This image, taken from an unmanned submersible, shows the Evening Star’s seine net entangled on the stern anchor. A rock is wedged between the anchor’s flukes. (Photo: Global Diving and Salvage, via ADEC)
The Evening Star will stay at the bottom of Slocum Arm.
That’s the word from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation about a fishing vessel that sank in the western Chichagof Island waters earlier this month.
The 50-foot Evening Star, home-ported in Sitka, capsized while seining on August 2nd. It was initially in shallow waters but slipped to a depth of nearly 400 feet.
A report from the state’s environmental conservation agency says the vessel released the majority of its fuel when it sank into deeper waters. The boat had about 1,000 gallons of diesel on board, in addition to some lube oil and a hydraulic oil tank. The release of the oil products resulted in a sheen nearly a mile and a half long. It has since dissipated.
No impacts to fish or wildlife were reported.
The stern anchor from a responding vessel was cut loose, and used to sink the boat’s seine net to the sea floor. Depth sounders now show the net at 220 feet below the surface.
The state says crews have retrieved oil containment booms above the wreck, and from the mouth of nearby salmon streams.
