Copper River salmon: Upriver harvests may be late

Similar to the Mat-Su Valley, spring breakup was late in the Copper River Valley. With severe conditions, including large ice chunks floating downriver, the Copper River sonar salmon counter was deployed over a week late on May 22, 2023. Because of ice drifting downriver the sonar was only recording salmon passage along the north riverbank, and only during 31 hours of the first 5 days of operation. Information on ADF&G’s website indicates the first complete days of sonar operation may have been May 27 along the north bank and May 31 along the south bank.

ADF&G has daily and cumulative management objects for Copper River salmon passage through the Miles Lake sonar project starting May 15. In 2023 the first salmon was recorded on May 25. With icy conditions likely causing salmon to stage in saltwater or near the Copper River mouth, and with the upriver sonar project not fully operational until May 31, a daily management objective for salmon passing Miles Lake sonar was not achieved until June 2. Copper River water level, sonar salmon counts, and management objectives can be seen here: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareacopperriver.salmon_escapement

Copper River Commercial Opportunity/Upriver Opportunity

With ADF&G projections calling for both a larger sockeye return and larger king salmon return to the Copper River in 2023, the Copper River Flats commercial fishery opened on May 15 with a 12 hour period and commercial harvest not allowed in the king salmon closure area at the Copper River delta. Despite later sonar counts with no sonar passage management objective achieved during the entire month of May, the commercial fishery has been managed more aggressively than during 2022. Last year two of the regular May periods were closed because of low sonar passage, while in 2023 (with even later sonar counts) every regular period to date has been granted. King salmon harvest within the 2023 commercial fishery appears concerning.

Last year with 3 commercial periods during May the commercial king salmon preliminary harvest was 7,476 king salmon — while in 2023 with twice as many openings (6) through June 1 the preliminary commercial harvest listed on ADF&G’s website is only 6, 980 king salmon. Comparing harvests between the two years appears to possibly indicate a lower than projected 2023 king salmon return.

When I talked with ADF&G fisheries biologist Heather Scannell in Cordova on Monday June 5, she said that historically the Copper River commercial king salmon catch is 70% complete by this date. She also mentioned that fishing conditions may have somehow contributed to lower king salmon harvests, and that commercial effort was dropping off near the Copper River, as more commercial fishing opportunities open throughout Prince William Sound. With limited sonar counts the department’s strategy had been to schedule regular 12-hour periods with no fishing allowed in the king salmon closure area. See Copper River commercial harvests here: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=commercialbyareacopperriver.harvestsummary

Upriver Personal Use Fishery

By calling the Chinita Personal Use Fishery Hotline on June 4, I learned that the personal use dip net fishery (the closest upriver fishery) would be closed through June 11. I also learned that, “Sockeye and king salmon run timing is about two weeks late.” The hotline message was from May 31. The hotline message was scheduled to be updated on Wednesday June 7. Hotline: 907-822-5224. *A conversation with ADF&G management biologist Mark Somerville in Glennallen on Tuesday indicated the personal use fishery may not open until June 15.

Although the personal use fishery was scheduled to open on June 7, the Copper River Personal Use Dip Net Fishery Management Plan allows the department to adjust the fishery based on the Miles Lake sonar counts. If there are not enough salmon to allow the personal use dip net fishery to open on its scheduled starting date, then why was there enough salmon, to not only open the commercial fishery 3 weeks earlier, but also to allow it to continue with each regularly scheduled opener going into June? Note: although each Alaska resident household with a Chinitna personal use dip net permit is allowed to harvest up to one king salmon per year — that minimal opportunity was closed for a portion of last season, because of a shortage of harvestable surplus king salmon.

Upriver Subsistence Fisheries

By state law subsistence fisheries have priority above commercial, personal use, and sport fisheries. The state managed upriver subsistence fisheries opened to salmon harvest on June 1, and that obviously provides them a priority to harvest before the personal use dip net fishery. If there are so few salmon migrating upriver the personal use fishery can not open for Alaska residents a week after the upriver subsistence fishery, why does the commercial fishery continue to harvest tens of thousands or more salmon on every regular commercial period? Why is the commercial fishery provided priority harvest opportunities after the department has documented salmon shortages upriver? How can the upriver subsistence fisheries possibly have an early season harvest priority, when inadequate harvestable surplus salmon have migrated past the sonar counter?

Upriver Sport Fisheries

Since most Copper River sport salmon fishing and harvest occurs in tributary streams, the sport fishery has later run timing and last in line for harvest opportunity. When salmon shortages occur downstream those shortages are frequently compounded for the most upriver users. King salmon are an extremely important component of the Copper River drainage sport fishery. In 2022 there was a minimal opportunity for sport anglers to harvest king salmon early in the season under normal fishing regulations, then king salmon harvest was entirely closed for a portion of the season, and when sport king salmon harvest was reinstated, the annual harvest limit of 4 per year was reduced by 50% for the remainder of the season. With a larger projected 2023 king salmon return to the Copper River, but a seemingly contradictory low king harvest from a more aggressively managed commercial fishery, I wonder if severe Copper River drainage sport king salmon restrictions / closures could be on the horizon for 2023.

Mat-Su Valley residents value their opportunities to harvest Copper River salmon, and are participants in each of the user groups harvesting Copper River sockeye and king salmon. Many Alaska residents depend upon Copper River salmon for both employment and sustenance. It is therefore important that this salmon resource be managed in a conservative manner, to sustain a diversity of salmon stocks over time, and provide reasonable harvest opportunities for all user groups.

Fish On!

Andy Couch has harvested Copper River salmon from sport, personal use, and subsistence fisheries.