Fisheries

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration research vessel Oscar Dyson left its homeport in Kodiak on April 1. The boat mostly provides insight into Alaska’s fish populations, from the Gulf of Alaska to the Bering Sea.  The Oscar Dyson docked at Kodiak’s Pier 2 on March 31. Most of the day was foggy and misty but lifted later that afternoon. …

Kodiak’s herring sac roe fishery opens April 1 at 9:00 a.m. with another year of massive harvest levels. But because of continued market problems, few local fishermen are expected to participate and a surplus of fish could be left in the water. This year’s guideline harvest level is more than 8,000 tons for Kodiak’s sac roe herring fishery. James Jackson …

There’s a new partnership to monitor Kodiak Island beaches for harmful algal blooms, which spread marine toxins like Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning. Academic, federal, and tribal entities are working to better understand which waters are most susceptible to the toxins.   The project’s partners held a presentation about what they hope to find on Near Island in a building owned by …

The Kodiak’s Fisheries Workgroup wants to host informational forums to speed along fish-related action items for the City Council and Borough Assembly. That was one decision the joint municipal body agreed on Wednesday, March 27, at its first forum in over four years. The Kodiak Fisheries Workgroup last held a meeting in Dec. of 2019. The group has two representatives …

This week on the Alaska Fisheres Report with Terry Haines: Meredith Redick reports on fish tracking with eDNA for KCAW, The Yukon River Intertribal Fish Commission hits the Federal Subsistence Board with a Special Action Request, story by KUAC’s Dan Bross,and Alaska Public Media’s Wesley Early talks to historian Bathsheba Demuth about her trip along the Yukon River. Skiffs line …

OBI Seafoods announced earlier this month [March 8] that it would not be buying salmon from the setnet fleet in Kodiak’s Alitak District. The decision does not affect the area’s seine fleet. Less than three months before the commercial season opens, dozens of fishers are reeling from the surprise announcement. On a Friday evening earlier this month [March 8], leadership …

This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: KCAW’s Katherine Rose takes us on a tour of the Japanese herring scene, Jack Darrell reports that Silver Bay Seafoods will be acquiring Trident’s Ketchikan plant, and a Shelby Herbert dispatch tells of Trident’s sale of its Petersburg properties to E.C. Phillips & Son. Sushi chef Kodai Sanada prepares omakase …

The Alaska Legislature is planning to create a seafood industry task force that will give recommendations to help sustain the state’s seafood industry. A joint legislative resolution forming the task force, SCR 10 which is sponsored by Republican Senator Gary Stevens of Kodiak, had its first hearing on March 7 in the Senate Finance Committee. Half a dozen representatives from …

This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: Boat wiring, with Art Schultz, plus in another blast from the past Dylan Simard reports on the suicide half dollar powered by saxitoxin. Saxitoxin dipped suicide silver dollar.

Kodiak’s Pacific cod season closed last week for fishermen using pot gear in state-managed waters. The guideline harvest level for those gear users was about 2.84 million pounds and the season lasted a bit longer than usual, lasting from Feb. 16 until early March. Boats tied up in Kodiak’s St. Paul Harbor (Brian Venua/KMXT) A total of 15 boats were …