It’s October, and boating’s on my mind

Ordinarily I wouldn’t be thinking about boating this time of year. My riverboat has already been winterized and placed in covered storage for the winter. Other than finding a good marine mechanic to do a tune-up and checking on the cost for some custom welding and a possible repaint job (the boat is 13 years old) sometime next spring, boating is not the first thing that comes to my mind at the moment.

But I already own the boat. If you’re in the market for your first lake boat, an upgrade to a bigger model or switching from river running to saltwater cruising and fishing, now is the time to think boating. And what better way to get some “hands on” than by attending the Northway Mall Fall Boat Show in Anchorage.

Fall is the best time to buy a boat from a buyer’s perspective. Prices are usually lower because the purchaser can’t use the boat for the next seven to possibly eight months. So the seller must offer some incentive for the buyer to invest in something that is not immediately useable.

The Fall Boat Show begins today and runs through Oct. 30. Hours are: Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.; and Sunday, noon to 6 p.m. There are supposed to be models for saltwater use, running the rivers, and for just relaxing on your favorite lake. If you are so inclined and have the time, stop in and see what’s available and what the pricing is. You may find just what you’ve wanted at a price you can afford.

While we’re talking boats, in addition to my normal river running to go salmon fishing with a rod and reel here in the Valley, I’ve also used my riverboat in years past for the personal use dipnet fishery down on the Kenai River. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve found that dipnetting out of a properly set up boat is much easier on the body than standing in chest-deep flowing water and swinging a 20-foot long dip net – especially when only one fish is netted with the sweep of the net.

There’s been an interesting twist in the fisheries world of Cook Inlet recently that could have some far reaching effects on dipnetting. I’ve heard about this pending situation for over a year because of my participation on the Board of Fisheries, so the only surprise to me was that anything actually happened. Most prognosticators felt nothing would ever come from the rumors circulating about this at the time.

According to a report forwarded to me, the United Cook Inlet Drift Association, which represents the commercial drift-net fishing fleet in Cook Inlet, has signed a consent agreement with the National Marine Fisheries Service allowing Cook Inlet Drift Association to file a petition with NMFS contesting management decisions made by the Board of Fisheries that are not in compliance with the Magnuson-Stevens Act without having to go through the state courts first in an effort to stop or overturn the particular decision made by the board.

This is not a simple issue to explain. The state controls fishing in the first three miles of water from shore. The federal government takes over from there. However, the federal government is not really interested in trying to manage salmon in Cook Inlet (for obvious reasons) and it’s my understanding that a formal agreement exists between the state and the federal government, which says the state has full jurisdiction over managing the salmon in the entire area of Cook Inlet, including all waters outside the three-mile state management zone. The commercial drift fleet does most of its fishing in these, so-called, federal waters.

The main bottom line issue, put quite simply, is whether the state must comply with the Magnuson-Stevens Act when managing salmon stocks which are partially harvested in federal waters and then move into state waters where different commercial gear groups and recreational and subsistence users then also harvest a portion of the run.

One of Cook Inlet Drift Association’s arguments in gaining the petition agreement with NMFS maintains that the Board of Fisheries is managing Cook Inlet salmon fisheries based on political pressures rather than using a science-based approach. Cook Inlet Drift Association has its position that significantly more fish can be commercially harvested on a sustained basis if the runs are managed properly, i.e., using science. That last statement cuts to the core of this situation, in my opinion.

Who is better versed to manage this fishery: the commercial group who is exploiting the fishery for every last dollar they can squeeze from it; or a board of individuals with no personal financial interest in the fishery who are being advised by the state government agency tasked with providing the best science available in managing the fishery?

I saw a lot of greed displayed by various user groups during my time on the Board of Fisheries. Some was subtle and some was “in your face” brassy. This has to be one of the more egregious examples I have seen, period. Under the guise of concern for the resource, Cook Inlet Drift Association wants to increase their allocation of Cook Inlet salmon at the expense of the other commercial gear groups and the in-river users of the resource.

Depending on how this shakes out, dipnetters could be the big losers here. I’ll be following the situation.

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