The "Superbowl" of Seining

After round one, I can honestly report that herring spotting is just as dangerous and possibly as stupid as NASCAR. Fifteen to twenty aircraft are swirling around the same 500 feet of altitude in a 10 square mile area. All to talk to 52 boats and tell them where the same three schools of fish are. Every plane scrambles their radio calls so non-paying boats in the fleet can’t poach them.
The first opening of the Sac Roe Herring Fishery was Wednesday at 5:10pm. It lasted 80 minutes. In that time, the fleet caught 6600 tons of herring. Over one third of the total season quota was taken. The processing plants in the Sitka harbor are all full, and some of the tender boats were even sent to other towns. The fishery is on hold for a few days, while the fish are packed and the plants are ready to take in another catch.
If you are thinking that this could all happen without a little bit of drama, you are insane. The biggest story is that in the fray to get the nets set, one boat rammed the Shady Lady hard enough to knock the boom loose. The boats untangled themselves in time for the opening, and the Shady Lady managed to get her net out for a good set. However, as soon as she put weight on the boom to pull the net in, it came lose and the vessel listed to the port side. Way too far. A tender was floating nearby to pump the herring from the net. Shady Lady’s mast fell onto the tender. The tender was the only thing that saved her from completely capsizing. Many boats came to aid in righting the flailing vessel. Shady Lady managed to pump 150 tons of fish before going over, and she made it safely back to the harbor after taking on about 400 gallons of water. Everyone with two lips in the harbor is debating whether the Shady Lady’s crew is too inexperienced for this fishery and whether the vessel is too light or too small for these deep waters. Rumors are scathing about whether the offending boat hit the Lady on purpose, as a warning shot to the rookies.
Our boat, the Andy Sea, had trouble of her own. The fish were at 30 fathoms, too deep for a pilot to see. Dan, the pilot/spotter, directed the Andy Sea based on the movement of the other vessels, guessing at what they were looking at on their Sonar based on their movements. The Andy Sea managed to get around a big set. Possible 400 tons. The fishery closed and we flew back to harbor, feeling the weight of the bills in our pockets already. However, as we walked to dinner and thought of the boys out pumping the fish, Dan said, “It doesn’t count until it’s on the tender. There are 101 ways to lose a set of herring.”
While the tender were pumping fish, something on the boom snapped and the Andy Sea had to cut their net loose. They only got 150 tons on board. Not a bad set, but worse than it could have been. The boys are working on getting the rigging repaired before the next opening.
The largest set captured on Wednesday was by the Crescent Moon—over 600 tons of herring.
Apparently, Wednesday’s opening was a fairly large area. I can expect that for the next few openings, the plane and boat racetrack will get tighter.