Prince William Sound's purse seine fleet stays closed, waiting on weather

Prince William Sound purse seine permit holders stay tied up Monday, and the reason is the sky. Fish and Game can't fly the aerial surveys it uses to gauge wild salmon escapement when the weather's bad, and without those surveys it won't open the fishery, costing the fleet another day during peak season.

The closure isn't new. The Sound's purse seine fishery has been shut through a string of announcements while the department manages conservatively until pink salmon escapement and hatchery brood stock goals are met. An earlier notice had flagged a possible opening as early as Monday, but poor weather again grounded the surveys needed to evaluate one.

Fish and Game says it will issue daily updates through Wednesday, with any opening depending on aerial observations, hatchery cost-recovery progress and brood stock collection. On the brood stock side, the Valdez Fisheries Development Association began its egg take Aug. 3, working toward a goal of 270 million pink salmon eggs.