I was born in 1920 in New Almeno, Kan. I grew up in Klamath Falls, Ore. In 1937, my father, Frank Schnabel, returned from Alaska, where he had sought work during the Great Depression. He told me and my brothers about an old burned-out sawmill boiler, engine and carriage that could be bought for $500 and thought that this could be an opportunity to lift ourselves out of the manual laboring class.
The statewide commercial harvest for all salmon species is projected "at best" to approach 140 million salmon, down 37 percent from last year's record haul of 221 million fish. Regardless, the fishery should ring in at a respectable $304 million at the docks, compared to $334 million last year.
Most commercial fishermen who plied Southeast Alaska waters will end the 2006 season with money in their pockets despite high fuel prices and low pink salmon runs.
Sitka voters will decide Tuesday whether to tax fish boxes used by charter boats. The measure is one of a number of tax issues on Southeast Alaska ballots this year. Sitka's measure would charge $10 per fish box, targeting sports-fishing operations. It was put on the ballot by citizen petition.
The Coast Guard says a fishing boat sank near Ketchikan early Sunday morning. Coast Guard Petty Officer Wes Shipley says the Juneau Command Center was notified that the Melville, a 52-foot wooden shrimper, grounded and sank near Moira Sound.
