A fine specimen of a Togiak herring. ADF&G photoThe state's biggest sac roe herring fishery is now under way near the Bristol Bay village of Togiak.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game gave the green light to seiners and gillnetters effective at 6 p.m.
The forecast is for a potential harvest of 21,622 tons. The industry took 22,699 tons last year.
Killing off the herring just for the eggs is eventually going to bite us where it hurts. Herring are part of the feeding cycle for bigger sea critters; salmon, seals. Connect the dots - we're destroying the oceans ecosystem right off the coast of Alaska just for a few bucks.
ReplyDeleteAmen brother. We are now starting to see the demise of the sitka herring population. It won't be long for the same thing to happen to Togiak. And for what, $150 a ton? One of these days the ADF&G will wake up and find that their model did not work and the herring population tipped and will NOT return. Leave it up to the herring fishermen who care about only one thing,the $ they can make and not about sustainability, and maybe three or so seasons later there will be no more. Is it just a coincidence that halibut and king salmon stocks are down or perhaps, just perhaps it has something to do with the food resource? Wake up folks, this is serious!
ReplyDelete"Leave it up to the herring fishermen who care about only one thing,the $ they can make and not about sustainability"
ReplyDeleteI can tell you have spent a lot of time around commercial fishermen. Even if it was "all about the money" sustainability is right there with it. If I can catch all the fish this year and ruin my business for the rest of my life and my children's that would be the best financial decision right?
oh lordy there wasn't 120,000,000 herring available for harvest in sitka there is basically no herring left in the ocean. THEY ARE ON THE VERGE OF COLLAPSE!
Also The price was down for a year so it's basically not worth fishing, SHUT IT DOWN! we should have done that with pink salmon ten years ago.
Is it a coincidence that lady gaga became popular about the time herring prices collapsed?
Is it a coincidence that people who like to tell f&g how to do their job on the internet also don't know anything about the fisheries they are bitching about?
Blah blah blah, hmmm comments above must be from some 8 to 5, city, state, or federal employee who's counting the days till they can collect there undeserved pension, have an open mind everyone deserves to make $ in one way, shape, or form........
ReplyDeleteHerring populations in alaska have gone away in many areas. They are a forage fish. do you disagree with these statements? Sitka was supposed to have a harvest of nearly 30,000 tons, but was stopped after around 14,000 tons. What's going on there? Are the managers competent or what? Do you disagree with the statement that halibut and king stocks are down or that herring is a prey fish for them? Or do you disagree that marine mammals feed on herring and there is a change in there areas? I stand by the premise that leaving the amount of harvest of herring up to the fisherman is like leaving the number of chickens that can be taken by the foxes up to the foxes. How else can someone who has a $400,000 permit act under the circumstances? Oh and for you to compare pinks with herring is really rich? Are those hatchery pinks you are referring to? And right, pinks are a real forage fish, right? Tell me again how much you get paid for a ton of Togiak herring. About the same for one, that's right one, small king salmon. and where does the herring go? Well the roe goes to asia and the rest down the tubes. Real good use of the resource, huh? Over time the ADF&G tries their best, but mistakes in the commercial fishery can sometimes have big impacts. Many more mistakes in the herring fishery will have far reaching impacts that you, that's right , you can not afford in the long run.
ReplyDeleteIt's just a matter of how long managers can hide the facts from the people. A group of scientists stated that the smaller fish in the oceans are more valuable left alone because they are food for the bigger, more valuable fish. That's logical.
ReplyDeleteWe can no longer allow our natural resource managers to kowtow to the commercial fishermen in fisheries such as the herring and pollock. In the long run, destroying the oceans ecosystem isn't worth the money.
Once again we have the the restaurants brilliant morning coffee crowds solving our commercial fisheries problems, probably a charter boat operator as well.................
ReplyDeleteHavnt you guys learned anything?????? You should never argue with our genius democrats. There should not be any commercial fishing or oil drilling in Alaska and our state will be as healthy as it is now, oh wait those are our two biggest industries never mind..........
ReplyDeleteAnd no logging or gold mining either.
ReplyDeleteDon't be crazy, guys. Sustainability and harvesting are not mutually exclusive terms; its about reasonable limits and common sense. Minus the GOA drag fishery, there is a bit of common sense and environmental concern.
