Dismal salmon news out of Kodiak

Here's an Alaska Department of Fish and Game advisory announcement describing pitiful Chinook salmon escapements and implications for commercial fisheries.

It's showtime in Kodiak

ComFish Alaska 2026 is set for tomorrow through Saturday in Kodiak.

For more information about the big trade show, click here.

Two hoisted from boat in distress off Kodiak

Details and a photo in this press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Search warrant served in Kodiak

A Kodiak organization representing the trawl industry says Alaska Wildlife Troopers this week served a search warrant at its downtown office.

Electronics including the the executive director's laptop and cell phone were seized, the Alaska Groundfish Data Bank (AGDB) said in an "urgent update" sent Wednesday to the organization's members.

A spokesman for the Alaska Wildlife Troopers today said the agency was working on a media statement regarding the matter. The Alaska Groundfish Data Bank has represented Gulf of Alaska shoreside trawl catcher vessels and processors since 1986, the organization's website says.

The investigation doesn't appear to be focused on AGDB per se. Rather, the search is believed to be part of a broader investigation into the disposition of "prohibited species catch" such as salmon and halibut. These fish are taken as bycatch in trawl groundfish fisheries and can't be sold.

AGDB's executive director, Julie Bonney, in October testified before the North Pacific Fishery Management Council regarding a recent change of management policy to bar turning prohibited species catch into fishmeal.

Such fish now are hauled from processing plants to sea and dumped.

"AGDB does not have anything to hide, so it's extremely unfortunate that authorities have chose to take this route," the member update said.

Kodiak's big pink year

This year's Kodiak pink salmon harvest was the second-largest on record at 34.6 million fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports in this salmon season summary.

Disappointment for Kodiak crabbers

The Kodiak District will remain closed for the 2026 commercial Tanner crab season.

Last season, managers set a 560,000-pound catch quota for the district.

Kodiak gets second fast-response cutter

Here's a U.S. Coast Guard press release with photos.

Nearly $1.2M penalty imposed in pollution case

Details in this press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

Kodiak trawl case draws nearly $13K in penalties

A trawling enforcement case we've been following for nearly two years recently was resolved without going to trial.

The defendant, Steven Spain, who was operator of the fishing vessel Mar Pacifico, on March 24 pleaded no contest in Kodiak District Court to a reduced charge and was fined $1,500 and ordered to pay restitution of $11,198.65.

According to court notes, Spain said he didn't feel he had done anything wrong, and that financially it was getting hard for him to carry on.

Fields family charged after extensive investigation into salmon setnet activity at Kodiak

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

Kodiak notes

Here are a couple of interesting items from Alaska's Emerald Isle:

• ComFish Alaska, Kodiak's big fisheries trade show, is set for April 15-17. Here are all the details.

• The U.S. Coast Guard commissioned a new cutter, the John Witherspoon, in a ceremony Thursday in Kodiak. It's the first of three fast-response cutters to be homeported at Coast Guard Base Kodiak.

A new cutter for Kodiak

Here's a press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

EPIRB saves two in Kodiak capsizing

Details and a video in this press release from the U.S. Coast Guard.

A big announcement from Maersk

The shipping giant Maersk today posted this advisory saying in part: "We will no longer be calling terminals in Dutch Harbor and Kodiak on the Transpacific Network in the coming year."

How will this affect Alaska's fishing industry?

A done deal in Kodiak

Pacific Seafood has completed its acquisition of Trident's Kodiak processing operations. Here's a press release.

An update on that Kodiak trawling case

An interesting case involving an alleged trawling violation has been pending quietly for about a year and a half in Kodiak District Court.

Now, the matter seems to be heating up.

The defendant, Steven Spain, who was operator of the fishing vessel Mar Pacifico, has filed a motion to dismiss the case against him.

The Alaska Office of Special Prosecutions appears determined to press on with the case, filing this 19-page opposition to the motion to dismiss.

Spain, 63, is charged with a misdemeanor. He's accused of operating nonpelagic trawl gear in state waters closed to such gear.

The case raises an important question for the fishing industry: What constitutes a pelagic trawl — that is, gear that doesn't contact the bottom?

The complaint filed against Spain says a claimed pelagic trawl net on the Mar Pacifico had prohibited attachments including chafing gear and chain rib lines "making this net suitable for fishing on the seabed."

Prosecutors argue the state definition of pelagic trawl gear is clear.

Their opposition filing includes details about Operation Bottom Drag, an enforcement action said to have reverberated throughout the trawl industry.

A big cutback for Kodiak crab

The state has set a catch quota of 560,000 pounds for the Kodiak District Tanner crab fishery set to open at noon Jan. 15.

That's a big reduction from the 3 million pounds allowed last season.

Debating fish

Candidates for Alaska's lone congressional seat will meet at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Kodiak for a fisheries debate.

The candidates include incumbent Democratic Rep. Mary Peltola, Republican challenger Nick Begich and John Wayne Howe, of the Alaskan Independence Party.

The debate will be broadcast live on Kodiak radio station KMXT and streamed at kmxt.org.

For more information, including debate topics, click here.

A Kodiak trawl Chinook bycatch blowout

Here's the story from Nathaniel Herz and his Northern Journal.

Kodiak fish debate set for congressional candidates

Details in this press release from the Kodiak Chamber of Commerce.