Author: kfskadmin

Petersburg could see a small increase in cruise ships passengers this year, with one new boat scheduled to visit and some larger boats returning. Local harbor users can also expect several days this summer with as many as four cruise ships anchored or docked in the area. Tour boats will also be tying up to Petersburg’s new drive down dock for the first time.

Commercial troll fishing for king salmon in Southeast Alaska this winter is not like it has been the last few years. The troll fleet catch and the number of boats out fishing are both well down from last year and also below the five and ten-year averages. By late January, the catch had neared 8,000 Chinook, with more than half of those landed in the waters around Sitka Sound. Eight thousand is just one quarter of what the catch was at this time last year.

Most parts of the Pacific coastline will see an increase in commercial and charter fishing catch limits for halibut this year. The International Pacific Halibut Commission Friday approved a coast-wide catch limit of thirty-one point four (31.4) million pounds of the valuable bottom fish. That’s an increase from just under 30 million pounds last year.

Many Alaska lawmakers agree there needs to be action this year on the state’s budget crisis. As a starting point for that discussion, Governor Bill Walker in December proposed a 4.2 billion dollar operating budget that included job cuts, tax increases and use of the Alaska’s Permanent Fund. Even with those measures, Alaska would still have a spending deficit in the hundreds of millions. Lawmakers representing Southeast Alaska have mixed reactions to the governor’s budget, but say they’re ready to make changes.