Time to change Alaska king salmon management

The official Alaska State Fish is in serious decline not only in the Mat-Su Valley, but throughout the state.

For more than 30 years, I’ve worked directly with this resource. Most of my experience has been as a salmon fishing guide in the Mat-Su Valley, but as a college student in the early 1980s I also spent three summers working as a fisheries technician with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) collecting king salmon data from Mat-Su Valley fisheries.

While several changes have been made in king salmon regulations over that time, with some to address king salmon shortages over the years, 2012 marks the tightest emergency king salmon regulations and most widespread emergency sport king salmon fishing closures I’ve seen in my entire career working with this extremely valued state resource.

This is not just a freak, isolated year. For years, king salmon freshwater fishing regulations have been getting tighter throughout the state and in the Mat-Su Valley as ADF&G attempts to reduce both sport king salmon harvest and associated catch-and-release mortalities to a level where spawning escapement goals can be consistently met. The past couple years in Upper Cook Inlet, the relatively small Northern District king salmon commercial fishery has also seen adjustment in king salmon regulations, and this past week both the Northern District commercial set net fishery and the commercial set net fishery in the Kasilof section of the Central District were closed by ADF&G emergency order. The Northern District closures were based on inadequate king salmon escapement as measured by the Deshka River weir, while the Kasilof section closures were based both on shortages of Kenai and Kasilof king salmon and a shortage of Kasilof RIver sockeye salmon.

On Monday, all Mat-Su Valley freshwater king salmon fisheries (except for the small Eklutna Tailrace fishery targeting hatchery king salmon) were closed by emergency order for the rest of the season. In addition, according to area management biologist Sam Ivey, single-hook artificial lures restrictions will remain in effect throughout the entire Susitna River drainage through July 13. It remains to be seen how effective even these extreme measures will be in attaining adequate king salmon spawning escapement numbers.

Even before the sweeping season closure on June 25, ADF&G had announced emergency order restrictions of Mat-Su king salmon fisheries back in March, followed by an adjustment in regulations as the season neared, an emergency sport king salmon fishing closure on the Little Susitna River starting June 15 and an emergency restriction to artificial single-hook lures and closure of more than half of the area open to king salmon fishing on the Dehska River on June 20. Keeping up with so many regulation changes becomes difficult for the average sport angler, especially when none of the changes are listed in the 2012 regulation booklet. This past week when I questioned Ivey (the person who wrote the emergency orders) concerning the current fishing regulations for the Little Susitna River through July 13, even he had to refer to his last emergency order for that stream to be sure of the accuracy of his answer.

Specific regulation changes that would help the public

In late October 2011, ADF&G representatives discussed specific regulations restrictions they were considering for 2012 with the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission, yet those changes were not made public until March, with additional adjustments made right before the sport king salmon season started in May. It would be greatly beneficial to the public and sport fishing businesses if official regulation changes could be made much earlier in the year allowing better vacation and business planning.

It is my belief that a specific management plan for the Deshka River fishery that outlines what the public could expect under varying king salmon return levels, as measured by ADF&G’s preseason forecast and Deshka River escapement counts, would be helpful.

Because of the nature of the continuing king salmon decline throughout the Mat-Su Valley, I believe it would be beneficial if regulations starting the season were conservative, with the opportunity to become more lenient if justified by specific weir measured escapement counts.

For example, on the Deshka River with a preseason forecast of less than 25,000 total king salmon return, perhap, the fishing season would be restricted to artificial lures and possibly single hooks only. With measured adequate numbers of king salmon swimming past the weir, the fishery could then be opened to bait fishing, possibly by early June. Such an approach should help conserve king salmon milling near the mouth of the Dehska River but headed to tributaries further up the Susitna River, and would increase the chance of attaining adequate king salmon spawning escapements throughout the Susitna Drainage on and above the Deshka River. It would also ensure Mat-Su Valley sport king salmon fishing might be allowed longer, or for the entire season, rather than being closed early.

Specific weir count target(s) should be included in a management plan so that the public would know when the fishery was approaching an opportunity for expanded fishing or might also be facing a restriction or closure. Identifying such specific escapement number targets would make management easier for ADF&G managers who could refer the public to the specific target numbers that would trigger regulation changes. Knowledge of specific target numbers would also allow the public to more successfully participate in the public regulatory development process before the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

ADF&G spokespeople have been saying for many years that the king salmon production decline is saltwater related. Yet, the most burdensome king salmon regulation restrictions have been occurring in freshwater or in very nearby saltwater areas. It is time the state appoints a representative on the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council to publicly lobby for king salmon harvest reductions further out in the saltwater areas where ADF&G has been saying production problems are occurring.

To gain better adaptive management, public participation will be required. An emergency petition sent to the Alaska Board of Fisheries may help initiate positive changes before the 2013 fishing season.

Mat-Su Anglers Club news

The monthly meeting is scheduled for 7 to 9 p.m., July 12 at Sportsman’s Warehouse.

The club has scheduled a picnic at Finger Lake state campground spaces 27 and 28 to start at 4 p.m., July 14. Some club members plan to arrive earlier and sample the Finger Lake fishery for rainbow trout and arctic char.

A kid’s casting clinic will be conducted in conjunction with Sportsman’s Warehouse on July 28.

The club will also help with the Kid’s Salmon Fishing weekend at Fish Creek Aug. 4-5.

For more information about how you or other members of the public may participate in these activities, contact club president Steve Totten at 351-4141.

Andy Couch owns and operates Fishtale River Guides (fish4salmon.com) is a Mat-Su Anglers Club member (matsuanglers.org) and member of the Mat-Su Borough Fish and Wildlife Commission.