By Sentinel Staff
Alaska Fish and Game aerial surveys Sunday and today showed continued herring spawning activity on Kruzof, Krestof and the Magoun Islands, bringing cumulative spawning mileage to 30.3 nautical miles.
Dive surveys started this weekend on southern and southwest Kruzof Island.
Aerial surveys were conducted Sunday and Monday from Crawfish Inlet to Salisbury Sound.
F&G Area Management Biologist Aaron Dupuis said in his report today that a total of 8.4 nautical miles of active herring spawn was seen Sunday on Kruzof Island south of Shelikof Bay, Fred’s Creek, from Inner Point to Point Brown, on Krestof Island from Rob Point to Eastern Bay, and in the Magoun and Siginaka islands.
Spawn also was observed Sunday near West Crawfish Inlet between the first and second narrows. Smaller areas of spawn were observed closer to Sitka north of Watson Point and near Crescent Harbor. He noted good conditions for the Sunday’s aerial survey.
Dupuis reported poor flying conditions this morning, with 30-knot winds and low visibility. He logged 2.1 nmi of active herring spawn on Kruzof Island south of Shelikof Bay, in the Magoun Islands and near Rob Point, south of Halibut Point, and near West Crawfish Inlet between the first and second narrows.
Although Dupuis will be out on dive surveys for the next few days, the department will continue aerial surveys until spawning is done.
The next fishery update will be issued on or before Wednesday.
The department is continuing to seek feedback on its new mobile data collection app used during surveys to provide interactive maps for displaying survey spawning information.
The “Sitka Sound daily herring spawn” map has spawn location data from the most recent survey, and the “Sitka Sound herring surveys” map allows users to view all of the data collected for each survey throughout the 2020 season. The interactive maps are located on the department website at:
https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareasoutheast.herring#maps.
