The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery closed April 10 with a final tally of approximately 26,350 tons harvested, according to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. It was just over half of the 45,164-ton guideline harvest level, but over 10,000 tons more than last year’s catch.
In the final five days of openings, approximately 6,990 tons were harvested in the waters off of Baranof Island to the south of Sitka.
OBI Fleet Manager Don Spigelmyre wrote that this year was “our best season ever,” and that the company purchased just over 3,500 tons for the OBI Petersburg plant to process.
Though the total harvest did not reach the allowable catch, that does not mean the harvest was not successful, he said. If the guideline harvest had been met, he said, it would have oversaturated the primary market in Japan and crashed the price.
Spigelmyre also said he is expecting to see a higher price for herring than in the past few years, but the recent decrease in the value of Japanese yen will hurt the price.
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