August 2011
1 post
Is there room for young captains in the Alaska... →
The “Graying of the fleet” was the subject of the last State Legislature’s Fisheries Caucus earlier this spring —demonstrating that the aging demographic of Alaska’s fishing fleet is not just a concern for old fishermen sipping coffee at Petersburg’s coastal cold storage sandwich shop or taking tea in their Naknek living room. It’s a state-wide concern with economic ramifications. Melati Kaye...
July 2011
37 posts
Late Season Togiak fishery bigger than in years... →
The Togiak fishing district season opened to all Bristol bay drift boats on Wednesday and both biologists and processors say that the effort there is higher this year than in the recent past. However, the cohos—that characterize the end of the season fishery there—haven’t shown up in numbers yet. Melati Kaye has the details.
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report July 29th, 2011 →
The last one for the season: On today’s program, we’ll check in with the Bay’s few remaining fisheries in Togiak and the Nushagak. We’ll hear about the concerns of academics and policy makers in the state over the graying of the fishing fleet and the out-migration of Alaskan permits to the lower 48. And vegetables—could that be another use for fish guts?
On the behalf of the Stewardship Council or MSC, independent certification body, Moody Marine Limited, has awarded MSC certification to three British Columbia pink salmon fisheries.
The three fisheries are located in the Fraser River mainstream and tributaries, the waters north of Vancouver Island, including the Strait of Georgia, Toba Inlet and Jervis Inlet. And the waters east of Queen Charlotte...
Story Begins An Look at the 2011 Sockeye Season →
There have been many adjectives used to describe the 2011 sockeye salmon season in Bristol Bay. They include STRANGE… DISAPPOINTING… and AVERAGE. KDLG’s Mike Mason looked over the data… spoke to some stakeholders and experts… and filed this report
Dramatic Rescue in Nushagak Bay →
3 people were rescued in dramatic fashion last Sunday in Nushgak Bay. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details
New report says Bering Sea pollock not overfished →
A new report confirms that the Pollock biomass in the Bering Sea is not currently overfished nor at risk of being overfished in the near future. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story.
Story Begins Naknek Celebrates End of Fishing... →
They were kicking up their heels in Naknek this weekend for ‘Fishtival’ – their end-of-the-fishing-season festival. Daysha Eaton was there and has some highlights
Halibut fishermen harvest a third of CDQ quota →
Bristol Bay halibut fishermen caught a little more than 35,000 pounds or a third of their quota so far this year. Melati Kaye has the details.
Leader Creek creates new boat storage and repair...
For Bristol Bay fishing vessels and tenders looking for more space to store or repair boats in, there’s a new spot in Naknek. In fact, it may be the Northern and western most boatyard in Alaska that can deal with vessels 100 feet and larger.
Leader Creek Seafoods is making available boat storage and repair space in the 8 acres from it’s waterfront to its processing plant.
Norm Van Vactor is the...
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 22nd, 2011 →
On today’s program, we’ll hear from biologists about what goes into a season forecast and what might have missed this year, Bob Waldrop of the BBRSDA reflects on some of the projects the association funded this year. We’ll hear about the season was for halibut and sujiko—and tenders, don’t want to take your boat home? There’s a new Naknek yard to store it in.
Japanese anticipate Bristol Bay Sujiko down by a... →
Roe—or fish eggs—make up four percent of sockeye round weight and eight percent of chum round weight, according to the Department of Commerce’s recoveries and yield table for pacific fish and shellfish.
In Bristol Bay, processors process salmon into various products but their highest profits per pound comes from roe products like sujiko and ikura. Sujiko are salted roe skeins sold mostly in Japan....
$1 is the median take-home price posted by Bristol...
Melati Kaye
Many processors around Bristol Bay have posted early settlement prices with their fishermen. However these prices are subject to post-season adjustments.
Snopac Products is buying fish at $1 a pound—which matches the price that fishermen are reporting for Peter Pan, Alaska General Seafoods, Yard Arm Knot and Trident Seafoods.
Icicle Seafoods said their early price was 90 cents a...
2011 Sockeye Run to Bristol Bay Comes in Below... →
With some sockeye still trickling into Bristol Bay it looks like the total run will get to about 30-million fish. That’s significantly below the preseason forecasts. KDLG’s Mike Mason examined how the forecasts are generated and what might be to blame for the smaller than forecast run this year.
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In an effort to diversify Alaskan seafood’s...
Economists positive about sockeye markets →
As drift boats start filling storage yards around the Bay and setnetters head to the airport, the question weighing on fishermen and processors’ minds is what will the base price for Bristol Bay sockeye be? KDLG’s Melati Kaye looked into some of the cultural and market factors that go into that question and filed this report.
http://kdlg.org/news/archive.php?id=1350 →
And now for a moment in the sunshine—with Salmon Camp—Local middle and high school students spent some time at the Wood River counting towers recently learning what goes into daily run summaries and pre-season forecasts.KDLG Fisheries Reporter Melati Kaye tagged along and filed this report.
