A very Target Rich Environment
 

I spent two hours Saturday filming the Sitka Sound Herring Sac Roe Fishing opener. A limited entry, gun firing start, where Commercial Fishing boats jocky for position, then race to their favorite spot. Ramming each other, and eventually running over each others gear. Here is a short sample on Youtube in HD: YouTube - 2009 Sitka Sound Herring Sac Roe Fishery in HD 1080p

David,


That is just insane!!!!! Is it salmon they are netting???

Insane ,Yes!
 

Dale,

They are fishing for Herring, or I should say the Herring eggs which are sold to Japan at a very high price. Millions of dollars are made in a few hours of fishing. I shot 6 hours of footage in three days. Including net repair, sample taking, Birds, Sea Lions, and other pre-fishery preparations. There were around fifty fishing boats & processors in a very small area. Collisions are numerous. At to the mix, eight fish spotter planes, sea lions, whales and hundreds of Bald Eagles. I got some great shots of Bald Eagles diving into the fishing nets and stealing herring.

The Herring will begin spawning on our local beaches this week. Alaska Natives will begin harvesting some of those eggs by placing tree limbs in the ocean for the herring to spawn on, or by using throwing nets. There is so much to film here, that it's hard to decide where to point the camera.

During the last two years, National Geographic, BBC, Discovery Channel, and a French outfit had big crews here filming. No one came this year. I got it all to myself.

The BBC broadcast their spectacular program of the mass herring spawning recently. It was one of a series called "Nature's Great Events".