The Wrangell Sentinel

JUNEAU-Alaska's fishing picture to date is that runs have been gradually improving but they haven't been big.

With the opening of the pink salmon season over most fishing regions of Alaska Monday, Clarence J. Rhode this week summarized the situation in the Territorial fishery.

"We called the turn in Bristol Bay," said Alaska's director of the Fish and Wildlife Service. "We forecast a lighter run than usual and a correspondingly lighter catch. However, the run was better than this year's pack will indicate in Bristol Bay," Rhode added.

"Escapement was relatively high. Our fishery biologists attribute part of it to the fact that water in the area this season was much clearer than usual. The simple fact is that we believe that fish could see the nets and swim around them.

"Through the Ugashik weir there was an escapement of a million. The Egegik weir showed a half million, and there was a quarter million in the Naknek weir.

"Actually," Rhode qualified, "the Ugashik escapement was not enough for the watershed, but it was better than we had expected with the opening of the stream this season."

Some packers had expected a million case pack in the Bristol Bay area this season, Rhode pointed out. He said that the actual catch will run, as the Fish and Wildlife Service estimated, under 600,000 cases when computed. The Bristol Bay season closed July 25.

"But we've stuck our necks out in Southeast Alaska," he said. "We have forecast a good run, and it's starting pretty light.

"We're hoping it will pick up and prove us right."

Anan, southwest of Wrangell, closed to seiners and traps last week after only three days because of the light run was reopened Monday. Rhode said that during the week, escapement at Anan had materially increased.

Now open for pinks is almost every fishing area but a portion of the Clarence Strait district, and the south portion of Prince of Wales which will open August 5.

The red run is over in Cook Inlet, the season closes there August 5 and now Federal fishery agents expect only pink catches in the lower inlet.

In Prince William Sound the pink and chum run this year was a virtual failure as, Rhode said, the Fish and Wildlife Service expected it would be this cycle year.

The Copper River area is holding up well, according to U. S. reports, and surprisingly so for a summer run. Actually, the Copper River was a life saver to Cordova packers who got nothing from Prince William Sound. Fishermen are averaging 100 fish a day from the Copper River.

At Yakutat, the sockeye run has been the best in years with escapement up to 120,000 reds. There is no cannery this year at Yakutat and catches there are being carried in tenders to Petersburg and Hoonah.

Sockeyes, it appears to the fishery management supervisors, are going to aggregate a reasonable pack, but so far, pinks have not appeared in any number. There was an early flurry of hope for pinks at Kodiak, but they failed to come through.

Volcanic eruptions affected fishermen only one day when it was too dark for them to fish. The eruptions had no other apparent result.