By GARLAND KENNEDY
Sentinel Staff Writer
For the first time since 2018, the Sitka Sound herring sac roe fishery was held, with openings Saturday, Sunday and again today.
Seiners pulled up fish in the waters around Krestof Island and Lisianski Point on all three days, and in one case the sheer volume of fish nearly brought a boat down.
After a week on two-hour notice, the fishery opened at 10:30 a.m. Saturday following a series of test sets conducted by the Department of Fish and Game that located marketable herring, an ADFG release stated. Two sets, conducted simultaneously at 7:30 a.m. Saturday, located herring with more than 11 percent mature roe near Lisianski Point and the Magoun Islands.
With only about 20 boats and four processors involved in the commercial fishery this year, Fish and Game Area Management Biologist Aaron Dupuis told the Sentinel that the fishery is less intense than in previous years.
“Relaxed – it’s such a small fleet and just the arrangements they have within the companies, there’s no incentive to be aggressive,” Dupuis said over the phone today. “When it’s a full-on competitive fishery, everybody is trained to get what they can as quickly as they can.”
Seiners raft up near Krestof Island to load herring from a set this afternoon. Today was the third opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. Only about 20 boats out of more than 50 permit holders are fishing this year so processors are able to keep up. (Sentinel Photo by James Poulson)
During Saturday’s opening of eight and a half hours, seiners hauled in 2,300 tons of herring, Fish and Game announced on Sunday. The guideline harvest is 33,304 tons.
No herring fishery was held in 2020 due to the smaller size of herring and market conditions, and none was held in 2019 after marketable herring couldn’t be found.
Despite the more relaxed nature of the fishery, one seiner encountered serious issues and took on water, though nearby vessels rendered aid before the beleaguered boat sank.
“They had some equipment issues while they were holding onto some fish, and it went onto its side… It didn’t sink, there were good Samaritans who helped keep it mostly afloat,” Dupuis said. No injuries were reported.
He noted that there was no sign of an oil or fuel leak.
“Nobody noticed a sheen on the water,” Dupuis said, “so we don’t believe that any fuel was released, which is a really good thing.”
The department has yet to release harvest data for openings on Sunday or today. Sunday’s opening ran from 10:45 a.m. to 6 p.m. following successful test sets near Lisianski Point and in Hayward Strait.
A school of herring is considered marketable when it contains over 10 percent mature roe and is sufficiently large.
So far, the biologist said, quality needs are being met.
“It’s going well today, they’re reporting good quality on the grounds and all the fishermen and processors are getting what they needed,” he said.
In the announcement, the department said that the openings “would not harm a reasonable opportunity for participants in the subsistence fishery… Vessel surveys conducted by the department indicated a large biomass of herring is in the regulatory closed waters extending from Watson Point to Halibut Point (and) there was no herring spawn nor subsistence branch sets observed in the water on the adjacent shoreline of the open area.”
Today, the department noted large quantities of herring in waters closed to the commercial fishery between Eliason Harbor and Starrigavan. A lawsuit between the state and Sitka Tribe of Alaska regarding subsistence opportunities has been in litigation since 2018.
In January, the department set a guideline harvest level at 33,304 tons, though ADFG initially anticipated the total harvest not to exceed 20,000 tons. The forecast called for 210,453 tons of returning herring this year, with 5-year old fish making up the bulk of the biomass.
This year’s fishery is unlikely to reach that 20,000 ton projection, however.
“It will be way less than 20,000, but I’m not sure exactly where it will end up… This year it’s going to be when processors say they don’t want to buy any more, either they met their market demands or the fish quality isn’t there,” Dupuis said.
Harvest data from Sunday is slated to be released today.
