The light blue areas in the
chart above denotes the continental shelf with depths
between zero and 1000 feet. This is all halibut habitat.
Notice the vast area northwest of Chicagof Island? This
area is unfished by the charter fleet because it's largely
inaccessible. However there is a slow but steady migration
of halibut (and king salmon) southeast towards the
inner-coastal waters of Southeast Alaska and northern
British Columbia. We are first in line for halibut AND King
salmon...much to the chagrin of those further down the
line! (See Pacific Salmon Treaty and International
Pacific Halibut Commission).
Look at the above chart. Note that Pelican, Sitka and Craig are close to the ocean (where most of the fish are); Ketchikan, Wrangle, Petersburg, Juneau and Hains are farthest from the ocean (90 to 130 miles as the fish swims) and the towns are farthest from the fish. Angoon, Tenakee, Hoonah and Gustavus are about 40-80 miles from the ocean. Halibut and salmon are replenished from the ocean, but not at a rate high enough to make up for the fish taken out of local waters. This leads to "local depletion".
King salmon and halibut migrate from the northwest to the southeast so that leaves the area around Pelican first in line to catch these fish! No one is sport fishing between Pelican and Yakutat!
This chart gives you an idea of
the size of Pelican. The Highliner Lodge is located just
under the "e" in "Pelican" at the top of the ramp leading
to the boat harbor. Between 1982 and 2001, the number of
charterfishing boats in southeast Alaska increased from 139
to 1,343! (ADF&G 2000)
Tourism, including a growing sport fishing charter
industry, is vital to the economy of Sitka and other
communities. The number of registered charter vessels based
in Sitka nearly doubled between 1991 and 1992, and, between
1992 and 1998, doubled again to 240 vessels. In 1998,
harvests by anglers aboard charter vessels comprised 65%,
85% and 88% of all king, coho, and halibut harvested in the
Sitka marine sport fishery (ADF&G)
There are less than a dozen boats registered to charter
fish in Pelican, but only 3-4 boats actually go out each
day. By comparison Sitka has 285 registered charter boats!
Please
note the halibut and salmon (upper left hand corner) that I
have drawn on My Google Map. Click on the icons: the
halibut, salmon, boundary lines, etc. for further
information.
Other Charts
Yakobi Island
Cross Sound to Icy
Strait