In 1911, the Tordenskjold, a 75-foot schooner hewed from old-growth fir, left the Ballard docks for a first season of halibut fishing off Alaska. Back then, sails supplemented the power of a feeble ...

Over the past decade, it's become more difficult for commercial halibut fishermen off Alaska's coasts to catch enough to meet their quotas, as the flat whitefish have become less abundant and smaller.

The 57-pound halibut Rudy Tsukada caught last month in the Cook Inlet was no small feat. Sure, it wasn't a barn door by Alaska halibut standards, but then Tsukada isn't your standard Alaska fisherman, ...