Silver Bay's plans

Petersburg radio station KFSK has an interesting interview with Cora Campbell, CEO of fast-growing processor Silver Bay Seafoods.

Trident completes sale of its Petersburg plant

Here's the press release.

E.C. Phillips to acquire Trident's Petersburg plant

Here's the press release.

Coast Guard helicopter crashes near Petersburg

Here's a press release.

OBI Seafoods reports one COVID case at Petersburg

Details in this press release.

Ocean Beauty cannery offered for sale

Back in August, Ocean Beauty Seafoods said it was closing its Petersburg cannery permanently.

Now the plant is up for sale. Asking price: $3.39 million.

Another tender goes down

Man, it's been a tough season for fish tenders.

State officials say the 72-foot tender Pacific Queen hit a rock and sank this week in Duncan Canal southwest of Petersburg.

The wood-hulled boat, built in 1938, belongs to Joseph Lykken, of Wrangell.

Ocean Beauty to be ready at Petersburg

Tom Sunderland of Ocean Beauty Seafoods tells Deckboss the company plans to open its Petersburg cannery for this year's salmon season.

You'll recall the plant was closed last year after the state ferry Matanuska crashed into the dock on May 7, causing considerable damage.

Southeast Alaska is expecting a big pink salmon harvest this summer, and the Petersburg plant will be ready, Sunderland said.

'Maneuvering error'

Remember back in May when a state ferry crashed into the Ocean Beauty Seafoods dock in Petersburg?

Well, a state investigation has determined the captain "made a maneuvering error."

Ocean Beauty shutters damaged Petersburg plant

Seattle-based Ocean Beauty Seafoods won't operate its Petersburg cannery this year due to damage sustained when the state ferry Matanuska crashed into the plant May 7.

Ocean Beauty has arranged to process fish elsewhere, including at its Excursion Inlet plant.

Here's the company press release.

The Petersburg plant usually runs from late June to mid-September and employs 160 to 180 people from all over the United States and Mexico, Ocean Beauty's website says.

Deckboss imagines the weak pink salmon forecast made the shutdown decision a little easier.

Recall that Ocean Beauty idled the Petersburg plant before, in 2010, in expectation of a low pink return.

Personnel file

Looks like we've got a significant vacancy down in Petersburg.

The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association has released this job posting:

Petersburg Vessel Owners Association is seeking an Executive Director for a multi-gear multi-species commercial fishing advocacy group. Duties include: representing PVOA at various fisheries management forums, boards, and committees; informing the board and the membership of current issues; maintaining and building membership; and administrative work. Knowledge of the fishing industry is preferred. Position is considered part-time with significant travel expected and salary averages $35,000 per year based on experience.

The outgoing executive director, Julianne Curry, tells Deckboss: "I haven't decided what I'm doing next!"

A little mishap

Word out of Petersburg is the state ferry Matanuska whammed the dock at Ocean Beauty Seafoods today, causing considerable damage.

Here's the best coverage I've seen, including photos.

Fuglvog doing his time — in Petersburg!

Arne Fuglvog, the former congressional aide convicted of a federal fisheries violation, is serving his five-month prison sentence at this low-security facility in Petersburg, Va.

That's quite a coincidence, as Fuglvog is from Petersburg, Alaska.

Deckboss hears he reported to prison on March 13.

Fuglvog, 48, is scheduled for release on Aug. 11, according to the Federal Bureau of Prisons inmate locator.

Following up on those geoduck proposals

You might recall our recent post about the state Board of Fisheries considering two proposals to establish "equal shares" for permit holders in the Southeast geoduck clam fishery.

So what happened?

The board, meeting in Petersburg, took no action on the proposals.

Sticky proposals for geoduck fishery

Alaska geoducks — worth a lot of clams. ADF&G photo

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is meeting all this week at the Sons of Norway Hall in Petersburg, and quite a few interesting Southeast shellfish proposals are on the table.

Proposals 183 and 184 strike me as particularly intriguing.

These would revolutionize the fishery for geoduck (pronounced gooey-duck), a giant clam divers collect from the seafloor. Most all of the clams are exported live to China, and can retail for upwards of $20 a pound, says a recent study done for the Southeast Alaska Regional Dive Fisheries Association.

The two proposals would convert the geoduck harvest from a weekly competition among divers to a program where each permit holder would be allocated an equal share of the annual Southeast geoduck quota.

The Sitka Geoduck Marketing Association is offering the two proposals, one of which has an added component to disperse divers between desirable and less desirable harvest areas.

Proponents say the proposals would maximize the value of the fishery by allowing divers to focus on product quality rather than speed. They also tout other benefits such as better controlling the flow of product to the market, and reducing pressure on divers to work in poor weather.

However, the most competitive divers might suffer because of a redistribution of harvest share.

And the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says it would have to hire more people to manage an equal shares fishery. It also cites potential for high-grading, where divers might keep only top quality geoducks and discard others, increasing harvest mortality.

Nevertheless, the department is taking a "neutral" stance on the proposals.

Well, Deckboss is sure you've heard all the arguments, pro and con, in past debates over various forms of catch shares.

