The baywide run crested 23 million fish yesterday -- a little less than half of the preseason forecast. We've got information about fishing limits for some fishermen, waste disposal, and a look into a podcast centered on Indigenous voices.
No million-fish catches in any of the districts yesterday, but still a solid harvest day across the bay of 2.5 million fish. Total harvest baywide is now 16.6 million fish. Total escapement baywide is 5.7 million, and the cumulative total run in the bay is just over 23 million… about half of the preseason forecast.
Excluding Togiak, average fish per drift delivery is still over 1,100 across the bay. The Naknek-Kvichak had the highest average fish per drift delivery yesterday, at 1,200.
COVID-19 update
The Camai Community Health Center in Naknek announced 4 new positive cases of COVID-19 in Bristol Bay Borough since Monday. That makes 8 positive cases in the Bristol Bay Borough since July 1.
The new cases are seafood workers who have been in quarantine since their arrival in the bay, and are now in isolation. All of the workers tested negative for COVID-19 before their arrival in the bay. Clinic director Mary Swain said in a Facebook post that this is a good sign; it means that the clinic is continuing to catch cases early.
Swain also said that the cases from this week bring the number of active cases currently physically in the borough to 7, as many of the other positive cases from earlier in the season have left the borough.
Fishing limits
Peter Pan Seafoods put its fishermen on limits today. Set netters are limited to 4,000 pounds between 4 a.m. this morning and 4 a.m. July 10, and drifters are limited to 5,000 pounds -- D boats get an additional 1,500 pounds. Peter Pan declined to comment.
West side management biologist Tim Sands says processors typically impose limits on fishing because they can’t process all the fish fishermen are catching.
“And that can be for any number of reasons, whether it’s a breakdown, whether it’s -- the tenders are full or a tender broke down. It could be they didn’t have enough staff. And this year, of course, a reason why they might not have enough staff is because they couldn’t hire enough staff, or ‘cause some staff members are potentially sick, or just in quarantine or whatever.”
Sands wasn’t referring to Peter Pan specifically, and there have been no confirmations of processors in Bristol Bay struggling to keep up specifically because of complications due to COVID-19, although the majority of cases in the region have been in seafood workers.
Sands says another reason for limits could be because of the way fish are coming in. In the past three years we’ve seen big runs. But each district peaked at different times. This summer, the big three districts are hitting all at once.
“Nushagak, Naknek-Kvichak, and Egegik have all had really good days, right at the same time, and three days in a row of really good catches. So whenever we hit that 2.5 million-fish mark, that’s the signal to me that processors might start having to worry about restricting fishing opportunity, just to control how much fish they’re taking in.”
Sands says that fishing in the Nushagak was slower yesterday, and, partly because of the limits, it seemed slow again today. That might give processors a chance to catch up.
“Because it’s a bay-wide capacity. Most of the processors operate bay-wide, and so it’s when that catch bay-wide is big, they can move the fish around, but there’s only so much moving around they can do, and if three of the big districts hit big, it can be a problem.”
Sands says managers will continue to provide fishing opportunities.
Another annual marker of the season in the Nushagak District is the opening of the Wood River Special Harvest Area. Sands expects to hit the 1.1 million escapement mark today or tomorrow, which is Fish and Game’s trigger for opening the special harvest area.
“We open the Wood River Special Harvest Area to the gear type that’s behind on allocation. Right now, the drift fleet is behind on allocation, so it would open to the drift fleet.”
Sands says set netters have had a few big days, but that they’ll assess the numbers tomorrow morning and decide how they will proceed.
Questions of disposal
The Department of Environmental Conservation sent a letter last week reminding all vessel operators that dumping sewage too close to shore is harmful to the environment -- and a violation of the Clean Water Act.
The letter explains how sewage can harm fish habitats and spread diseases to people. Discharging sewage within three nautical miles of shore can result in penalties up to $2,000. Here’s DEC Commissioner Jason Brune:
“It is common practice, obviously, for folks to use a honey bucket on their boat and to just throw it overboard. There is no doubt it is an ongoing practice. So we are working to educate folks operating in our waters about the Clean Water Act. I would encourage folks to think about the water in general, think about being good stewards and to bring that to our proper disposal on shore.”
So what can vessel operators do to take charge of waste on-board?
The letter suggests working with nearby harbormasters to determine alternative options like sewage pump stations if available. Other suggestions include the use of “bag-style” camp toilets for solid waste and disposing of those bags along with other waste at approved locations. Brune says he’s focused on working with vessel owners to find a long- term solution.
“We have environmental standards that we want to hold folks to; to make sure that we’re being protective of our marine resources, of our fish and of the environment that we love here in Alaska.”
