Proposal only benefits United Cook Inlet Drift Association

To the editor:

I have lived and worked in Alaska for 35 years. In the first 25 years of residence, I was involved in the timber industry, which is a renewable resource like the fishing industry. I am a former member of the Alaska Forest Association, Women In Timber and the Resource Development Council. The main theme to all of these organizations was to take responsibility in renewing the natural resources we were using.

I was a partner in a corporation that selectively logged beetle-killed spruce for wood chip export. We felt a responsibility to replant seedlings in many of our harvested areas even though the areas had been selectively harvested. To protect the fish habitat, we abided by strict regulations, with permitting and buffer zones when we harvested near waterways or had to cross the streams. Once again, we took responsibility to be good stewards for the forest and the waters.

The United Cook Inlet Drift Association has a proposal for the upcoming Board of Fisheries meeting (Proposal No. 310 – 5 AAC 60.122) that calls for elimination of sport fishing and retention of king and Coho salmon in the Little Su River on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and Mondays.

This is absolutely absurd. The impact of the low return does not begin at the end of the run where the fish attempt to spawn, but rather at sea or in the Cook Inlet where they are captured before they even have a chance to return to spawn.

As suggested, this proposal to close fishing on the weekends, Mondays and Fridays, along with possession of one king per year, has no merit and is a ridiculous idea. I, as many who work and live in Alaska, do not have the luxury of taking time off during the workweek to take my family fishing. We also depend on our catch to supply our households with food, and we have that right as Alaskans. Additionally, this proposal will greatly impact our tourism industry.

The United Cook Inlet Drift Association fails to acknowledge that the low salmon return in Mat-Su rivers is a result of over-harvest in the Cook Inlet. Pointing the finger or attempting to make the residents and tourists their scapegoats is not an acceptable solution to their problem.

This proposal only benefits the United Cook Inlet Drift Association and their bank accounts.

Joan C. Nininger

Wasilla