Our Blog
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) […]Hidden Falls Egg Take Goal Reached August 8, 2016
177,000,000 chum eggs were taken at Hidden Falls Hatchery as of Monday. This will allow maximizing each program at Kasnyku, Takatz, and SE Cove.
The NSRAA board will be discussing moving some of these fry to Thomas Bay and Malmesbury in 2017
Hidden Falls Broodstock Update – July 18
Broodstock currently stands at 75,000 chum behind the barrier net, all volitional entry. The F/V Windwalker and F/V Reiver arrived this morning to actively collect another 50,000 brood fish. Egg takes will begin July 19. We still need another 45,000 fish beyond the 125,000 or 180,000 fish all-in.
Spotter pilot reports have ranged from 200,000 to 750,000 chum in the SHA. So far this morning we are not seeing that kind of volume. We also have two cost recovery seiners looking for opportunity. Next update will be tomorrow.
Hidden Falls Closed to Fishing June 27, 2016
Hidden Falls returns are exceedingly poor so we are discontinuing openings. Otolith samples from Homeshore show better results for Kasnyku and Takatz 4.0 chum strategy compared to regular 2.0 gram fish, but there just isn’t the abundance to make that very meaningful. We are developing a plan for obtaining the chum egg take goal. The best hope is that with the closure sufficient numbers of chum return to Kasnyku. The backup plan to that is 1) Hidden Falls stock at Deep Inlet, 2) using fall Deep Inlet chum to back fill some of the HF egg production, 3) obtain eggs from Gunnuk Creek, and 4) getting 20 million eggs from DIPAC.
A new release strategy is being developed for Kasnyku Bay chum fry in 2017. I’ll have weekly updates on Hidden Falls broodstock developments.
Interested Salmon Buyers: Request for Proposals
Dear Interested Salmon Buyers:
The Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association (NSRAA) based in Sitka, Alaska is seeking proposals for the licensing right to harvest a defined portion of Chinook salmon at Medvejie/Deep, and coho at Hidden Falls & Mist Cove Special Harvest Areas for the 2016 season. A separate chum RFP will be announced April 11, 2016 with a call date of May 23. It will be the responsibility of the winning bidder/processor to provide harvest boats and tenders that can accomplish the job in the most efficient manner possible, and at the time and place of harvest as determined by NSRAA (licensor).
For the full Coho / Chinook RFP, including bid forms please click here, or find the link on NSRAA’s home page.
For the full Chum RFP, including bid forms please click here.
2016 Planning: Deep Inlet, Hidden Falls, Southeast Cove
Fishing Schedules for Deep Inlet and Hidden Falls chum fisheries were finalized at the spring Board of Directors Meeting. Several documents have been posted on our website – both on the opening page and the FrontPage.
Information includes:
- Hidden Falls chum: forecast, fishing schedule (calendar), broodstock collection timing, Assessment Area Map. The assessment rate has been set at $0.10 per pound, pending state approval.
- Deep Inlet chum: forecast, fishing schedule (calendars), cost recovery and broodstock collection plan, SHA Map (Special Harvest Area = cost recovery fishing areas). Please note that given the 2016 cost recovery goal, there is a high likelihood of a Deep Inlet closure this season. This would occur in August, most likely some time during weeks 33-35 (August 7-27) and might last for 10 days or so depending on return strength and fish behavior. We plan to conduct as much of the harvest outside the THA as possible to minimize closure time.
Also of note this season is the first 4-year-old chum return to Southeast Cove. Although somewhat hard to predict with little historical data, our forecast is 166,000 fish, with a range of 83,000-248,000. Both the 3- and 4-year-olds returning this year were reared as 4.0 gram fry. Fishing in the THA will be restricted to cost recovery fishing this season.
Our other new chum project at Crawfish Inlet is in its second year of fry rearing. The first sizeable return there (4-year-olds from the initial 2015 fry release) will be in 2018. These fry were also reared as 4.0 gram fry.
RSS - Posts
Recent Comments