The City of Unalaska will contribute $36,000 to the disposal of a boat that the state scuttled in January. The F/V Akutan sat abandoned Unalaska's Captains Bay for months after a disastrous summer fishing season in Bristol Bay this summer.
The F/V Destination sank Feb. 11, 2017. The wreckage was discovered on the sea floor near St. George Island in July, but the cause of the accident remains a mystery.
Bristol Bay finfish convenes in Dillingham late next fall, but now is the time to work with staff and stakeholders to draft proposed changes to sport, subsistence, and commercial fishing regulations.
KUCB, Unalaska: The Alaska Patriot has been sunk in the North Pacific. Because of incoming inclement weather, the Coast Guard cutter Sherman left the area Wednesday evening while the 170-foot abandoned fishing vessel was slipping beneath the waves.
Stephanie Quinn-Davidson is now a sponsor for the Stand for Salmon ballot initiative, which aims to update state law related to salmon habitat protections. Brian Kraft announced three weeks ago that he would no longer sponsor the initiative.
Board generated proposal 236 aims to shift three percent of allowable harvest of herring stock from Togiak sac roe fishery to Dutch Harbor food and bait quota. “I’m dumbfounded as to why they would circumvent the public process,” said Frank Woods, Togiak herring gillnetter and Nushagak Fish and Game Advisory chairman.
Univ. of Washington biologists predict a 47.6 million total run (compared to ADF&G's 51.3 million), forecasting smaller return to the Nushagak, but slightly larger to Ugashik and Naknek-Kvichak, than the state.
Port Heiden anticipates its tribally owned processing center will handle up to 10,000 pounds of salmon per day from May to September, providing local fishermen an opportunity to fish shoulder seasons closer to home.
Malcolm Vance of Glennallen, who fishes the F/V Bristol Nymph in Egegik, took the win after he donned a survival suit in 57 seconds at the Pacific Marine Expo.
Alaskan Leader, which partners with the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation, fishes four freezer longliners in and around the Bering Sea. Last Saturday at the Pacific Marine Expo in Seattle, its Seafoods division received awards for its new lemon herb butter cod and a pet treat made from cod byproduct.
Mega-buyer to bring legendary John Lowrance back to Bristol Bay, improve food and living conditions at the Naknek plant, add a second four-station tender, aim for a final 2017 price of $1.50, and hopefully drop 50 boats before next summer.
The total allowable catch for Bristol Bay red king crab this season was 6.6 million pounds. Area management biologist said that fishing this season was “a little slower than we would like to have seen.”
