By Sentinel Staff
Test sets conducted Thursday morning located schools of herring with about 10 percent mature roe near Whale Island, immediately south of town, the Department of Fish and Game announced Thursday afternoon. Another test set northwest of Sitka in Hayward Straight yielded 7.8 percent mature roe. The fish taken at Whale Island averaged 155 grams, while those in Hayward were lighter, at 147 grams on average.
This year’s guideline harvest level for the Sitka Sound sac roe harvest is 30,124 tons, with a forecast average weight of 134-gram fish across all age classes.
While Thursday’s aerial survey saw no herring, vessels on the water noted many fish. Predators such as humpback whales and sea lions were spotted across Sitka Sound.
“Department vessels surveyed south of Sitka from Indian River to Whale Island and in the northern portion of Sitka Sound from Inner Point to Harbor Point,” Fish and Game wrote. “Several very large schools of herring were located from Inner Point to Kamenoi Point, east of the Siginaka Islands, north of Crow Island and Middle Island, and from Whale Island to Rocky Patch. Smaller schools of herring were located along the eastern shore of Middle Island.”
The commercial seine fleet has been on two-hour notice since 8 a.m. Thursday.
