COMMERCIAL FISHING: Think Alaska Salmon
In our July print edition, which you can read in the archives of the digital version on line, we investigated the state of commercial fishing in the northern Puget Sound regions and discovered some surprising results. Contrary to some public perceptions, the industry is not dead by a long shot. Several sources, such as some Washington state wildlife authorities and Nooksack Salmon Enhancement Association (NSEA), said that the general public has many erroneous ideas about a perceived decline in fishing for income hereabouts.

Commercial fishing is, indeed, thriving. Surges in salmon runs the last few years, including record predictions this season, in boat-building, and in other areas of the industry have stimulated the energy and optimism of fishers who make a living at it.

However, instead of fishing boats crowding the Puget Sound waters, you mostly now see their sterns as they head north in early summer and their bows returning in November winter. While still providing a significantly healthy impact on northwest Washington local economies, a large portion of the commercial fisheries has shifted to Alaska's waters so rich in wild salmon, halibut, and other marketable fish. One source of commercial fishery supplies estimated that 85 percent of local commercial accounts are Alaska-based, an upside-down picture of when Whatcom County and Skagit County were viewed as a major salmon fishing corridor flourishing with renowned boat-building, canneries, and plethora of fisheries.

As part of a new initiative by our Northwest Business Monthly staff and contributors, we bring you some Web exclusive material supplementing the magazine's print edition articles. As a starter for additional information about the commercial fishing story, "Is the Fishing Industry Dead," here are some good sources:

• An excellent reference for tracking the activity day to day throughout the fishing seasons is Pacific Fishing magazine. For example, its blog, Deckboss, reports that in what it refers to as "the middle innings" of the season the total catch of all salmon species was 53 million, and that the price of sockeye ($1 a pound, plus 15 cents for chilled fish) was the highest in several years.
  
  
• The State of Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife provides on-line sources in wide-ranging detail, such as Puget Sound salmon fishing regulations and other publications, like this rules pamphlet for sport fishing.
  
  
• For a close, detailed look at specific regions and forecasts for fishing throughout the Puget Sound, the state also provided a thorough reporton all species of salmon for 2011.