Category Archives: Commercial Fishing

Photos of the commercial fishing industry in Alaska.

Sitka Alaska Herring Fishery

Each year, schools of Pacific Herring arrive in Sitka in late March to early April to spawn in the nearby waters. I spent a few days there recently but the weather and fish conditions never timed themselves in my favor. The photo shows conditions not favorable for aerial photography, which was my hope. One singular…

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Spot shrimp

Growing up in the land-locked Midwest, and then living in the interior of Alaska for years, fresh seafood is rare for me. However, during a recent visit to Prince William Sound, a local fishermen was showing us his freshly caught spot shrimp (the largest shrimp of the west coast). They were as strikingly marked as…

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Part 3: Gill net fishing – Copper River Basin Sockeye

Bow picker Gill net fishing on the Copper River Delta As part of an ongoing assignment (see part one and part two) covering the copper river red salmon, I traveled to Cordova, Alaska to join a commercial fishermen during the current, once a week 12 hour period for the Copper River gillnet fishery. The great…

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Herring Sac Roe Fishery in Sitka

Pacific herring spawn in the waters around Sitka, Alaska. Canon 1Ds Mark II, 24-105mm f4.0L IS (28mm), 1/1000 sec @ f5.6, ISO400 Each year in March a brief Pacific herring sac roe commercial fishery happens in Sitka. The school of fish, which returns annually to the Sitka Sound, is monitored closely by the Alaska Department…

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