SPOTTER PLANES! HAVE AN OPINION ON SPOTTER PLANES USED DURING AN OPENING?  HAVE YOU PAID SEAS DUES FOR 2017?  BOF PROPOSAL 159 SEEKS TO PROHIBIT THE USE OF AIRCRAFT TO LOCATE SALMON DURING OPEN PERIODS - The SEAS Board met on November 20^th to review and draft comments on Board of Fish Proposals that will be deliberated during the January 15-23^rd BOF Finfish meetings in Sitka. Our membership is divided on this issue, so we are conducting a poll on whether you are for or against this proposal. If you are a paying member,  you should receive an email or phone call in the next days or weeks asking for your vote. One of the benefits of membership is that SEAS advocates in numerous ways on your behalf. Only members in good standing will be counted. SEAS will endorse the position of the majority of our members.  The Board of Fish process is one of the single most expensive activities SEAS does on behalf of the SE seine fleet. To ensure your opinion is considered renew your membership now! Because this is a time sensitive issue, we must have your vote and membership payment by December 21^st. We have the ability to take credit cards- call (907) 220-9466 or email info@seiners.net.  Members, if you have not received an email by November 27^th, it means your registered email is no longer valid and you will receive a phone call or you can contact the SEAS office at the above mentioned contact avenues. 

NEW FORMAT

The Web site has been updated so the format is compatible with cell, IPAD, or computer formats. Please be patient while we rebuild or provide other ways to access fisheries information links that are important to the fleet. Please feel free to contact the SEAS office if you have some suggested links you would like to see linked.  

More Area Open for Wednesday!!!!!

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/862476876.pdf

Click the above to view the additional areas open tomorrow!!

Deep Inlet- Troll fish the day before, please be courteous

Deep Inlet is open to Seiners on Wednesday, August 30^th.  Troll is open the day before Tuesday, August 29^th. Please be courteous and respectful of their opportunity on Tuesday to make their intended drags. Troll is open each Saturday after this first week, so they are always fishing the day before the seine opening on Sunday. Please keep this in mind each week, and allow them to fish unobstructed. Thanks to NSRAA for this opportunity for all gears. Good fishing!

BOF Proposal packet available

BOF proposal books are available on line http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.proposalbook.

Southeast and Yakutat Finfish & Shellfish

January 11-23, 2018

Harrigan Centennial Hall, Sitka

Comment deadline: December 28, 2017

More Bad News

This just in from Troy after flying yesterday

It looked like the run was going to develop well early on but didn’t. Water levels are low in a lot of the non-mainland smaller systems that don’t have a glacier or snow field above them. Not crisis mode yet, but I wouldn’t be surprised to start seeing some die-offs where fish are already up the system.  As a result of concerns for escapement in just pure number fish, is the reason why I closed all of upper 9-B and portions of District 10. Escapement is lagging and downright poor in a few systems. D10 and upper 9-B are at the tail end of the Chatham Strait corridor and returns to these areas have taken a hit by the harvest in northern Chatham and Icy Straits.

Too Much Sun Is Bad For Fish!!

Weather the weather

So I contacted all the Regional Managers about water levels due to this extended dry spell. Everyone said it was not a concern yet except… today's surveys of lower District 3 showed very low water levels. A few of the Klakas streams had dried up completely. As Scott Walker said in his email, “I guess we now have something else to worry about.” He said Island streams on POW are the first to go dry.
Hopefully we won’t lose a significant number of the early escaped fish in systems that are prone to drying up. I’ll try to keep you updated as information is provided. Love the sun, but love the fish more!!  I don’t see any forecast of rain until Saturday.

Rafting Off

Hey everyone, just a reminder of the educate of rafting off

It's common practice and courtesy to tie up to LIKE vessels; fishing boats to fishing boats, sail boats to sail boats, yachts to yachts. Also to get permission from the vessel you are rafting to. Thanks! 

AMALGA LINES FOR JULY 27TH

These are the lines for Amalga for July 27^th.  There is a personal use Red Crab fishery starting on the 27^th at 5am, so please be considerate of boats trying to exit the launch area; there will likely be a dramatic increase in sports boats in the area. 

