Alaska’s valuable salmon traded for hatchery pink & chum salmon?

On Saturday I attended the Alaska Board of Fisheries’ Hatchery Committee Meeting at Egan Convention Center in Anchorage. I saw and talked with several people I know, and met additional concerned Alaskans. There were several long reports on salmon hatcheries in Alaska, and reports on research involving hatchery salmon. Board members asked several scientists and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) staff pointed questions dealing with interactions between salmon released from Alaska and Asia hatcheries and wild-produced salmon in the North Pacific Ocean. Most of the answers were vague, focused on uncertainties, or at times appeared to depict Alaska’s hatchery salmon practices in the best way possible. One example was a graph displayed, and repeatedly referenced, showing a stable or somewhat increasing harvest of wild salmon from Alaska in relation to an Alaska harvest of hatchery salmon increasing over time. The implication was that wild salmon stocks were stable over time, with increasing abundances of hatchery salmon boosting the economic impact of Alaska salmon fisheries. Starkly missing from the graph, and most discussions, was the collapse of Alaska Chinook salmon stocks, along with declines in wild coho, wild chum salmon, and some wild sockeye salmon stocks. Also missing from the discussion was declining individual fish weights over time of Chinook, coho, chum, and some sockeye salmon stocks.

Trading a higher volume of the smallest-sized, least-valued, salmon (pinks) for declining productions of the larger-sized, multiple times more valuable salmon would appear a highly questionable practice, even in the context of statewide commercial salmon harvests. While there may have been a significant increase in statewide commercial salmon harvest numbers, and there may have been an economic gain - specifically within Prince William Sound, questions remain. Do the increases in harvest numbers (primarily pink salmon) compared to the losses in Chinook, coho, chum, and specific sockeye salmon stocks represent an actual loss on a statewide economic basis? Are large Alaska hatchery salmon releases causing, or even partially responsible for, the collapses in wild salmon production (especially Chinook) being experienced throughout large portions of the state?

For those that would like to see more information and perspectives from the Alaska Board of Fisheries’ Hatchery Committee meeting I am providing two links in the online version of this column. Gale Vick provided a well-researched and insightful public comment.

Other reports, public comments, and recorded information from the Hatchery meeting can be found here.

Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission

The Commission holds a public meeting dealing with borough fish, game, and habitat issues at 4 p.m. on the third Thursday from September - May. This fall / winter commission members are gathering scientific information to be presented at the Alaska Board of Fisheries’ Upper Cook Inlet regulatory meeting starting in late February. Meeting information and agenda items can be found on the borough website: https://matsugov.us/agendas?board=84

Good luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch is a Mat-Su Valley fishing guide, and Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission (FWC) member. Opinions expressed in this column are his own.