Maximum benefit, common use, and sustained yield of Northern Cook Inlet salmon resources

Article VIII of the Alaska Constitution speaks to Natural Resource Management including fish and water. I have specific thoughts about three specific sections: 2, 3, and 4.

Section 2. General Authority

The legislature shall provide for the utilization, development, and conservation of all natural resources belonging to the State, including land and waters, for the maximum benefit of its people.

Section 3. Common Use

Wherever occurring in their natural state, fish, wildlife, and waters are reserved to the people for common use.

Section 4. Sustained Yield

Fish, forests, wildlife, grasslands, and all other replenishable resources belonging to the State shall be utilized, developed, and maintained on the sustained yield principle, subject to preferences among beneficial uses.

Starting with Common Use as discussed in section 3, if fish are reserved for the people of the State of Alaska for common use, there should be reasonable opportunities for all Alaska residents to harvest a portion of Northern Cook Inlet salmon. Reasonable must consider how many salmon surplus to spawning needs are available for harvest and how many people would like to harvest a share of that bounty or lack of bounty. When personal use fishers are allowed to keep zero king salmon on an annual basis, sport anglers are allowed to keep up to 5 king salmon per year (but only from Ship Creek or Eklutna Tailrace / Knik River hatchery enhanced fisheries as during the 2022 season), and even priority subsistence users in two small limited areas are limited to specific annual harvest limits, I question why Northern Cook Inlet commercial set netters are allowed to harvest as many king salmon as they can catch several days during the same season. I realize current regulations adopted by the Alaska Board of Fisheries allow this scenario, but I have serious doubts about how these regulations meet the common use clause of the State of Alaska Constitution.

Concerning utilizing, developing, and conserving Northern Cook Inlet’s salmon resources in such a manner to provide maximum benefit for the state’s people (Section 2): During the past 3 seasons, with much lower sport king and coho salmon harvest opportunities and sport king and coho harvest levels greatly reduced compare to the decade of 2000 - 2009, angler participation levels and economic output from the Northern Cook Inlet sport fishery has been dramatically reduced as well. With less nonresident and resident sport license monies, the salmon escapement weir projects funded by these and federal matching funds have been reduced creating additional management uncertainty. In addition the 4 primary developed boat launches to access Mat-Su Valley salmon fisheries (Little Susitna River Public Use Facility, Deshka Landing, Susitna Landing, and Talkeetna Boat Launch) have all seen dramatically reduced participation and user fees from which the boat launches are maintained and operated. It appears to me, current regulations may be inadequate from the economic standpoint of providing maximum benefit for the people.

Sustained Yield and Benefit from Northern Cook Inlet Salmon Resources (Section 4): I believe all salmon user groups would benefit from conservative management that attempts to provide a more consistent and reasonable harvest opportunity amongst all user groups throughout the May — September time frame. Commercial, sport, personal use, and subsistence regulations should all be designed to provide a full season of reasonable harvest opportunity (reduced opportunity in times of shortage) for each user group, while still meeting salmon spawning escapement needs.

April 10, 2023 is the deadline for submitting Northern and Upper Cook Inlet fishery proposals for the 2023 / 2024 Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meeting where current regulations will be left in place or new regulations may be adopted. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff in Palmer (907) 746-6300 can be very helpful in developing and writing a person’s proposal ideas in a manner that can increase the likelihood of adoption by the Board.

Good Luck and Fish On!

Andy Couch has written and helped other people write proposal(s) that have been adopted into regulation by both the Alaska Board of Fisheries and Alaska Board of Game.