GREAT FISHING!

SHA UPDATE

Hidden Falls-

The return forecast has been upgraded to 400,000 or so chum. If sufficient broodstock is collected there may be an opening on Thursday the 27^th.

Amalga-

DIPAC has not done any cost recovery since Tuesday the 18^th at Amalga. The last Seine opening will be at 9am on the 27^th. The portion of the inner bay that was open last week is expected to be open again. The line is expected to be pulled back in toward the shore and not extend to Bird and Gull Island for the final opening. There will be a personal use Red Crab fishery starting at 5am on the 27^th in the area, and heavy use of the Amalga boat launch is expected. If the effort by the seine fleet is similar to last week, the smaller SHA should not be a safety or efficiency concern for the fleet. DIPAC will start Friday to clean up any excess fish at Amalga.

Neets Bay-

 The troll fishery has caught their allowed 200,000+ fish in the SHA and is now restricted to fishing in the Behm. SSRAA is half way to their cost recovery goal so needs about another 4 million pounds. They need about 200,000 fish for broodstock and have put about 50,000 over the barrier net. Neets has a long way to go before any potential rotation could occur. Numbers in the corridor fisheries don’t suggest a super, but rather an average return. 

Plans for a District 4 Opening

From the Desk of Scott Walker Ketchikan Area Management Biologist

 A short discussion on the issues surrounding the District 4 purse seine fishery. This is a snapshot of the present situation which will change continually as the salmon return progresses.

In case you forgot:

The Pacific Salmon Treaty states that the United States shall…Manage the Alaska District 4 purse seine fishery prior to stat week 31 to harvest 2.45 % of the AAH of Nass and Skeena sockeye each year. The AAH is the total return of Nass and Skeena sockeye minus the escapement of 1.1 million fish. For this year where it looks like the treaty escapement won’t be met,  we will be using actual escapement.

SKEENA RIVER

The 2016 Babine Counting Fence jack sockeye count was the worst on record, at less than 0.06% of normal.  In addition, the proportion of 4 year-old sockeye in the 2016 Skeena sockeye aggregate was approximately 20%.  As such, the total Skeena sockeye return (TR)  was forecasted at 595,000.  The latest Total Return To Canada (TRTC) was announced at 434,000 sockeye. We then estimate the Alaskan Catch and add it to the TRTC for a TR of  475,000. The Alaskan catch is based on a host of assumptions, but we have pretty good historical data. So, for District 4 we have around 7,000 Canadian sockeye + Alaskan sockeye for an estimated 11,000 total sockeyes to be harvested during the treaty period. Last year Canadian sockeye composed 59% of the D4 sockeye catch in the treaty period. We would expect it lower this year with the smaller forecast. This is summarized in the table below. The Canadians put out a update each Tuesday.

NASS RIVER

Nass River sockeye returns are forecasted to be slightly below the 20-year average with an expected Total Return to Canada (TRTC) of 454,000. The TRTC was announced yesterday at 262,000 sockeyes.  Add Alaska Sockeye  of 50,000 ? (20% of total return for recent 10 year period) for 310,000 – my guess is that it will eventually be lower.

So, my plan is to open D4 on Sunday for 10 to 15 hours.  We have about 11,000 sockeye to harvest in 4 more potential openings .  We are in continual discussion with our Canadian counterparts and are watching the Tyee Test Fishery closely.  The plan after July 16 will depend on how our AAH performs, Canadian returns and Alaskan Catches.    

Thanks to the Captain and Crew of the F/V Western Harvester

Harbor Master David Borg had this to say-

"I wanted to send a shout out to the Captain and Crew of the F/V Western Harvester for their timely assistance Monday morning.  Harbor staff were made aware of a 24 foot Bayliner Trophy taking on water and sinking on D Float in Statter Harbor.  Staff attempted to dewater the vessel but couldn’t get ahead of the flooding.  The vessel sank at the dock.  Western Harvester came alongside and were able to hoist the vessel out of the water enough to allow pumps to dewater the boat.  They saved the owner a lot of time, money and aggravation with their quick response!  Kudos to the Western Harvester crew!

