Alaska&rsquo;s most lucrative roe herring fishery is set to get underway any day at Sitka Sound, starting a circuit that each year swims its way all the way to Nome.  The herring are valued for their eggs, and harvesters get paid according to the amount of roe in the fish. 
The Sitka Sound harvest could approach 19,500 thousand tons for the fishery&rsquo;s 50 permit holders. Last year after price adjustments they got $690 per ton for their catches, making the fishery worth over $12 million at the docks, far more than halibut or black cod.
The Bristol Bay roe herring fishery at Togiak was worth about $4 million to seiners and setnetters in 2010, and over $2 million at Kodiak.  