Fishing

A fisherman holds a Dungeness crab caught during the 2021 season. (Courtesy Photo/ Joseph Stratman, Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

‘There are no bright spots’: Regionwide Dungeness crab catch rates see down season

“There are no bright spots.”

 

Anglers fish on the Kenai River on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Low early-run king numbers prompt restrictions

Off to a very slow start.

 

Photos by Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire Members of the Yées Ku.oo multicultural dance group advance up the pier Saturday during the 12th Annual Maritime Festival. Below left, sailors strive against Juneau Docks and Harbors personnel in a tug-of-war. Below right, a swimmer drops out of a Coast Guard Air Station Sitka MH-60 Jayhawk during a rescue demonstration.

Visitors and sun greet 12th annual Juneau Maritime Festival

Hundreds came to the annual festival recognizing Juneau’s ties to the ocean.

 

Capt. Bonny Millard of the FV San Juan tosses the commemorative wreath during the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial in Juneau on May 7, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Juneau holds annual Blessing of the Fleet

Juneau turned out to bless and honor its fishermen, both working and lost at sea or ashore.

Capt. Bonny Millard of the FV San Juan tosses the commemorative wreath during the annual Blessing of the Fleet at the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial in Juneau on May 7, 2022. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries

Statewide shellfish meeting rescheduled

This comes after the board bumped back its Southeast and Yakutat shellfish meeting

Image via Alaska Board of Fisheries
Douglas Island Pink and Chum had a better year than 2020, and things appear to be improving for next year, said hatchery employees. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

DIPAC clocks good 2021 season

Returns aren’t as good as several years ago but they’re an improvement over 2020’s dismal numbers.

Douglas Island Pink and Chum had a better year than 2020, and things appear to be improving for next year, said hatchery employees. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
Tiffany Listberger poses with her 31.7-pound king salmon turned in at the Auke Bay weight station on Sunday. According to provisional results, Listberger is the winner of the 75th annual Goldern North Salmon Derby. (Courtesy photo / Derek Listeberger)

King weighing over 31 pounds leads salmon derby results

Provisional results.

Tiffany Listberger poses with her 31.7-pound king salmon turned in at the Auke Bay weight station on Sunday. According to provisional results, Listberger is the winner of the 75th annual Goldern North Salmon Derby. (Courtesy photo / Derek Listeberger)
Shona Osterhout holds up a 26-pound king salmon turned into the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor weigh station for the 75th annual Golden North Salmon Derby on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Osterhout, a derby volunteer, said at the time the fish was leading the derby. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Derby days: Heavy rains and heavy fish

Rainy start, but Saturday sees more action.

Shona Osterhout holds up a 26-pound king salmon turned into the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor weigh station for the 75th annual Golden North Salmon Derby on Saturday, Aug. 14, 2021. Osterhout, a derby volunteer, said at the time the fish was leading the derby. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
A sign points the way to the weigh station at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during last year's Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 16, 2020. This year is the derby's 75th year and organizers have added additional prizes in celebration of the event. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Salmon derby celebrates 75 years with new ways to win

Derby days are here again.

A sign points the way to the weigh station at the Mike Pusich Douglas Harbor during last year's Golden North Salmon Derby on Aug. 16, 2020. This year is the derby's 75th year and organizers have added additional prizes in celebration of the event. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)

Salmon returns set records in Bristol Bay while Southeast runs struggle

Prices are up all around.

Chum salmon, like the kind seen here as a man examines the fish ladder at the Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. hatchery on Channel Drive on Wednesday, July 21, 2021, have had lower returns this year according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, even as fisheries in Bristol Bay are breaking records. (Peter Segall / Juneau Empire)
Lisa Stengel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weighs a halibut on Monday, July 12, 2021, at Coal Point Seafoods in Homer, Alaska, that she caught with a pole spear while free diving in Kachemak Bay. If verified, the 71.4-pound halibut would be the International Underwater Spearfishing Association world record for a Pacific halibut caught be a woman using a pole spear. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)

Florida woman sets record for halibut caught with a pole spear.

