ADF&G Salmon Stakeholder Meeting: May 30, 2017

Sand Point Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting & Election Announcement

Sand Point AC Notice 2017 May 30; Election

PDF: ADF&G’s Summary of the 2016 Alaska Peninsula – Aleutian Islands Herring Fishery

Download Download ADF&G’s Summary of the 2016 Alaska Peninsula – Aleutian Islands Herring Fishery (PDF, 1 MB)

PDF: ADF&G – 2017 AK PEN/Chignik Area State-Waters Pacific Cod Opening Dates

The South Alaska Peninsula Area state-waters Pacific cod pot gear season will open at noon March 7, 2017 unless delayed by weather. If the National Weather Service marine forecast for Area 155 issued at 4:00 a.m. on March 7, 2017 contains gale warnings for that day or the following day, the season opening will be delayed 24 hours. Weather delays may continue on a rolling 24-hour basis for seven days, after which the season will open regardless of the weather forecast.

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The 2017 Chignik Area state-waters Pacific cod pot gear season will open seven days after the CGOA closure, at noon March 2, 2017. The 2017 Chignik Area state-waters Pacific cod jig gear season will open 12:01 a.m. March 15, 2017.

Kodiak, Chignik, and South Alaska Peninsula State-Waters 2017 Pacific Cod Guideline Harvest Levels and Season Dates (PDF 110 kB) – 1/6/17

2017 South Alaska Peninsula Area State-Waters Pacific Cod Season Opening for Pot Gear (PDF 78 kB) – 2/14/17

2017 Chignik Area State-Waters Pacific Cod Opening Dates – 02/22/2017 11:45 AM

The Kodiak, Chignik, and South Alaska Peninsula 2017 state-waters Pacific cod guideline harvest levels (GHLs – pounds) are as follows:

Kodiak
Pot 6,087,452
Jig 6,087,452
Total 12,174,904

Chignik
Pot 7,670,189
Jig 852,243
Total 8,522,432

South Alaska Peninsula
Pot 20,401,820
Jig 3,600,321
Total 24,002,142

PDF: Aleutians East Borough’s “Fish News” for Feb. 21, 2017

Download Aleutians East Borough’s “Fish News” for Feb. 21, 2017 (PDF, 0.5MB)

AEB Fishermen’s Meeting Teleconference
2017 State-Waters Pacific Cod Pre-season meeting
Wednesday March 1 • 2017 10AM
audio/participation to be available at the following sites: King Cove Harbor House, Sand Point AEB Borough, Anchorage AEB office & ADF&G Kodiak
Presenter: Nat Nichols, ADF&G Area Groundfish manager

HALIBUT COMMISSION ANNOUNCES 2017 CATCH LIMITS AND SEASONS

2017 Area 3B (western Gulf of Alaska) = 3,140,000 (pounds)
(For comparison 2016 was 2,710,000 lbs)

The International Pacific Halibut Commission (IPHC) completed its Ninety-third Annual Meeting in Victoria, BC, Canada on 27 January, 2017. More than 200 halibut industry stakeholders attended the meeting, with approximately 80 more participating in web broadcasts of the public sessions.The Commission is recommending to the governments of Canada and the United States catch limits for 2017 totaling 31.40 million pounds, displayed in the following table by regulatory area.

PDF: AEB’s “Fish News” from January, 25th, 2017 – Fishermen’s Meeting Teleconference

Download the latest “Fish News” from Aleutians East Borough (PDF, .5MB).

Back issues.

AEB Fishermen’s Meeting Teleconference
Wednesday, February 8, 2017 10AM

TELECONFERENCE audio/participation to be available at the following sites:
King Cove Harbor House, Sand Point Borough office, False Pass City Office, Anchorage AEB office

Tentative Agenda:
– South Peninsula in-season salmon management – Lisa Fox
– North Pacific Fishery Management Council update – Ernie Weiss
– Fishermen discussion

Teleconference sites:
Anchorage & Sand Point AEB offices, King Cove Harbor, False Pass City & ADF&G Kodiak.

Please contact Ernie Weiss at (907) 274-7557 or eweiss@aeboro.org for further information.
www.aebfish.org

AEBORO: Fish News from Dec. 28th, 2016 – Fisheries Teleconference

Download the latest issue of Fish News (PDF).

