Sorted by date Results 26 - 50 of 627
Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute (ASMI) officials hear that processors have mostly cleared out their overflowing inventories of Alaska salmon from the 2022 and 2023 seasons, but the problem remains that Americans don’t buy enough seafood to sustain consistently profitable sales, particularly in years of strong salmon runs. And while last year’s problem was an oversupplied market, which pushed prices paid to fishermen to as low as 20 cents a pound for pink and chum salmon, this year’s harvest may come up short of a robust supply, Greg Smith...
The federal government board that manages subsistence will be expanded with three representatives of Alaska Native tribes, under a new rule the Biden administration made final on Oct. 16. The new Federal Subsistence Board members are to be nominated by federally recognized tribes. They need not be tribal members or Native themselves, but they must have “personal knowledge of and direct experience with subsistence uses in rural Alaska, including Alaska Native subsistence uses,” according to the rule. The term “subsistence” refers to harvest...
Alaska’s seafood industry has been contending with turbulent global markets for the past two years, which have been hammering harvest values and threatening fishermen’s and processing companies’ financial stability. Prices paid to salmon fishermen crashed in the summer of 2023, prompting protests and generating headlines in national news outlets. But it’s unlikely most heard anything about black cod, which is harvested in smaller volumes — though the numbers are still significant for many full-time Alaska fishermen and processing businesses, wi...
On the morning of Aug. 9, state biologists discovered dozens of dead fish in a creek near the Kensington gold mine in northern Southeast Alaska. Scientists from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game say their observations — and the fact that the die-off occurred downstream of a wastewater treatment plant at the large mine — suggest that the event stemmed from a water quality problem. Mine workers also used an unapproved explosive at Kensington a day before the dead fish were found, according to federal officials. But nearly two months lat...
Though it was important to pinpoint the exact location and extent of damage to the community’s wastewater outfall pipeline into Zimovia Strait, officials also discovered that the 12-inch plastic pipe and the seabed around it have become home to hundreds of sea cucumbers. “Over the years and years, wildlife has figured it out,” Tom Wetor, the borough’s Public Works director, said Sept. 26. Sea cucumbers, a bottom-dwelling invertebrate, proliferate around the nutrient-rich waters near the diffuser end of the outfall line, he said. “I bet there ar...
Wrangell’s moose season opened last week. The one-month window runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15. Those hunting on Wrangell, neighboring islands and the mainland are permitted to harvest one bull this fall. There are no regulation changes from last hunting season, and Frank Robbins, Petersburg-Wrangell area biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said he has not seen any notable changes to the health of the central Southeast herd. Last year’s Petersburg-Wrangell area harvest was a record 141 moose, exceeding the previous hig...
On July 26, KSM Mining ULC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Seabridge Gold, received its “substantially started” determination from the British Columbia Environmental Assessment Office for its Kerr-Sulphurets-Mitchell (KSM) project. KSM is a huge proposed open-pit and underground gold-copper-silver mine targeting coastal mountains of northwestern B.C., within the headwaters of both the Nass River, which lies entirely within B.C., and the transboundary Unuk River, which flows into Southeast Alaska near Ketchikan. Why does this matter? Acc...
Trollers shoved off from docks across Southeast Alaska over the weekend, following an announcement from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game of a very limited 10-day commercial opening for kings. The brief window opened Sept. 1 and was scheduled to close Sept. 10, with a limit of 12 kings per troller. The department said it expects trollers will harvest the remaining Southeast allocation of about 4,000 fish. That’s what remains of the commercial net fisheries share of Southeast kings, as seine fisheries have wrapped up and gillnet fisheries a...
The Southeast Alaska sport fishery is on track to exceed its king salmon allocation for the summer by 14,000 fish, prompting the state to close the region to sportfishing for kings. The closure went into effect at 12:01 a.m. Monday, Aug. 26. “King salmon may not be retained or possessed, and any king salmon caught must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed,” according to the Department of Fish and Game announcement late Friday, Aug. 23. The king salmon sport fishery will reopen on Oct. 1 for the winter season. “While the (...
Aug. 21, 1924 The Wrangell Red Cross chapter was organized in April 1917. Active work began at once. Benefits were arranged, a membership drive was inaugurated, goods and sewing materials were ordered, and the local people assumed their share of the war work cheerfully and enthusiastically. Since the war, many garments have been made for the convalescent soldiers in the hospitals and last year Wrangell followed the lead of other progressive communities and established a Red Cross Health Center with a public health nurse. This is in line with...
Alaska’s congressional delegation is making a renewed pitch to the Biden administration for binding protections against potential environmental damage from British Columbia mines near Canadian headwaters of Southeast Alaska rivers. Their concerns were heightened after the June 24 heap leach pad failure at the Eagle Gold Mine near the village of Mayo in the Yukon, the delegation said in a prepared statement Aug. 16. “Without unified action from the executive branch, Canadian mining activity in this region will increasingly endanger U.S. com...
Expectations were low this year for the pink salmon runs that power Prince William Sound’s commercial fishing industry. But no one expected them to be as bad as they’ve been. With just a few weeks left in the season, the sound’s seine fleet has harvested just one-fourth the number of pinks that it would have caught by now in a typical year. The small runs have forced managers to close fishing for longer periods than usual. And even during openers, fishermen are reporting abysmal harvests. Some have quit early. Others are thinking about new j...
