The importance of Mat-Su sport fishery management and how is it paid for

Last week my assessment for 2022 Mat-Su Sport Salmon Fisheries was that we had a good August. Since the Covid 19 pandemic started (3 years ago) sport fishery management budgets throughout the State of Alaska have been greatly reduced. In the Mat-Su Valley deep cuts have been made to inseason salmon enumeration systems — primarily weirs. In the sport fishery the Jim Creek weir project has not been funded for the past 3 years, the Deshka River weir project has only been funded for a portion of the coho season each of the past 3 years, the Fish Creek weir was funded through August 14 in 2020 — but only funded through July 29 in both 2021 and 2022.

Little Susitna River weir has been the Department’s top coho salmon management priority and funded to run through the entire coho season, however, high water conditions ended annual counts on August 8 in 2022. One year ago in 2021 this weir was removed for the season on August 29, it was removed on August 31 in 2020, and 3 years ago in 2019 the removal date was September 3.

Mat-Su Valley sport fisheries benefitted from these weirs in 2022, when king salmon data gathered from Deshka River and Little Susitna River weirs allowed the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) to generate a Deshka River king salmon projection for 2022 and also evaluate potential for what might occur at Little Susitna River in 2022. The Department had enough confidence to allow catch and release king salmon fisheries at Deshka River and other Susitna River drainage tributaries and at Little Susitna River. So in 2022 the positive aspects of catch and release king salmon fishing opportunities for a portion of the season in the Susitna River drainage and Little Susitna River were partially a result of the Department having these management tools in place.

Fish Creek sockeye salmon escapement numbers allow the Fish Creek personal use dip net fishery to open each year. In 2022 there were 11 days of dip netting allowed because of management using this tool. There was an additional 10 days of sockeye salmon fishing opportunity added to the Fish Creek sport fishery as well — based on strong sockeye salmon escapement numbers. In the past, when the Fish Creek weir project ran significantly into August, coho salmon escapement numbers have provided a basis for inseason management including both liberalization and restrictions on different years to sport coho salmon fisheries at Fish Creek and further up Knik Arm.

Deshka River weir provides the best inseason assessment of coho salmon return strength in the entire Susitna River drainage — and Deshka River also has the only coho salmon escapement goal for this large drainage. Similar to king salmon return levels, ADF&G considers Deshka River to receive approximately 20% of the coho return for the entire Susitna River drainage on an annual basis. In the past ADF&G has used coho salmon escapement numbers from Deshka River weir to evaluate achievement of the escapement goal and as a general guideline for likely coho salmon return levels throughout the drainage. ADF&G has both liberalized and restricted sport coho salmon fishing opportunities in the Deshka River and Susitna River drainage based on coho salmon escapements past Deshka River weir. The past 3 years with early removal of the weir there has been no solid evaluation of whether the Deshka River coho salmon goal was achieved, and Deshka coho escapements before removal of the weir, have been low enough to question whether adequate escapements to reach the lower bound of the 10, 200 - 24, 100 goal range were attained. Maintaining this weir partially through the past 3 coho seasons clearly shows the need for better monitoring of Susitna River drainage coho returns throughout the entire coho run: to provide the benefits of inseason management including better ensuring adequate coho salmon escapements to maintain future robust coho salmon returns.

In 2022 Little Susitna River weir provided a solid measurement the king (Chinook) salmon spawning escapement goal was achieved following several weeks of catch and release king salmon fishing and 3-week early closure of the sport fishery. Over time this weir has documented a downturn in sockeye salmon returns to Little Susitna River and recent upticks in chum and pink salmon returns. The weir continues to show one of Mat-Su Valley’s most important sport coho salmon returns appears to be passing the weir later in the season, with several inseason management changes (based on weir passage) made over the past decade to maintain coho salmon escapements within or more near the escapement goal range. In the past ADF&G judged that inseason management of other Knik Arm coho salmon stocks could be made from Little Susitna River weir data, however, I can not recall this happening at any time in the past decade, and suspect later and lower coho salmon passage past Little Susitna weir is at least partially responsible.

Paying for Management

According to ADF&G’s South-central Alaska Area Sportfish Supervisor, Jason Dye, loss of nonresident sport fishing license and king salmon stamp sales caused by the Covid-19 pandemic and corresponding travel restrictions greatly reduced ADF&G’s sport fishery management budget. This budget loss has now occurred over 3 summers, and according to Dye some areas (like Bristol Bay) had budget reductions even more severe than those affecting the Mat-Su Valley sport fisheries. When I posed the question, How can the sport fishery budget be rebuilt? He identified 3 funding sources: 1. The state legislature could provide a funding supplement. Normally sport fishery management is paid for through license / stamp sales and matching federal Dingell - Johnson Fund dollars. Since the decline in management money was at least partially caused by COVID-19 travel restrictions, perhaps the state government could provide some supplemental money to help return sport fishery management to the pre-pandemic level. (Commercial fishery management often receives supplemental funding) — why is this not also available to sport fishery management? And especially following something caused by a disaster - type situation? 2. Increased fishing license / stamp sales — visitor travel levels are returning to a more normal level, although cruise travel is still down. When I asked if State license / stamp sales were high enough to achieve the entire matching money available from the Dingell-Johnson Fund? Jason Dye (new to his position) was not sure, but told me he should have a much better understanding in October. If the state is not getting the full federal 3:1 match money then supplemental funding by the legislature to at least achieve the full match could provide 4 times as much money for the sport fish budget. 3. There are some federal and other grant monies available that ADF&G may be able to utilize to help fund some of the sport fish management / infrastructure needs.

Andy Couch is a Mat-Su Valley fishing guide, Mat-Su Fish and Wildlife Commission member, and Matanuska Valley Fish and Game Advisory Committee member. All opinions expressed in this column are his own.