PLEASE DUMP YOUR WASTE OIL APPROPRIATELY

The Harbormaster has been very helpful at accommodating commercial needs and concerns. There are recycle bins at Auke Bay for cardboard, plastic and aluminum. There is a 55 gal drum for your waste oil, but you are responsible to dump it out of the 5 gallon buckets, not leave it like this please!

I'm not saying it's only us, but please police our fleet so it's not a point of contention.

Thanks and good fishing!

July 13th Amalga Lines

These will be the lines for the Amalaga opening on July 13th. 

Please don't use your sodium lights and don't anchor in the cost recovery area. There is not a place to dispose of waste oil at the Amalga boat launch. If you need to dispose of waste oil Auke Bay has that capability. Please give your garbage to the tender or dump at Auke Bay. Auke Bay trash is collected every day, Amalga only once a week. The trash outside the dumpster is causing bear problems. There will not be another garbage pick up til Thursday and the dumpster is already overflowing.

Other than that, good fishing!!

Line change at Amalga

The lines at Amalga will encompass most of the SHA. Map and lines will be posted as soon as they are released by Fish & Game.

Official Amalga lines

The sliver of an extended area we hoped for will not occur this opening or probably this year. Below is the are the Area Management Biologist will open--  Please do not anchor in the colored area until  6 pm on Wednesday. Thanks!

AMALGA - DON'T ANCHOR IN COLORED AREA!!!

PLEASE!!! STAY OUTSIDE THE GREEN OR BLUE AREA, HOWEVER IT APPEARS IN YOUR COPY, UNTIL WEDNESDAY AT 6 PM. 

THESE ARE PROPOSED LINES, LOOK TO THE FISH AND GAME ANNOUNCEMENT FOR CONFIRMATION OF LINES. 

DO NOT USE YOUR SODIUM LIGHTS PLEASE! ALSO BE RESPECTFUL OF RESIDENCE IN THE AREA CONCERNING NOISE, GARBAGE, ETC.....

Alaska Legislature Averts Shutdown

Alaska Legislature averts shutdown with nine days to spare

By James Brooks, Morris News Service-Alaska/Juneau Empire, Fri, 06/23/2017 - 9:02am

With nine days to spare, the Alaska Legislature has averted a statewide government shutdown.

At 1:04 p.m. Thursday afternoon, a joint House-Senate conference committee approved a compromise budget that funds state government past July 1 using savings from Alaska’s Constitutional Budget Reserve.

The Senate voted 16-1 just before 9 p.m. to approve the deal, and the House followed suit, 31-8, just after 10 p.m.

“This is very much a compromise budget, and that’s what we’ve been down here working on,” said Rep. Paul Seaton, R-Homer and House chairman of the conference committee.

“No one got what they fully wanted. We had to concede; they had to concede, and we came up with this compromise package,” said Sen. Lyman Hoffman, D-Bethel and Senate chairman of the conference committee…

http://www.alaskajournal.com/2017-06-23/alaska-legislature-averts-shutdown-nine-days-spare

DO YOU NEED CREW? HAVE A BOAT AND NO PERMIT?

I've had several calls about experienced and in-experienced crew members. I have a list of names, resumes, and contact information if you find yourself in need of a crew member as the season proceeds along. Also, there is one fisherman out of Sitka who has a SE permit, net, etc... but finds himself without a boat. Contact the SEAS office at 907-220-9466 if you want any information about either.

BIDS FOR CANOE PASS TEST FISHERY

Invitation to Bid: Canoe Pass Test Fishing

 SSRAA and ADF&G are participating in a cooperative test fishery at Canoe Pass, located on southern Etolin Island, to establish a baseline survey. This survey is designed to evaluate the presence of non-targeted/bycatch salmon species in Canoe Pass that may occur during the normal run timing of the summer chum salmon stock during terminal fisheries.

