million sockeye, 89,100 coho, 28.39 million pink and 3.04 million chum salmon. The 2022 harvest included overall 28.4 million commercial and 4.72 million hatchery cost recovery and broodstock fish. In advance of the Monday, May 22, 12-hour opener, the Alaska Department...

2023 Copper River Salmon Fishery Harvest Begins

17May

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2023 Copper River Salmon Fishery Harvest Begins

An above average run of salmon was forecast for the 2023 Copper River commercial salmon opener, which began on May 15, with processors planning to move much of the first catch via Alaska Airlines to the annual ceremonial welcome mat at SeaTac Airport in Seattle. OBI Seafoods and Copper River Seafoods, along with Trident Seafoods, which is marking 50 years in the industry in 2023, were slated to have Chinook and sockeye salmon on the flight to Seattle, arriving on May 16. Trident Seafoods chief executive officer Joe Bundrant said his company is grateful to all the independent fishermen who continue to partner with Trident and deliver the fresh, high quality fish. “Our history of partnership with Copper River goes back many years and we look forward to continuing working together in res...

Copper River Commercial Salmon Fishery to Open May 15

10May

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Copper River Commercial Salmon Fishery to Open May 15

Commercial fishing for Alaska’s famed Copper River sockeye and Chinook salmon is now set to open May 15 in the state’s Copper River and Bering River districts. Alaska Department of Fish and Game officials announced this past week (Friday, May 5) that the two districts’ 12-hour openers would begin at 7 a.m. Alaska time. For the Copper River District, waters within the expanded Chinook salmon inside closure area will be closed for that initial opener. During the commercial fishing season, subsistence harvest may occur in the Copper River District concurrently in time and area with commercial fishing periods until the Copper River District is closed at the end of the season. “Everyone is excited about it,” Cathy Renfeldt, executive director of the Cordova Chamber of Commerce, said. “Th...

Demand Remains High for Limited Commercial Catch of Copper River Salmon

1Jun

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Demand Remains High for Limited Commercial Catch of Copper River Salmon

Consumer appetites remain high for limited pounds of Copper River king and sockeye salmon, which are fetching up to $114.95 a pound and $79.95 a pound respectively in some retail markets, data show. Fishmongers at Fred Meyer seafood counters in Anchorage said there was a lot of interest in those fresh Copper River sockeye salmon fillets at $35.95 a pound. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game anticipates the next opener for the Copper River will be Thursday, June 2. To date, ADF&G has cancelled two of five potential openings. ADF&G biologist Jeremy Botz in Cordova said Chinook salmon so far have come in above anticipated numbers and there is now room for optimism for keeping a regular commercial fishing schedule. Veteran Copper River harvester Bill Webber said state f...

Next Copper River Commercial Fishery Opener Planned for May 26

25May

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Next Copper River Commercial Fishery Opener Planned for May 26

In the wake of a moderate first opener and weak second opener of the Copper River commercial salmon fishery, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said ‘no’ to a third 12-hour fishing period, but that the next opener is anticipated for tomorrow Thursday, May 26. ADF&G biologists stationed in Cordova, Alaska, did allow subsistence harvesters a 12-hour fishing period on Monday, May 23, within the Copper River District, while closing waters within the Chinook salmon expanded inside closure area for those harvesters for that period. The biologists issued their decision after the second opener on Thursday, May 19, resulted 416 deliveries of a total of 14,750 fish, including 2,690 kings and 11,705 sockeye salmon. The first opener on May 16 had harvesters making 401 deliveries of 1...

20Apr

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State Biologists Brace for Alaska’s Copper River Salmon Opener

Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists for the Copper River District, with a commercial 2022 forecast of 716,000 sockeyes and 211,000 coho salmon, say that they’ll issue their first announcement from the department’s Cordova office between April 30 and May 7. The fishery is expected to open in mid-May. The total Copper River Chinook salmon run forecast of 40,000 fish is below the 10-year (2012-2021) average of 46,000 fish and the commercial harvest is also expected to be below average. The 2022 sockeye salmon harvest forecast is 38% below the same 10-year average of 1.15 million fish. Biologists said that based on the recent poor Chinook and sockeye salmon production, a conservative management approach would be implemented at the start of the season. The conserva...