1987 Year in Review

Is the 1987 year ender coming up in 5 4 3 2 1 1987 Salat of news around Bristol Bay in the Aleutians. But one of the biggest stories has to be told yeah caring course and so yeah caring fisheries never been known as a routine fishery but 1987 took the cake. Now herring a rider began spawning weeks before anybody expected some fisherman and processors were caught as far away as Cook Inlet prompting a mad scramble to get to the grounds. Few boats or tenders were on hand for the initial openings but as they continued to stream in the fleet was amazingly able to catch its quota. Then just when it seemed like it was all over it happened a second time after fishing games had additional openings would be highly unlikely most boats and most boats headed elsewhere. More herring arrived in the fleet had to regroup for another opening. Despite all the chaos the fleet caught more than 15000 tons of herring. A good deal more than was expected. Road recovery was generally good and the cash was worth nearly 10 million dollars for the fleet. Gill netters we're still not satisfied with their share of the harvest and late in the year they prodded the fish board into approving a 25 percent quota for the

future and their own fishing grounds free from saying the anchor point dividing line remains controversial sinners don't like it neither do gill netters from the village of Toki will be excluded from the waters just off their own shoreline. 1987 may have also seen the end of the Bristol Bay herring co-op's joint venture with the Japanese long liners and joint ventures provided a market worth millions of dollars to local gill netters. But a decision to deny the long liners an allocation of cod on the high seas threatens to bring that to an end. Domestic processors however have said they'll move into by gill net cost sharing. 1970s fishery did end on a tragic note when three toed yank residents were shot and killed on the grounds. A party on the beach near Ankara point turned violent just prior to a help opening the victims were Jere active and sadly Andrew. Another told man William Cluley was charged with the triple slaying 1987 Bristol Bay sockeye salmon season saw the return of Jack river run him for many. It was long overdue. The Bay's largest river system had been in a three year slump and

many fear the sockeye return there wouldn't even meet escapement goals again. They happily were proved wrong. A surprisingly strong return of four year old sock eyes poured into the river and the district was open to fishing in early July. Those few boats which stayed in the district scored with some big catches when it was all done with Jacques exceeded its expectations by millions of fish you guessed it was but other districts generally performed well in the final Sockeye harvest top 16 million reds you know a strong market and a strong yen saw prices stabilize at a dollar 35 a pound and the total accidental value of the fishery was the second best in Bristol Basin Street one hundred thirty five million dollars. Now look for 1908 also looks good in the forecast for a catch of eighteen point six million rads and the market for salmon continuing to look strong. Probably more than anything else in fishing though 1987 was the year of the Americanization of the bottom fishery off Alaska and it happened much sooner than anybody had expected. The Gulf of Alaska went to mastic this year an action was taken to reduce the foreign

catch in the Bering Sea to nothing. The phase out of the joint ventures in the Bering Sea was also begun. Now foreign fleets offered a variety of chips including economic development programs in western Alaska to keep their allocation. But with the push toward Americanization gaining momentum by counsel drop off total allowable level of foreign fishing completely from their vocabulary joint venture fishermen have been reaping an increasing share of the bottom fish catch in recent years and saw that peak in 1987. But late in the year the North Pacific fisheries management council voted to cut that allocations sharply. The J.V. fleet called it an economic disaster for domestic processors including a growing number of factory trawlers. It was just the implementation of the original intent of the magazine act. Coastal communities like Dutch Harbor sought to join in on the bottom fish boom by encouraging more shore based processing and providing other services for the fleets. But there are also fears expressed that the boom would turn to a bust growing fleet huge catches in the lax enforcement caused some to worry whether there were

