The Kodiak sac roe herring fishery opens April 15, for both purse seine gear and gillnetters.

The 2007 guideline harvest level (GHL) for the island is 4,000 tons, a 7 percent increase over the 2006 GHL of 3,705 tons, Alaska Department of Fish and Game fisheries biologist Jeff Wadle said.

The purse seine GHL is 2,915 tons and the gill net fleet may harvest 1,085 tons.

“We raised the GHL in the Uganik district and a couple other areas. Danger Bay went up a little bit,” Wadle said. “We’re having good recruitment, so we keep raising it up where we need to.”

Kodiak Fish and Game has managed the fishery in Uganik and Uyak for the last few years, Wadle said.

“We have a manager on the grounds who draws lines and takes test fisheries and we’re going to do that in Danger (Bay) this year, which is the first year we’re doing that. That’s the one major change, because we’re trying to prevent overharvest,” he said.

The total ex-vessel value of the 2006 Kodiak herring fishery was $726,825. Buyers paid approximately $275 per ton at the dock. Twenty-three permit holders made 89 deliveries during the season. The harvest was 2,643 tons for both gear types.

In past years, the ex-vessel price reached $500 or more a ton.

Herring roe is considered a delicacy in Japan and was once a booming market. But young people in Japan are leaning toward Western-style fast food, while the elders, who traditionally consume a lot of roe, are dying out.

2007 Sitka herring fishery

The Coast Guard developed a multi-pronged approach to improve the safety of fishermen in the 2007 Sitka Sound sac roe herring fishery. 

The opener is slated for sometime in the next few weeks, based on Fish and Game’s assessment of herring stocks. 

Collisions between fishing vessels have occurred during this fishery in which approximately 50 purse seiners compete in a limited area during the few hours the nets are allowed in the water.

In preparation for the opener, teams of Coast Guard fishing vessel examiners are deployed to Sitka to conduct free dockside safety exams for participating vessels.  Examiners award decals to vessels that demonstrate full compliance with federal safety regulations. 

When Fish and Game declares the fishery open, a Coast Guard cutter will be on scene to respond to incidents that involve negligent or unsafe navigation.