Certainly, based on the recent trend, an equal share of the Southeast geoduck fishery would be quite lucrative.

The dockside value of the fishery has soared, from an estimated $465,000 for the 2000-01 harvest of 438,334 pounds of geoducks to nearly $5.6 million in 2010-11, when 845,582 pounds were taken.

The state has issued 112 Southeast geoduck permits, but only 69 divers made landings last season, earning an average of $81,000.

Should be quite a meeting in Petersburg.

Commander of Petersburg cutter relieved of duty

From the U.S. Coast Guard:

May 30, 2011

Cutter Anacapa commanding officer temporarily relieved

JUNEAU — Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo, commander, 17th Coast Guard District, and Capt. Melissa Bert, commander, Coast Guard Sector Juneau, today temporarily relieved Lt. Matthias Wholley from his duties as commanding officer of the cutter Anacapa for loss of confidence in the ability to command.

Final determination regarding a permanent removal or resumption of command is made by the commandant of the Coast Guard in Washington, D.C.

Lt. j.g. James Toomey, executive officer of the Anacapa, has assumed temporary command of the cutter.

Wholley will been temporarily reassigned to Coast Guard Sector Juneau in Juneau.

The Anacapa is a 110-foot patrol boat homeported in Petersburg.

Your chance to chill in Petersburg

Here's a cool opportunity from Alaska Sea Grant:

Sea Grant offers vessel refrigeration workshop for fishermen

PETERSBURG — Top quality Alaska seafood products begins with properly chilling the catch aboard vessels at sea. To help commercial fishermen improve their operation and maintenance of onboard marine refrigeration systems, the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program is partnering with Integrated Marine Systems Inc. to offer a one-day workshop Feb. 1 in Petersburg.

The workshop will focus on how to maintain, operate and troubleshoot onboard refrigeration equipment. Additional topics include refrigeration theory, system winterization, controller programming, refrigeration safety and system sizing. Participants will use a marine refrigeration training unit for hands-on activities.

The workshop will be held beginning at 8:30 a.m. Feb. 1 at Petersburg's PFI Cookhouse.

The workshop fee is $150 and includes a course manual. Space is limited and preregistration is required by Jan. 26. Register here.

For questions, contact Sunny Rice at the Petersburg office of the Alaska Sea Grant Marine Advisory Program: sunny.rice@alaska.edu or (907) 772-3381 or (888) 788-6333.

Petersburg — Alaska's fishing centenarian

The Alaska Department of Labor has a nifty profile of Petersburg in the May issue of its newsletter, "Alaska Economic Trends."

"Ask Alaskans what they know about Petersburg and if they don't know anything else, you can be sure they'll mention at least two things: fishing and Norway," the article begins.

Here's a few noteworthy observations from the four-page spread:

• Petersburg's estimated population last year was 2,973, down about 250 since the 2000 census.

• The town's economy faces challenges including a decline in halibut catch limits and this summer's closure of the Ocean Beauty Seafoods processing plant. The shutdown is expected to be for this season only, due to a poor pink salmon forecast.

• The town's top employer is Icicle Seafoods.

• More and more tourists are coming to Petersburg, now exceeding 50,000 a year. But don't look for the giant cruise ships that call on other Southeast Alaska towns, as Petersburg lacks a deep-water port.

Deckboss recommends you also check out another article in the Labor Department newsletter pertaining to self-employment in Alaska.

Commercial fishermen, it seems, are in the occupational category with the highest concentration of self-employed people.

"Fishermen are the quintessential Alaskan group of self-employed — rugged individuals, out there in the open seas, with their own boat and crew," the article says.

Click here to see the newsletter.

Your chance to make a difference in Petersburg

This just in from Julianne Curry of the Petersburg Vessel Owners Association:

Petersburg Mayor Al Dwyer has just established a Commercial Fishing Committee to address problems and solutions facing the future of Petersburg's commercial fishing fleet. Commercial fishing is the mainstay of our local and regional economy. If you are interested in maintaining the viability and success of Petersburg's commercial fishing industry, please consider submitting a letter of interest to Mayor Dwyer and City Clerk Kathy O'Rear. The committee will potentially have nine commercial fishermen and one processor. Of the nine fishermen, ideally a broad range of ages and gear groups would be represented. The committee will meet between one and three times before providing recommendations to the Petersburg City Council. Meeting dates will be chosen based on group availability.

If you would like to know more, or need help with your letter of interest, please contact the office.

Happy fishing,

Julianne Curry
Petersburg Vessel Owners Association

DOT crackdown burns commercial fishermen

People are stirred up in at least two Alaska ports over an apparent Alaska Department of Transportation crackdown on commercial transit regulations.

Evidently some Cordova fishermen received citations in July related to the trailering of commercial fishing boats.

More recently, from what I hear, DOT enforcement officers have appeared in Petersburg to educate folks there about the potential for $1,000 fines for not complying with road rules that sound more appropriate for truckers than fishermen.

The Petersburg Vessel Owners Association on Friday sent out this detailed information advisory.

And here's another advisory well worth reading from Cordova District Fishermen United.