Body of missing Bristol Bay fisherman recovered

Here's a press release from the Alaska State Troopers.

A missing person in Bristol Bay

Authorities have been searching for a person reported overboard from a fishing vessel at Egegik in Bristol Bay.

The missing person was first reported to the U.S. Coast Guard last week, said Mike Salerno, a Coast Guard spokesman in Juneau.

Coast Guard aircraft, the cutter Aspen, and several fishing boats mounted a search of area waters. The missing person reportedly wasn't wearing a life jacket.

The vessel involved was the Warmaster, Salerno said. State records list the owner of the 32-foot boat as Guy Hoy, of Everson, Washington.

Salerno said the Coast Guard, by policy, would not release the missing person's name.

Deckboss has asked the Alaska State Troopers for identification.

Outlaws at Egegik

Citing "numerous reports of illegal fishing activity in closed waters," the Alaska Department of Fish and Game today is closing commercial fishing with driftnet gear in Bristol Bay's Egegik District.

One dead, two hurt in Bristol Bay boat fire

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Egegik
Type: Fatal boat fire
At 5:56 a.m. on 7/4/13, the Egegik Clinic notified AST of an active boat fire in the village of Egegik at the Alaska General Seafoods cannery dock. At 3:30 a.m., fishermen staying on boats moored at the dock noticed flames coming out of the Pauline II, a 32-foot gillnetter also moored there. Joe Paul, 50, and Paul Paul, 55, were pulled from the boat and taken to the clinic before they were flown elsewhere for treatment of burns suffered in the fire. First responders at the dock put out the fire and kept the flames from spreading to nearby boats. Afterwards, another individual believed to be 56-year-old Harberg Paul was found on the boat. He was taken to the clinic and pronounced deceased at 4:30 a.m. The three are brothers from Kipnuk. The body was sent to the state medical examiner's office in Anchorage for an autopsy and to confirm the identification of the deceased. Next of kin has been notified. Due to inclement weather, AST was unable to respond. Instead, a wildlife trooper who was in the area for commercial fisheries enforcement traveled by a skiff to the village to start the investigation. A deputy fire marshal flew from Anchorage to the village to conduct an investigation into the cause of the fire. Foul play is not suspected. The boat is considered a total loss.

Big sockeye harvest confirmed at Bristol Bay

Bristol Bay has done it again, yielding a colossal catch of sockeye salmon.

With Monday's catch of about 1.6 million fish, the harvest tally clicked well over 20 million fish to a total of 21,404,623, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports today.

The hottest fishing district this season: Egegik, with better than 9 million fish landed so far.

The preseason forecast for Bristol Bay was for a commercial catch of about 24 million fish. With daily catches still running strong I'm guessing we'll see more than that by the time the fishery wraps up in a couple of weeks.

For you trivia buffs, I can tell you the bay produced a catch of 27.8 million last year. The largest catch on record was 44.3 million in 1995.

Haven't heard anything reliable on prices yet. Have you?