Prince William Sound fall herring fishery opens Thursday with 749-ton cap

Prince William Sound's fall herring fishery opens at noon Thursday, Oct. 1, with a harvest cap of 749 tons, less than half the 1,750 tons allowed last fall.

The fall fishery sells herring whole for food and bait, rather than for their roe like the spring fisheries. Its cap starts with a standing share of the year's herring quota, 461 tons this year. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game can then move over some of the herring the spring fisheries didn't catch.

Spring fishermen left 1,151 tons in the water this year. State rules would have allowed up to 80 percent of that to shift to the fall, as the department did last year. This time it moved only a quarter, about 288 tons, pointing to a weak spring spawn, measured by how much shoreline herring spawned along and for how long.

The herring population still cleared the bar for fishing. The department estimated about 28,000 tons of spawning-age herring this spring, above the 22,000 tons needed to open any Prince William Sound herring fishery.

The deadline to register for opening day passed Sept. 24. Permit holders who want to start later must register with the department's Cordova office at least a week ahead, and vessels that have fished herring elsewhere since July 1 can't fish the Sound through February. Processors must also register to buy.

The fishery runs until the cap is reached or Jan. 31, whichever comes first, though the department says it may change fishing times and areas depending on how many herring are around and how many boats are fishing.