It's go time at Togiak

Herring have arrived at Togiak and the fishery is set to open at 6 tonight.

'No trespassing'

State officials are refuting claims of exclusive Native fishing rights at Kodiak.

'Bad policy'

The Seattle-based Bristol Bay Fishermen's Association is no fan of House Bill 188, which would allow "regional fisheries trusts" to hold and lease limited entry permits.

Here is BBFA's letter to legislators.

Trollers take a hit

Southeast Alaska trollers have a 2017 quota of 154,880 treaty Chinook salmon, a big decline from last year's 263,197.

New skipper at PWSAC

Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. has named Timothy Joyce as interim general manager. Here's the press release.

Council politics

Organizations representing the trawl industry are most upset with Washington Gov. Jay Inslee for nominating only longliners for a seat on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council.

Permits for lease

As the legislative session lumbers on in Juneau, an interesting bill has appeared that would make a big change in how people gain entry to Alaska's commercial fisheries.

House Bill 188, sponsored by Rep. Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins, D-Sitka, would allow for the establishment of "regional fisheries trusts."

These trusts could hold fishery permits and lease them to Alaska resident fishermen "for a limited period of time," Kreiss-Tomkins says in his sponsor statement for the bill.

HB 188 aims to alleviate the problem of permits leaving rural Alaska communities, as well as the rising price of entering the fisheries.

The bill appears to be a modified version of the bill Kreiss-Tomkins offered last year to establish "regional community permit banks."