The Alaska Board of Fisheries approved a new management plan for freshwater king salmon sport fisheries, changes to Ninilchik River regulations, expanding a personal use fishery’s season and more at last month’s lower Cook Inlet finfish meeting.
The new management plan was unanimously approved by the board. It took the actions the Alaska Department of Fish and Game have done through emergency order in recent years and turned it into regulation.
The plan set thresholds for king salmon sport fisheries on the Anchor River and Deep Creek to open based on whether preseason projections for king salmon will meet Anchor River’s sustainable escapement goals, which has not been met in recent years. While the fishery is open, anglers can only use unbaited, single-hook, artificial lures.
This means king salmon sport fisheries on the Anchor River and Deep Creek will only open if preseason projections exceed the lower end of the Anchor River’s sustainable escapement goal, which is 3,200 fish. Anglers can only keep fish if the projection is more than 4,800 fish.
If in-season projections fall under these thresholds, the department will also close the fisheries.
For the Ninilchik River – which the department takes broodstock for and stocks with hatchery king salmon – fishing for and retaining naturally produced king salmon can only occur by emergency order from the department’s commissioner. In addition to this, in-season projections must exceed the escapement goal and the number of fish needed for the hatchery’s broodstock.
Another proposal changed the bag and possession limits for hatchery-caught king salmon on the Ninilchik River and was amended by Board Member Eric Carpenter. The final proposal set a bag and possession limit of two hatchery salmon. It also prohibited keeping wild salmon. Unless the department finds it necessary to change regulations, anglers can use baited single hook or single hook, artificial lures.
Deciding whether to keep or release wild salmon from the Ninilchik sparked discussion from board members and the public.
A point repeatedly brought up was the mortality rate associated with catch and release practices. While there is no exact number on how many king salmon survive after being released, estimates from the department tend to be low.
During public testimony, people such as Ninilchik resident Teague Vanek found the mortality rate from catch and release to be too high, and that keeping wild salmon would keep them from going to waste. However, during deliberations, Carpenter pointed out the benefits of releasing wild salmon.
“My assumption is, and I hope that I'm right, is that we're still going to put more wild fish on the spawning grounds, even with that small assume[d] mortality, which will hopefully accomplish two goals: meet the escapement goals, provide more opportunity,” he said.
Board Member Märit Carlson-Van Dort was concerned with the department’s ability to enforce the regulation, and wanted to see broodstock numbers go down to reduce a future surplus of hatchery fish.
“I think you're going to see a significant influx of people down in that space, the area to try and maximize that opportunity,” she said, “and if the Department really has that kind of a surplus of fish, I think you really need to consider reducing your broodstock take and reducing that surplus and other ways that aren't going to be, you know, putting a potentially very significant impact on the neighborhood, on the community.“
The board passed the proposal four to three, with Carlson-Van Dort, Board Member Mike Wood and Board Chair John Wood voting against it.
Outside of the meeting, Wood explained his approach to voting on changing limits for king salmon in the lower Cook Inlet.
“If someone comes to me and says, ‘we want to increase the take of kings on the Kenai Peninsula.’ At this point in time my automatic reaction was, ‘I don't think so, you know, you're gonna really have to sell this one.’ And that would just be me going into the process,” he said.
For saltwater king salmon, the board unanimously approved establishing a summer guideline harvest level of 8500 in the summer, and increased the winter level to from 4,500 to 5,500.
Residents in the southern peninsula will also see a longer season for the China Poot sockeye salmon personal use fishery, which the board extended to run from June 15 to August 15.
Among proposals that failed included one that aimed to ban helicopters from taking sport anglers to lower Cook Inlet streams for trout fishing. In an interview after the meeting, Board Member Greg Svendson said it likely would have passed with some wording changes.
“One other board member said that he would probably have supported it, if they had limited it to those four streams, you know, the Anchor, the Ninilchik, Deep Creek and Stariski Creek,” he said.
The next meeting will be in Kodiak on January 9 to 12, where the Board will discuss the region’s finfish regulations.