Lineup of presenters set for halibut hearing

Here's the agenda for Thursday's legislative hearing on the proposed halibut catch sharing plan.

Coming up short on salmon

The statewide commercial salmon catch, all species, now stands at about 161 million fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports.

That's a big total. But clearly, with September just around the corner, we won't reach the preseason forecast of 203 million.

One reason appears to be a shortfall of pink salmon, particularly in Prince William Sound. Returns to Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corp. hatcheries have been weaker than expected.

Here are a few salmon highlights from around the state:

• In Southeast, purse seiners have bagged 51.2 million pinks, 2.4 million chums, 500,000 sockeye and 300,000 coho. "From this year's combination of good returns, above average pink salmon weights and strong prices, the ex-vessel value of the purse seine fishery this season has now reached $100 million," Fish and Game says.

• Upper Cook Inlet's harvest of 5.1 million sockeye ranks as the area's fifth largest ever.

• Kodiak fishermen have harvested 15.5 million pink salmon, fewer than expected for this date.

Man found dead in Yukon after fish tender flips

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: St. Marys
Type: Death investigation
On 8/24/11 at approximately 0930 hours, St. Marys-based Alaska State Troopers were notified of an overdue Boreal Fisheries tender boat. The boat reportedly was supposed to have returned to the Boreal Fisheries dock, which is approximately 10 miles south of St. Marys on the Yukon River. The boat was last heard from at approximately 2300 hours on 8/23/11. At about 1040 hours, an AST Caravan from Bethel located the boat floating upside down and stationary approximately four miles downriver from Boreal Fisheries. The sole occupant and skipper of the vessel was reported to be Gerald Richardson Minock, 23, of Pilot Station. Approximately 10 boats and 30 searchers initially responded to the scene and searched the river between Pilot Station and Mountain Village. Weather conditions in the area last night were reported to be windy and rainy. At about 1245 hours, troopers were notified that two hunters located a deceased adult male in his early 20s floating in the middle of the Yukon River at the upper end of Thatcher Island below Mountain Village. The male was wearing a Boreal Fisheries life jacket. The body was transported to the St. Marys dock where, upon their return to the village at about 1530 hours, state troopers took possession of the body. The deceased male was positively identified by his next of kin as Minock. There were no obvious signs of trauma and alcohol does not appear to be a factor in this incident. Additional investigation by St. Marys troopers revealed that the 32-foot semi "V" hull with twin outboard motors appeared to have been overloaded, according to a fisherman who observed the boat when he offloaded fish around 2130 hours on 8/23/11. The transom reportedly was partially out of the water and the bow of the boat appeared to be low in the water, which resulted in only 6 to 8 inches of freeboard in the rough waters of the Yukon River. The state medical examiner's office was contacted and requested the body be transported to Anchorage for an autopsy. The body has been transported by state aircraft to Bethel and will be shipped commercially to Anchorage on the next available flight.

Collateral damage

The New York Times discovers industry efforts to reduce bycatch.

Crewman with facial injuries airlifted to Kodiak

From the U.S. Coast Guard:

Aug. 18, 2011

Kodiak Coast Guard crew medevacs fisherman

An Air Station Kodiak MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew today medevaced a 19-year-old fisherman with reported severe facial injuries from Ouzinkie to Kodiak.

Coast Guard Sector Anchorage received a call for help at 7:22 a.m. from the crew of the fishing vessel Karen Kay relaying that there had been an incident aboard the 38-foot fishing vessel Kittiwake.

Daniel Cornelius reportedly was injured when a line onboard the fishing vessel parted and hit him in the face.

The Kittiwake diverted to the port of Ouzinkie, arriving at 9:10 a.m. Cornelius was transported to the local medical clinic for further care and preparation for the helicopter medevac to Kodiak.

The Jayhawk arrived in Ouzinkie at 10:45 a.m., safely picked up Cornelius and transported him to Kodiak, arriving at 11 a.m.

Kodiak emergency medical services transported Cornelius to Providence Kodiak Island Medical Center for further medical care.

'Fluency in Czech and Slovak language preferred'

So, who works in Alaska's processing plants?

If you think it's Lower 48 college kids up for a summer salmon adventure, you'd best get with the times.

Just check out this ad for a production manager over in Cordova.

Alaska Legislature schedules a halibut hearing

The House Special Committee on Fisheries is scheduled to meet at 1 p.m. Sept. 1 in Anchorage for an "overview hearing on Pacific halibut management."

Presumably, the hearing will focus heavily on the catch sharing plan the federal government is considering to allocate halibut between the commercial and charter boat sectors.

State Rep. Steve Thompson, R-Fairbanks, chairs the committee. Other members are listed here.