Ken Coleman, a longtime Kenai resident and commercial fisheries activist, died in his home May 7 at age 72. Anyone involved in Cook Inlet fisheries politics in the last 40 years probably either heard of or from Coleman. He was a staple presence at Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meetings, always ready to put in a word for commercial set-netters, especially with the recent effort to create a permit buyback program.
I’ve been at this now for 10 ten years on this reduction thing, the inception and where we are today. And I don’t know if I have another rodeo in me, if this doesn’t pass here,” Coleman said in an interview last year.
Though recent years have been poor for setnetters, Coleman often talked about how he wanted the fishery to be available to his children and grandchildren. Coleman fished the beaches of Cook Inlet south of the mouth of the Kenai since the 1970s.
Gary Hollier, a longtime friend, said he and Coleman met in high school, when Coleman transferred to Kenai from Kodiak. They bought into the setnet fishery around the same time and fished close to each other. They rode the highs and lows over the years, seeing the fishery boom and then dwindle, along with the king salmon population in the Kenai River.
“It was always kind of funny that I’d buy a permit, Kenny would buy a permit. Kenny would buy a boat, I’d buy a different boat. So, both of us started in the fishery with nothing … and worked our way up,” Hollier said.
Since the late 1970s, both frequently attended meetings to advocate for policies to help keep setnetters in the water. Coleman also led the work required for federal disaster declarations in the east-side setnet fishery in Cook Inlet in 2018 and 2020, which opened up relief funding. He also applied for 2021, 2022 and 2023.
Andy Hall, a fellow setnetter who worked with Coleman on the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association, said in a statement that Coleman took on his advocacy largely at his own expense and without a lot of help.
“I don’t know if we’ll ever find a man as intelligent, committed, and selfless as Ken to lead this organization again,” Hall said. “He carried the burden for our fishermen, and I’ll miss him terribly.”
But fishing wasn’t Coleman’s entire life. He started out as a trucker. He eventually became the head of the Alaska Teamsters union, advocating for better working conditions across Alaska. After he retired, he served as the president of the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association, an industry group that represents setnetters. Hollier describe him as a “working man’s man” and always good to have around.
“I did a lot with Kenny Coleman. And I don’t ever remember getting mad at him, maybe frustrated a little bit. But everything that Kenny and I did was fun. Kenny tried to make life fun, he really did,” Hollier said.
For the last 15 winters, Coleman could be found out working on snowmachine trails in the Caribou Hills, east of Ninilchik. He spent thousands of hours grooming trails for the community.
“Kenny was one of the main people there that groomed for the last decade, too,” Hollier said. “…He loved the Caribou Hills and he put a tremendous amount of effort in there so everybody would have a better time in the Caribou Hills, and I don’t even think people knew that about Kenny. He didn’t toot his horn. He was very humble.”
Hollier said Coleman’s death was sudden and tragic that he died before getting closure on the setnet buyback bill he spent a decade advocating. The bill died in committee in the last legislative session and would have to be reintroduced. The legislation reduce the total number of fishermen in the east-side setnet fishery, with the goal of creating a more sustainable future for those remaining.
“You know, for my kids or grandkids and Kenny’s kids and Kenny’s grandkids,” Hollier said. “Our kids grew up on the beach. It’s a family affair.”
In his obituary, Coleman’s family noted that a celebration of life will be held later this summer. He leaves behind his wife, sons, grandchildren and extended family.
Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabethearl@gmail.com.