Statewide Board of Fisheries meeting and public participation

The Statewide Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) Meeting at the Egan Conventions Center in Anchorage, Alaska from 8:30 a.m. Tuesday March 17 - until BOF work is concluded possibly late in the day on Saturday March 21, is currently the board’s last scheduled regulatory meeting for the 2025 / 2026 board cycle. As reported last week , along with several other proposals, the Board will be considering Proposal 186 which would amend fishery regulations found in the Central District Drift Gillnet Fishery Management Plan. The need to consider this proposal earlier than the normal Upper Cook Inlet meeting arises from ADF&G’s failure to attain adequate coho salmon spawning escapement at Deshka River and Little Susitna River for the past three years.

According to 5 AAC 21.353 “(a) The purpose of this management plan is to ensure adequate escapement and a harvestable surplus of salmon into the Northern District drainages and to provide management guidelines to the department. The department shall manage the commercial drift gillnet fishery to minimize the harvest of Northern District salmon and Kenai River coho salmon in order to provide all users with a reasonable opportunity to harvest these salmon stocks over the entire run, as measured by the frequency of inriver restrictions. The department shall manage the Central District commercial drift gillnet fishery as described in this section.”

The issue is that combined with the new Federal Cook Inlet EEZ drift gillnet fishery the regulations allowed under the State plan may be too liberal to allow enough coho salmon passage into Northern Cook Inlet to meet the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sustainable escapement goals (SEGs) for coho salmon on Deshka River and Little Susitna River — even when Northern Cook Inlet commercial and sport users were restricted and then closed by inseason emergency regulation during each of past three seasons.

Board Meeting Participation While the pre-meeting opportunity to provide public comment expired after March 2, 2026 — multiple individuals have contacted me mentioning a willingness to participate in the public process, but having failed to provide public comment (PC) before the deadline. Multiple options remain for public participation, starting with the opening of the meeting at 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday March 17, 2026 individuals, public officials, groups or organizations may provide the board with record copies (RCs). Record copies are simply written input that may be provided by the public during the meeting — up until the time the BOF deliberates on a specific proposal. Even four to ten sentences documenting past fishery escapements, yield levels, usage by specific user groups, or personal information about Northern Cook Inlet coho salmon stocks may be important to specific board of fisheries members in determining what could be appropriate BOF actions to address Proposal 186 and the Central District Drift Gillnet Fishery Management Plan in sufficient manner to achieve the purpose of the plan in providing adequate escapements of Northern Cook Inlet coho stocks while also providing all user groups a reasonable harvest opportunity throughout entire fishing seasons. After the meeting starts the public should be able to submit a RC online at the Statewide Board of Fisheries Meeting Information page: https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo&date=03-17-2026&meeting=anchorage

Record copy information can also be submitted in person to the ADF&G Board Support table at the Statewide Board of Fisheries meeting. In addition, individuals, fish and game advisory committees, and other groups may sign up to provide public testimony at the meeting until 10 a.m. on Wednesday March 18, 2026. There will be opportunity to provide additional new information during what is called “Committee of the Whole.” Committee of the Whole for Proposal 186 and other group one proposals is tentatively scheduled to start at Thursday March 19 at 8:30 a.m. Record copies may continue to be submitted until the board starts deliberating on specific proposals that the record copies address. Board deliberation on group one proposals is tentatively scheduled to start at 8:30 a.m. on Friday March 20, 2026.

I appreciate the efforts of all individuals, public officials, groups and organizations in supporting this effort to provide better regulation of the Upper Cook Inlet fishery so that Northern Cook Inlet salmon and specifically coho salmon SEGs may be attained on a more consistent basis. I intend to continue reporting on this issue and the Board’s decision that should be in regulation during the 2026 fishing season.

Andy Couch is a member of the Matanuska - Susitna Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission and the Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee the thoughts and opinions expressed in this column are his own - unless noted otherwise.