By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
Five Southeast legislators are calling on Gov. Dunleavy to seek a federal fisheries disaster declaration for Southeast because of poor harvests and low prices.
“Reports from the Southeast commercial fishing fleets indicate a dismal year for salmon returns in the region. There has also been a significant drop in prices fishermen get from processors. This, paired with reduced economic opportunity caused by COVID-19, has led many of our communities to request declarations of economic disaster,” the legislators said in a letter to the governor.
The letter was signed by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka; Rep. Daniel Ortiz, D-Ketchikan; Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau; Andi Story, D-Juneau, and Sen. Jesse Kiehl, D-Juneau.
Commercial Troll Management Biologist Grant Hagerman told the Sentinel that the coho troll fishery this summer was historically bad.
“Cohos stand out significantly, in that it’s one of the lower harvest years that we’ve had… It has been a down year for the trollers for most of the year – the coho fishery is their bread and butter,” Hagerman said. He cited poor fish returns and low catch rates.
Local coho catch this summer was 23% lower than last year and fell by 45% from the five-year average, he said.
“It’s huge – this catch is one of the lowest on record for coho,” Hagerman said. The year 1988 “was the lowest on record for coho, so this is the second lowest, I think.”
Not only that, but Chinook prices fluctuated widely, he said, from a winter high of $12 per pound to a spring opener of $5.50. Summer prices dropped further, though Hagerman said that this is typical.
Hagerman also noted prices for enhanced chum salmon, another trolling mainstay, were down by about half, with harvests down by two-thirds.
“There really wasn’t anything that did well,” he said.
Gary McMaster on his troller, the F/V Brat, right, talks with fellow fisher Volney Smith about the effects of Gulf of Alaska trawler bycatch on local fisheries today at Thomsen Harbor. Citing an overall poor fish return and low prices paid by processors this season, five state legislators are asking the governor to seek a national disaster declaration in order to free up aid funding. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
Speaking for the seine fleet, Sitka Area Management Biologist Aaron Dupuis said that the pink salmon harvest fell to historic lows, though the statistics on the fishery are not yet final.
“It’s going to be amongst the lowest harvests of pink salmon that we’ve had – this is a historical low pink harvest,” Dupuis told the Sentinel.
However, he said, the department’s escapement goals for pinks were met.
“We were able to be within our management target for pink salmon escapement, but that came at the cost of less commercial harvest opportunities.”
Dupuis added that there were odd factors at play too.
“It was really strange; what we were seeing building up in front of our pink salmon systems did not match what fishermen were harvesting. It was really weird,” he said.
Along with poor harvests, pink salmon prices were down by between half and one-third from the usual price, 40 to 50 cents per pound. “It wasn’t great, but it wasn’t the worst we’ve seen,” he said.
In their letter to the governor, the Southeast Alaska legislators said that a disaster declaration would grant vital aid to local communities.
“A disaster declaration will start the process to allow the hardworking fishermen in our districts to get federal disaster aid. This help is vital to our communities and Alaska’s economy,” the letter stated.
