We've now had two openers in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery, and the total catch stands at 5,700 tons.
That's almost half the preseason quota of 11,549 tons.
Samples taken yesterday indicated "very high quality herring," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said.
That means the fish were especially rich with roe, or eggs. The roe is marketed primarily in Japan, and accounts for almost all the value of the fishery.
Another opener isn't expected until tomorrow at the earliest.
The department running this in a way that benefits one processor only. In the end, they should blow away 500/ton advance. this fish worth far more than that.
ReplyDeleteHerring is a food resource for bigger and better fish such as the salmon.
ReplyDeleteKilling them just for the roe is inhumane.
Glind up carcas, feed fahmed fish, helling velly, velly, good.
ReplyDelete@ 2:40
ReplyDeleteThe department has to manage it for somebody,don't they? If the harvest strategy is to target females with eggs, then the herring are not being managed for a healthy biomass, they are just being harvested.irkique
The Right to Lifers need to bring their focus to the Sea.
ReplyDeleteLooks like the fishery is done.... Another down year...should have let the fish spawn.
ReplyDeleteOpened a day to late, then closed mid season when it should have been opened. Fish spawned. Lots of spawn. Need new management program and more processing capacity.where is chopper chuck when you need him.
ReplyDeleteThose that post on here might better get their point across if they could write a complete, well thought out sentence. Get better
ReplyDelete"might better get their point across" And you are critical of the writing of others? I am confident that the author of the 2:50 comment got his point across. Perhaps you did not understand it. Let me clear it up for you. The fishery was either managed very poorly or there were simply not that many herring. Either way it magnifies the question of just how much we know about herring populations. And once again it raises the need to re-assess whether we should be harvesting so many.
ReplyDeleteIt's all over, better head to Kodiak.
ReplyDeleteHow can it be all over if only half of the quota has been caught and there is lots of spawn? Why won't the Dept. wait until they see a bit less spawn and do a test before throwing in the towel?
ReplyDeleteB.S. Predictions and Punxsutawney Prognostications! Go back under your log!
ReplyDeletethe toal cummulative spawn to date is 44 miles.a far cry from the days of hundreds of miles of spawn,lasting for a week or two!now you see the spawn start in one area only lasting for maybe three days before washing out this is no near what a healthy resources spawn looks like!what this kind of spawn seems to indicate is a fisherie targeting too much of there guide line harvest level in one small area in front of si tka proper for far too long!how long has the adfg gotten herring bio mass in sitka sound with hake or cod bio mass?
ReplyDeleteAnonymous said...
ReplyDeleteNow they are going to wrap up set after set, STRAINING thru herring schools just to pump out the few remaining spawners. The fishery involves eggs for japan, money for fifty boats, and a middle finger to every person who opposes it. Plus threatens and entire system that depends on it for sustainability. It is about time to shut this stupidity down. These idiots will kill the last fish. They talk conservation but they don't mean it or they would have not fished the massive quotas recently for pennies. Idiots, complete idiots. NOW How's it feel to be a highliner of a collapsing fishery?
collapsing? how about collapsed? co-op boats can't find fish. over harvested past three years. wonder what the permits are going for now.
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