Salmon returns, fisheries management among hot topics in 2015

This year ends with severe weather advisories involving warmer temperatures, high wind warnings, and snow and/or rain shower predictions. I will readily admit I prefer snow to intense cold, but rain isn’t a good mix with freezing or colder temperatures! Be aware of poor road and driving conditions and be careful as we begin a new year.

Have a Happy New Year!

Please celebrate responsibly. Enjoy the colorful fireworks! If you are using fireworks, please do so legally and safely. Causing property damage or physical injury isn’t a good start to the new year!

There are several “remember what happened in 2015” articles that are appearing in the media. Most of them focus on news items, social issues, or economic events while others remember folks who passed on in the past twelve months. I thought I’d mention a few outdoor-related items from 2015 which have a direct impact on our Mat-Su valley and some personal observations.

Salmon returns to the Northern District were improved for the second consecutive year. While numbers have not yet returned to their historical averages, the increasing numbers of fish mean there’s hope our depleted runs will rebound to healthy numbers in the not-too-distant future.

While we saw improved salmon returns, the Central District commercial drift fleet saw a somewhat reduced catch and prices below the recent five year averages. They want to blame changes the Board of Fisheries made in 2014 to the drift fleet management plan which were intended to pass more Northern District fish through the Central District commercial fishery. They even wanted to blame me! During a break at the October BOF meeting, three drifters accused me of being personally responsible for their off year, lost tax revenues and extra costs in catching what fish they did. I never knew I held that much sway!

The reality is a large inventory of salmon processed in 2014 was still sitting in processors’ warehouses. Who buys a lot of something you already have a lot of and which you’re having trouble selling? Further, the 2015 salmon run followed a different movement pattern out in the inlet, making catching significant numbers a more labor intensive effort. Nobody promised life would be easy for a commercial fisherman!

The governor embarrassed himself in trying to recast Cook Inlet fisheries management in a more commercially oriented direction. Gov. Bill Walker’s pick for Commissioner of Fish and Game was passed on by the BOF because of his strong ties to the drift fleet and his “baggage” in dealing with the board and Fish and Game over the years. Next, the governor forced the chairman of the BOF out and nominated this same individual for the open board seat. About that time, information came to light that this person was claiming Montana residency to buy a hunting license while also claiming Alaska residency and receiving a permanent fund dividend.

This person was convicted in Montana on several counts of illegal activity and was fined several thousand dollars and had his hunting privileges revoked for a few years. Alaska has yet to bring charges and begin prosecution for PFD fraud. Let’s hope something is finally done in 2016, even if he and the governor are friends! After all, the state has already filed charges against some Alaskan reality show stars for PFD fraud.

The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission held a two-day invitational work session in the spring to develop a “gap analysis” plan to direct fisheries research in the Northern District to learn how to better manage our salmon stocks. This type of research planning approach had never been done for Cook Inlet fisheries, even though those fisheries have been managed for well over a century!

The final plan was nominated for an award by the Alaska Chapter of the American Planning Association and was the winner in the Environmental category! While that’s a nice “feather,” the best part will be the information learned from the eleven research projects selected for funding based on the gap analysis report criteria.

On a personal note, two of our dogs survived life-threatening events, one a stroke and the other a diabetic/Cushing’s disease situation and are both doing fairly well. Both dogs (almost 16 – stroke; over 12 - diabetic) are geriatrics like me. My wife has started her recovery from a two-year illness but has a ways to go to be back to normal. I’ve lost over 40 pounds with more to lose.

Let’s hope 2016 sees life continue to improve!

Howard Delo is a retired fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This column is the opinion of the writer and does not necessarily reflect the views of the Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman or its parent company, Wick Communications. You can leave Delo a message by emailing sports@frontiersman.com.