The first opener of the herring season only managed to net about 1400 tons. Surprisingly, ADFG called a second opener the very next day. Rarely, are the openers back to back because the processors have to catch up the the catch volume. The second opener was on the south end of town and the volume of catch was much greater.
Nearly 5000 tons were harvested the second opener. From the word on the docks, its sounds like the Lady Brenda had the biggest set that opener. The big news from the second day was the Infinite Grace. They managed to almost roll over as one of their side stays broke. Luckily, no one was injured and the boat was back in business later that day.
The third opener was almost on the south end of town and about 5,700 tons were harvested. It appears to have been a collision free opener. I’m sure the Memry Anne is thankful for that. After two seasons of serious collisions and law suits, it nice to see things go off without a hitch. The highlight of the third opener would have been the Arctic Fox. We were pumping a set off the Karen Brit, just outside of the Arctic Fox, when we realized they had a massive set. The herring began to boil, and the next thing you know, the Arctic Fox had no fish. It sounded like the net just ripped out from the weight of the set. According to the aerial shots, it could have easily been a 600 ton set.
So, there should be roughly 6000 ton left for the season. There is a possibility of two more openers, so the excitement isn’t over in Sitka. Stay tuned for more updates.
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