So long, Seattle

I wrapped up my visit to the Emerald City today. Naturally, I spent considerable time walking around Fishermen's Terminal taking pictures, despite what seemed like gale conditions all week.

The harbor was full of seine boats targeting fall salmon in Puget Sound, plus a lot of longliners that I assume just finished up the halibut season.

Anyway, here are a few postcards, including one at the end showing a good activity for a really soggy Seattle day.

Jury says Icicle owes hurt crewman $1.5 million

Here's the story in today's Seattle Times.

Expo time!

Today's the start of the three-day Pacific Marine Expo, a showcase for everything from engines to electronics to bait. It's billed as the largest such event on the West Coast, and is being held in the grand Qwest Field Event Center smack in downtown Seattle. Qwest Field, in case you don't know, is home to the Seattle Seahawks. Deckboss will be hanging out in there today and looking to score a few new contacts among Alaska commercial fishermen. Wesley Loy photo

Man dies after fall overboard near Wrangell

Alaska Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission records show the boat named in the press release below belonged to the deceased.

It's not clear what the 32-footer was fishing for, but the records indicate it's rigged for longline and pot gear.

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Canoe Pass near Wrangell
Type: Death investigation
On 11/17/2009 at 1729 hours Alaska State Troopers in Ketchikan received a call from Wrangell Search and Rescue who reported receiving a mayday call from the F/V Willow in Canoe Passage, south of Wrangell. The mayday was from David Sweat, age 60, of Wrangell, reporting that Allan Hayes, 56, also from Wrangell, had fallen overboard and was unresponsive. Sweat reported he was unable to get Hayes back onboard. Wrangell SAR responding by boat and the U.S. Coast Guard responding by helicopter. The P/V Enforcer was on wildlife patrol in the area and responded to assist with the investigation. At 1845 hours, Wrangell SAR reported Hayes was deceased. Next of kin were notified of the death. Alaska State Troopers are continuing with a full investigation.

What? Alaska salmon not MSC-certified?

Here's news that the Metlakatla Indian Community in Southeast Alaska will seek Marine Stewardship Council certification.

It seems the Metlakatla tribe, in conjunction with the U.S. Bureau of Indian Affairs, manages a small commercial salmon fishery around Annette Island and neighboring isles south of Ketchikan.

The state manages the rest of Alaska's vast salmon fisheries. And, as regular visitors to this blog know, the state has achieved MSC certification for Alaska salmon as a sustainable fishery.

All the best to Metlakatla.

But one wonders what happens if the Annette Island Reserve salmon fishery doesn't qualify for the MSC ecolabel.

Will we no longer be able to say without qualification that "Alaska salmon" is MSC-certified?

$370 million worth of salmon!

The Department of Fish and Game has posted a preliminary tally of the 2009 salmon season.

Here are the key numbers:

Total catch: 161.8 million fish

Total value: $370.2 million off the boat

That sounds like a pretty impressive season.

But in 2008, the value was considerably greater at $452 million despite a smaller catch of 146.4 million fish.

I'm not sure how to fully explain the substantial drop in value.

But in comparing the state's 2008 and 2009 tallies, it appears the big mover was pink salmon.

This year's catch of 96 million pinks brought $68.5 million. Last year's 84 million pinks was worth $103.4 million.

The state says the average pink price took a tumble this year to 22 cents a pound, versus 35 cents in 2008.

Matter of fact, average prices for all species of salmon fell this year. Blame it on the recession, perhaps?

My assumption is the value of the 2009 salmon season will climb some as Fish and Game collects better data on what processors actually paid fishermen, including any post-season bonuses.

Pollock holds steady

Federal scientists meeting in Seattle this week appear primed to advise only a slight change in next year's eastern Bering Sea pollock catch.

I haven't spoken to the scientists directly, but it looks like KUCB radio out in Dutch Harbor did, and they favor an "acceptable biological catch" of 813,000 metric tons.

If that number is adopted as the commercial quota, it would be only a nibble off this year's limit of 815,000 tons.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council will recommend a quota at its December meeting in Anchorage. The final say belongs to the U.S. commerce secretary.

Bering Sea pollock is the nation's largest commercial fishery by weight. Pollock are used predominantly for goods such as fish sticks and surimi, a protein paste that's fashioned into an array of specialty products in Asia.

The pollock stock is at a low ebb right now, scientists say. That's why the catch quota is way off its peak of 1.49 million tons in 2004.