First Processor layoffs head out--to where? →
Facing the season’s ever shrinking number of fish per set late last week, many fishermen and processors began to cut their losses….by pulling their boats out of the water and sending deckhands and cannery workers home. Melati Kaye stopped by the King Salmon airport last week to see the first human effects of a fish run that came in earlier and smaller than expected.
July 15th Bristol Bay Fisheries Report →
Japanese trade publication Minato-Tsukiji reported Thursday that Japanese buyers’ opening offer for Bristol Bay sockeye is likely to be 600 yen per kilogram or $3.44 a pound.
John Sackton is editor of Boston-based Seafood News.
He says that this initial price is just an opening offer. The price is only likely to be settled in three to four weeks when Japanese buyers and packers...
Troopers say that they issued 120 tickets in the Bay this season through July 11th.
Sergeant Brent Johnson is the supervisor of the Bristol Bay Alaska Wildlife Troopers. He says that as of July 11th, troopers had issued 100 mandatory court case citations in the Eastside Districts of Naknek-Kvichak, Egegik and Ugashik.
However, Johnson added that many of those citations were for boats with dual...
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Story on the BBRSDA's annual meeting →
June 25 Bristol Bay Fisheries Report →
Port Moller Test Fishery wraps up their year →
Togiak Seafoods optimistic about expansion--KDLG... →
Gerry Leboff’s tax advice coming after the season….when he gets back to town. Please check back.
Bristol Bay Fisheries Report: July 8th →
Chuck 'Croc' Raymond remembered →
Here’s a piece Fisheries Reporter Melati Kaye put together that remembers a prolific man who has been in the Nushagak district fishing fleet since the 70s. Chuck ‘Croc’ Raymond was part of Dillingham’s ‘gypsy fleet’—a radio group known for their parties and antics.
Togiak Herring Season Report →
Author and Angler Paul Greenberg speaks on salmon →
Award-winning writer and lifelong angler Paul Greenberg visited Dillingham last week as part of a tour of the region sponsored by Trout Unlimited. He spoke with KDLG’s Melati Kaye about his book “Four Fish: The Future of the Last Wild Food.”
Peter Pan Seafoods Dillingham Plant gets new... →
The Nushagak Cooperative will be picking up the tab to ensure that the Peter Pan fish processing plant in Dillingham has a more reliable source of electricity. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story.
July 2 Bristol Bay Fisheries Report →
B. Bay Emergency Transfer Grant Program Unveiled →
The community development quota organization for the Bristol Bay region has rolled out a new program intended to help area fishermen actually go fishing. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details
June 2011
20 posts
The End for the Alaska Coastal Management Program →
The Alaska Coastal Management Program has been around since the 1970’s but 2011 is the last year the program will exist. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the story
Peter Pan Tours Back With Salmon Season →
Salmon Season is off and running in Bristol Bay … and the Southwest Alaska town of Dillingham is bustling with activity … much of the energy revolves around the oldest continually operating cannery in the state: Peter Pan. I went on a tour of the Peter Pan Cannery last week and put together this audio postcard.
BBEDC CEO/President Resigns →
The man who has led the Bristol Bay Economic Development Corporation since the beginning is stepping down. He says, he wants to make room for someone new to lead the organization into its next phase. Daysha Eaton has more
A new website has been launched intended to help specifically market the sockeye salmon harvested each summer in Bristol Bay.
Check out the site:
WWW.BRISTOLBAYSOCKEYE.ORG
and check out Mike Mason’s story about the launch:
http://kdlg.org/news/archive.php?id=1290
New this year: Sportfishing Restrictions for... →
Nushagak District ADFG changes season start... →
June 18 Bristol Bay Fisheries Report →
John Lowrance set to step out
-Melati Kaye
Twelve years after Leader Creek Fisheries opened in Naknek, company owner and general operations Manager John Lowrance announced that he would be selling the company to the Canadian fishing Company and bowing out of plant operations in September.
Vancouver based Canadian Fishing Company or Canfisco is the largest packer of canned salmon in Canada. They also produce fresh, frozen and...
District by district forecast
This year, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecasts that 38.5 million sockeye to return to Bristol bay watersheds with 28.5 million open to commercial harvest.
What does that mean at a district to district level though?
To get a more in-depth picture of the forecast, KDLG’s Melati Kaye checked in with the region’s area management biologists.
Naknek-Kvichak
Slim Morstad is the area...
New Bristol Bay fisheries report up
included are:
Region-wide sockeye forecast.
AIFMA and BBRSDA meeting updates, and Leader Creek Fisheries Owner and General Manager John Lowrance starts to say good bye to the Bay.
http://kdlg.org/news/archive.php?id=1270
Nushagak River Kings are Getting Smaller and... →
Some new—- yet unpublished—- research suggests that Nushagak River Chinook salmon are getting smaller and younger. KDLG’s Mike Mason has the details.
