Budget deliberations may hamper fisheries management
The Alaska State Legislature is trying to finalize the capital budget before the 2021 fiscal year begins July 1. There is a special session on Wednesday to work on the budget.
KDLG's Tyler Thompson walks through what might happen to state fisheries management and a state subsidy for rural energy.
KDLG reached out to the commercial fish division this afternoon. So far, we haven’t gotten a response. The legislature and governor will begin another special budget session tomorrow.
Halibut fisherman encounters freak storm on trip back from Togiak
Fishing can be a dangerous business. Before the season, many fishermen take courses and training to ensure the safety of their boats and crews. KDLG’s Brian Venua spoke with one fisherman who got a firsthand reminder of the importance of safety training.
More information about the AMSEA and their training can be found onwww.amsea.org. In case of an emergency, the Coast Guard can be reached at (907) 463-2000.
Drill conductor class in Naknek
Each year, the Alaska Marine Safety Education Association offers safety courses for people heading out on the water.
AMSEA marine safety course can help fishermen — and everyone else — stay safe on the water
For more information and training videos on how to keep yourself and your crew safe this season, visit amsea.org/resources.
Coast Guard exams still going in Bristol Bay
The Coast Guard is currently conducting dockside exams for fishing vessels in Bristol Bay. The exams are meant to address safety issues that may be present before the season gets underway. The Coast Guard will not issue fines or any other penalties for problems they discover at the docks or before boat launches.
TheCoast Guard says these exams can reduce the likelihood of big fines and penalties later in the season. Petty Officer Nate Littlejohn says examiners will check safety gear.
“We will be looking at things such as flares, charts, navigational signals, fire extinguishers, emergency position radio beacons, serviceability of immersion suits, that type of thing. These examinations are free," he said.
Fishers can signal they are ready for an exam by running a buoy up high on the mast or on the anchor or bow. Littlejohn says the exams ensure the vessels are in compliance with federal regulations. Those boats are also much less likely to undergo a Coast Guard inspection once they’re out at sea.
Dillingham, Egegik, and King Salmon can expect Coast Guard examiners from June 14-25.
To schedule an exam in Dillingham, call 907-764-5071. For Egegik exams, call 907-538-8062. In King Salmon and Naknek, call either 907-717-6270 or 907-538-9748.
Messages to the fleet:
For Billy Joe Griffin on the F/V Blue Adriatic: Please call mom or Cindy – Grandma Zastrow is very sick and you need to call home ASAP.
Dyllan down at coffee point, keep doin an awesome job, kick ass, have fun and remember be that humble sponge. We love and miss you
Mom & Dad
If you’d like to get a message out to the fleet on this show, perhaps to say hi from back home or wish them luck, send your messages to the fleet to fish@kdlg.org.
The Numbers
Egegik had openers for drifters and set netters today, but most districts are still waiting to get out on the water.
Fishing is still slow around the bay. The total bay-wide run is at 322,234. Egegik’s total run is the largest of the season, while the Nushagak District has the largest escapement.
Nushagak
The Nushagak District’s total run is at 100,885. That’s between the Nushagak and Wood rivers; we don’t have escapement numbers from Igushik yet.
Nushagak River
The total escapement for sockeye up the Nushagak River is at 85,873.
On Monday, the Nushagak River sonar counted 2,291 sockeye.
The Chinook run is still extremely slow. The total is at 5,294. That’s just half of what it was at this time last year. Yesterday, the sonar counted 161 kings.
The escapement goal for Chinook is 55,000-120,000. For the past two years, the run hasn't met its minimum escapement.
The commercial fleet is still waiting for the Wood River sockeye escapement to surpass 100,000.
Wood River
The Wood River's sockeye escapement is at 15,546.
Yesterday, 1,866 fish swam up the Wood River. As of 6 a.m. today, 534 fish passed the tower.
Togiak
Togiak opened yesterday for its regular weekly schedule. The fleet caught 553 fish yesterday for a total of 606. No escapement numbers yet from Togiak.
Egegik
Egegik’s escapement yesterday was 35,268. The total is at 84,660.
No harvest yesterday -- the fleet has hauled in 135,256 fish so far this season.
The district’s total run is now at 219,916.
Naknek-Kvichak
Fishermen in the Naknek-Kvichak district hauled in a small catch yesterday of just 140 fish during their regularly scheduled opener. Cumulative harvest is at 173.
Escapement up the Naknek River yesterday was 180 fish, for a total of 654 so far this season.
The total run there is at 827.
No numbers yet for the Kvichak, Alagnak, or Ugashik rivers.
Over at the Chignik Weir, the count for Monday was 8,868 sockeye, bringing the total for 2021 to 70,266.
Area M
Yesterday, the Area Mfleet harvested 122 kings, with a season total of 1,800 [WEB: 1819]. Sockeye harvest is nearly 2.5 million, coho are at 2,586, and the pink harvest is at 2.4 million fish. Yesterday’s chum harvest was 322,169, for a total of 516,965.
Due to a limited number of processors, some harvest numbers in Area M are confidential.
Port Moller Test Fishery
The Port Moller crew caught a 300 pound salmon shark at Station 22 yesterday -- that was just one among “a gauntlet” of salmon sharks they saw, among other visible predators.
Fish catches dropped off yesterday. In an email update, scientist Scott Raborn said that could be due to calm, sunny weather, which is less than ideal for fishing.
Port Moller’s team can’t say for sure whether low catches are because more fish avoid the net during clearer weather, or whether fish passage actually slows down -- Raborn said both probably occur. The test fishery is operating with a deeper net, so he doesn’t think many fish are passing beneath it.
That high visibility also allowed the crew to observe what happened in the water: at Station 18, crewmembers saw a school of 14 fish swim into the 5 1/8 inch mesh -- half were caught, while the others swam through after a short struggle -- an example of how mesh size also affects how many fish the test fishery catches.
Raborn said there will likely be an increase in test catches over the coming days.
Station 2 caught zero fish in either of their mesh sizes. Its catch index was 0.
Station 4 caught 1 fish in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 2 in the 5 1/8. The catch index was 7.
Station 6 caught 13 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 12 in the 5 1/8. The catch index was 52.
Station 8 caught 1 fish in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 0 in the 5 1/8. The catch index is 3.
Station 10 caught 2 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 5 in the 5 1/8. The catch index is 21.
Station 12 caught 1 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 0 in the 5 1/8. The catch index is two.
Station 14 caught 22 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 1 in the 5 1/8. It had a catch index of 45.
Station 16 caught 2 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 5 in the 5 1/8. It had a catch index of 13.
Station 18 caught 21 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 33 in the 5 1/8. The catch index is 93.
Station 20 caught 9 in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 12 in the 5 1/8. The catch index of 38.
Station 22 caught four fish in the 4 1/2 inch mesh and 9 in the 5 1/8. The catch index is 28. It also caught one giant salmon shark.
Stock Composition
Genetic samples from June 19-20 arrived in Port Moller Monday night, and the test fishery hopes to release the third stock composition estimate on Wednesday.
Contact the fish team at fish@kdlg.org or 907-842-2200.