rich resource was being depleted. If you think all the bottom fish activity affects just Dutch Harbor think again the ties between the Bristol Bay herring joint venture and the long liners Cod allocations just one example to tell you I was also shocked when Russian ships steamed into the herring grounds this past spring and a huge factory ships and their American captured boats were landing up to 3000 tons of yellowfin sold every day. Local fishermen were more concerned about the potential bycatch of herring and salmon though the National Marine Fisheries Service said the buy catches were small and local fishermen still asked for restrictions on the troll activity near Tokyo. It's not all bad news for Best Buy either. The South magnate based Alaska Peninsula corporation cashed in on the boom its J.V. trawler the great Pacific scored a hefty profit off a Pollock in 1907. Like other joint ventures though the APC's having to change its strategy in the face of declining allocations. You know Bristol Bay fisherman continue to press for a near shore halibut fishery survey results were disappointing but the local fleet still wants a commercial test opening.

One thing the recent test survey proved was that there's a healthy appetite for how that building. The Bering Sea King crab fishery remains technically depressed but it's continuing to improve in the outer waters of Bristol Bay in late September a fleet of 234 vessels assembled for the Red Crab opening in 12 days they cut twelve point three million pounds. I was actually a little less than the guideline for the harvest but still the biggest red king crab catch in years. On a slow note it took the 8 x months but they ended the year with a catch of twelve point nine million pounds of brown King Crab. Well the fleet smaller and the pace is slow. The deep waters off eight acromion the biggest single source of Alaska King Crab these days. The big bucks in the crab business though is with a smaller animal for the second year in a row more than 100 million pounds of Appeal E.O. the smaller species of Tanner crab were taken from the Bering Sea in 1907 in 1908 looks like a top even than crabbers and trawlers Meanwhile tangled over a test fishery which occurred late in the year. The test was designed to try new nets to reduce crab by catches

and produce some encouraging results. Still crabs are employees of the fishery occurred after the trial season had been closed and almost double the allowable crab I catch only the year of course the giant Queen Crab emerged to destroy the community of Dutch Harbor at least on video. Dan Urban's horror film spoof crab terror won rave reviews after it premiered in Onalaska on Halloween. Another growing fishery sportfishing emerged as an important force in Bristol Bay in 1907. Consider these facts. The Magna queen jack advisory committee spent more time discussing sport fish matters than it did on commercial proposals while fishing game was cutting back on its staff for managing the commercial fishery. They added a sport fish biologist in Bellingham Bristol biologic owner but Hodgson was appointed to the fish board. Meanwhile state agencies joined to begin work on a recreational management plan for the Nushagak and Chatham rivers. The need for more management of the sport fishery was evident in 1907. A major confrontation erupted on the Connect talk with commercial fishermen from Quinn a hawk frustrated by a prolonged

closure confronted sport fishermen on the Connect talk and demanded they stop fishing too. Biologist said the sport take was in significant though and they were allowed to keep fishing cultural differences were an important part of that dispute however. Well Fish and Game use catch and release fishing as a way to protect fish run's villagers view it as harassment of the resource. Similar problems between subsistence and sport fisherman cropped up on the Tokyo river. Well villagers there wanted sport fishing closed the fils fish board felt the question was too big for just them to handle and they recommended the governor appoint a task force to look at the problem. Cause it wasn't just controversy surrounding hook and line fishing. More and more local residents are enjoying angling themselves among them. Russ Roff who won a skiff and a kicker for landing a sixteen point one pound Coho on the last day of 1970s Bristol Bay Silver Salmon Derby. Well local governments had to cope with reduced state and federal funding in 1987 many looked at a regional government as the answer. As Sandpoint celebrated its 1 100th

birthday the human island community became seat of the Aleutians East borough the regional government also includes King Cove Cold Bay false Passat Catan port Miller and Nelson we get the new borough will not levy property taxes but will be funded through a fish tax course commercial fishing is the main industry of the region. Formation is not popular everywhere however in Bristol Bay Village or spirit a regional government would be dominated by Dillingham concerns and the idea found little support Dillingham in Clark's point however fought over the tax revenues generated by the processing ships Mord in Nushagak Bay during the salmon season and both lost the two cities twice tried to annex the waters of the bay and twice failed. Local Boundary Commission told the cities that annexation would go against the state's desire to form regional governments. The city of Dillingham will be allowed however to annex about 12 miles to the north and west of town to bring several homes along the lake road within city limits. Of course each year brings its own controversy in the fishing industry aside 1087