Back issues available here.

Agency Representatives Provide Information on Enforcement, Observer Program, Fish Tickets during Recent AEB Winter Fisheries Teleconference

AUDIO: National Marine Fisheries Informational Meeting with AEB – Dec. 21, 2016

Download the National Marine Fisheries Yearly Meeting with the Aleutians East Borough! (mp3, 9.22 MB, 40 minutes)

Stream it (HTML5):

On December 21st, the 4th annual National Marine Fisheries Meeting with the Aleutians East Borough was held and broadcasted on KSDP 830 AM. From Sand Point, I’m Marissa Williams with the scoop.
Brent Priestess with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration or NOAA, hosted the meeting and spoke with several people highlighting what to expect and things to remember about the upcoming season.
He started off with a few key things to keep in mind this season. Now all trips are required to be logged and if you deliver to a tender and come back into town for any reason, your trip has ended and you must log a new one. Also, number each logged trip and include the trip number on the fish ticket. Be careful about marking your fish tickets with the correct stat areas. Stat areas are where the fish were harvested. Check your vms units, there is troubleshooting help available if it’s not working correctly.
Krista Malanie added that it’s important to check out the new regulations in long line pot gear for 2017. Also she stated that 2016 trips can’t be carried over to 2017 so keep that in mind, stay organized, and take care of your 2016 trips before the new year starts.
Nat Nickles from ADS&G stated that the GHLS are 20.4 million pounds of pot gear and 3.6 million of jig.
Glen Campbell from the Observer Program in Seattle mentioned that it’ll be important to correctly declare your gear type and if you’ll be delivering to a tender or not. He also said that they are working on getting an observer stationed in King Cove and reiterated the importance of logging every trip.
Chris Relling, also from the observer program, relayed the deployment rates which are split into twice the categories as each category has a tender and non-tender delivery option. The deployment rates for the hook and line are 11% and 25% for hook and line delivering to a tender. For pot delivering to a tender or not is 4%. For trawl its 18% and for trawl delivering to a tender its 14%.
In closing…
-Things to Remember-
Log EVERY trip and number them on the log as well as the fish ticket.
When you deliver to a tender and come back into town, that trip has ended and you must log a new one.
Correctly declare your gear type and if you will be delivering to a tender or not.
Make sure your vms units are in working condition.
From Sand Point, I’m Marissa Williams.

ADF&G: 2017 Preliminary Chignik, Kodiak And Ak Peninsula Salmon Forecast

Download the 2017 Preliminary Chignik, Kodiak And AK Peninsula Salmon Forecast (PDF, 300KB)

TO: Nick Sagalkin, Regional Supervisor
Division of Commercial Fisheries, Region IV
DATE: December 16, 2016
SUBJECT: Preliminary 2017 Salmon Forecasts
FROM: Kevin Schaberg, Regional Finfish Research Supervisor
Division of Commercial Fisheries, Region IV

Forecasts
Regional research, management, and biometric staff have developed and reviewed the 2017 run
forecasts for pink and sockeye salmon stocks in Region IV. This is a relatively early release for
Region IV forecasts, and numbers should be considered preliminary until inclusion in the annual
statewide document to be released in early 2017.
Total run forecasts are shown in tables 1 and 2 as point estimates and ranges. The ranges are
80% prediction intervals, meaning that we have 80% confidence that the actual 2017 run will fall
within this range. Estimated escapements are subtracted from the total run forecasts to yield
estimated 2017 harvests; these harvest estimates are shown as point estimates for pink and
sockeye salmon. Pink salmon (as well as Spiridon sockeye salmon) harvests are also reported as
80% ranges.
Confidence in each forecast varies based on data relationships in the underlying models. Full
methods and discussion will be included in the statewide document.