In this cooperative agreement, SSRAA will contract purse seine vessel(s) to conduct baseline fishing using traditional seine gear. The seine activities will be conducted as a one day charter each week over a 5-week period. The contract vessel(s) will be responsible for their own crew and supplies including food, fuel, and net. (full length net and minimum 3 ½ strips in depth).

The sampling period is during statistical weeks 28 through 32, which correspond to the calendar weeks of July 9th, 16th, 23rd, 30th, and August 6th. The sampling day during the week will be timed on approximately 7 day intervals, although modifications can be made for weather delays, common property seine openings, or other unforeseen circumstances.

The contract seiner will be required to have enough deck space to accommodate 2 ADF&G personnel and fish sampling gear during the day’s activities. SSRAA will coordinate transportation for ADF&G personnel to the contract seiner. Details regarding the minimum number of sets made for each baseline sampling period, the number of additional sets, and set locations will be developed by ADF&G in an operational plan. In no case, however, will the charter extend for longer than one day fishing per week, and no berthing space or food for ADF&G personnel is required.

 SSRAA requests that respondents bid on the work as a daily charter rate in a lump sum amount for one or more of the five charter days. The 5 charters can be bid at different daily rates. Single vessel and multi-vessel group proposals will be accepted. Bids will be received in writing (email accepted), due on or before 3:00 pm Monday, June 26, 2017. All inquiry phone calls and bid proposals will be kept confidential until after the bid opening at 3:00 pm on Monday, June 26, 2017 at SSRAA administrative offices.

 SSRAA reserves the right to reject any or all proposals received; to negotiate different terms and conditions which may differ from the initial proposals received; and to award any contracts in a manner which is determined to be the most beneficial to SSRAA.

 For further details, questions, or to place a bid please contact David Landis or Bret Hiatt at SSRAA, 14 Borch Street Ketchikan, Alaska 99901; (907) 225-9605 or davidl@ssraa.org or  breth@ssraa.org

Potential Government Shutdown

Fishermen!! Do you and your crew have all your licenses and permits?

The Governor's Office is sending out press release after press release from all governmental agencies concerning possible impacts if a State budget is not passed by July 1. There are numerous for the fishing industry including but not limited to the following- licenses

• Suspension of fishing loan requests
• Issuance of licenses and permits
• Management of Bristol Bay Sockeye fishery
• Sampling done by the Department for Pacific Salmon Treaty
• Sampling by the Department for North Pacific Fisheries Management Council
• Impact to the International Pacific Halibut Commission's stock assessment program
• Numerous DEC programs such as oil spill response 

There are too many to list... But could impact Alaskans and Fishers on several fronts. Just make sure you have all you crew licenses and permits up to date so you are able to at least fish!!!

Fire Extinguisher Services

Southeast Extinguisher Service Inc will be in Wrangell June 11-13; Petersburg June 14-20, to provide services compliant with Coast Guard regulations. Their number is 790-2522 and their travel calendar is on their web site.

REMOVAL OF SHORE AIDS

A

LERT!

Shore Aids/Day Boards in Portlock Harbor and Klag Bay-

The Coast Guard is considering dis-establishing these in light of current navigational aids. Robert Nendza of the Cutter “Maple” is seeking input. Please contact him is you would like them to remain. You can email him at robert.tnendaz@uscg.mil

Seattle Port Meeting

SEAS Port meeting June 1st!

10 am - noon, Nordby Building @ Fishermen's Terminal 3919 18th Ave West. Contact Board member Laugh Leach (206) 849-6417 with questions or for directions.

Chris Peterson F/V Atlantis Memorial Golf Tournament MAY 19th!

36 teams are already entered, but there is room for a couple more if you haven't already signed up. There's a lunch at noon and a dinner around 7:30 pm with silent auction etc... if that is more your speed. All proceeds go to Seattle Children's Hospital in Chris' name. A fun event for a great cause!

