The Sitka Sound Sac Roe herring fishery opened for a second time over the weekend and again on Monday.
In a press release on Friday (3-22-24) afternoon, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the first opening for the fishery this year had lasted an hour, from 4 to 5 p.m. in Hayward Strait. They reported that a mid-day test set in the area showed fish with 10 to 11 percent mature roe weighing 137 and 149 grams on average. That day, seiners harvested around 340 tons of herring.
There was no commercial opener on Saturday, but during aerial surveys, ADF&G observed about a ¼ mile of spawn on the eastern side of Kasiana Island.
On Sunday, the commercial fishery opened again from 12:30 p.m. until 5 p.m. in Hayward Strait and Krestoff Sound. Just over three nautical miles of spawn were observed along Kasiana Island and Halibut Point, Neva Strait, Degroff Bay and Fred’s Creek. Seiners landed a total of 1,900 tons.
Earlier today/On Monday, seining opened at 11:30 a.m. and fishing occurred throughout the afternoon in the waters of Hayward Strait and Krestof Sound. As of press time, no estimate of the day’s total had been released.
Monday’s aerial survey located large concentrations of humpback whales near St. Lazaria Island, and in Hayward Strait. Sea lions were concentrated around rock piles near Sitka Point, the Magoun Islands, and to the north in St. John the Baptist Bay.
No test sets occurred on Monday. The next aerial survey will be flown on Tuesday.
