The Ketchikan Daily News reports that by Tuesday, six or seven boats had registered and some fished.
Poor market conditions and uncertainty in Japan, the major customer for herring roe, have kept boats in the harbor.
Also, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game forecast predominantly 3- and 4-year-old fish, not the 5- to 7-year-olds that the gillnet fleet targets.
A spokesman for the United Southeast Gillnetters Association says the lack of posted price information about the recently completed Sitka Sound sac roe catch also contributed to the uncertainties about the market.
via Herring roe fishery opens with few fishermen: AP Alaska | Alaska news at adn.com.