In Alaska, salmon come first. Alaska has a long and successful track record of managing and conserving its abundant salmon resources. Record salmon runs with an average yearly catch of 165 million salmon is the evidence of this successful approach.
Nearly 95% of all commercially caught salmon in the States are harvested in Alaska. Alaska is the top producer of wild, high-value salmon, producing nearly 80 percent of the world supply of king, commercial salmon fishery is essential to the Alaskan economy and the Alaskan way of life.
Each year, the salmon industry provides thousands of roles and hundreds of millions of dollars to the state’s economy. Commercial fishing is imperative to communities and fishing
families across the state.
Alaska’s fishing industry leads the state in providing 47% of non-public sector jobs, and is second only to the oil industry in providing money to the state. In 2002, the exvessel value for combined fisheries totaled $955 million with $162 million from salmon.
Salmon fishing permits are given out to people, not corporations, through the “limited entry permit system”. The total number of available permits for each fishery is strictly limited. Fishermen may not own more than one salmon permit for a similar gear type and area. This creates a fishery made up of many individuals and families.
Three main gear types catch Alaska salmon : trolling, gillnetting, and purse seining. All commercial salmon fishing boats are relatively small vessels; averaging thirty to fifty feet.
Trollers use long trolling poles to tug or troll two to 4 deep weighted lines thru the water, each with eight – 12 leaders attached. At the end of each leader there’s a lure or baited hook. Ship size varies from tiny skiffs to vessels of fifty feet or more with most ranging between 25 to forty feet.
Trollers essentially target king, coho, and pink salmon as they enter Alaskan waters on their way to the spawning grounds. Trollers catch a relatively low volume of high-quality fish. The fish they catch are bright and vigorous from fresh sea waters. They are regularly
sold dressed, or filleted in the fresh or fresh frozen market.
Gillnetters set curtain-like nets in the water suspended from a float line at the surface and a weighted lead line along the submerged lower edge. Nets vary in length from nine hundred to 1800 feet long. The net’s mesh openings are just large enough to permit an adult fish head to get through and become caught at the gills.
There are 2 kinds of gillnets; driftnets that are free floating from boats, and setnets that have one end attached to the coast. Ship size is limited to 32 feet or less in Bristol Bay ; otherwise, the average range is thirty to 40 feet. Gillnetters essentially crop sockeye, chum and coho.
Purse Seiners employ a large floating net, pulled and set in circle by a power skiff, to surround schooling salmon. The weighted “purse line” at bottom of the net is drawn closed to contain the fish. The net full of fish is then gathered to the boat through a highpowered hydraulic block.
Purse seiners are not authorized north of the Alaska Peninsula; boat size is restricted to 58 feet. Purse Seiners crop especially pink salmon near the shoreline and close to fresh water spawning grounds where runs are highly concentrated.
For more information about food and useful cooking tips, check out cooking101.org and also have a look at pan frying salmon.
[...] June 1, 2009 — Alaska Salmon Fishery [...]