No rest for the weary, fall fisheries just gearing up now

Some people are surprised that fall is one of the busiest times for Alaska's fishing industry, from the Panhandle to the Bering Sea. As salmon season wraps up, hundreds of boats of all gear types remain on the water. Others are gearing up for other openers in a few weeks.

Here's a sampler:

— Longliners have taken 82 percent of their 17-million-pound halibut catch quota with 3 million pounds left to go over the last two months of the eight-month fishery. Homer, which bills itself as the nation's top halibut port, is being out-landed by Kodiak by a few thousand pounds.

— Longline fleets also are targeting a 20.3-million-pound sablefish (black cod) catch.

— Scallop fishermen are dropping dredges around Yakutat and in other parts of the Gulf of Alaska and Bering Sea.

— Lingcod fisheries are ongoing in parts of the Gulf, primarily by small boats using jig and hand troll gear.

— Trawlers are targeting pollock and other groundfish in both the Bering Sea and the Gulf. And tons of cod are crossing the docks after Sept. 1 openers for longline gear and pot boats.

— Southeast's summer king salmon fishery closed to trollers Sept. 3; the winter troll fishery will reopen in early October.

— Crabbers will be back on the water for the Oct. 1 start of the fall Dungeness fishery. The summer season that ended in mid-August produced a 2 million pound catch valued at $6 million at Southeast docks.

— October also marks the start of Alaska's premier shrimp fishery — big spots from the Panhandle. Pots will haul in more than a half-million pounds of spot shrimp. Beam trawling for pink and coon stripe shrimp continues in several Southeast regions.

— Hundreds of divers will head down for sea cucumbers and urchins next month, too. More than 1 million pounds of sea cukes are usually taken in Southeast waters, with smaller takes around Kodiak Island. The price can top $3 a pound.

— Hundreds of big crab pots are stacked to the sky at Dutch Harbor and Kodiak in preparation for the start of Bering Sea crab fisheries, which get going Oct. 15.

Pink relief?

Fishermen hurt by the poor return of pink salmon can apply for a breather in their state loan payments.

"This would not be a forgiveness but would add this year's loan payment onto the end of the loan period and forgive the payment for this year," said Rep. Louise Stutes, R-Kodiak, who sponsored the relief measure.

Stutes said it is "absolutely imperative" for anyone wanting a waiver of their loan payments to contact the Division of Economic Development prior to the due date of the loan.

She cautioned fishermen not to be put off by the 16-page application packet they will receive.

"Not all of the pages need to be filled out. This is a loan application, and these individuals already have a loan. They are only asking for a waiver in the provision of the existing loan," Stutes explained.

Staffers can walk fishermen through the process, she said. "That streamlines it somewhat until we can fine tune it a bit further." More information at 1-800-478-5626

Marine debris

A Marine Debris Tracker app can help Alaskans locate trash that litters waterways and coastlines.

The app, created through the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Marine Debris Program and the Southeast Atlantic Marine Debris Initiative, has cataloged more than 1 million items reported by trackers.

"For any form of litter or marine debris, you can pull up a list, and it's one click to enter what the user sees," said Jenna Jambeck, co-creator of the Tracker app.  "You can also add a quantity, a description and a photo."

The app works with GPS, so it knows the location where the user collects the debris.

"You can be out fishing or in some remote area and log all your data along with the GPS. I think that it is a really powerful component of the app," she said.

The Tracker app also provides feedback.

"It is really fun for people to feel like they are a bigger part of a larger effort," Jambeck said.  "We have a top tracker list, so those who do it most frequently are acknowledged on the website. It is a win-win for the collector, the marine initiative and the planet."