Better management needed for Valley salmon stocks

Below I wrote up a preliminary assessment of what happened at the May 18 meeting in Wasilla concerning the Commercial Fish Division of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s plans on how it would manage all salmon stocks headed for streams in the Anchorage and Mat-Su areas this year. I would like to make it clear that these are my views and only my views. Proceedings at the meeting were recorded by the Mat-Su Borough.

The only people in the room who expressed support for ADF&G’s 2009 Commercial Management plans for salmon bound to Northern Cook Inlet streams were the Commercial Fish manager, Jeff Fox, and the state Director of Commercial Fisheries, John Hilsinger. Thank you attending representatives and Sen. Huggins and all public participants for letting ADF&G Commercial Fish Division staff know that their new plans for mismanaging northern bound Upper Cook Inlet salmon stocks are unacceptable.

The meeting went well in that it might have raised awareness of how the Commercial Fish Division plans to change management of the Upper Cook Inlet commercial fisheries with a new Yenta / Susitna sockeye salmon goal and assessment method out of regular Board of Fisheries cycle. Certainly ADF&G did not promise anything that gave much hope for meeting the long established sockeye salmon escapement goal for Yentna sockeye salmon in either 2009 or 2010. ADF&G Commercial Fish Division is dropping the long established goal and creating a new one measured in such a way as to make it difficult for the public and Board of Fisheries to compare the old and new goals. In addition, with the new goal it seems like ADF&G Commercial Fish Division is telling the public if any management challenge exists for northern bound salmon stocks, there may be absolutely too many salmon making it back to Mat-Su and Anchorage area streams — something which could later be deemed an emergency situation, likely requiring harvest of much more salmon in the commercial fishery. Say what? Is ADF&G ignoring the Board of Fisheries designation of Stock of Yield Concern for Susitna sockeye and creating their own designation of Stock of No Department Concern? Although ADF&G forecasts call for a lower than average return of sockeye salmon bound for the Yentna River in 2009, manager Jeff Fox indicated no in-season adjustments to the commercial fishery will be needed to meet the new goal, and ADF&G will only assess attainment of the goal after the season with the new weir counting method.

One good thing was that two Board of Fisheries members Carl Johnstone and Howard Delo attended the meeting and observed ADF&G Commercial Fish Division actions. In addition, Rep. Craig Johnson from Anchorage, Rep. Bill Stoltze, Eagle River/ Mat-Su, Rep. Mark Neuman, Mat-Su, and Sen. Charlie Huggins, Mat-Su all attended and expressed outrage at what ADF&G Commercial Fish Division was attempting to do. Hopefully ADF&G’s suggested plan for managing the Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishery in 2009 will be re-evaluated.

By Anchorage Daily News account, there were approximately 40 people at the meeting. Phil Cutler from Alaska Sportfishing Association attended, as did some of the members of the newly formed Mat-Su Angling Club. Jim Stubbs attended for Anchorage Fish and Game Advisory Committee (AC), Tom Payton for Mt. Yenlo AC, Tony Russ and myself for Matanuska Valley AC, and Steve Runyan for Susitna Valley AC. Some local Mat-Su fishing guides attended. Northern District set netter Kenny Rogers also attended. I saw no one in the room express any approval for the new program other than Jeff Fox, the Upper Cook Inlet Commercial Fisheries Manager, and John Hilsinger the state Director of Commercial Fisheries. Are these two individuals representing the best interests of the state? At the meeting, the Commissioner of Fish and Game’s Communications Director, Jennifer Yuhas, questioned if one or both of them were accurately representing ADF&G’s position.

The discussion on king salmon restrictions to the commercial and sport fisheries of Northern District king salmon was also a slap in the face to sport fishermen and the advisory committees representing over half of the state’s human population, when the Commercial Fisheries director and the commercial Fisheries manager both acknowledged there was a down turn in king salmon production from Northern Cook Inlet, but said rather than make any in-season adjustments to regulations the Commercial Fish Division would just follow the regulations in place in the management plan. Jeff Fox went so far as to say that if ADF&G did anything other than follow the management plan regulations or specific instruction from the Board of Fisheries to adjust the commercial fishery for escapement goal shortages, the department would be violating allocation decisions made by the Alaska Board of Fisheries. This seems in direct opposition to what ADF&G told the board at both the 2008 Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meeting and the recent 2009 statewide Board of Fisheries meeting — that ADF&G could make emergency order changes as needed to manage the Northern District Commercial king salmon fishery and Upper Cook Inlet sockeye fisheries to meet escapement goals. Which brings up an obvious question, who is ADF&G Commercial Fish Division attempting to mislead?

1. The public by saying Commercial Fish Division can not make in-season adjustments to management plan regulations for conservation purposes or, 2., the Board of Fisheries by answering direct questions with an affirmative answer that, yes, the Commercial Fish Division can make emergency orders, as needed, to obtain king salmon and sockeye salmon escapement goals. Why would the Commercial Fish Division of a governor (who pledged to provide an open and transparent administration) attempt to mislead either the public or the Alaska Board of Fisheries? Is it possible this Commercial Fish Division is intentionally misleading the public, the Board of Fisheries, and members of the Alaska State Legislature?

In this case, ADF&G Commercial Fish Division’s actions shout, while the ADF&G Commercial Division’s spin attempt is woeful, to say the least. When ADF&G Commercial Fish Division refuses to do its job, and instead, misleads the public, the Alaska Board of Fisheries, and state legislators, who has the authority to clean up the mess? Commissioner Lloyd? Governor Palin? The ball is in your court.

Andy Couch is a resident of the Mat-Su Valley.