ReplyDeleteAs for the regression models of adf&g, I think they have a "black budget" for some really good drugs. Our salmon prediction for last year on kodiak was a great example of that. Too much money spent on studies of return, not enough money spent on joint studies of mid-ocean survival of migratory species.
In the end, if we all realize that money isn't the end all be all, then we will make better decisions about our fisheries and our practices. Oil drilling on the shelikof? Pebble mine? A little cash now, a lot of lost fisheries later. Harvesting fish and timber in SE-can be done! Gold? Yep. Oil? Why not? Smarter and long range, not profit and short term.
But hey, what does a democrat like me know, right?
I think to be fair you can't just attack the commercial fishing entity for these so called "depletions" in fish stocks your referring to. Personal use, subsistence, sport, and charter are "abusers" of our fisheries resources as well statewide, just sayin.....
ReplyDeleteRight, subsistence, personal use, sports and charter boat operators are abusers of the herring stocks. Get real! What possible benefit is there to any one other than the few comm fish seiners and a few gill netters when it comes to harvesting herring? And for how much per ton? Give me a break! But it starts with the Dept and the Board of Fish, doesn't it. I can't blame someone for engaging in a fishery that is sanctioned by the state. The State and the BOF are supposed to set policy that protects against this very problem. Why do any of us put up with this farce? Catching herring to ship roe to Asia. What a waste of the resource at the expense of other species so dependent on the food. But, please don't blame the users who do not participate in this rape.
ReplyDeleteOhhhh looks like a soft spot was hit. Someone is getting a little defensive when it comes to other user groups and yes even in herring. Ever heard of roe on kelp?????? You don't think that kills herring by removing eggs out of the water? Did you know you can catch 2000 pounds of personal use herring a year of which I know a many of people that do???? And that comment also involves a statement from above about depleting halibut and king salmon stocks from lack of food source. So ya let's get real pal, there is raping on the resources as you put it from all angles, I'm sure even you've probably done your part at one point or another
ReplyDeleteRight: 2000 pounds for personal use. And you claim that you know "many" who do that. How many would that be, 5 maybe 10 people. So what! At least that is benefiting alaskans and really 10 tons is a drop in the bucket when compared to the huge 21,600 tons to be harvested by the seiners. And last i heard harvesting roe on kelp does not kill the herring. And by the way what is the harvest of roe on kelp in Togiak? Insignificant is the answer. Maybe you know something that nobody else knows. No,I don't think so. I think that you are just one of the people that engage in the herring fishery and that you are simply trying to deflect responsibility to someone else. Comparing personal use and roe on kelp harvest to the Comm fishery is simply a non-starter and really a joke. last i heard the price may be right around $100.00 per ton. Better get out there with your buddies and mop em up and satisfy that greed gland. Don't worry too much about the future of the resource. It's all about now, right.
ReplyDeleteMy bad, roe on kelp, roe on branches, taking unhatched eggs out of water isn't a form of killing herring???? Hmmmm you are smarter than I. And remember I'm just not talking just about herring, I'm talking bout all fishes that the commercial guy gets the bad wrap on. I've never commercial fished a day in my life. I have faith in our system yes even in the adf&g. Lots of luck to you and your anti-commercial fishing buddies. What restaurant you guys usually hang out at? Id love to come join ya for morning coffee and see what other fishery issues we can solve.
ReplyDeleteYou would be welcome and would be surprised to find a mixed group of users, mostly comm guys, all of whom have only one thing in mind> sustainability. I suspect that under that harsh tone you feel the same. And my posts have been about herring only. I think that the Dept does not get it when it comes to herring. As for the rest i think that they do a good job generally speaking and i too have confidence.
ReplyDeleteI'm not "anti-commercial fishing". I made some good money back in the day. Fishing is hard and dangerous work and I know fishermen earn every penny they make.
ReplyDeleteIt's time to think about the value of our resources. One hundred dollars a ton when the ton, if left alone would feed creatures more valuable than herring. That the sense I'm talking about.
Fair enough
ReplyDeleteSome of us don't have time to sit around "drinking coffee" at a resturant. It's a good place to spread the truth though. Those die hard coffee drinkers are always hungry for the truth.
ReplyDelete