Sorted by date Results 1 - 11 of 11
In the works for awhile, Rainforest Islands Ferry Service has been delayed yet again. The ferry was set to sail June 14, then postponed to June 28. “We were so close” to that start, spokeswoman Heather Hedges said, but work at the shipyard was delayed. The 65-foot landing craft made its way up to Ketchikan from Anacortes, Wash. on Monday and sea trials have just begun with another U.S. Coast Guard inspection scheduled. The first delay was due to a wait on USCG certification. “As long as everything goes smoothly,” Hedges said, service is expe...
Preliminary prices for Dungeness crab are in and a bit higher than last year’s. The average price for the first week was “a solid” $3 per pound throughout Southeast Alaska, according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game Petersburg Assistant Shellfish Biologist Kellii Wood. Last year’s average price was $2.99, according to Petersburg Shellfish Biologist Joe Stratman. Wood noted that 838,156 pounds were caught in the first seven days of the fishery by 169 permit holders. “That is the fourth highest amount the fleet has caught in the first sev...
Lower prices in the market are souring what’s predicted to be another large salmon run. “In general, a lot of prices for species are down,” said Andy Wink, Senior Seafood Analyst with the Juneau-based McDowell Group, “especially sockeye and chum.” Prices have dropped $0.05, $0.10 and more than $0.50 in some cases. Wink and local processors pointed to two big factors: currency and supply. The pink salmon market, for example, is “gearing up for a huge harvest,” Wink noted, and the wholesale will be dictated by how big the run is. There’s still...
PETERSBURG – Owner Paine & Partners, LLC of San Francisco has entered into agreements with two different groups to sell Icicle Seafoods. According to the press release issued, Convergence Holdings, Inc. will acquire Icicle’s land-based wild seafood processing and farmed salmon activities while Dominion Catchers, LLC will acquire the company’s harvesting and processing vessels, as well as associated fishing rights. Dominion Catchers is a limited liability company licensed by the Alaska Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Devel...
Petersburg hosted and won the state's first co-ed vs. co-ed roller derby bout Saturday night and, "oh my gosh, it was so great," Devil's Club Co-Captain Rebecca Anderson said of the co-ed experience. The Southeast team, comprised of Petersburg and Wrangell skaters, defeated Fairbanks' Frozen Chosen 182-165 in the Petersburg High School gym. Devil's Co-Captain Shawna Buness, of Wrangell, said the co-ed bout "was really exciting for how new derby is in Southeast." The men who normally referee the...
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has proposed removing the majority of humpback whale populations from the Endangered Species Act (ESA) listing. The announcement came Monday when NOAA officials stated protection and restoration efforts over the past 40 years have led to an increase in numbers and growth rates for the mammals in many areas. The animal was first listed as endangered in 1970. “I’m extremely excited about it,” said Fred Sharpe, a scientist for the Alaska Whale Foundation who’s done research in Frederi...
By Dani Pa;mer Sentinel writer PETERSBURG – The 2015 spring troll fishery got its early start this week. The fishery opened in select locations at 12:01 a.m. today, Thursday. Last year, the first spring troll fishery opened on May 1. Frederick Sound, Ernest Sound, the Neets Bay Terminal Harvest Area and the Hidden Falls Terminal Harvest Area opened and will remain so through April 30, according to an Alaska Department of Fish and Game press release. “Frederick Sound has always been a good area,” Sitka Troll Fishery Biologist Pattie Skannes...
PETERSBURG – Those looking to work at Petersburg’s fish processors will have a good chance to jump onboard with this summer’s pink salmon season predicted to be a big one. “The 2015 harvest forecast of 58 million pink salmon is well above the recent 10-year average harvest of 41 million pink salmon, and a harvest of that magnitude would be in the top ten harvests since 1960,” according to a guide put out by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Andy Piston, pink and chum salmon project leader in Ketchikan, and Steve Heinl, Ketchikan r...
PETERSBURG – The Sitka sac roe herring fishery will be done cooperatively this year, with processing completed in Sitka alone, meaning no fish tax for Petersburg. “This is an industry initiated cooperative,” Dave Gordon, area management biologist at the Department of Fish and Game, said of the co-op. He added that the sac roe herring market is “very poor right now,” and that the decision was made to eliminate competition and risk — to lower costs to “make it worthwhile to go after the product.” “The quota this year is quite small,” said Patr...
The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery opened at 3:30 p.m. Wednesday under a cooperative model. Dave Gordon, area management biologist at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said the decision was made by permit holders to eliminate competition and lower costs to “make it worthwhile to go after the product” as the market is poor. It wasn’t a popular decision among tenders, however. “There’s a lot less boats here,” said Tanner Mackiewicz, president of the Alaska Independent Tendermen’s Association. “A lot of people without jobs.” He said the...
PETERSBURG – Tonka Seafoods, Inc., announced last year that it was working to bring shrimp fisheries and processing back to Petersburg after a nearly decade-long absence. Well, it’s delivered. The fishery is closed for March and April, but Chief Financial Officer Seth Scrimsher said they purchased 250,000 pounds of pink shrimp from fisherman at a price of 40 cents per pound over the winter. A customer contacted Tonka and requested the shrimp after spotting the seafood company as one of 12 finalists for the Path to Prosperity (P2P) contest. “We...