Heavy fishing on chinook salmon by sport fishermen — including nonresident charter customers — is taking away fishing time from Southeast Alaska’s commercial troll fleet this summer. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Aug. 6 that trollers in August and September will likely lose out on the remainder of the summer troll fishery allocation for chinook because sport fishermen across Southeast are on track to exceed their summer 2024 allocation by about 14,000 chinook, and because of a regulation change that the department imple...
Edward "Ed" Roland Ness, 86, described by his family as a "beloved father, devoted husband, enthusiastic storyteller, at-ease conversationalist," passed away surrounded by his loved ones on July 13, 2024. Ed was born on July 8, 1938, the eldest child of Esther and Knute Ness of Wrangell. He fished alongside his father, hunted in the woods of what is now St. Elias National Park, and spent ample time outdoors growing up. After commercially fishing 13 seasons and loving boats, Ed pursued a career...
A cyanide spill at a major gold mine in the Yukon Territory — high in the Yukon River watershed — has sparked widespread concern in Canada. But Alaska salmon advocates say the mishap isn’t just a problem for Yukoners: The spill happened upstream of a tributary of the Yukon River. The Yukon is Alaska’s biggest transboundary waterway, and residents along its shores who have depended on salmon for generations are already suffering amid crashes of fish runs. Officials on both sides of the border say it’s too early to know the full impact of the sp...
Wrangell's deer hunting season will open on Aug. 1 and remain open through Nov. 30. The dates for archery season are the same for rifle hunting. Hunters are permitted two bucks over the course of the four-month window, and no doe harvest is allowed to protect the herd's population for future years. Hunters must always carry their harvest tags with them while they hunt. Harvest tags are free, but an annual hunting license will cost residents $45, or $5 for low-income residents. Nonresidents will...
Living amid craggy peaks and remnant glaciers, Southeast Alaska mountain goats survive in variable conditions, often dealing with heavy snowfall and extreme cold. But a new study published and written by an Alaska wildlife ecologist shows that many goats die in avalanches. Kevin White, who worked with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game before continuing his studies at the University of Alaska Southeast and University of Victoria, British Columbia, has concluded over a 17-year project, using data from 421 collared goats, that between 23%...
Commercial trolling for king salmon closed July 8 in Southeast Alaska after an eight-day opening. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reported July 8 that it expected trollers would reach their harvest target for the first chinook salmon retention period of the summer of 66,700 kings. The fishery opened July 1. The department manages the first summer chinook retention period to harvest 70% of trollers’ allocation of about 92,400 treaty salmon for the summer fishery. Trollers will be able to catch the remainder of their chinook allocation d...
Bearfest is returning for its 15th year on July 24 – 28. The annual event is dedicated to bears and the surrounding environment, where attendees can enjoy symposiums, cultural and educational activities, art and photo workshops, fine dining, marathons, a bear safety session and more. In two of the workshops, kids and families are invited to create bear-themed ornaments to decorate the U.S. Capitol Christmas tree and smaller companion trees that will represent Alaska in Washington, D.C., this holiday season. The trees are coming from the T...
Commercial trollers started their summer season Monday, July 1, targeting a catch of approximately 66,700 chinook salmon in an opener that will be closed by emergency order when catch estimates approach that harvest target. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced last week that trollers are expected to hit the limit this weekend, after just six or seven days of fishing. Last year, Southeast trollers brought in about 85,000 king salmon from July 1 to July 12, about 8,000 fish over the target for the first opener of the season. The...
Mountain lions are not commonly spotted in Southeast Alaska, but earlier this month one was killed on the south end of Wrangell Island. Alaska Wildlife Troopers and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game were notified that a mountain lion had been shot and killed on June 3. They took possession of the carcass and are conducting an investigation. Troopers leading the investigation declined to comment. Riley Woodford, information officer with the Alaska Division of Wildlife Conservation in Juneau, said he knew of three other documented sightings...
Once again, it’s that time of year to catch some fish at the lake and net some fun for the whole family. The annual Family Fishing Day will be held from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, June 22, at Pats Lake. The event promises to have something for everyone, including casting practice and even a free lunch. The U.S. Forest Service Wrangell District and WCA Earth Branch are sponsoring the event, along with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Corree Delabrue, with the Forest Service, confirmed that special youth fishing regulations by Fish and G...
Southeast commercial purse seine fishermen are preparing for a summer season with no confidence they will earn a good price for the pink and chum they catch. The Southeast seine fishery opened with a one-day pink salmon fishing opportunity on Sunday in areas near Sitka, with more widespread openings to come. The Department of Fish and Game has forecast a “traditional” fishery harvest of 19.2 million pink salmon by commercial seiners this year, not counting the fish netted in terminal harvest areas near hatchery release sites. That would be an...
The anticipated movement of invasive European green crab farther into Southeast Alaska was verified June 13 when 11 carapaces of the shellfish were collected on the shore of Gravina Island’s Bostwick Inlet, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. The inlet, less than 10 miles southwest of downtown Ketchikan, is a popular local spot for harvesting Dungeness crab. The molted green crab carapaces were found by members of the Metlakatla Indian Community Department of Fish and Wildlife, and the Alaska Sea Grant program, who were c...
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has tightened the sport fishing limits for Wrangell Narrows and Blind Slough Terminal Harvest Area where hatchery kings return. The new limits were put in place due to poor returns of king salmon in the area, and will be in effect Saturday, June 15, through July 31. In the Wrangell Narrows, south of Matinsens’s dock and north and east of the northern tip of Woewodski Island at the southern entrance to the narrows, the new bag and possession limit for all anglers is one king salmon. Nonresident annual l...