produced a healthy crop of local intrigue some new and some old charges of price fixing by fuel distributors in western Alaska continue to make headlines. The joint venture company was broken up in 1906 but the state continued to press its antitrust charges. One partnered Crowley maritime bailed out by agreeing to pay six hundred seventy five thousand dollar settlement while not admitting any guilt. That settlement could mean a rebate of a few dollars to utility customers sometime in the future. The other partner Delta Western continued to deny any wrongdoing and has refused to settle out of court. Dillingham residents got caught up in the midst of the debate over rising malpractise insurance rates. Dr Charlie Aarons wanted the connection at hospital to drop its requirement for malpractise insurance which he said he couldn't afford anymore. Hospital said no However in the popular private physician had to move his practice to Anchorage. But Barry Hexham case prompted much talk around Dillingham. The talented arts teacher was accused of sexual contact with three female students. Charges he steadfastly denied after lengthy consideration of the matter the

school board decided to fire him. At last word though Hexham was considering an appeal but only him City Council said enough is enough as far as alcohol problems in town were concerned and they voted to deny a beer and wine license for a new pizza parlor owner Jim got the AA however claimed he was being singled out. And in the end the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Board decided to give him the permit anyway. Meanwhile the longstanding debate over amendments to the Alaska Native Claims Settlement Act came close to resolution in 1907. For years Alaska natives have worked on ways to resolve the problems posed by the exploration of land and stock protections in 1901. Well some wanted to modify the corporate structure created by yanks. Others wanted to take an entirely different route Native sovereignty. As a final compromise the Alaska Federation of natives adopted a package of anx amendments that were neutral on sovereignty in 1900 it was quickly passed by Congress. Right now only awaits the president's signature. It's not assured however since the Yank's amendments are opposed by Interior

Secretary Donald O'Dell. Remain restricted past 1901 and includes provisions aimed at benefiting village elders and those born after the 971 enroll Monday. The Bristol Bay and alue corporation supported the AFN version of the 1900 villages that favor tribal status voted to break away from the AFN and form their own organization. 1987 sure was a seismically active year with 12 earthquakes recorded in the region and had a glittering aftershocks most of the tremors were centered around 8 Akko ask in Sandpoint at least half of the quakes measured six or more on the Richter scale because no major damage except in Sandpoint where some underground water and sewer lines were broken. Three of the quakes prompted tsunami warnings coastal communities evacuated to higher ground but no tidal waves were generated. Evacuations are still considered good practice for the time the real one hits as geologists continue to predict. Still worried about crying wolf too often officials look at revising their standards for calling for evacuations. Of course

weather in itself is always a major topic in an outdoor region like Alaska. And while the year ended on a mostly cold note it began one thousand eighty seven unusually mild. In fact as the year began an airplane which landed on a Lake Nerka crashed through the thin ice and sank three occupants escaped unharmed after surviving several days in the wild. The weather also prompted some harrowing moments for those aboard two other planes to bear hunters and their pilots were left unharmed after heavy seas grabbed their plane's landing gear as it was trying to take off a beach on the Alaska Peninsula. The plane was pulled into the pounding surf and destroyed. But all three escaped serious injury. Near Cape Pierce float plane flipped while taxiing for takeoff. Its three occupants were plucked off the upside down plane's floats several frigid hours later. Well it wasn't causing it's causing problems the weather uncovered some of its past mysteries. The warm August sun thawed some snow and uncovered the remains of a Grumman Goose which crashed in the mountains near and actually back during World

