Sitka Herring 2012 | Its On Like Spawn

The “Superbowl Of Seining” is here again.  This year the quota is biggest it ever been at almost 30,000 tons.  Sadly, the price may the biggest mystery of this fishery.  Last year, prices plummeted after the japanese tsunami.  Most canneries ended up paying between $100 and $150 a ton.  This year the price is expected to be a bit better and the word on the docks sounds like its going to be about $250 a ton.  However, no real numbers have been solidly confirmed by the processors.  The weather has been miraculous the past fews with plenty of blue skies and greatly welcomed sunshine.  The herring seem to respond to the nice sunny water by coming up from the depths and preparing to spawn.  So the conditions are perfect, but the herring still haven’t started coming up to the surface.  Most estimates are that the fishery is still 5 days away.  However, predicting the herring has proved to be complicated in the past.  Basically, the fleet is on stand down until test fishing produces herring with mature roe.  Hurry up and wait!  Just part of being a fishermen, I guess…  Stay tuned for the latest updates of the fishery.  It is going to be a crazy year!

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