Alaska sac roe herring fishery opens after two-year pause
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April 9, 2021 15:24 BST
Roughly 20 vessels, less than half the usual commercial fleet, are purse seining in the US state of Alaska s Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery that opened late last month for the first time in two years. The seiners there have been making landings every day, KCAW reports. [.]
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After two-year break, seiners hopeful herring fishery will continue into future
Posted by Katherine Rose | Apr 7, 2021
Justin Peeler and Matt Kinney stand aboard Peeler’s boat the F/V Defiant in late March, several days before the Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery opened. (KCAW/Rose)
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring Fishery opened in late March, after a two-year hiatus. Less than half the fleet is fishing this spring, but the seiners who have stuck around have hauled in catches every day over the last week and a half. KCAW spoke with two commercial fishermen shortly before the fishery opened about the importance of herring to their businesses and lives. Listen here:
Posted by Katherine Rose | Apr 7, 2021
Lucas Schmidt holds a buoy (often an empty milk jug or water bottle) as Tom Gamble demonstrates how to set a branch along the shoreline, the traditional method of gathering herring eggs. (Photo provided by Jeren Schmidt)
The beginning of the herring spawn in Sitka Sound signals the wind-down of commercial fishing, and the start of the subsistence harvest: The millenia-old tradition of submerging hemlock branches along the shoreline, and waiting for herring to coat them in a thick layer of eggs. KCAW recently spoke with one subsistence advocate who’s determined to see this tradition continue by working to protect herring stocks, and by teaching kids how to harvest eggs.
Commercial fishery hauls slow down as major spawning begins in Sitka Sound
Posted by Katherine Rose | Apr 7, 2021
The Sitka Sound Sac Roe Herring fishery remained open for the 11th day in a row Tuesday (4-6-21)
Seiners hauled in around 900 tons of herring during Monday’s opening, according to a press release from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Estimates are not yet available for today’s/Tuesday’s opener. To date, the commercial fleet has harvested around 14,700-tons of herring, cumulatively.
State biologists observed around 20.0 nautical miles of spawn during an aerial survey Tuesday morning. The majority of the spawn was concentrated along the Kruzof Island shoreline from Lava Island to Rob Point. Spawn was also observed near the Magoun Islands, from Point Brown to Kresta Point, Promisla and Eastern Bays, as well as Whiting Harbor, near Indian River, and Pirates Cove.
Alaska roe herring season opens with limited interest from Japanese buyers
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It’s a big year for Alaska roe herring fisheries – but lackluster interest by both harvesters and processors is an ongoing issue.
The fishery at Sitka Sound opened on 27 March after a stall last year and a limited fishery in 2019, resulting from small fish and a weak market. The seine fleet this year has a harvest of 33,304 metric tons (MT) - nearly 67 million pounds - but managers predict low participation and limited processing capacity.
Up to 15 boats started fishing 1 April at Kodiak for one of its biggest fisheries in decades at 7,895 MT (16 million pounds). Togiak, in Bristol Bay, is Alaska’s largest roe herring fishery this year with an 42,639-ton harvest, or more than 85 million pounds. Last year, only three boats and one buyer showed up there during the May fishery.