Fuel Dock: Winter hours are in effect, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Saturday; Noon to 4 PM. For after hour call outs, Vance at 735-2467. Fuel prices are: #1 $5.24, #2 $5.14, Gas $5.09, and propane is $140 for a 100# bottle with exchange or $1.45 per lb

Commercial Ice Grant: The commercial ice installation at the fish house will be completed in a matter of days and the facility will be able to start making ice. There is a small amount of work to be done on the delivery system, as of this moment we are confident that ice will be available for the 2013 season.

Business Opportunities:

• Seafood Plant. Two new Northstar Ice Machines increase viability of this site as a fish buying station or a fish processing facility. Hydro power is back on line. The City is the owner of the utility and will be in a position to make an industrial rate available to a commercial operator.
• The City owns all the buildings of the former Pelican Seafoods Co., this includes two bunkhouses, six company houses, the former crab plant, seafood processing and cold storage, fuel dock, Laundromat, general store, etc. Some or all of these properties could be sold or leased. An opportunity for a entrepreneur to start a business.
• Charter Halibut Permits. The City has four Area 2c permits for lease; $1500 each for the 2013 season. All trips must start or end in Pelican. For example; start a charter and end in Sitka or Juneau, then load up and return with a new group to Pelican. Bring your live-aboard boat to Pelican and operate for the season or look to establish a land based site. Contact number is 907-735-2460 907-735-2460 FREE in season or 907-321-1950 907-321-1950 FREE
  during the winter.

Fish Hatchery News: In March, representatives from Pelican attended the NSRAA Board Meeting in Sitka and presented Pelican’s request for a Chum Hatchery and possibly a smaller number of King Salmon. Our goal was to convince NSRAA to apply to the ADF&G for a permit and let the issue be vetted beyond that of a Management Feasibility Analysis, (MFA), by the Div. of Commercial Fisheries. The MFA is not meant to be a final decision on a permit; it is a guide for the permittee to analyze and
modify the permit if needed. The permit then is vetted and makes its way to the Commissioner’s desk for a final answer. The Board was not willing to authorize a permit application. Not all was lost, over objections by a vocal Seine member, the Pelican issue was kept alive. The Board voted in favor of a motion directing their General Manager to meet with the head of Commercial Fisheries, Scott Kelly, on an informal basis and see if there was a solution to the Division’s issues with a Pelican Hatchery. It is frustrating that while most agree that Pelican is the best location for a hatchery, it is being held up over a potential conflict with the
Seine opening for pink salmon. The Board also voted to authorize a streamside incubation project at Pelican Creek. This will be a joint funded project with DIPAC. DIPAC is furnishing 500,000 chum eggs plus transportation to the site. This
project will answer questions about the suitability of Pelican Creek and the return timing of the DIPAC
chums to a stream 100 miles closer than where they were raised. This is an important first step in
obtaining a hatchery permit; of course the results could also stop it.

What are the Benefits of a Fish Hatchery? A hatchery would minimally provide two or three skilled jobs. If a Chum Hatchery existed there would be a substantial commercial harvest of Chum occurring right in front of Pelican. There already is a new “egg room” in the cannery building, this alone would provide incentive for a private processor to open up that facility. The existing freezer system in the cold storage is too antiquated and in such a state of disrepair that it will never operate again. A new product line is needed to encourage investment that would construct a new smaller and more efficient plant. A new plant would require the old cold storage be raised; there may be enough old growth fir in the timbers that would offset or help offset the cost. A new fish processing facility would provide a buyer for local trollers for traditional salmon catches and to long line fishermen. While the employment numbers of the original Pelican Cold Storage could never be met; a new efficient plant could reasonably be expected to require twelve to fifteen jobs; about a quarter being year-round. Pelican is need of populations numbers to justify a post office, school, scheduled air service, health clinic, fire department, State ferry service, etc.

What Does Pelican Offer to a Hatchery? The attributes that brought Kalle Raatikainen here in 1938 are still present and even more. Pelican uniquely offers hydro power to any facility. Our nearby neighboring communities are operating cold storage plants on electric rates in excess of 50 cents per KWH. Depending on the electrical demand Pelican may be able to offer a rate that is a quarter of that. We have a new harbor, relatively deep water, and 80 per cent of the world’s freight is moved by water transport. We do have an organized community with a school, volunteer fire department, health clinic, fuel dock, harbor, a new water system, ferry terminal, etc. Barring significant and demonstrable threats to fish stocks, Pelican deserves this facility. Pelican has remained an organized community at a financial cost. It has “put its own skin in the game” by removing the last owner of the utility, fuel dock, and fish plant at a great financial cost. Over many years, fishermen out of Pelican have paid the 3% enhancement tax, now is the time to see some of this come back as an investment in a commercial fishery and in the town.

