Silver salmon updates

I may have mentioned before that silver (coho) salmon are by far the most harvested salmon species taken by sport anglers in the Mat-Su Valley. For sport anglers coho salmon fishing has been rather steady this year (certainly better than 2019), but anglers have been working longer to catch limits than in previous years with average or stronger coho returns.

Little Susitna RiverLittle Susitna River is one of Mat-Su Valley’s premier silver salmon fisheries, and normally provides some of the best silver salmon harvests. Little Susitna River silver salmon are also some of the largest silver salmon in the Valley. This year has seen a low steady flow of silver salmon into Little Susitna River, however, because silver salmon escapement numbers have been low the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) issued an emergency order closing Little Susitna River to bait fishing from August 6 to September 30. This is the entire time bait fishing is normally allowed during a season on Little Susitna River.

Northern District Commercial Coho Salmon mismanagementDespite documented less than adequate silver salmon escapement numbers at Little Susitna River, and despite the continued emergency closure of bait fishing in the Little Susitna River sport fishery, and despite an emergency closure of Little Susitna River bait fishing during the 2019 season, and despite closing the Little Susitna River to all coho salmon fishing inseason during the 2019, and despite failing to attain even half of the Little Susitna River coho salmon escapement goal in 2019, the ADF&G commercial fisheries division issued announcement 28 / emergency order 2S-28-20 on Sunday August 9, 2020 which allowed the use of a full complement of set net gear in the entire Northern District set net fishery starting Monday August 10. According to harvest numbers posted on the ADF&G website on Monday August 10, 2020 the Northern District set net fishery harvested more silver (coho) salmon (7,812) than all other salmon species combined that day. In addition this was the largest daily coho salmon harvest of the entire season in the Northern District set net fishery. On Tuesday August 11, 2020 ADF&G announced reduction of the Little Susitna River coho salmon bag limit to one coho salmon daily.

While the Northern District Salmon Management Plan gives the commercial manager discretion to allow the Northern District set net fishery to fish a full complement of gear—allowing all available commercial gear — while mentioning inadequate escapement of Little Susitna River coho salmon in the same announcement is totally unacceptable and irresponsible. Both the commercial manager and the commercial division should be held fully responsible for violating the direction of the Management Plan which states: The purposes of this management plan are to minimize the harvest of coho salmon bound for the Northern District of upper Cook Inlet and to provide the department direction for management of salmon stocks. The department shall manage the chum, pink, and sockeye salmon stocks for commercial and inriver uses to provide an opportunity to harvest these salmon resources based on abundance. The department shall also manage the chum, pink, and sockeye salmon stocks to minimize the harvest of Northern District coho salmon, to provide sport and guided sport fisherman and other inriver users a reasonable opportunity to harvest these salmon resources over the entire run, as measured by the frequency of inriver restrictions, or as specified in this section and other regulations.

The Commissioner of Fish and Game’s emergency order authority is available and included in this plan to change regulations in order to meet escapement goals and plan objectives. Why was it not used? Why did the commercial manager choose maximum Northern District commercial coho harvest over providing more reasonable sport and guided sport opportunity as called for in the plan? Why did the commercial manager choose maximum Northern District commercial coho exploitation over attaining a more adequate escapement for Little Susitna River coho salmon?

When commercial managers make these types of choices they not only reduce inseason harvest opportunities for all Alaskans and visitors, who do not own commercial fishing permits, but they also reduce economic yields for ALL users in future years. This in no way benefits the State of Alaska or a majority of Alaskans. Please join me in letting your Alaska legislators and Governor Dunleavy know that such management is unacceptable, and commercial managers should be held responsible.

Deshka River coho salmonWhen I talked with ADF&G biologist Sam Ivey on Tuesday he told me that while the Deshka River coho salmon escapement was still projected to reach the lower end of the escapement goal, the projection had been dropping off with recent reductions in coho salmon daily passage past Deshka River weir. Through August 10th, 5,118 coho salmon had passed the weir. ADF&G’s Deshka River coho salmon escapement goal calls for 10,200 to 24,100 coho salmon passing the weir. Bait is allowed and the daily bag limit remains at three salmon (all of which may be coho).

Because of budget cuts Deshka River weir is scheduled to be removed on Thursday August 20, with August 19 to be the last day of weir counts and only a partial assessment of the coho salmon escapement.

Jim Creek One of my guests on a guided salmon fishing trip told me she had been catching some silver salmon at Jim Creek by getting out by 5 a.m. and fishing with bait. She mentioned the necessity of fishing early in the morning in order to catch silvers, and said she and her husband had been catching salmon at Jim Creek for the past couple weeks.

Note: there are special regulations for this fishery so check the regulation booklet before going. Jim Creek weir is not in operation this year because of budget cuts, so in season coho abundances are not available.

Fish CreekFish Creek continues to be open to salmon fishing on a daily basis in the area near Knik Goose Bay Road. Solid numbers of sockeye salmon and coho salmon continue to swim past the Fish Creek weir, however ADF&G will be removing the weir on / after August 15, so full assessment of the Fish Creek coho salmon run will not be available or occur.

While not a banner year for coho salmon, harvest opportunities for ocean-chrome fish continue to be available and I would encourage anglers to get out and enjoy them in the coming week.

Good luck and fish on!

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee. Opinions about fishery management expressed in this article are his own.