Statewide Board of Fisheries meeting — Day one

The Board of Fisheries (BOF) meeting started this morning at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage. The meeting started with introductions of the BOF members and Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) staff members at the meeting. BOF Chair Marit Carlson-Van Dort provided a thorough, but quick, description of how she expected to run the meeting and participants opportunities during the meeting. Next up ADF&G staff presented Stock Status and action plan options they had prepared for 3 Alaska salmon stocks that the Board had recognized with stock of concern designations earlier in this board cycle:

Yukon River King Salmon were elevated to Stock of Management Concern after 20 years designation as a Stock of Yield Concern.

Yukon River Fall Chum Salmon had been designated as a Stock of Management Concern after failure to attain escapement goals over an entire life cycle of chum returns.

Kwiniuk River King Salmon had been designated as a Stock of Management Concern for chronic failure to attain the previously reduced Sustainable Escapement Goal (SEG).

ADF&G briefly discussed management options to recover each of the three salmon stocks to escapement goal objective levels.

The BOF should choose amongst those options for each of the newly designated Stock of Concerns later in the meeting.

Traditional Knowledge Reports from public participation occurred next. These were 10 minute opportunities for individuals put forward by a group to provide some local and historical knowledge about fisheries in specific areas. These reports lasted until the meeting broke for lunch.

Public Testimony where fish and game advisory committees, group representatives, and individuals provided their support or opposition to specific proposals, to be considered by the BOF at this meeting, started immediately following the lunch break. Testimonies and questioning by BOF members continued until approximately 5:30 p.m., at which time the meeting ended for the day. The meeting was scheduled to resume with additional public testimony at 8:30 a.m. on Wednesday March 18, 2026.

Three Testimony topics that had a considerable amount of discussion were proposals to reduce trawl fishing in State of Alaska Waters (11, 163, 164, 165) — proposals to reduce or not increase hatchery egg take levels for private non profit hatchery releases of pink and chum salmon (170, 171, 172) — and the proposal asking to adjust the Central District Drift Gillnet Fishery Management Plan in Upper Cook Inlet for better conservation of Northern Cook Inlet coho salmon stocks (186).

Prior to the meeting, fish and game advisory committee comments were submitted by 32 committees from all over the state, and 510 public comments were submitted by individuals and groups. the BOF may adopt some very impactful fishing regulations at this meeting, some of which could be in use during the 2026 season.. I will attempt to keep Mat-Su anglers updated on meeting interactions and outcomes.

Thank you to those participating in this regulatory process, 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 the thoughts and opinions expressed in this column are his own - unless noted otherwise.