Here's an update on various herring fisheries around the state, as compiled from Department of Fish and Game announcements this morning.
• The Kodiak herring harvest stood at about 2,500 tons.
• At Togiak in remote Southwest Alaska, scene of the state's largest herring fishery, the harvest tally was 16,951 tons. Nearly 11,000 tons remain on the preseason quota.
• A good bit of herring is available farther north in the Kuskokwim Bay, Nelson Island and Cape Romanzof areas. But the fish likely will go unharvested due to "lack of industry interest," with no processors registered to buy.
Alaska commercial fishing news and notes
About me
- Deckboss
- I'm a journalist covering Alaska's commercial fishing industry. My real name is Wesley Loy. Reach me at wloy61@gmail.com.
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9 comments:
Hopefully the Dept will come to its senses and curtail this unnecessary harvest of an important forage fish. Is it just a coincidence that while the State authorizes the harvest of millions of pounds of herring that we are experiencing a decline of Chinook and Halibut? Perhaps the BOF will finally have the courage to stop this horrible thing from ever happening again by putting reasonable caps on the harvest. It would very likely benefit the permit holders by having the affect of raising the prices paid ex vessel. Even Robin Samuelson said the herring are more valuable to the eco system than what is being paid for them. If we leave this up to the current managers who do all they can for the permit holders rather than for the resource, we will eventually do irreparable damage. We will all look back and we all be to blame.
Herring roe is becoming a thing of the past and the market will probably dictate the outcome. Hopefully the state wont sit on their hands and wait for that to be the managing tool. I have no confidence in them to initiate action. They turned a blind eye to the sea otter debacle and look how that's ended up!
Have you ever stopped and thought who these Major fish buyers are! Isn't Peter Pan > Nippon Susian, Red salmon,North Pacific etc>> Marubeni.Trident they are our American company with the control at the monument ,Canfisco is an Canadian company. they aren't losing money processing these fish. They always come back for more.If you take all 27,000 tons of herring times 2,000 pounds = 54000000 @ 11% roe recovery equals 5,940000 pounds of roe, divide that by the population of Japan @ 127,000000 people = .046 pounds of roe per person. I do know that they says that the Japanese people don't eat it any more, but the fish company's keep buying it? I do know it is consumed in a ritual in the new year that is to promote fertility (google Kazunoko). Some of Americans eat turkey for Thanksgiving and Christmas! I wonder how many pounds of turkey we consume ? Does anyone know the price of Kazunoko to the Japanese consumer ? I sure do miss Bill Akintson!
Yes please, anyone know the price to the consumer in japan? Something is fishy, they want to buy all they can for nothing yet say the market is no good and that they don't want to buy the stuff. Oh, better yet they have to do togiak so the tenders can make money... What kind of bull *\|£€ is that. Don't believe a word these companies say. They have had there game long enough. The game is over in Bristol bay so enjoy your last rip-off in togiak.
The super seven management team wouldn't make it in any other industry.
Simple numbers by 7:24 are not good. You have to look at whole roe herring supply - quota at Togiak is useless number out of context. BC provides enough highest quality roe to fill that whole market. Add westcoast US, BC, SE, Kodiak, Togiak etc and you get a bigger number. Then add Russia - they produce high quality roe too. Atlantic herring roe is available for lower quality products.
Too much fish.
Kind of what happened with pink salmon in 2013. We are lucky russia came in light in 13. Too much supply always depresses markets.
We need to think twice before we hatch more pinks into that market. Not much we can do about herring until new demand can be dug up.
Well now, how can the fish and game justify the openings? They are getting paid off at the top. This is a business decision not a biological one. Processors own the state, they own the fish and they own the fishermen. Won't be long before they own the permits too. THINK about it, paying several hundred million for humpies is alot more than they use to pay, so they lost money there, now they are making it up in herring. Brace for another price drop in salmon.
First of all the average American eats I6 pounds of Turkey! I don't eat that much turkey. I believe the price of Kazunoko is around 30 dollars a pound? Yes their are other herring fisheries that are on the market. San Francisco use to be know as the best, for the color that it had and the size that is was and still is today. Like I said its is a ritual about fertility. Imagine a new market, let's just say here in the USA. Start with a placard card explaining the ritual of Kazunoko, Fertility and sex go together .Have a Sales promotion for this herring Roe (Kazunoko) on Valentine day in every sushi bar in USA and Canada too!Present two skeins of Kazunoko one for each,some are going to like it and some aren't. But the one that like it, that will create a new market other than japan. You probably be able to sell all of the San Fransico roe in the bay area. There are a lot of sushi bars in North America. Marketing is the key. the Major seven have their markets and their profits. they are comfortable and they aren't looking to create any thing new. Their are a lot more people today ,then when we had took Kazunoko in San Fransico, Puget Sound, all of Canada, S.E. Gillnet, Seine, Prince William Sound, Kodiak, Cook Inlet, Togiak , Cape Romaznoff and Norton Sound I agree if we took less roe herring , we might get more money but it would have to take some cooperation on the fisher-people part first. Supposedly their are 8 billon people in the world , Kazunoko is a cheap product at the monement, maybe as low as $0.03 a pound to the Togiak fishermen i can't think of a better time to try something new?
Yep try something new like cut the herring quotas drastically or cut the fishery out all together. That would be great for salmon, cod and halibut. Keep the forage fish stocks healthy and quit selling out to the Asians. You don't even have to have a brain to know when you deplete the eco system of forage fish, you have poor stocks of everything that feeds on em. The world is changing and there are minimal markets for roe. Most likely all herring fisherman rely on other fisheries for their main income. Its kinda like shootin yourself in the foot right.
Again, @ 7:24 pm you are a fool if you think the seafood buyers, such as Peter Pan and Trident are processing the herring from the sac roe fishery. They are not. They whole freeze males and females and ship them to Korea and Taiwan for processing where they simply turn the herring into fish meal to feed the massive Asian farmed fish industry. Any Kazunoko for Japan would have come from B.C. not Alaska, as that is the preferred sac roe. Since the earthquake/tsunami they haven't been buying either. They have tons in surplus in freezer warehouses in Asia. This whole fishery needs to stop. The Fun & Games good ole boys should be ashamed of themselves for their colluding and bed-frolicking with the permit holders. Wake up people and smell the herring man!
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