Container ship captain arrested

U.S. Coast Guard authorities in Seattle arrested the captain of a nearly 1,100-foot container ship on suspicion of operating the vessel while intoxicated. Details in this press release.

Salmon notes

• The Southeast Alaska summer troll fishery will see a third opener beginning just after midnight tonight, with about 6,800 treaty Chinook up for grabs. Each troll permit holder will be allocated 18 Chinook for the 10-day fishery.

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture announced the purchase of nearly $877,000 in canned pink salmon from Silver Bay Seafoods for the McGovern-Dole Food for Education Program.

• British Columbia activists behind a campaign known as Alaska's Dirty Secret are again accusing Southeast Alaska fishermen of intercepting, or "stealing," Canadian salmon. They've posted this video.

Northline settles

Northline Seafoods has settled a court case in which a contractor claimed it was owed nearly $1.3 million for work performed on Northline's processing barge.

Here's the notice of settlement.

Salmon notes

• The statewide, all-species commercial salmon harvest now stands at more than 155 million fish, with catches continuing. The total harvest is expected to exceed 200 million once fisheries finish up this fall.

• Gov. Mike Dunleavy, you'll recall, offered legislation this year to allow limited finfish farming in Alaska. The bill is still pending. The governor, in a recent post on X, had this to say: "Alaska is a leader in fresh caught wild salmon. We could also be a leader in the farmed salmon industry. Why not do both instead of importing farmed salmon from Scotland?"

• Fraser River sockeye are coming in much stronger than expected. "The total Fraser sockeye adopted run size is now 10,175,000," says the latest Fraser River Panel regulatory announcement.

Otter outcry

Sounds like people in Southeast Alaska have just about had it with the sea otters.

Looking to break into fishing?

The Alaska Young Fishermen's Summit is set for Jan. 20-22 in Juneau.

More details here.

Kodiak gets second fast-response cutter

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

Bits and pieces

• The latest issue of The Wheel Watch, newsletter of the Seattle-based Fishing Vessel Owners' Association, reports the following: "HOT, HOT, HOT is the halibut market!" Prices are at $8.50 to more than $9 a pound in Seward, compared to around $6.50 a pound last year. Prices in Dutch Harbor are $6.50 to $6.75.

• The Wheel Watch further reports the North Pacific Fishery Management Council will consider changing the legal age to own individual fishing quotas from 18 years old to 16. "This has been an issue as first-generation holders pass and leave their QS (quota share) to children or grandchildren," the newsletter says.

• A prominent voice on the North Pacific Council has retired. Bill Tweit was the Washington state representative on the council for 20 years, and was vice chair. His replacement is Nate Pamplin, another Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife official.

Notable reading

Alaska Public Media has an update on the Metlakatla fishing rights case.

And Alaska pollock trawlers, in a column in the Anchorage Daily News, defend their fishery.

17 Chinook per permit

Two trollers at work. Pacific Fishing magazine archival photo

The second summer Chinook opener for Southeast Alaska trollers will begin just after midnight Friday, with each permit to be allocated 17 fish, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today.

Trollers will have 10 days to catch their salmon.

Overall, about 9,000 treaty Chinook remain up for grabs — a number too small for a competitive fishery. Thus, the department is going with equal shares of 17 Chinook per registered permit.

The first summer opener, in early July, produced a catch of 44,797 Chinook. The fish averaged 10.8 pounds and paid an average of $8.07 per pound.

Support for Sea Grant

U.S. senators including Washington's Maria Cantwell and Alaska's Dan Sullivan are sponsoring legislation to reauthorize the National Sea Grant College Program. Here's a press release.

Five fishermen indicted

A federal grand jury in Alaska has returned an indictment charging five commercial fishermen with conspiring to illegally harvest halibut, federal prosecutors announced today.

Here's a press release with more details.

The 18-page indictment indicates the government is seeking forfeiture of two fishing vessels, the 40-foot Bad Intentions and the 26-foot New Era.

Salmon notes

• The statewide salmon catch has eclipsed 100 million fish. Sockeye dominated the first half of the season with the catch now exceeding 50 million. The focus going forward will be pink salmon, with the harvest currently at 38 million fish. The preseason forecast called for a total statewide catch of nearly 215 million salmon this year.

• Thus far this season, we've seen no commercial catch of sockeye at British Columbia's Fraser River. Here's the latest weekly report from the Pacific Salmon Commission's Fraser River Panel.

• Aug. 10 is Alaska Wild Salmon Day! The state Legislature in 2016 passed an act establishing the annual observance.

Nearly $1.2M penalty imposed in pollution case

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