More BBRSDA news

The election closes today for salmon setnetters voting on whether to join the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association.

We're told, however, that it might be some days or even weeks before the mail-in ballots are counted and we have results.

Anyone care to predict the outcome?

A new BBRSDA director

Matt DeWitte, owner of the F/V Ruthless and resident of Whitefish, Montana, has been appointed to the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association board of directors.

He will finish out the term of Michael Jackson, who resigned.

Red king crab yes, snow crab no

After a two-year hiatus, the Bristol Bay red king crab crab fishery will reopen Oct. 15 with a modest quota of 2.15 million pounds.

The Bering Sea snow crab fishery will remain closed for the second consecutive season. This year's bottom trawl survey showed snow crab mature female and commercial-size male abundance is at an all-time low, scientists say.

The Bering Sea bairdi Tanner crab fishery will open Oct. 15 with a quota of 2.08 million pounds.

EPA penalizes American Seafoods nearly $1 million

Here's a news release with more details.

Huge harvest, poor payoff

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Friday posted this summary of the Bristol Bay salmon season. Here are a few key points:

• The sockeye harvest was very large at nearly 40.6 million fish. But fishery value tallied only $116.8 million ex-vessel, roughly 37 percent below the 20-year average.

• The major buyers paid an average base price of 52 cents a pound.

• Average sockeye weight was 5.5 pounds, slightly larger than recent years due to the prevalence of fish with three years of ocean growth.

• The Naknek-Kvichak was tops among fishing districts with a harvest of about 13.2 million sockeye, edging out Egegik with 12.7 million.

Orca bycatch outbreak

The National Marine Fisheries Service says it is "evaluating data collected on 10 killer whales incidentally caught in Alaska by Bering Sea and Aleutian Island groundfish trawl fisheries in 2023."

In addition, NMFS says a killer whale was caught this summer during a longline survey for sablefish and groundfish.

More details in this agency statement.

Free money

This year's Permanent Fund dividend is $1,312, state officials announced today.