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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.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 will come in over our our pre-season forecast of 13,900 and is pointing toward a 20,000 total chinook return. This year a larger portion of the return are 3 ocean chinook, more than we have seen in the past 3 years with those making up over 60% of the return to date.
Since the beginning of June the Deep Inlet chum fisheries have harvested a little over 18,000 fish through stat week 26. The early summer run chum is tracking just below our forecast for this date. The total early summer chum run forecast is 376,000. We have seen an over 9lb average weight since the start of the fisheries with only our most recent seine sample on the 21st coming in below 9lbs. Interestingly we are seeing very large 4-year-old chum compared to the 5-year-olds with some samples having larger 4s than 5s. Five year olds have made up approximately 70% of the harvest to date with the remainder as 4-year-olds and most recent sample was 63% male. Reminder Deep Inlet will close to common property fishing at the end of the troll day this Saturday (June 27th) to begin cost recovery operations, which will begin on Monday June 29th. Deep Inlet will remain closed until our cost recovery goal is met.
Hidden Falls had its first opening this past Sunday with a harvest of 32,000 chum. This first opening was an encouraging harvest as we have a relatively small chum return forecast of 409,000. Similar to Deep Inlet we are seeing large fish at Hidden Falls, while not over 9lb like Deep Inlet, we did see a first opening average size of 8.7lbs. Surprisingly this large size was driven by the 4-year-old component coming in larger than the 5-year-olds. What is most confusing is that last year the 3-year-olds were some of if not the smallest on record for the site and this year based upon our first sample, the 4-year-old component from the same brood year is the largest 4-year-olds ever for Hidden Falls. First sample had a 60% 5-year-old component with the remaining 40% age four and 71% male. It will be interesting to see how this return progresses over the next few weeks.
The Point Agusta common property harvest from this past Sunday was sampled and no Hidden Falls otoliths were detected. The harvest was relatively small for the opening but was primarily DIPAC chum with a few Thomas Bay and SE Cove mixed in. NSRAA will be sampling the Friday Hawk Inlet and Saturday Point Gardner test fisheries and that information will be available early next week.
Cost Recovery at SE Cove will begin on June 29th. Our initial plan was to begin harvest on July 1st, but there are reports of chum beginning to build in the Special Harvest Area. A total chum return to SE Cove of 105,000 was forecast.
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
Salmon Hatcheries for Alaska Press ReleaseNMFS ESA Ruling
NOAA Technical Memorandum NMFS-AFSC-515NSRAA 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)
We are providing two tours on Saturday for you to choose from.
Tour 1
9:00am – 12:15pm
Tour 2
12:30pm – 4:00pm.
Transportation to and from Medvejie Hatchery will be provide by Allen Marine. Our port of departure/arrival is Crescent Harbor.
Boats depart promptly at 9 and 12:30 so don’t be late!
Space is limited on each tour.
Physical ticket will be needed to board & no refunds.
This will be a great chance to see King Salmon returning to the hatchery, and to hear about our fisheries enhancement program.
We hope you can join us!
For more information, call 747-6850.
Support Alaska Hatcheries at Board of Fisheries
Alaska Board of Fisheries Proposals. Your voice is needed.
The board of fisheries will take up three hatchery proposals at the statewide meeting. Proposals 170, 171, and 172 seek to impose broad, preemptive reductions or moratoria on Alaska’s private nonprofit (PNP) salmon hatchery program without demonstrating a causal link between hatchery production and the specific conservation concerns they claim to address. Collectively, these proposals abandon Alaska’s science-based, adaptive management framework in favor of blanket regulatory actions that would undermine fisheries stability, harm coastal communities, and set a dangerous precedent for decision-making absent demonstrated necessity. Go to the ADF&G Public Comment Link to share your comments.
ADF&G Public Comment LinkThe Salmon Hatcheries For Alaska Group also has a portal for submitting commets.
Some helpful resources:
Board of Fisheries Meeting Page Proposals 170-172 Salmon Hatcheries For Alaska Prop SummariesNSRAA Scholarship Reminder
Each year NSRAA awards three $2500 scholarships.
Applications are due soon – check it out!
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