So Where are We at on this Issue? The Board of Directors for NSRAA voted, November 2012, to table the Pelican Hatchery for now and look at contracting with DIPAC in Juneau to provide Chum eggs for a remote release site in Excursion Inlet. NSRAA has offered to support a streamside egg incubation project at Pelican Creek, this could be a hands on science course for the Pelican School. This streamside project would provide valuable information on Pelican Creek to NSRAA, it could be used to advance a hatchery at a later time. There is also the possibility of an incubation site at Pelican releasing the fry at a remote site such as Excursion Inlet. The Incubation site would not offer any new commercial fishing or processing at Pelican. The Alaska Department of Fish & Game has presented two “Management Feasibility Analysis” papers on the Pelican site. The Hatchery Committee is working with the ADF&G studies to see if the issues raised are of such significance to preclude the project, if not such, can they be mitigated? At this time we believe the Pelican hatchery is still a viable project. We will return to the NSRAA Board Meeting in Sitka, March 6th and press the Pelican hatchery option.

Bohemia Basin Project In the summer of 2011 &12 Pelican participated in a US Forest Service recreation land improvement grant program. The communities of Haines, Hoonah, Angoon, Tenakee, and Pelican were within the grant geographic area. Approximately $2 million dollars were available for the projects, this would also pay for USFS administrative costs. Grant requests varied, they included invasive species eradication, stream quality enhancement, recreation shelter improvement, trail reconstruction, etc. Originally, Pelican requested funds to re-build the road up the Bohemia Basin and re-construct the bridges. The USFS made it very clear that the Bohemia Trail was not a “road” and motorized use was against regulation. The Pelican request was modified to not mention ATV use, to do some trail brushing, clear alder around the three sided shelter, build a firewood storage shelter, put in a new stove, and the USFS insisted on an ATV barrier at the trail head. So in the summer of 2013 this project should move forward, there will be some local hire opportunities for a small work crew. At the end of the project the City of Pelican will keep two pieces of equipment purchased through this grant. A quality brush chipper and a quality bladed brusher will be purchased with grant funds. The shelter will be cleaned, stained, and we will have an additional covered area for firewood or gear. By the end of this process the USFS was adamant about keeping ATV’s off the trail and even more so off the muskeg. The muskeg is easily damaged by ATV’s, the tracks left behind will be scars on the ground for decades.

The Stihl brusher and DR Power chipper have been delivered to Pelican and we are now waiting for USFS directions on the project. The District Ranger in Hoonah has retired since this agreement was signed off, and the replacement has not yet reviewed the project. The USFS is required to visit the site and mark the area to be brushed, submit a design and materials list for the firewood shelter, design and material list for the ATV barrier, and “pioneer bridge” design and locations.

Ferry Service News The new ferry terminal is completed. This is the 50th anniversary for the Alaska Marine Highway System and a dedication celebration is planned in Pelican on June 26th.

The summer schedule is out, Pelican will receive a sailing every other week as in past years. The major change is that the ferry will arrive on a Wednesday and overnight in Pelican, then return to Juneau on Thursday. Departures out of Juneau will be at 7 AM with a one hour stop at the Gustavus terminal, then on to Pelican, and arriving at 4 PM. Departures from Pelican are at 7AM, with a brief stop at the Gustavus terminal, and a scheduled arrival back in Juneau at 3:30 PM. If you are traveling to or from Pelican, especially with a vehicle, be sure to make a reservation. The Gustavus stop will impact the space on the car deck and for passengers.

Preparations are underway to insure that passengers traveling roundtrip on the ferry will be able to find overnight accommodations in Pelican. Check with the Fishing Charter operators on this website for special evening fishing trips or cruises up the inlet to view bear and other sights.

New Business in Pelican The former Wheel Watch, Pelican Bar & Grill, Brown Bar, or more commonly known as Marion’s is now owned by Larry Jarrett. Larry and Vicky are remodeling and updating the building. The name for the new business is the “Pelican Inn”. The Pelican Inn will offer pizza and steak dinners to the public. There will be lodging available and sport charter fishing trips on Larry’s boat, (see fishing charters on this website