A new Pacific tuna fishery is open in the eastern Gulf of Alaska, and state fisheries officials are anticipating a commercial harvest coming soon.

“It is very exciting; we are hoping to see some tuna harvested in the Sitka area,” said Rhea Ehresmann, regional groundfish project leader for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Pacific tuna species are not currently covered by federal fisheries management in Alaska waters, so they are being managed by the state.

The decision to create a commissioner’s permit for tuna was based on requests from commercial fishermen to go after the fish, which have been observed — and hooked — by sportfishermen targeting a large body of warn water outside Sitka.

“It sounds like the tuna are a bit farther offshore, over 10 miles from Cape Edgecumbe around the 1,000-fathom line, although the Pacific tuna are swimming and caught much closer to the surface,” Ehresmann said.

“We don’t have an estimate of abundance of biomass but hope to know more once we have some data coming in from logbooks and fish tickets, as well as other fishing reports,” she said.

Commercial fishermen eager to catch and sell Pacific tuna must apply for the state permit and possess a Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission license.

Pacific tuna caught as bycatch in the salmon troll fishery may be retained, but salmon trollers must also apply for a commissioner’s permit, Ehresmann said.

The new permits will be issued with specific stipulations, gear types, area restrictions, requirements for logbooks and fish tickets, and restrictions on bycatch of other species. “So far we’ve issued a few permits but do not have any harvest or landing data yet,” she said.

The Department of Fish and Game has not set a total allowable catch, nor are there any restrictions on size or species of Pacific tuna that may be harvested in the commercial fishery.

Tuna have not been commercially harvested in the Gulf of Alaska in a significant, constant manner in past years due to the generally cold waters. Tuna species like albacore prefer waters between 58 and 64 degrees Fahrenheit, temperatures not common in the Gulf.