Southeast Cove remote rearing project is located off the eastern coast of Kuiu Island, approximately 7 miles west of the village of Kake, across the body of water known as Keku Strait. Southeast Cove was originally operated by Kake Non-Profit fisheries Corporation as an extension of the Gunnuk Creek Hatchery, that was also owned by the non-profit at the time. NSRAA first began releasing fry at Southeast Cove in 2013 as part of a cooperative agreement with Kake Non-Profit Fisheries to supplement their release. In 2014 NSRAA assumed operations of the Southeast Cove permit. Fry are currently incubated at Hidden Falls Hatchery and transferred to Southeast Cove for marine rearing in late winter. Fry generally reach goal size in late May to early June and are released to mature naturally in the ocean.
Since taking over the operating NSRAA had changed the layout and operation of the site substantially, gradually adding more net pens to accommodate the 4.0-gram rearing strategy utilized on roughly half the stock, re-anchoring the complex in 2019, and bringing in a modern float house and feed barge to accommodate staff living on-site during the rearing season. In addition to the 45 million chum released from the site, NSRAA has recently obtained a permit to release 400 thousand Andrew’s Creek chinook salmon from the site and began doing so in 2022.
The site has been a source of common property fishing for the local and regional Seine fleet as well as an important source of Cost Recovery for NSRAA and in 2022, Gillnet was added to the harvest rotation for the first time.