We’ll have a list of resources to learn about the Alaska Clean Harbors program and current regulations on the fisheries report show post today.
Learn more about the Alaska Clean Harbors program and current regulations from these sites:
o Alaska Clean Harbors Program: http://www.alaskacleanharbors.org/
o EPA Vessel Sewage FAQ: https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/vessel-sewage-frequently-asked-questions
o EPA Information on MSDs: https://www.epa.gov/vessels-marinas-and-ports/marine-sanitation-devices-msds
Report all spills and violations to the appropriate authorities:
Ø Marine sanitary violations to the USCG National Response Center: 800.424.8802
Ø Oil spills and other hazardous substances to DEC Spill Response: 907.269.3060
If you’d like to share your thoughts on sewage -- and any issues or tips you have -- let us know! 907-842-2200 or fish@kdlg.org.
Deenaalee Hodgdon interview, part two
We’re back with part two of our conservation with Deenaalee Hodgdon. Today’s conversation is about their podcast, On the Land. The show shares stories from Indigenous People that tackles climate change and political issues from an Indigenous perspective. Hodgdon breaks down what the show is about and their plans for its future.
You can find On the Land on all major podcasting platforms like Apple and Spotify. You can also find more at onthelandmedia.com.
Messages to the fleet:
Big shout out to Brian on the F/V Big Skiff in Ugashik, from your good friend Patrick Garrett from Oregon! "Brian I hope your having a great season! Wishing you some big numbers the next couple of weeks! Hope your net sinks! Missing everyone in the village. Be safe and have fun skipper!! Go get um!!!!
To: Capt. Brent Cathey on the F/V Independence
I finally got a chance to read a couple of your books of poetry. I really like the haikus featuring baby hippos in under britches.
PS. Why didn’t you tell me you don’t have a brother?
Sincerely,
Montana Chick
Message to captain Troy Leland F/V LindaK
Good day Cap.,
Hope you and the guys are safe and sound. Happy belated birthday from the gang.
Sending you big hugs and lots of love.
Signed Miss Denver
P.S. just so ya know "I'm still not a country kinda gal" (giggle giggle)]
I’d like to say hi to Parker on the F/V “Daga Bay” from dad on the F/V “Sal-C”
Id like to send out a song for the fleet.
“A little pain” from Margo Price.
Thanks for your great job broadcasting!
THE NUMBERS:
Nushagak District
Fishermen in the Nushagak caught 600,000 fish, and total harvest in the Nushagak is almost 5 million. The total catch so far has come 3% from Igushik set-netters, 25% from Nushagak set-netters, and 72% from the Nushagak drift fleet.
Across the district, escapement yesterday was 367,000, for a total season escapement in the Nushagak of 1.7 million fish.
Nushagak River
121,000 sockeye passed the Nushagak River sonar yesterday, bringing sockeye escapement in the Nushagak to 705,000.
The sonar also counted 66 kings yesterday for a total Nushagak king escapement of 38,000, and 13,000 chums escaped yesterday, bringing chum escapement in the Nushagak to 91,600.
Wood River
The Wood River counting tower crew counted 84,800 sockeye by 6 a.m. this morning, pushing escapement in the Wood River to 1 million 63 thousand.
Igushik River
In the Igushik River, escapement was 1,300 by 6 a.m. this morning, bringing total escapement in the Igushik River 50,000 fish so far.
Combined, the total run across the Nushagak District is the second-largest in the bay by a couple tens of thousands: the Nushagak run is now 6.7 million.
Togiak
In the Togiak District, a daily harvest of 12,700 fish yesterday brought the total total catch in that district to 39,700 fish.
The Togiak River counting crew counted 500 fish escape as of 6 a.m. this morning. Escapement in the Togiak River is now 4,400. Altogether, the total run in the Togiak District is 43,600.
Naknek-Kvichak
The Naknek-Kvichak District was the only district with over 900,000 fish caught yesterday. To be precise, fishers in the Naknek-Kvichak caught 933,000 fish yesterday. Total harvest so far in the Naknek-Kvichak is 5.7 million, attributed 7% to Kvichak set-netters, 15% to Naknek set-netters, and 78% to the drift fleet.
Escapement across the district was also just above 900,000 yesterday, pushing total escapement in the Naknek-Kvichak District to almost 3 million fish. Here’s the escapement in the Naknek-Kvichak District by river:
Alagnak River
119,000 fish escaped in the Alagnak River yesterday. Total escapement in the Alagnak River is now 365,000.
Kvichak River
The Kvichak River saw a 200,000 fish escapement yesterday, bringing total escapement in the Kvichak to 585,000 fish. There is also a 500,000 fish in river estimate in the Kvichak River.
