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Sept 10th-Deep Inlet Update - Since closure of the Deep Inlet THA to common property fisheries on Aug 31st there has been minimal fall chum recruitment to the head of the inlet. On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we have secured approximately 5,500 fall chum at the head of Deep Inlet and are currently pushing the pens from Deep Inlet […]
Sept 4th- Deep Inlet Update - We continue to assess chum recruitment into Bear Cove and are getting closer to our fall chum brood stock goal. Recruitment is steady but has slowed with the recent shift back to sunny weather. NSRAA will attempt to collect chum brood from the head of Deep Inlet this weekend in order to assure we have […]
August 27th-Deep Inlet Closure - The Deep Inlet THA will close to common property fishing on August 31st due to fall chum brood shortages at Medvejie Hatchery. Currently there is an estimated 40,000 chum brood in Bear Cove. To complete fall chum egg takes an additional 50,000 brood are needed. There has not been a meaningful increase in chum brood […]
August 21st-Return Update - Fall chum returns to Sitka Sound and the Deep Inlet THA have remained strong since reopening the THA this past Saturday. In the past two weeks over a million fall chum have been harvested between the Sitka Sound common property troll/seine fisheries and the Deep Inlet openings. This week the total Deep Inlet chum return […]
August 13 – Deep Inlet Re-Opening Announcement - Deep Inlet has met the Cost Recovery goal this season. Deep Inlet will reopen Saturday, August 15th, with Troll and will continue with the standard rotation. An ADFG announcement will be posted shortly.Sept 10th-Deep Inlet Update
Since closure of the Deep Inlet THA to common property fisheries on Aug 31st there has been minimal fall chum recruitment to the head of the inlet. On Tuesday and Wednesday this week we have secured approximately 5,500 fall chum at the head of Deep Inlet and are currently pushing the pens from Deep Inlet to Bear Cove. There appears to be minimal chum remaining in Deep Inlet as efforts to secure additional chum brood were unproductive. Deep Inlet will remain closed for the remainder of the season with no common property fisheries. Currently the Medvejie fall chum egg take is 55% complete and brood numbers in Bear Cove, along with additional brood from Deep Inlet, appear to be nearly sufficient to complete egg takes.
Coho returns to date this season from releases at Bear Cove and Deep Inlet are approximately 20% of the recent 5-year average and NSRAA anticipates brood shortages for coho salmon in Bear Cove. NSRAA has requested that Bear Cove close to coho fishing in commercial troll and sport fisheries, as well as Deep Inlet close to sport fishing for coho salmon. ADFG closure announcements should be issued within 48 hours.
Sept 4th- Deep Inlet Update
We continue to assess chum recruitment into Bear Cove and are getting closer to our fall chum brood stock goal. Recruitment is steady but has slowed with the recent shift back to sunny weather. NSRAA will attempt to collect chum brood from the head of Deep Inlet this weekend in order to assure we have sufficient brood secured to meet our fall chum program goals. Once sufficient brood has been secured an assessment of whether a reopening of Deep Inlet for common property fisheries will be made with a decision likely early next week. Chum spawning began at the hatchery on August 21st and we are currently only 30% of the way towards our overall goal of 92 million.
August 27th-Deep Inlet Closure
The Deep Inlet THA will close to common property fishing on August 31st due to fall chum brood shortages at Medvejie Hatchery. Currently there is an estimated 40,000 chum brood in Bear Cove. To complete fall chum egg takes an additional 50,000 brood are needed. There has not been a meaningful increase in chum brood numbers in Bear Cove since last Friday. NSRAA will attempt to acquire chum brood from Deep Inlet next week if sufficient numbers build at the head of Deep Inlet. At this time is appears unlikely additional fall chum opportunity will be available in the Deep Inlet THA this season. An update on chum brood stock progress will be provided in the later part of next week.
August 21st-Return Update
Fall chum returns to Sitka Sound and the Deep Inlet THA have remained strong since reopening the THA this past Saturday. In the past two weeks over a million fall chum have been harvested between the Sitka Sound common property troll/seine fisheries and the Deep Inlet openings. This week the total Deep Inlet chum return surpassed our preseason forecast of 1.7 million and is currently at 1.8 million. This week the total return will likely surpass 500,000 harvested for the second week in a row. To date trollers have harvested over 400,000 fish with the seine fleet having a seasons harvest of just over 1 million. While current weekly return numbers are strong we have seen recent sex ratios fall below 50% male indicating we are now on the backside of the return and harvest will begin to decline.
Although we have seen very strong chum returns the past few weeks their has been tremendous interception of chum bound for Medvejie Hatchery impacting brood stock recruitment. Current estimates indicate there are 40,000 fall chum in Bear Cove of the 90,000 needed. The common property seine pink fishery lines for this Saturday/Sunday harvest have been modified and do not include Eastern Channel which will help to improve chum brood passage to the hatchery. Additionally the return of rain to the area should help to move fish towards the hatchery. We will continue to monitor brood numbers in Bear Cove and Sitka Sound/Deep Inlet harvest trends over the next week and if there is minimal increase in brood stock numbers in Bear Cove a Deep Inlet THA closure or time/area restrictions may be necessary.
Similar to Deep Inlet, the fall chum return to Crawfish Inlet has already exceeded our preseason forecast of 281,000 with a total of 376,000 harvested. During common property openings the troll fleet have harvested over 46,000 with the seine fleet harvesting 282,000. The majority of the troll harvest and all of the seine harvest has occurred in West Crawfish. We have seen a significant improvement in cost recovery success the past few days in Crawfish Inlet and have now harvested 48,000. Reminder the entire chum return to the Crawfish Inlet SHA will be taken for cost recovery and no common property seine or troll fishery is planned in Crawfish Inlet this season.
August 13 – Deep Inlet Re-Opening Announcement
Deep Inlet has met the Cost Recovery goal this season. Deep Inlet will reopen Saturday, August 15th, with Troll and will continue with the standard rotation. An ADFG announcement will be posted shortly.
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