Commercial Fishing in Kodiak, Alaska
The Kodiak Island Convention and Visitors Bureau cites commercial fishing in Kodiak, Alaska, to be one of the oldest industries in the area. Salmon is the biggest commercial catch with pollock and cod catches rising. Kodiak Island is the hub for commercial fishing for the Gulf of Alaska. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commercial Fisheries Division regulates and licenses commercial fishing activities.
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Commercial Fishing Seasons
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The seasons can be cut short at any time by the Department of Fish and Game due to harvests. The seasons vary by type of fish, location and commercial fishing method. In general, the salmon season starts in May and goes through October. The shellfish season is year long. During the months of January, February, April, May, October, November and December herring is in season.
Commercial Fishing Areas
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In the Cook Inlet commercial fishing is permitted for salmon, herring, shellfish and ground fish. The Yakutat area is salmon and shellfish. Fishing for salmon, herring, shellfish and ground fish is permitted for the southeast Alaska area. Salmon, shellfish and ground fish are commercially fished in the Prince William Sound/Copper River areas.
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Commercial Fishing Vessels
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There are seven different commercial fishing vessels used in Kodiak fishing: the purse seiner, gillnetter, troller, trawler, jig fisher, crabber and longliner. The purse seiner is used primarily to catch pink salmon. Sockeye, chum and coho salmon are caught with a gilnetter. Fish caught using the troller is primarily Chinook, coho and pink salmon. A variety of fish are caught with the other vessels.
Potential Earnings
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According to an Alaskan employment agency commercial salmon fishermen can make $10,000USD to $20,000USD in a three month period. Crab fisherman can earn up to $15,000USD per month.
History
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The original Kodiak people fished all five species of salmon from the same waters where commercial fisherman catch them now. While the salmon fishery was closed due to over fishing, emphasis switched to red king crab. Pollock and cod became sought after in the late 1980s. Currently, Kodiak is the busiest commercial fishing port in Alaska.
Day in the Life
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Commercial fishing is very hard work. As an example, when the Kodiak season for halibut opens commercial fisherman often work 24 hours a day regardless of the weather. Commercial fisherman are paid based on the number of fish caught. Families are often involved in Kodiak commercial fishing, even starting at high school age.
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References
- Photo Credit coast guard (alaska) image by Vladimir Efroimson from Fotolia.com
