Halibut ticks up

The International Pacific Halibut Commission has set a coastwide catch limit of 41.2 million pounds, a 5.7 percent increase from last year.

The season will run from March 6 to Dec. 7.

Bycatch in the spotlight

Gov. Mike Dunleavy's newly appointed Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force is set to hold its first meeting at 9 a.m. Friday.

Meeting merry-go-round

The Alaska Board of Fisheries might hold its Southeast meeting in Ketchikan after all.

Multiple disaster declarations for Alaska

Details in this news release.

'The largest ever'

The guideline harvest level for this year's Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery is 45,164 tons.

"The GHL is the largest ever set for Sitka Sound," says the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

More details in this announcement.

Personnel file

The governor's office has appointed Duncan Fields, of Kodiak, to the board of the Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute.

The governor also has announced two recommendations for the International Pacific Halibut Commission:

• Andrew Mezirow, of Seward
• Rachel Baker, of Juneau

In other news, Indy Walton, of Soldotna, recently resigned from the Alaska Board of Fisheries for health reasons.

Also, Cordova District Fishermen United is looking for an executive director.

And American Seafoods, the big Bering Sea factory trawl operator, has hired its first chief sustainability officer.

Canadians come after Alaska 'interception fisheries'

Here's the press release.

Fish board rejiggers its meeting schedule

Details in this press release.

Is a pollock processor changing hands?

A city of Unalaska memo includes this intriguing line: "Icicle is transferring ownership of its operation at the Northern Victor to Westward."

The Northern Victor, operated by Icicle Seafoods, is a 380-foot processing ship permanently moored at Unalaska. A fleet cooperative supplies the ship with Bering Sea pollock.

Westward Seafoods, a unit of Japanese giant Maruha Nichiro, operates a large processing plant at Dutch Harbor.

Icicle's parent is Canadian seafood company Cooke.

To our knowledge, no company has formally announced a deal involving the Northern Victor. But it sure sounds like something is brewing.

'Transformed valuable frozen fish into garbage'

Icicle Seafoods Inc. is suing a railroad company over a transcontinental shipment of frozen pollock that went bad due to lack of proper refrigeration.

Icicle wants damages of $247,335.65.

Here's the three-page lawsuit.

Alaska's bycatch review

Gov. Mike Dunleavy today named members of his Alaska Bycatch Review Task Force.

Fish board postpones Ketchikan meeting

Here's the announcement.