Fishery agenda change requests

Although fishery regulation proposals for Upper Cook Inlet are normally only considered by the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) once every three years at a regular Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meeting, there is a process for an agenda change request (ACR). After a timely ACR has been submitted the BOF must determine if it meets one or more of the 3 criteria to be considered outside of the regular meeting cycle: (1) for a fishery conservation purpose or reason (2) to correct an error in regulation (3) to correct an effect on a fishery that was unforeseen when a regulation was adopted.

At its October 28 and 29 work session at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage, the BOF will be considering whether any or all of the timely submitted three Upper Cook Inlet ACRs, five Prince William Sound/Copper River ACRs, and one Kodiak ACR meet one or more of the 3 criteria. If the BOF determines that one or more criteria are met, then the appropriate ACR(s) may be scheduled to be considered at one of this cycles regular BOF meetings.

Northern Cook Inlet coho salmon management

I have personally submitted two ACRs providing the BOF opportunities to adjust commercial and sport fishing regulations in order to manage Northern Cook Inlet (including Deshka River and Little Susitna River) coho (silver) salmon on a more conservative basis in order to meet the department’s two primary Upper Cook Inlet coho salmon spawning escapement goals more consistently, and to more evenly spread the harvest of coho salmon in Northern Cook Inlet throughout the entire run.

As regular readers of this column may recall Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) weir counts from Deshka River and Little Susitna River indicate that coho salmon sustainable spawning escapement goals (SEGs) from each of these two Northern Cook Inlet Management Area indicator stocks may have not been met for each of the past three seasons (2023, 2024, and 2025). During 2024 and 2025 measured coho escapements appear to be less than half of the minimum escapements required to meet ADF&G’s Little Susitna River Coho SEG range and the Deshka River Coho SEG range. One more year of similar management of Little Susitna River and Deshka River coho salmon stocks and the SEG ranges for each stock may fall into the category of chronically failing to meet established escapement goal ranges for a whole coho salmon life cycle ( 4 years), which should require that both stocks then be listed as Stocks off Management Concern as mentioned in 5 AAC 39.222 Policy for the Management of Sustainable Salmon Fisheries. Therefore, changes to more conservatively manage Little Susitna River and Deshka River coho salmon stocks may meet the first criteria — for a fishery conservation purpose or reason.

Copper River king salmon management

I’ve also submitted two additional ACRs concerning Copper River commercial Chinook (king) Salmon management — for a fishery conservation purpose or reason — but also to correct an error in regulation (process concerning lowered temporal escapement objectives). BOF conservation actions at last winter’s Prince William Sound / Upper Copper River meeting appear to have been managed so inappropriately by ADF&G during 2025 as to possibly require regulation / management plan change(s). There were two additional ACRs submitted on this same subject.

Individuals, public officials, businesses, organizations, groups, and tribes are welcome to view, consider, and provide public comment on how or why any or all of the nine timely submitted ACRs may meet or not meet any of the three criteria. The ACRs are posted on ADF&G’s website.

Public comments concerning ACRs meeting or not meeting one or more of the criteria for the BOF to schedule specific ACRs for consideration during this fall/winter cycle can also be submitted on ADF&G’s website.

Note: ACR number should be used in place of proposal number — and the comment deadline is October 13, 2025.

Do Your Part For Better Coho and King Salmon Management,

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee, however comments expressed in this column are his own unless noted otherwise.