Fishermen's News - The Advocate for the Commercial Fisherman

The famed Copper River district salmon fishery is running well ahead of forecast and as of June 10 appeared to be likely to have a robust regular commercial fishing schedule, with openers twice... Full story

Federal fisheries managers voted June 8 in Juneau to put a 7,500-fish limit on Chinook salmon bycatch by some 60 bottom trawlers harvesting flatfish, rockfish and Pacific cod in the Gulf of Alaska. The action during the June meeting of the North... Full story

At the Port of Valdez on Prince William Sound, the US Coast Guard in early June was holding a foreign vessel that was leaking oil from its containers. Valdez, the site of the 1989 Exxon Valdez oil... Full story

The fishing port of Warrenton, Oregon at the mouth of the Columbia River lost the major buyer and biggest employer in the town when Pacific Seafood was destroyed by fire on June 4. Fortunately, there...

Cautious optimism again best describes the attitude of commercial salmon fishermen in the wake of the Pacific Fishery Management Council (PFMC)’s adopted ocean salmon seasons for 2013. PFMC recommends management measures for fisheries off the... Full story

Call it an uneasy truce rather than a treaty. Two days of intense negotiations held between government representatives from the United States and Canada in Portland, Oregon in mid-April failed to... Full story

The first commercial fishing openers on Yukon River salmon will come around mid-June, and with a forecast of average to above average runs of both summer and fall chums, Kwik’Pak Fisheries is optimistic about a good season. “It looks very good... Full story

Something no fisherman ever wants to hear is “man overboard.” Nor does he ever want to find himself in the water fighting for survival after a fall off the boat deck. From 2000 to 2011, 182 US... Full story

A new longliner set to enter Alaska’s cod hook-and-line fishery in October 2014 will offer state-of-the-art environmental and safety advantages, and an ultimate goal of 100 percent utilization of... Full story

Fishing ports and harbors from Kodiak to Unalaska/Dutch Harbor and Bristol Bay to Sitka will see millions of dollars in upgrades over the next few years, from ramps, floats and docks to an entire new... Full story

Despite predictions of a possible “bust” in a twice-delayed season, Oregon’s Dungeness crabbers have landed about 17 million pounds of the official state crustacean since January. In a news... Full story

Westport Marina, located in the Port of Grays Harbor, Washington boasts the state’s largest fish landing port. The marina is currently home to 285 annual boaters, two-thirds of which are the... Full story

‘From the Fleet’ is intended to allow individuals and organizations the opportunity to express their opinions on commercial fishing-related issues and concerns. The views expressed herein are the opinions of the author, and do not reflect nor... Full story

The 2013 season for one of California’s most lucrative commercial fisheries opened April 1 amid a lingering controversy that erupted late last season. Briana Brady with the California Department of... Full story

Oregon’s commercial fishing industry is alive and well. In fact, 2011 was an outstanding season with the highest landed value – about $148 million – since 1988, according to statistics from the... Full story

In last November’s election, Oregon voters overwhelmingly rejected Measure 81, which would have banned commercial non-tribal gill net fishing on Oregon’s “inland waters” and allowed the use of... Full story

Four-time Iditarod Sled Dog Race champion Lance Mackey was all smiles an hour before the start of the 2013 race to Nome, checking his sled bag over, when asked how much wild Alaska salmon he was... Full story

The Atka Pride Seafoods processing facility, a joint venture of APICDA Joint Ventures, Inc. and the Atka Fishermen’s Association, will open April 27, closely paralleling the anticipated seasonal clo... Full story

Analysis has been initiated by federal fisheries managers on a focused data collection program to be established prior to implementation of a trawl bycatch management program in the Gulf of Alaska. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council took...

If your refrigeration system is based on refrigerant R-22, then take notice! The life of one of the most successful halocarbon “Freon” refrigerants is coming to an end. Production of the refrigerant is being reduced every year, with a total ban... Full story

Planning is the key to timely and efficient drydocking, according to Al Turner, Sr. Project Manager at Alaska Ship & Drydock, one of Vigor Industrial’s seven shipyards. The two most important... Full story

The third time proved to be the charm for the opening of the 2012-2013 commercial Dungeness crab season in Oregon and Washington, but whether or not crabbers find the circumstances charming depends... Full story

An environmental saga that began in late December when a tug lost its towline to a $290 million drill rig in rough seas south of Kodiak Island has raised new issues about the adequacy of these tugs... Full story

An ugly primitive sea creature is fetching sort of pretty prices for some Oregon fishermen. With an abundantly available resource and willing buyers, a number of fishermen are cashing in on a... Full story

Salmon runs are notoriously variable: strong one year, and weak the next. New research shows that the same may be true from one century to the next. Scientists in the past 20 years have recognized tha... Full story