Click image to enlarge: These are the boundaries of Thursday’s opening in the Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. (Map from ADF&G)
Seiners participating in the Sitka sac roe herring fishery will stand down today (Friday, 3-29-13) while tenders and processors deal with yesterday’s catch. That’s according to Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist Dave Gordon, who oversees the fishery.
Preliminary numbers show a catch of about 3,600 tons in the 3.5 hour opening yesterday. Gordon said roe samples taken on the grounds were “high quality,” and that the range of mature roe averaged from 12.3 to 15.9 percent. The threshold for fishing is around 10 percent.
Gordon also noted that there were more than 2 nautical miles of spawn visible Thursday and that he expects to see more today.
The two openings held so far this year have yielded 5,700 tons of herring. That leaves roughly 5,800 tons left on the overall harvest level of 11,549 tons.
