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Earlier this year, the state Department of Fish and Game's processing capacity survey found that processors were willing and able to handle the projected run of pink salmon. Gov. Frank Murkowski used that information to deny Russian processors' applications to come into state waters and buy pink salmon from Alaska fisherman.
The state had forecast a Southeast pink salmon harvest of 35 million to 55 million fish, but now says the number will be between 50 million and 70 million fish.
Now fishermen are complaining that processors have put them on catch limits.
But John Webby, plant manager at Trident Seafoods in Ketchikan, said limits have become fairly common.
"With these kind of runs we've been having, I think that limits are part of the planning. Our fishermen could outcatch anybody's ability to process the fish. We can handle the capacity of what a normal fleet can catch, so to speak, but there are other seasons when that it's impossible," Webby said.
Doug Mecum, director of the Department of Fish and Game's Commercial Fisheries Division, said limits are necessary to deal with fish runs that fluctuate throughout the season.
Mecum said limits help processors maintain high quality. He also said there are no indications so far that processors won't be able to handle the larger run.
"While they were telling (the state) that they could handle all the fish, they were telling their fishermen, this was clear back in March, what their limits would be. They knew they were going to be on limit," said Bruce Schactler, a Kodiak fisherman and president of the United Salmon Association.
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