Bristol Bay red king crab takes big hit

Fishery managers have just announced the quota for one of Alaska's most valuable crab fisheries, and it's not very good.

The total allowable catch for Bristol Bay red king crab is 6.6 million pounds, down 22 percent from last year.

The season opens at noon Oct. 15.

Managers also announced that two other crab fisheries, St. Matthew Island blue king crab and Pribilof red and blue king crab, will be closed this season.

Two top agency lawyers leaving

People familiar with federal fisheries management know the large role lawyers play.

And so it's noteworthy when the top two lawyers for the National Marine Fisheries Service in Juneau retire the same week.

They're saying so long today to Lisa Lindeman, NOAA General Counsel's Alaska Section chief since 1990, and Jonathan Pollard, Alaska Section deputy chief since 2007.

No word yet on who will succeed them.

Oregon's new man on the council

Back in June, we told you Roy Hyder, Oregon's longtime representative on the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, was retiring.

Now we have word that Steve Marx is Hyder's replacement.

The council, based in Anchorage, helps regulate federal fisheries off Alaska. It has 11 voting members from Alaska, Washington and Oregon, with Oregon holding only one seat.

Processor in peril

Emergency efforts are underway to try to keep a "deteriorating" vessel, the Akutan, afloat at Unalaska.

The 166-foot fish processor is coming off a disastrous salmon season in Bristol Bay, as described in this KDLG story.

Fire strikes Peter Pan's Port Moller plant

Cannery fires figure prominently through the history of Alaska's fishing industry, and now we have another example.

Seattle-based Peter Pan Seafoods today released this statement regarding a fire at one of its Alaska plants:

A fire broke out at the Peter Pan Seafoods Inc. Port Moller salmon processing facility around midnight Aug. 16. All crew and personnel are reported safe and uninjured. Damage from the fire is extensive enough to halt operations for the remainder of the 2017 season.

'A very difficult decision'

The state is barring retention of Chinook salmon in commercial and recreational fisheries throughout Southeast Alaska.

More details in this press release.

Missing Bristol Bay fisherman identified

The Alaska State Troopers have identified a fisherman believed to have fallen overboard near Pilot Point as Fredrick Bock, 57, of Ninilchik.