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July 23-Return Update - Since closing for cost recovery Deep Inlet summer chum returns have continued at a steady yet slow pace and the summer run will likely come in at 200,000 adults, the lower range of our pre-season forecast. Through July 23rd we have harvested 40% of our cost recovery goal and have seen a small uptick in […]
Return Update-July 8th - NSRAA chum returns last week (stat week 27) seemed to flatline. There was minimal cost recovery completed in Deep Inlet and a moderate amount in SE Cove. The Hidden Falls chum weekly return last week took a slight dip to 50,000 from the previous stat week 26 return of 62,000. So far this week there […]
Return Update-June 25th - NSRAA chinook returns have been picking up the past several weeks with a total estimated harvest in Stat Week 25 of 1,341 adults. The spring chinook fisheries in the Sitka area have harvested over 2,000 Medvejie chinook making up 47% of the Sitka Sound area commercial troll harvest. Currently the return is looking like it […]
Gulf of Alaska Chinook Salmon do not warrant listing under Endangered Species Act - NOAA has concluded its 12-month scientific review to not list Chinook salmon in the Gulf of Alaska as threatened or endangered under the Endangered Species Action (ESA). PRESS RELEASE NMFS ESA Ruling
NSRAA Salmon Bake & Hatchery Tour - NSRAA will be offering hatchery tours and a BBQ lunch at Medvejie Hatchery on Saturday, June 27th. Lunch will consist of barbecued King Salmon, baked potato, green salad, rolls, watermelon and non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets are $15.00 per person- CASH ONLY and can be purchased during office hours at NSRAA- 1308 Sawmill Creek Road. (8-5 Mon-Fri) […]Deep Inlet Cost Recovery August 18
Cost recovery steady but slow, 110,000 lbs taken on July 17th. This leaves 1.499 million lbs to finish it. Medvejie broodstock continues to build with an estimated 55 to 60,000 fish of the necessary 90,000. We have one boat fishing today at Deep Inlet.
Based on the 51% male sex ratio taken on fish caught at Makhnati yesterday the run is close to the mid point. This strongly suggests the run will not reach forecast, but rather come in well below. The Hidden Falls portion of the Deep Inlet return came in at forecast, but the fall run segment appears weaker.
Deep Inlet Cost Recovery – Update August 17
Cost recovery at Deep Inlet was 128,000 lbs for August 16. This is a lower volume than expected. The chum are holding deep so both boats are using deep nets to reach the fish. The biggest issue is the abundance isn’t there to catch. As of this morning we need 1.6 million lbs to meet the goal.
Next update will be tonight or tomorrow morning. Common property fishery August 18.
Deep Inlet Cost Recovery Update August 15
We harvested 210,000 pounds on Saturday and Sunday, far less than we hoped. That puts the total remaining to be harvested at 1.85 million pounds. The fish are diving out of the net and not easy to catch, although we have had good effort. Some fish remain in Deep Inlet. We will have two deep nets for harvesting on Tuesday August 16.
There will be no fishing today as it is a common property day. Fishing will resume tomorrow at Deep Inlet. I am hearing good catch reports this morning for incoming fish.
Cost Recovery at Deep Inlet August 11 – 75,000 lbs
Two boats fished on August 11, harvesting 75,000 pounds.We still have a long way to go with 2.06 million pounds to harvest.
Sex ratio was 59% male. Otolith reads from the August 10 harvest have been read and show 13% of the fish are still the Hidden Falls stock. These Hidden Falls stock are probably mostly females at this point and skewing the sex ratio; the sex ratio of the Medvejie stock is probably in the mid-60% male range. Also of note in the otolith data are good numbers of fish from our 4.0 chum program (“late-large” chum).
Although the harvest is slower than expected at this point, we are seeing signs of new fish arriving and a large increase in fish numbers at Bear Cove. Two or three boats will fish tomorrow and Sunday. We’ll continue to post daily catch updates on the Deep Inlet chum web page, and will post a new blog update on Monday.
Cost Recovery at Deep Inlet August 10 – 125,000 lbs
Cost recovery began at Deep Inlet on Wednesday August 10th. Two boats harvested 125,000 lbs. Sex ratio was 57% male. We will need to take otolith samples to determine what proportion, if any, is Hidden Falls stock as that could skew the sex ratio. The 100 fish sample taken last night had several partially spawned females which would certainly be from the HF stock.
Boats are fishing again today.
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