(KODIAK, Alaska) – After 34 years of patrolling Alaska fisheries as one of the largest vessels in the Alaska Wildlife Trooper Fleet, the Patrol Vessel Woldstad is being decommissioned.
The P/V Woldstad is a 121-foot, 300 ton vessel. With its home Port in Kodiak, it patrolled from Kodiak Island to the Bering Sea and Bristol Bay with a four man civilian crew. The vessel was typically staffed by one or two Alaska Wildlife Troopers on each trip.
At the time it was acquired, the P/V Woldstad was the largest vessel assigned to the Marine Enforcement Section for many years until the 156-foot P/V Stimson was commissioned in 1998 to work alongside the P/V Woldstad patrolling the vast Alaskan Waters while enforcing some of the largest commercial fisheries in the world. The Woldstad typically spent about 130 days at sea throughout the year.[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]
In addition to commercial fisheries enforcement, the P/V Woldstad was utilized for vessel based firefighting, remote village access, search and rescue and an emergency base of operations for law enforcement in case of natural disasters.
The vessel was named in honor of Colonel Fred W. Woldstad who retired in 1980 as the director of the Division of Fish and Wildlife Protection, which today is known as the Division of Alaska Wildlife Troopers. Colonel Woldstad was instrumental in the creation of the Marine Enforcement Section and a strong supporter of the section’s efforts to provide enforcement services to offshore fisheries.
Colonel Woldstad passed away on October 3, 1986. DPS was proud to have carried on his memory for more than three decades through the use of the P/V Woldstad.
Source: Alaska Department of Public Safety [xyz-ihs snippet=”Adversal-468×60″]
