It’s March and you know what that means? The Sitka Sac Roe Herring season is about to begin.

The Fish

Say what? Yep that’s right, roe are eggs, and we are in the market for the eggs here folks.

Not just any eggs though. These eggs are such a delicacy that the buyers (primarily the Japanese) will fly out their own special ‘Roe Technicians’ to get a sample and make sure these little buggers are top notch quality, meaning the Roe must be ripe and ready to spawn. We are all interested to see what the effects will be from the Tsunami considering Japan is our biggest buyer. It couldn’t be more obvious how global our economies have become.

Additionally, the Sitka Sac Roe Herring fishery can make you millions, or leave you in the red. There is no better place to film a new reality show, and Sierra, Brett and TRA have been catapulted into this situation!

Come this time of year, millions of Pacific Herring will swim up from the Bering Sea to spawn in the more shallow waters of Southeast Alaska, where the fisherman are now waiting, ready to pounce. By now their bellies are filled with plump egg sacs ready for harvest. Don’t be fooled, these little eggs are quite delicious and the Japanese, they devour this stuff like candy. We think American’s should hop on the herring boat too!

Here’s a video of Sierra’s first tasty bite last season:


Operation ‘Sitka Herring’

Fishermen use boats called ‘seiners’. It is called a seiner because they use a seine (type of net) to catch fish. Every boat has a pilot and spotter in the air, flying overhead searching for fish and communicating with the skippers below. With a plane designated to one or several boats, and 50 boats total, you can imagine how dangerous it can be for all these guys in the air.

It’s high risk on every level.

In fact, Sierra’s grandfather died when he collided with another plane while spotting for herring. Her family has been involved in the fishing industry for 5 generations and it’s no surprise to learn that her grandfather pioneered the herring fishery in Togiak back in the 1970′s.

The fish are caught in very large quantities at a very fast pace. This means there are tenders (large holding boats for the fish) standing by ready to pump the fish out of the net. Often the weight of the fish in these nets can compare to a few fully loaded 747’s or several Blue whales in your net. It’s a hefty amount to say the least.

From what we hear, Sierra’s net is the biggest in Sitka, making for a very heavy load of webbing to fit on the deck and hopefully a record under our belt this season, wink wink! The record catch for herring was a 1,500 Ton catch in 2009. Fish and Game allow for only 20% of the total biomass of herring to be fished. Stay tuned for what’s in store for the 2011 season.

Laundry List

Being such a premier and highly regulated fishery, it makes for a very difficult one to break into; A, because it’s so expensive, and B, Seniority status. There are only 50 permits total and are difficult to get if you don’t currently own one. To give you an estimate on what it takes to get this operation in motion, here is a grocery list for those interested.

1. You’ll need 2 seines (net), one for shallow water, and one for deep water. Plan on spending roughly $200,000 on them.
2. You’ll need to buy a permit (license to fish) for about $700,000, or negotiate with a permit holder (people who own the permit but don’t necessarily fish) and bring him aboard in exchange for 50% of your profit made.
3. You’ll need a top quality boat. On average you’re looking at about $800,000. Don’t forget to add another $70,000 for a skiff (small boat that tows the seine).
4. Tack on a well seasoned captain, a  crew, a two-seater plane with a salty pilot and eagle-eyed spotter, a large ripe tender, a dialed in processing plant, a handful of insurance, and bingo, you’re all set to go herring fishing!

In a nutshell this fishery is very complex, competitive, and a high stake caliber operation. It’s only a matter of days now before the 50 most elite fishermen go head to head, literally, in what is considered “one of the fastest and most lucrative fish wage earners in the state”. This is why Brett will be there along with a film crew from a very popular television network to capture it on film. Our Sitka Herring trailer will used to decide if Sierra’s family houses a film crew for the entire Chignik season. More to come on that story…

It’s hit or miss, in which case any one of these 50 total permit holders can bank or go bust. For these guys it’s a gamble and that’s the thrill that keeps them on their toes!