Stengel speared big halibut while free diving in Kachemak Bay.

Lisa Stengel of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, weighs a halibut on Monday, July 12, 2021, at Coal Point Seafoods in Homer, Alaska, that she caught with a pole spear while free diving in Kachemak Bay. If verified, the 71.4-pound halibut would be the International Underwater Spearfishing Association world record for a Pacific halibut caught be a woman using a pole spear. (Photo by Michael Armstrong/Homer News)
Fr. Gordon Blue takes part in the 31st annual Blessing of the Fleet and Reading of Names at the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial in Juneau on May 1, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)

Juneau holds annual ceremony blessing and recognizing fishermen

It was the 31st iteration of the ceremony.

Fr. Gordon Blue takes part in the 31st annual Blessing of the Fleet and Reading of Names at the Alaska Commercial Fishermen’s Memorial in Juneau on May 1, 2021. (Michael S. Lockett / Juneau Empire)
A truck stops outside Douglas Island Pink and Chum to pump in water on Thursday following damage to a pipeline caused by a landslide on Dec. 3, 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)

Landslide damages DIPAC’s freshwater supply

Many fish slated for release next spring were destroyed to preserve resources.

A truck stops outside Douglas Island Pink and Chum to pump in water on Thursday following damage to a pipeline caused by a landslide on Dec. 3, 2020. (Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire)
Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire The derelict tug Lumberman is scheduled for disposal by at-sea scuttling in mid-October, said Juneau harbormaster Matt Creswell, Sept. 9, 2020.

Derelict tugboat slated for mid-October sinking

The vessel will be dragged into the Gulf and scuttled.

Ben Hohenstatt / Juneau Empire The derelict tug Lumberman is scheduled for disposal by at-sea scuttling in mid-October, said Juneau harbormaster Matt Creswell, Sept. 9, 2020.
Members from Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro stand in formation on the back of the cutter, July 24, 2020. The cutter’s hull day, July 24, correlates with its hull number, 724. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)

Cutter Douglas Munro celebrates Hull Day at sea

USCG WHEC-724 represented on their day — July 24.

Members from Coast Guard Cutter Douglas Munro stand in formation on the back of the cutter, July 24, 2020. The cutter’s hull day, July 24, correlates with its hull number, 724. (Courtesy photo / U.S. Coast Guard)
Monkey boats and sailboats: Bringing a Bristol Bay relic back to life

Monkey boats and sailboats: Bringing a Bristol Bay relic back to life

They were looking for a boat with history. They found it.

Monkey boats and sailboats: Bringing a Bristol Bay relic back to life
Jeff Lund attempts to hook a golden trout in Wyoming during a recent trip. “Yes, [I] traveled to fish during the pandemic,” Lund said. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)

Yes, I traveled to fish during the pandemic

Don’t mistake the tone of this, I am not making light of traveling during a pandemic.

Jeff Lund attempts to hook a golden trout in Wyoming during a recent trip. “Yes, [I] traveled to fish during the pandemic,” Lund said. (Jeff Lund | For the Juneau Empire)
Opinion: The salmon way is worth fighting for

Opinion: The salmon way is worth fighting for

Alaska is our country’s last salmon state.

Opinion: The salmon way is worth fighting for
Thomas Thornton, dean of Arts and Science at University of Alaska Southeast, gives a lecture about the state and nontangible benefits of Alaska’s herring egg trade at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Nov. 26, 2019. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)

Herring egg gathering in Southeast Alaska hangs on despite commercial fishing

The social benefits of herring eggs are under fire.

Thomas Thornton, dean of Arts and Science at University of Alaska Southeast, gives a lecture about the state and nontangible benefits of Alaska’s herring egg trade at the Sealaska Heritage Institute, Nov. 26, 2019. (Michael S. Lockett | Juneau Empire)
These three Alaskans are disrupting the salmon business

These three Alaskans are disrupting the salmon business

They want to hook fish and customers.

These three Alaskans are disrupting the salmon business