Naknek River
The Naknek River’s escapement of 584,000 fish yesterday pushed total escapement in the Naknek to over 2 million. The Naknek River is the only river in the bay with an escapement of over a million, or 2 million, fish.
Altogether, the total run in the Naknek-Kvichak District is the largest in the bay, at 9.1 million fish.
Egegik
The Egegik District had a daily catch of 837,000 yesterday, which pushed the total harvest in the Egegik District over the 5 million fish mark to over 5.5 million. Yesterday’s catch came 85% from the drifters and 15% from the set-netters.
195,000 fish escaped in Egegik yesterday, bringing total escapement in Egegik to just shy of a million fish: 950,000. With the in-river estimate of 120,000 sockeye, total run in Egegik is 6.66 million; it’s slipped to the third largest run in the bay so far.
Ugashik
Fishers caught 71,000 sockeye in the Ugashik District yesterday. Total catch in Ugashik is 286,000. That catch is attributed 63% to the drift fleet and 37% to the set-netters. That’s still the highest set net allocation in the bay.
Daily escapement in Ugashik was almost exactly 9,000 fish yesterday, pushing total escapement in the district to 53,600. Adding the 75,000 fish in-river estimate in Ugashik, the total run there is 415,000 fish.
Permit registration on July 9 9:00 a.m. to July 11 at 9:00 a.m.
We’re gonna need a bigger boat. And a closer look at where the boats are fishing in the bay. There are 1,649 permits fishing on 1,288 boats baywide. That’s 927 single permit vessels and 361 D boats. At 9am on July 11, that will jump 1,326 vessels, 377 of which will be D boats. Now, by district:
Egegik and the Naknek-Kvichak are tied for vessel registrations right now at 424 boats apiece. We’ll do Naknek-Kvichak first though, because it will have more than Egegik in 48 hours.
Right now, 424 boats, or 33% of the fleet, are fishing in the Naknek-Kvichak. 126 of those are D boats. At 9am on Saturday, that will jump to 456 boats, 141 of which will be D boats.
In Egegik, there are also 424 boats fishing, another 33% of the fleet, with 136 of them being D boats. In 48 hours, Egegik will lose 1 D boat, for a total of 423 boats and 135 D boats.
In the Nushagak District, there are 362 vessels fishing, 92 of which are D boats. That’s 28% of the fleet. On Saturday morning, the Nushagak District will lose two D boats, bringing the totals to 360 vessels, 90 of which will be D boats.
Togiak is being fished by 3% of the fleet, or 40 boats. They’ll add 1 boat for a total of 41 on Saturday morning.
Ugashik trails the other districts of the bay for vessel registrations, at 38 boats, 7 of which are D boats. In 48 hours, there will be 46 boats fishing in the Ugashik district, 11 of which will be D boats.
Chignik
At the Chignik weir, 5,916 sockeye passed yesterday, and no additional sockeye had passed as of 9am this morning. That brings the total Chignik sockeye run to 121,288: 106,698 in the early run and 14,590 in the late run.
Also yesterday, 24 chinook salmon passed the weir. Added to the 6 chinooks that passed as of 9am this morning, the chinook run at the Chignik weir is 272.
Area M
Fishing on the South Peninsula is closed, but we still have some harvest numbers from Area M.
Fleet caught 117,000 sockeye in Area M yesterday, bringing the season total harvest of sockeye to 675,000. There was also a daily harvest of 46 kings, 331 chum, and 3 pinks.
Some sections of Area M will open for commercial fishing at 6am tomorrow morning.
Port Moller
Down at the Port Moller test fishery, the picture of this year’s run is becoming clearer. Scott Raborn said in his email that based on yesterday’s data, the run peaked at Port Moller on July 4th or 5th, making the run 5 or 6 days late, and probably over 50 million fish.
Here are yesterday’s catch indices from Port Moller:
Station Index
Station 2 had an index of 3 -- 1 in the 4 ½ inch mesh.
Station 4 had an index of 22 -- 1 in the 4 ½ and 7 in the 5 ⅛.
Station 6 had an index of 52 -- 1 in the 4 ½ and 18 in the 5 ⅛.
Station 8 had an index of 187 -- 24 in the 4 ½ and 54 in the 5 ⅛.
Station 10 had an index of 80 -- 20 in the 4 ½ and 8 in the 5 ⅛.
Station 12 had an index of 97 -- 29 in the 4 ½ and 8 in the 5 ⅛.
Station 14 had an index of 0 -- no fish were caught at Station 14.
Correction: The percent allocations of harvest by gear type are calculated from the cumulative harvest, not the daily catch as initially reported.