This afternoon I spent some time watching the buildup and start of the herring opening. Initially boats seemed to be fairly evenly distributed from Crescent harbor down to the mouth of Jamestown Bay. The larger tenders seemed to be off to the side, presumably to allow the seiners room to put out their nets before moving in to take the fish. I counted 14 planes and one helicopter flying circles in the sky above. The people in these planes are spotters in radio contact with the seiners below. The spotter’s job is to tell the seiners were the fish are. Up until the time the actual fishing starts, there is only moderate activity and boat movement. Even without hearing the countdown, it was pretty clear when the fishery opened. Boats started moving around quickly, nets were put out, and the tenders moved in to start taking on fish. There were a few sets made right in front of Totem Park, but most of the action seemed to be taking place down towards Jamestown Bay. It did not appear to me that any of the boats near the park (where I was watching) had a significant catch, but I might be wrong about that.