Dockside Exams in Petersburg

Attention Petersburg Commercial Fishermen

Several Coast Guard Commercial Fishing Vessel Examiner will be in Petersburg conducting Fishing Vessel Dockside Exams from 1:00 PM on Tuesday, May 16^th thru 1:00 PM, Friday, May 19^th.  These vessel examinations are free, take about an hour and help ensure your vessel is equipped with all federally required equipment.  Vessels that pass the examination will be issued a Dockside Exam Decal that is valid for 2 years. 

On October 15, 2015, these exams became mandatory for Commercial Fishing Vessels that operate more than 3 NM off the outer coast of Southeast Alaska.

  Vessel owners seeking information on what federal safety requirements apply to their vessel can go to www.fishsafe.info and select the link for “Generate your own checklist”, then follow the directions to launch the Checklist Generator.  This tool will enable you to create a custom list of requirements that apply to your vessel, crew size, fishery and operating area.  This process has proven extremely valuable to fishermen preparing their vessel for a Dockside Exam.  I am also available by phone or email (see above) to answer any questions about the requirements for your vessel prior to my arriving in Petersburg.

Anyone interested in scheduling an exam while we are in town
should sign up at the Harbormaster’s Office. 

Sincerely, Steve Ramp

Steve Ramp

USCG  Marine Safety Detachment

329 Harbor Drive, Suite 202

Sitka, Alaska 99835

W: (907) 966-5620

C: (907) 738-7267

Steven.A.Ramp@uscg.mil

SITKA PORT MEETING

Everyone was fishing on Sunday!!! If there is not an opening on Monday, we will hold a Port meeting. Not sure what site might be available, so please look for updates, they will be posted here.

CHANGE OF TIMES SITKA MEETINGS !!!!

The Port Meeting in Sitka has been re-scheduled for 7pm on Sunday 3/19 at the NSRAA conference room. Also, due to the herring schedule or lack of schedule, the SEAS Board meeting will be at 7pm March 18th at the Silver Bay office. Folks are welcome to attend!

SEAS PORT MEETING IN SITKA

SEAS will hold a Port meeting in Sitka Sunday March 19th at 2 pm in the NSRAA conference room. There will be a SEAS Board meeting immediately following. Questions concerning the meeting or other items can be sent to info@seiners.net

AQUACULTURE BOARD MEETINGS

NSRAA will hold their Spring meeting March 8th and 9th starting at 9am at the NSRAA Board Room in Sitka. SSRAA will hold  several planning meetings on March 7th and their Board meeting on the 8th at the Cape Fox Lodge. Attend, keep informed, let your Board member know your opinion.

THANKS REPRESENTATIVE ORTIZ

Representative Ortiz has added several amendments to the Fish and Game operating budget. The one we specifically like is adding BACK $119,000 to partially fund aerial surveys in SE. Let's hope it sails through the process!

HB115 Keep Your Eye on This

HB 115 is a tax bill calling to tap the permanent fund and establish a state sales tax. The problem is that they have added language to a section ( 43.22.050) of the bill that would make skippers liable to collect state income tax on all crew members if a state tax is implemented. This would be a nightmare! Why they are singling out crew members and not other groups who hire contractors is a mystery. During the UFA's Spring meeting in February, we had the opportunity to address our delegation about how much this is not a workable scenario, and offered other methods of collecting said tax should the bill pass. Keep your eye on this one....

BUYBACK REFERENDUM RESULTS

The referendum to authorize an assessment to purchase 22 seine permits at a cost of $5.8 million was not approved by the required majority of permit holders.

180 (57%) out of the 315 ballots sent were returned to NMFS by the January 13 deadline.  Of the 180 ballots returned, 132 voted YES (in favor of the plan); and 48 voted NO (in opposition to the plan).  The 132 YES votes fell short of the required majority (158) necessary to approve the Plan. 

NMFS will publish the referendum results in the Federal Register next week. 

LAST DAY TO CAST YOUR BALLOT

Today is the last day to send in your vote on the buy back. SEAS tried to provide you with information to make an informed decision. It's important for future opportunities that there is a good response to the vote, so NOAA feels their time and effort to conduct these are well spent. So, no pressure, yes or no, just keep your ability to make these decisions an option in the future.