Go to 1:20 mark and see some gillnet combat fishing in Prince William Sound, Alaska. This is part of the fishery that I fish in. What you are seeing here is a main Bay hatchery opener. This is the area we call the "Geek Zone" as people geek out while setting their nets. You are either real lucky or real smart if you get your whole net out and sometimes being smart doesn't matter. I have seen rammings, guys jump on other boats and have fisticuffs, people run over other nets, and people run into other nets.
The situation here is this. Main Bay and other hatchery terminals is divided into zones. The inner two zones are for protecting fish and letting them build up to make sure the hatchery gets enough fish for spawning purposes and some times cost recovery....... which involves a couple seine boats catching fish for the hatchery to pay production costs. The hatcheries are also supported by a two percent tax on the gillnet fleet. That tax regularly costs me $2,000 to $3,000 a year and there are 500 boats in this fishery.
So the first zone in Main Bay is about 3/4 or a little more of Main Bay, which is about 3 miles long. This is the common property area along with a very large area outside the bay. This area gets regular openers as long as fish are stacking up in at the hatchery.
The second area is about a half mile of the bay and is called the Terminal harvest area. Once the third area has enough fish to provide the hatchery, this area opens up and helps spread the fleet out a bit more. When it first opens there are usually some battles for sets as the fish have been building up for weeks. but after the initial opening, most boats leave, as this area is at the back of where the fish come from so most get caught before they get there. But a few guys stick around hoping some fish get through or back out from the hatchery area. As it's a very deep bay, sometimes they are rewarded and some fish pop up and they make bank.
Then there is the Geek Zone or the AGZ (Alternating Gear Zone, shared alternately by the drift fishermen and the set net fishermen. This area is a little more than a quarter mile long by about 800 feet wide. The fish pile up here, waiting for the channel into the hatchery to be opened. As they wait, they ripen up until they are ready to spawn. The hatchery eventually starts their egg take and when they have harvested enough, a commercial opener is scheduled. Some times only half of the AGZ is opened. This happens when they have enough fish, but haven't spawned them all yet. They want the fleet to mop up the rest, but not take the ones they are still taking eggs from. There is a barrier seine strung across the bay that keeps the fish in. Those are the big white corks you see as the boats are waiting to set.
The number of fish draws a big portion of the fleet all hoping to get a lucky set and pad their bank account. And this is the result.
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