BOF makes the right call

We find a lot to cheer in the decisions made by the state Board of Fisheries this week.

In a unanimous decision, the board decided to limit commercial fishing in Cook Inlet in the interest of letting more salmon pass through on their way to Mat-Su waters. A large part of what drives us to cheer that decision is we live here. We are Mat-Su boosters and interested in Mat-Su issues.

This is not just hometown boosterism. To us, fish is food. For many in Alaska, fish is life and has been for millennia.

But we think this decision also makes solid economic sense by prioritizing sport fishing over commercial-caught fish. It comes down to math. When a commercial-caught fish is processed and sold at a grocery store, any single fish isn’t worth much. The money comes when you multiple that profit by thousands and thousands of fish.

On the other hand, you can think of sport fishing as a value added sort of thing. Because each sport-caught fish is worth the fee paid to the guide, the gas burned to get up the highway or the plane ticket to get up here. There’s also the cost of a fishing license, new tackle from local shops and at the end of the day, we think mostly those fish are what’s for dinner. That’s a valuable fish indeed. And it means food for local families; both from the fish themselves and from the economic impact of the salmon harvested.

To us, prioritizing sport fishing sends the message that individual Alaskans who need those resources to fill their freezers are where these fish belong, not destined for displays at fishmongers around the world. We are proud of Alaska salmon. We don’t begrudge our international cousins our tasty fish, it’s just that we favor feeding Alaskans first.

There is another side in this debate as well. Commercial operators in Cook Inlet decry the decision as based on bad science and needlessly restrictive of that industry. Fish aren’t returning, they claim, because fish habitat in Mat-Su has been degraded. There are culverts blocking the way and pike crowding salmon out of area waters. All that’s true.

But Board of Fisheries Vice Chair Tom Kluberton offered a response to that reasoning. Kluberton is familiar to us from his time on the Mat-Su Borough Assembly where he struck us as one of the more well-reasoned and well-spoken members of that body. Clearly, he maintains those skills.

“I think it makes no sense to give up on a piece of real estate that is the size of Scotland and decide, ‘Oh it just can’t raise sockeye because it has habitat issues,’” he said. “Yes, it does. We have means, pieces and places to address those. Our No. 1 priority is conservation.”

Well said, Kluberton and well done, Board of Fisheries.

We’ll see you on the river!