Fisheries

Trident Seafoods is getting closer to securing a buyer for its year-round plant in Kodiak. But even if the deal isn’t closed in time for the upcoming salmon season, the company has committed to buying commercial salmon anyway. Trident announced on Friday that it has multiple interested buyers for its Kodiak processing plant, one of four plants the company put …

Kodiak’s Fish and Game Advisory Committee [AC] is making headway on its bylaws following a public fissure amongst committee members during a recent Board of Fish meeting. The Kodiak committee advises the state Department of Fish and Game on local hunting and fishing. During a committee meeting last Tuesday, Feb. 27, one of the hot topics was the fallout from …

Fishermen are once again looking at lower catch limits for halibut this year. That’s after harvest levels were cut last year too. KMXT’s Brian Venua reports that news comes as fishery managers say the species had its worst recruitment in decades. Catch limits for Pacific halibut this year are down to about 35.3 million pounds across the entire fishery, which …

This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: Davis Hovey reports on expansion of critical habitat for North Pacific Right Whales for KMXT, Jeremy Hsieh on Eklutna Lake restoration wrangling for Alaska Public Radio, and KDLL’s Riley Board reports that the EPA has charged a Soldotna man with damaging salmon habitat. North Pacific Right Whales seen in Barnabas …

This week on the Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: A report about paralytic shellfish poisoning from Alaska Public Media’s Kavitha George, KBBI’s Jamie Diep on the effects of ocean acidification on razor clams, and Hannah Flor reports about an electronic monitoring bill that gets a lukewarm reception from industry. Alaska razor clams. (Jenny Neyman/KDLL)

This week KDLG’s Christina Mc Dermott reports on seafood restaurant dynamics that drive low prices, Theo Greenly of KUCB on petition pushback from Unalaska, and hatchery salmon gets a hearing in the State House.

Updated Feb. 2, 2024 OBI Seafoods announced Wednesday, Jan. 31 it will not open its summer fish processing plant in Larsen Bay, on the west end of Kodiak Island. The company will still buy salmon from the area’s fishermen, but will rely on its facility in the city of Kodiak instead. KMXT’s Brian Venua reports it’s the latest plant to …

This week on The Alaska Fisheries Report with Terry Haines: Nothing is easy in the Cook Inlet EEZ, story by KDLL’s Riley Board, plus Jack Darrell of KRBD on the prohibition on yelloweye fishing in Southeast Alaska. Plus: what is a pelagic performance standard, and can it be enforced? Yelloweye rockfish. Credit: Alaska Department of Fish and Game

The Alaska pollock A season opened Jan. 20 but the Kodiak fleet has been standing down to avoid bycatch, or the incidental harvest of non-targeted species.  Julie Bonney is the executive director of the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank in Kodiak, which looks into management policy and research for the Gulf of Alaska. She said it’s typical for the pollock fleet …

The Alaska Legislative Session started Jan. 16 and Kodiak’s delegation has already introduced a slew of bills on the floor.  According to the Alaska Beacon, Representative Louise Stutes has three bills in the house as well as one house concurrent resolution so far.  HB 18 would have the state help create nonprofit regional fishing cooperatives with the goal to develop …