The Seward Phoenix Log - News of the Eastern Kenai Peninsula since 1966

Between 60 and 70 percent of Alaska’s seafood is exported to customers around the globe, and the strength of foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar plays a big role in annual sales. Tracking by...

It might still feel like winter but Alaska’s 2013 salmon season officially gets underway on May 16, when the first runs of reds and kings are scheduled to arrive at Copper River. The season’s firs...

Fishing industry stakeholders and federal managers in June will begin crafting a bycatch reduction plan for trawl groundfish fisheries in the Gulf. It will include some form of catch share plan, and...

Chinook salmon research money made it through the Alaska legislature this session but most other fish bills flopped. “The department asked and the legislature funded,” said Kevin Brooks, deputy...

Did you know that red king crabs are cannibals and eat their babies, but blue king crabs do not? Or that deep water golden king crabs along the Aleutian Islands are almost indestructible and appear...

Absent from supermarket fliers this spring have been ads featuring the year’s first fresh halibut, reflecting the anticipated push back by buyers to the high priced fish. “No ads in the papers....

A new plan is being crafted by federal managers for Gulf of Alaska groundfish fisheries that will reduce bycatch by trawlers, and it will very likely result in a catch share plan. Now is the time for...

It was unusually quiet along the waterfront as the halibut fishery got underway on March 23. Most of the first fish landed goes to Homer, Kodiak and Petersburg and processors there said there...

Halibut scientists plan to expand the yearly Pacific stock assessments by 30 percent next summer, adding 390 survey stations to the existing 1,300 already in use from Oregon to the Bering Sea. Since...

The just released “Fisheries Economics of the U.S.” by NOAA Fisheries covers the commercial and recreational fishing industries from 2002-11 and is loaded with descriptive seafood industry stats...

More wild salmon from Alaska will make its way to world markets this year if forecasts hold true for the 2013 season. State salmon managers are projecting a total catch of nearly 179 million fish...

In a word, the outlook for Alaska salmon markets this year is favorable. That’s the conclusion of Gunnar Knapp, fisheries economist at the University of Alaska Anchorage in an overview of world...

“Dilution is the solution for pollution” sums up the Parnell administration policy when it comes to cruise ship discharges in Alaska waters. A bill being moved quickly by state lawmakers will...

Volunteers are needed to test drive some new money-saving methods for do-it-yourself’ energy audits on fishing boats. “Just as with a home audit where you try and understand where your energy is...

Halibut catches weren’t slashed as badly as people feared, although they still continue on a downward trend. And the outlook is grim. A coast-wide catch of 31 million pounds was approved on Friday...

Fishing groups, consumers and health organizations are launching a final push to prevent genetically modified fish from getting the nod for American dinner plates. During the holidays the Food and...

There’s lots of movement in Alaska’s salmon permit markets, but sales of catch shares are in a stall. Permit values are up and down depending on region, and interest reflects how the salmon runs...

Correction: "Fishermen in the Sound squeaked by their colleagues in the Panhandle by just 44 fish..." This article initially said that the number was 44,000 fish. That is incorrect and the article...

Alaska’s seafood industry worked hard this year to ramp up its message to policy makers, especially those from railbelt regions who tend to overlook the industry’s economic significance. How...

Making some easy changes to a boat’s deck layout, or simply modifying knives and scrapers can reduce the strains, sprains and pains of fishing. Doing so is applying the science of ergonomics....

Ask an Alaskan what community is home to the most commercial fishermen and they will respond Kodiak or Dutch Harbor, or maybe Petersburg or Bristol Bay. Wrong! Anchorage ranks number one for total...

The “graying of the fleet” continues in Alaska as fewer young folks obtain permits for various fisheries. Data from 2011 show that 45 percent of all Alaska permit holders were between the ages 45...

Alaska’s salmon harvest and value for 2012 came in well below last year, dropping 21 percent and 30 percent, respectively. According to preliminary state tallies, the value of the salmon catch...

The results of a six year study on Western salmon will be unveiled this month and the conclusions are not what people of the region had hoped for. Some background... the Western Alaska Salmon Stock...

Sea otters and the Arctic are two focal points for Alaska’s top fishing group at both state and federal policy levels. United Fishermen of Alaska is the nation’s largest industry trade group...