AEBoro – Fish News from Dec. 16, 2016 – Gulf of Alaska Trawl Bycatch Management Update & Winter Fisheries Teleconference

Download the latest FISH NEWS!
Archives: http://www.aleutianseast.org/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={B388C2C4-EB51-4A47-A306-D19D32B2EE6F}

Latest Issue: Fish_News__-_Dec._16_2016.pdf

Contents:

NPFMC Moves to Postpone GOA TBM Indefinitely
By Ernie Weiss, AEB Natural Resources Director

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AEB Fishermen’s Meeting – Winter Fisheries Teleconference
Wednesday – December 21, 2016 2PM
TELECONFERENCE audio/participation to be available at the following sites:
King Cove Harbor House, Sand Point Borough office, False Pass City Office, Anchorage AEB office

Meeting to be broadcast live on KSDP at www.apradio.org

Agencies Representatives available at this teleconference meeting:
U. S. Coast Guard, Kodiak.
Alaska Department of Fish & Game, Kodiak.
NMFS Alaska Region, Juneau.
Alaska Fisheries Science Center, Seattle.
North Pacific Observer Program & A.I.S. observer providers.
Other fisheries enforcement representatives.

Please contact Ernie Weiss at (907) 274-7557 or eweiss@aeboro.org for further information.
www.aebfish.org

6:30PM Tonight – UAF PhD Student to Host Research Outreach Event in Sand Point; Monday, Dec. 5th at the QTT Community Center

Attention: Commercial Halibut Fishermen and Marine Enthusiasts

UAF PhD Student to Host Research Outreach Event in Sand Point; Monday, Dec. 5th at the Community Tribal Building, 630pm

Title of the Talk: “Eyes on the Sea: What halibut fishermen have to say about bycatch and data collection in their fishery”

In 2013, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council extended the federal fisheries observer program to include vessels commercially fishing Pacific halibut. But what sort of information does the observer program gather in the halibut fleet? And what kinds of preferences do halibut fishermen have about data collection while they fish?

During the spring of 2015, Elizabeth Figus interviewed 78 halibut fishermen in Southeast Alaska. She asked them about what different species come up on their hooks, and how that affects their fishing strategies. She also asked them to describe their preferences between data collection strategies: human observers, electronic monitoring, detailed logbooks, or how things were before 2013.
Elizabeth invites the public to hear about her research on Monday, the 5th. There will be time for discussion and feedback after a short presentation. Refreshments will be provided. If you would like to schedule a separate presentation/meeting time with Elizabeth during her stay in Sand Point, email her, at: ecfigus@alaska.edu.

Elizabeth Figus is a 5th year Fisheries PhD student at the University of Alaska Fairbanks, working with Dr. Keith Criddle. Don’t forget to “Like” the research, at: www.facebook.com/halibutresearch.

Audio: Lisa Fox Wraps Up 2016 Salmon Harvest Report

Download the Fisheries Interview with Area Biologist Lisa Fox Wrapping Up the 2016 Salmon Harvest Report(mp3, 13 MB, 15 minutes)

Stream it (HTML5):

ADF&G: 2016 Alaska Peninsula Salmon Season Summary

ADF&G has released a summary of our 2016 salmon season.

Download the 2016 Alaska Peninsula Season Summary (PDF 834 kB)

“The following is an overview of the 2016 Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, and Atka-Amlia Islands Areas commercial salmon fishing season. Total harvest presented from the 2016 commercial salmon fishing season should closely approximate final harvest numbers for all species. The 2016 commercial salmon harvest in the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands, and Atka-Amlia Islands Management Areas totaled 15,345 Chinook, 5,981,217 sockeye, 260,922 coho, 2,883,577 pink, and 513,338 chum salmon. Subsistence salmon harvest will be reported in the 2016 annual management report (AMR). Data detailed in this report are considered preliminary. Preliminary exvessel value of salmon harvested in Area M totaled $27,730,204. Exvessel value information was generated from fish tickets and does not include postseason adjustments paid to fishermen.”

ADF&G: No Commercial 2017 Tanner Crab Season for S. AK Pen., Chignik & Kodiak

ADF&G has announced there will be NO commercial Tanner season in 2017 for Kodiak, Chignik & South Alaska Peninsula (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static-f/applications/dcfnewsrelease/752788271.pdf).

Large-Mesh Bottom Trawl Survey of Crab and Groundfish: Kodiak, Chignik, South Peninsula, and Eastern Aleutian Management Districts, 2015 (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/FedAidPDFs/FMR16-20.pdf)

2015 Tanner crab Chionoecetes bairdi Bottom Trawl Survey results for the South Peninsula District (PDF).