War 2. The remains of the four aboard have yet to be positively identified. Commercial fishing is considered one of the most dangerous professions and one thousand eighty seven prove it with a series of sinkings groundings and vessel fires that killed at least 17 people in the region. The smaller Bristol Bay boats actually escaped the year mostly unscathed. The data b went down near Caloocan during the herring fishery and later the Erika sea sank while docked at Big Creek. Well most boats weathered the season here on the high seas it was an entirely different question. Three hundred forty foot processor all asking was blown out of St. Paul Island during a violent storm. A major salvage effort was needed to offload thousands of gallons of fuel before it spilled. The same storm threw the crab or ocean Clipper onto the shore of the purple office. Jamie Lynn was rescued from the rocks of St. Paul Island but sank while the undertow killing three that long 6 0 3 went aground near early August island and had to be blown up. A rogue wave in the Aleutians crushed the pilot

house of the Pacific Star leaving one dead one died in a fire aboard the foci Oshima room number 85. One of the so-called pumpkin boats the Japanese long liner had to be scuttled by gunfire from a Coast Guard cutter. Fires damaged a crabber am a truly in the dry docked Icelander and destroyed two chignon explainers the Annihilator and the share received on another saner near falls past the queen was also lost by fire. The tender Miss Universe went down out of chignon killing three but the crew of another Kodiak bound tender the southern Viking was saved when it went down just days later. Four died when the yak two sank south of Kodiak and five went down with the Bering Sea bound northward which sank in the Gulf of Alaska. Meanwhile one boat seemingly came back from the depths in 1987. The tugboat Gordon Gill which snapped its towline was given up for lost in a storm in late 1906 reappeared four months later in near perfect condition. Safe passage was also afforded one of the most unique vessels to visit the region this past year. The Cousteau society's

LCN made stops in Dutch Harbor tow Yack in Dillingham while on a tour of coastal Alaska. The ship prompted much attention because of its unique twin turbo sails. And as every year does 1087 sadly saw the passing of several of its area residents including two of Bristol Bay's eldest elders 107 year old Martha neck of Tokyo and Elena Johnson who was at least 104 of Dillingham died within days of each other late in the year. Another Bristol Bay elder wofully Blackie Moxy died at the age of 72. A gentle and affable man gusty canoeists and died way too soon. The best mate of corporations president and CEO died in 1907 as did our corporation vice president and former Alaska Mayor Willie Holt McGarvie there were some fatal accidents during the year teabag node in snowmobile crashed through the ice of Lake. Jaco ugly a fell off his fishing boat. Sonny Olson flew into a hillside in Sandpoint Katherine

Galvin and Henry Jacobson died in a Thanksgiving Day trailer fire. Last Leach a conic was murdered in Dillingham. Jane Anderson was found dead near walk James wagon took his own life near new studio and 19 year old man frank pleasant died after drinking copier machine fluid. Several other villages were also hospitalized after seeking a high off the toxic fluid. Another young man Frank Evans was lost in a boating accident. Another skiff accident shocked the community of Bellingham in early September. Molly Olson his wife Korie such men their infant son Adrian and Maureen Wentz went on a beach combing trip to Cape Constantine and were never seen again. Their disappearance prompted one of the most intense searches the region has seen planes comb the open water search parties walked along the beaches they covered thousands of miles of land and water over and over again. Five weeks later Olson's battered skiff washed up on picnic beach west of Dillingham. But there still was no sign of the four maybe because so many were lost so quickly. Maybe because a

beachcombing trip seemed so innocent maybe because a baby was among the victims. Maybe it was because just about everybody owed money a favor for whatever reason. In Dillingham the law seemed to touch us all. And that's a look at just some of the news that made up the year one thousand eighty seven. I'll be back next week back with the news the triumphs and the tears that will make up one thousand eighty eight. Until then this is Bob King reporting from Dillingham. Good luck. Good fishing and Happy New Year.