Salmon notes

Here are a few notes on Alaska's commercial salmon season thus far.

• The Bristol Bay harvest stands just shy of 5 million sockeye, and the daily catch topped 1 million fish for the first time on Saturday. The state has forecast a catch of 29.5 million sockeye this year.

• Farther north, the relatively new processing plant at Platinum is closed this season, leaving Kuskokwim fishermen without a buyer. Coastal Villages Region Fund provided this internal memo explaining the closure.

• The general summer troll season started Friday in Southeast Alaska. Trollers are targeting 122,000 treaty Chinook in the first opening.

Platinum in play

A reader reports hearing on good authority that the Goodnews Bay processing plant will not open this season.

The plant, located near the remote Western Alaska village of Platinum, belongs to Coastal Villages Region Fund, one of state's community development quota companies.

It was built at a reported cost of $35 million and began operations in the summer of 2009.

Deckboss asked Coastal Villages about its plans for the plant this year and received the following reply from Angie Pinsonneault, director of business development.

Every year we evaluate a number of factors in deciding whether, when, and for how long to open the plant. We are in the midst of that process now. No decisions have been made yet.

Searchers hunt for lost fisherman at Platinum

From the Alaska State Troopers:

Location: Platinum, Southwest Alaska
Type: Search and rescue
On 7/4/11 at about 0915 hours, Alaska State Troopers in Bethel were notified that Gilbert Kilbuck, 37, of Platinum, was missing from a boating accident. Kilbuck was reported to have headed out commercial fishing on a 24-foot skiff just off of South Spit in Platinum. Kilbuck's boat was reported to have struck a wave where he was thrown from the boat. Alaska State Troopers launched an aircraft to help with the search, which also involved assets from the U.S. Coast Guard. Local village residents today are searching the area via boat. Alcohol does not appear to be a contributing factor. Kilbuck was reported to have not been wearing a life jacket at the time.

Coastal Villages reorganizes its salmon operations

Here's an interesting news item I wrote for the June issue of Pacific Fishing magazine:

Coastal Villages Region Fund is revamping its processing operations for the upcoming salmon season.

Instead of running two processing plants at Quinhagak and Platinum, the company will consolidate its fish processing in the newer Platinum plant. Quinhagak, meantime, will serve as a buying and icing station.

"The fishermen won't notice any difference," said Trevor McCabe, operations director for Coastal.

Fishermen will be able to deliver their predominantly chum salmon catches dockside at Quinhagak, or to tenders there. The fish then will be hauled south to the Platinum plant, which has a daily freezing capacity of 150,000 pounds.

By consolidating into one plant, Coastal expects to employ 10 to 20 percent fewer processing hands this year compared to last, when nearly 300 were on the payroll. But the company feels the changes are prudent to maintain regional salmon and halibut operations supporting 1,500 fishermen, processors and others, McCabe said.

Coastal is one of six Alaska companies holding catch rights to Bering Sea groundfish and crab under the federal Community Development Quota program. Coastal represents 20 villages in the Kuskokwim River region and uses its substantial pollock revenue to pay for such projects as the $35 million fish plant at Platinum.

The plant opened in July 2009.