Columnist supports restrictions

Finally, the additional restrictions Fish and Game is imposing on the Northern District king salmon fishing season were officially made public in a department news release this past Tuesday. Many businesses involved in the sportfishing industry here in the Valley had hoped to see the additional regulations two months ago to aid in booking and informing clients about king fishing conditions they should expect to see in 2012.

Quoting from the news release: “Sport and commercial fisheries within the Northern Cook Inlet area will be managed conservatively during the 2012 season in response to low king salmon abundance over recent years, a below-average outlook for the upcoming season and uncertainty over how quickly king salmon abundance may rebound.”

In addition to various stream or tributary closures and other restrictions to the sport fishery already contained in the sportfish regulations booklet for Southcentral Alaska, further restrictions are itemized in the news release. For the Northern Cook Inlet area, an annual bag limit of two king salmon will be enforced (except for the Eklutna Tailrace) and only unbaited, single-hook, artificial lures may be used (except for the lower Deshka River and the Eklutna Tailrace). Single-hook means only one point on the hook.

The news release continues: “The Little Susitna River will be further restricted by allowing harvest on Friday‐Monday only; catch‐and‐release fishing for king salmon will be allowed Tuesday‐Thursday. Parks Highway streams within Unit 2 of the Susitna River will be further restricted to prohibit the harvest of king salmon beginning June 12 through the remainder of the fishing season. Catch‐and‐release fishing will be allowed during the three‐day weekends (Saturday-Monday) beginning June 16 through July 2. Fishing for any species of fish will be closed Tuesday-Friday beginning June 12.”

The sportfish news release and the commercial fisheries emergency order (EO 2S-01-12), also released on Tuesday, both state that all four Northern District king salmon commercial set-net fishing periods will be reduced in fishing time from 12 hours to six hours. The EO states the six-hour period for each opening will run from 7 a.m. to 1 p.m. only.

The news release summarizes the need for these further restrictions by stating: “This management strategy is designed to provide fishing opportunity throughout the season and reduce the potential for midseason closures. Restrictions may be relaxed late in the season if escapement goals are projected to be achieved and additional harvest is available. Northern Cook Inlet king salmon stocks have been well below average since 2007. Restrictive regulations passed by the Board of Fisheries in 2011 to reduce king salmon harvest in Northern Cook Inlet were insufficient to achieve escapement goals in 2011 in 12 of 17 systems that have established goals; therefore, restrictions beyond regulations adopted by the Board of Fisheries are necessary to reduce harvest potential of sport (guided and unguided) and commercial fisheries in 2012.”

My wife and I usually fish in the Unit 2 streams. We already have about half of our artificial lures rigged with single hooks, so that’s not a big deal. Being limited to only two fish each also isn’t the end of the world for us. The killer will be having any opportunity to harvest a king salmon in Unit 2 systems closed after June 12. Honestly, there won’t be all that many fish in the Unit 2 streams by the time things close for the year.

The purpose of the additional restrictions is to reduce the harvest of kings, and that will definitely happen. I support the department’s attempts to try and assure enough escapements that king populations can begin to rebound. I’m just glad we still have some lake fishing available and the shooting range near Talkeetna handy. It’s a long time from June 12 until the silvers start to show in any numbers in Unit 2 streams.

Historically, the new fisheries regulations booklets have been available for the first time at the Great Alaska Sportsmen Show, currently running in Anchorage at the Sullivan Arena. Stop by the Fish and Game booth to get your 2012 season copy and a listing of the additional restrictions. You can ask any questions about these additional restrictions at the show or call the Palmer office at 746-6300.

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. You can leave him a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.