The Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery will be on two-hour notice starting 10 a.m. Wednesday,  the Alaska Department of Fish & Game announced this Tuesday afternoon.
A test sample taken from a body of herring west of Black Rock showed about 7% mature roe, which is low for the commercial fishery. But the Department said that percentage could rise rapidly over the next few days as less
mature herring separate out from those ready to spawn.
Fish & Game also conducted an aerial survey of Sitka Sound Monday and reported herring predators concentrated in the areas west and south of Crow Island and Bieli Rock.
This year’s fishery is being conducted as a co-op in response to historically low prices for herring. As a result, Sitka is expecting a much smaller fleet than in recent years.
Fish & Game was expected to hold a meeting for permit-holders and processors at 2 p.m. Tuesday in the Westmark Hotel in downtown Sitka. That meeting is open to the public
Rachel Waldholz covers energy and the environment for Alaska's Energy Desk, a collaboration between Alaska Public Media, KTOO in Juneau and KUCB in Unalaska. Before coming to Anchorage, she spent two years reporting for Raven Radio in Sitka. Rachel studied documentary production at the UC Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, and her short film, A Confused War won several awards. Her work has appeared on Morning Edition, All Things Considered, and Marketplace, among other outlets.
rwaldholz (at) alaskapublic (dot) org | 907.550.8432 | About Rachel
