State lawmakers pass bill to create salmon task force

WASILLA — The Alaska Legislature on Saturday passed a resolution creating a task force of state House and Senate members to look into declining salmon returns to Mat-Su streams.

The resolution calls for a 10-member panel of legislators to, among other things, “examine the conservation and allocation issues within fisheries management in Cook Inlet.”

The task force was strongly supported by the Valley’s legislative delegation and comes in the wake of a contentious Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting during which Mat-Su anglers loudly criticized both the board and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game for their fisheries allocation policies. Area lawmakers were still in session Saturday and unavailable for comment on this story at press time.

Salmon returns to the Mat-Su have declined sharply in recent years and many Valley anglers blame Cook Inlet commercial fishermen, who set their nets farther south in the inlet. Mat-Su fish must pass those commercial nets, Valley anglers argue, and not enough are getting through.

The resolution passed in the Senate earlier this week before moving to the House, where it passed by a 28-12 vote Friday. North Kenai Rep. Mike Chenault called for a reconsideration vote Saturday, with the resolution again passing by a 27-12 vote with one House member excused.

The task force will be made up of five members each from the House and Senate and will be charged with looking into all areas of the controversial fisheries. Mat-Su anglers strongly supported the resolution, which they believe is a first step toward finding new ways to get more fish into Valley streams. They argue that the Board of Fish is controlled by commercial fishing advocates who have no interest in listening to Valley-based sport anglers.

“We need a separate set of eyes is what it comes down to,” said Ken Federico, president of the Southcentral Alaska Dipnetters Association.

Kenai River Sportfishing Association Executive Director Ricky Gease said he believes the task force will look into issues that the current Board of Fish typically doesn’t address.

“There’s a lot of different things that they can look at that are broader in scope,” Gease said.

For more on this issue and more local reaction to Saturday’s decision, see Tuesday’s Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman.

Contact Matt Tunseth at 352-2265 or matt.tunseth@frontiersman.com.