Commercial Fishing

Commercial fishermen off the coast of Alaska found what the U.S. Department of Defense is calling a “large balloon with payload” and delivered it to the U.S. Coast Guard in Dutch Harbor.

Gov. Mike Dunleavy introduced a pair of bills last month that would allow electronic monitoring aboard commercial fishing vessels in state fisheries. That electronic monitoring could be used in place of mandatory observers aboard fishing vessels. But some in the fishing industry are wondering why it’s necessary, since only a small number of state-managed fisheries require onboard observation.

On this episode of "Island Interviews," KUHB's Ethan Candyfire chats with Unalaska fisherman Scott Lorenzen about his experiences working on a small fishing boat, and how he shares his stories with audiences across the nation on social media.

The Bristol Bay red king crab fishery has been closed for two years, and along with it, Bering Sea snow crab have abruptly disappeared, causing another complete closure. Together, the fisheries generally bring in millions of dollars to the fleet and the coastal Alaska communities that rely on them. Since 2021, when king crab closed and snow crab saw a huge decline in harvest numbers, fishermen have taken an estimated $287.7 million hit. Without those fisheries and without that revenue, more and more boats are relying on other work like fishing for cod and small amounts of bairdi crab or summer tendering gigs just to make ends meet. So when a group of Bering Sea fishermen recently heard they’d be getting paid less than they hoped for cod this winter season, they figured they couldn’t afford to just sit by. But that’s exactly what they did. When the season opened, they didn’t go out to fish…and it worked.

Four people were on board F/V Pacific Sounder when she got stuck on the western shore of Unimak Island — between Unalaska and the Alaska Peninsula — on the morning of June 17. The Pacific Sounder hailed a MAYDAY call at 10:43 Friday morning but the crew waited three hours before they were rescued. Eventually, the Good Samaritan boat, the Polar Sea, arrived and found the crew unharmed.

Sand Point upgraded its travel lift at the Robert E. Galovin Small Boat Harbor. Also known as a boat gantry crane, the travel lift hoists boats out of the water for repairs or storage. Jordan Keeler is the city administrator for the Eastern Aleutians community. He said the former travel lift was about 40 years old and needed to be replaced.

It was still dark at Unalaska’s Robert Storrs Small Boat Harbor, just before 5 a.m. on a fair spring morning. Normally, Dustan Dickerson and his three-man crew would be warming up the engine of the 54-foot Raven Bay by now so they could head out a few miles to haul and set cod pots, eat, sleep and repeat for a couple days before returning home. But on this mid-March morning, the crew was joined by three sleepy-eyed greenhorns: Corynn Lekanoff, Kaidon Parker and Anatoly Fomin. The three local teens were headed out for a day trip to get a glimpse into the life of Unalaska’s small boat fishermen. The trip is part of an outreach program led and started earlier this year by Dickerson, captain and owner of the Raven Bay. It’s meant to provide local youth with the chance to get on a boat and see what fishing is all about.

Dear Unalaska Community:Along with the rest of the nation and the world, the seafood industry of Unalaska has been coping with the fast-paced turn of…

The Unalaska City Council has endorsed the rationalization of two derby-style Pacific cod fisheries.On Tuesday, councilors voted to support the…

A Kodiak man died May 2 while fishing in the Bering Sea.Alaska State Troopers report 55-year-old Christopher O’Callaghan was struck in the chest with a…