Fish Radio
Updates, early January 2015
January 13, 2015
This is Fish Radio. I’m Laine Welch – Lots of fishing going on from Southeast to the Bering Sea. I’ll tell you more after this —
Bering Sea crab fishing
Credit: alaskadispatch
Alaskan Quota and Permits in Petersburg works hard for fishermen so they can do what they do best – fish! Visit Olivia at www.alaskabroker.com
Find ASMI’s latest Seafood Market Bulletin featuring the 2014 salmon season – catches, prices, harvests, exports, and five year comparisons – at www.alaskaseafood.org
The first reports of the year tell that 100 boats are out on the waters since the January 1 start of the groundfish seasons, split evenly between the Gulf of Alaska and the Bering Sea. Hook and line, pot and jig boats are targeting primarily cod fish; they’ll be joined by trawlers who start fishing when pollock opens on January 20th.
Bering Sea crab boats quota have taken about 10 million pounds of snow crab , with 51 million pounds remaining in that quota. Nearly half of the 15 million pound Tanner crab catch also has been hauled in. Crabbing continues for golden kings along the Aleutians and for blue kings at St. Matt’s.
In the Central Gulf, jig boats are fishing a 300,000 pound quota for dark rockfish. Pot cod will open in early March.
Cod fishing also is going on in Southeast Alaska for up to 1.2 million pounds – you won’t find any trawlers in the Panhandle, but other gears like pots, jig, and hand trolls are also targeting black rockfish and ling cod.
Sitka’s geoduck clam season reopens Jan. 20 if PSP testing comes up clean. Also in Southeast, the golden king and Tanner crab fishery begins February 13.
In Fish meetings: The state Board of Fisheries meets Jan. 15-16 Bethel with the Kuskokwim Subsistence Panel; then the Fish Board heads to Wrangell for Southeast shellfish issues. The International Pacific Halibut Commission holds its annual meeting Jan. 26-30 in Vancouver.
Dates are set for the Symphony of Seafood new products competition and tasting bash: Feb. 15 in Seattle, February 17 in Juneau on the 21st in Anchorage.
Find links to fish meetings, catches and more at www.alaskafishradio.com
Fish Radio is also brought to you by Ocean Beauty Seafoods – who salutes and says thanks to the men and women fishing across Alaska for their hard work and dedication. (www.oceanbeauty.com) In Kodiak, I’m Laine Welch.
