Commercial harvesters have wrapped up the Togiak herring fishery, which the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is now estimating has a projected exvessel value of $1.74 million.
The estimate is based on an advance price estimate of $100 per ton and does not include any postseason adjustment, ADF&G said.
Both the purse seine and gillnet fisheries opened on April 28.
The cumulative purse seine harvest of herring totaled 15,975 tons, or 99.3 percent of the 16,085 ton quota, with an average roe content of 11 percent, and average reported weight of 408 gram. Purse seine participation was documented at 19 vessels, up from 17 in 2016.
The gillnet harvest of 1,428 tons added up to just a small portion of the 6,883 ton quota. The gillnet harvest had a 12 percent roe content and 415 gram average weight herring. Weather was a significant factor affecting the gillnet fishery, in which 15 vessels participated, up from 3 a year ago. No harvest was reported May 5-7 due to strong winds limiting fishing.
The 2017 Togiak herring fisheries were managed for a maximum exploitation rate of 20 percent of the preseason biomass estimate.
