Evans particularly is encouraging workers who live in Pelican, Angoon, Kake, Hoonah and Wrangell to take advantage of the opportunity to process salmon for the summer. Good news to the community of Sitka this year is that one of the seafood companies can house up to 45 additional seafood workers over 1999. Workers who apply early have the best chance of obtaining housing. Transportation, room and board, and bonuses may apply for those who work the entire season and complete their contract. The Sitka area Chinook troll fishery begins July 1 and is expected to last for four days.
Trollers then switch to coho.
There may be a second chinook troll opening the third week of August. The Department of Fish and Game expects good wild pink salmon and Sitka area hatchery chum salmon returns this year. Three million chum are estimated to return to Deep Inlet and Silver Bay starting in early July, and an estimated 2.75 million chum are estimated to return to Hidden Falls. Seafood companies hire the largest numbers of workers no later than July 15 th to prepare for the peak season in mid-August. This means that seafood processing workers could keep very busy with good opportunities for overtime.