Hating on Alaskans?

[Sharphooks]

I know it’s virtue signaling in the rec sector to hate on Alaskans for the way they manage their fish…the steelhead guys would have you believe that the Skeena steelhead have augured into the side of the resource cliff due specifically to Alaskan indiscriminate seining and gill-netting on mixed stock (i.e.—Canadian) fish and will conveniently leave out the negative effects of habitat destruction, reduction of river flows due to global weather changes in the winter and summer and ocean acidification / pressure on forage fish etc etc

Meanwhile, just to show that ADFG isn’t completely asleep at the wheel, down came the boom on the rec sector to show that at least they’re trying to get both chinook and coho fisheries back on track

Closures for nearly all rivers and creeks within the South Central Alaska Management Area were announced on Thursday evening. The restrictions affect the fisheries of the Kenai Peninsula as well as all drainage's of the Western Cook Inlet i.e. Susitna / Yentna /Skwentna etc.

At this same time fishing for the chinook in Cook Inlet Salt Waters is also closed.

This is effective May 1st through July 15 for most areas, and they just shut down several rivers on Kodiak Island and in the Bristol Bay drainage

You can imagine the high-end lodges and guides frothing at the mouth.

But it’s a done deal and it’s definitely a shot across the bow of everyone in the rec sector for signs of things to come

 

[Hardy Guy]

But salmon stocks are great in Alaska because they don't have fish farms. Oh yeah other factors are in play like ocean ranching and ocean survival.

Sarcasm asidev( a little). I hope all stocks can rebound with sound management. That includes Alaska, BC, Washington, Oregon and California.

 

[searun]

Its all about perspectives. I certainly understand the reputation. Try sitting in an IPHC Halibut meeting with the AK crew. Even their countrymen to the south sometimes have moments where they stare down at the table in wonder about what is being said. That said, I appreciate the AK regulators taking steps to do the right thing for conservation when necessary. BC is no stranger to closures - no one wants one, which is why taking measures to arrest the declines early is pain with a purpose.

 

[Hardy Guy]

They do take care of their own for sure.

 

[ryanonthevedder]

Look at the Yukon river salmon stocks... fuhked flatter than hammered $hit and AK just implemented measures.

They are way late to the party,

and when they come looking for sympathy I'll tell them it's in the dictionary between $hit and syphilis.

 

[Steplift]

Look at the Yukon river salmon stocks... fuhked flatter than hammered $hit and AK just implemented measures.

They are way late to the party,

and when they come looking for sympathy I'll tell them it's in the dictionary between $hit and syphilis.

Same goes for the Stikine river and it's tributaries

 

[Gong Show]

So they lowered the boom on the sporties, what about commie fleets?
SE AK commie fleets have always been an issue to all other harvesters south of them.

 

[Sharphooks]

I asked an Alaskan guy that same question. He responded that the SE AK commie salmon harvesters are the “sacred cow” in Alaska (along with miners) and will probably get a green light for business as usual. I tried to do a quick internet search for new regulatory action but couldn’t find anything notable on cut-backs, then yesterday there was a bit of news


2024 SOUTHEAST ALASKA TROLL CHINOOK SALMON HARVEST ALLOCATION

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced today that under Chinook salmon management provisions of the 2019–2028 Pacific Salmon Treaty Agreement (treaty), the annual all-gear allowable catch limit for Southeast Alaska/Yakutat (SEAK) is 207,150 treaty Chinook salmon (non-Alaska hatchery-produced Chinook salmon). This year’s all-gear catch limit includes a 2% reduction that will serve as a buffer to avoid exceeding the all-gear limit and payback provisions within the treaty. The resulting preseason troll treaty harvest allocation for 2024 is 153,000 Chinook salmon, which is 3,900 fish above the preseason limit available in 2023.
Annual catch limits for the SEAK Chinook salmon fishery are now based on measures of Chinook abundance using the abundance index output from the Pacific Salmon Commission Chinook model. Use of this model for setting the SEAK catch limit is required per decisions made by the Pacific Salmon Commission in January 2024 in accordance with Chapter 3 of the treaty.
The summer troll fishery harvest allocation is calculated by subtracting the sum of the treaty Chinook salmon harvested in winter and spring troll fisheries from the annual troll treaty allocation. The winter fishery is managed to a guideline harvest level (GHL) of 45,000 treaty Chinook salmon for the season and will close March 31 unless the GHL is reached prior to that date.
While there is no explicit guideline harvest level for Chinook salmon harvested in the spring, fisheries are managed to limit the harvest of treaty Chinook salmon; non-Alaska hatchery fish are counted towards the annual treaty harvest limit of Chinook salmon while most of the Alaska hatchery fish are not. Since spring fisheries will be in progress through June 30, preliminary harvest estimates for treaty Chinook salmon in the spring fisheries will not be determined until late June.
The summer fishery will be managed to harvest 70% of the remaining fish on the troll allocation in the first summer Chinook salmon opening in July, with the remainder available for harvest in a second opening, which typically occurs in August. If the remainder of the annual troll allocation is not harvested during that second opening, and if the department determines that the remaining troll allocation is insufficient to allow for a competitive fishery, the commissioner may, by emergency order, reopen the troll fishery to the taking of Chinook salmon during a limited harvest fishery.
An advisory announcement concerning spring troll and terminal harvest area opportunities for 2024 will be available in May


Meanwhile, I have a customer in Yakutat who mentioned the winter chinook troll fishery has been “lights-out”—-this guy is quite the character:
Non-stop monologue while he’s harvesting groceries:

In this one he shares the gear he’s using for all that filthy lucre:

 

[onefish]

Hating on Alaskans is irrelevant, they do what they do and will continue to do so. Top of the food chain and could give two figs about anything to the south of them. So they have finally taken some steps to conserve "their" fish, who cares.

 

[eroyd]

I'm ok with catching Washington and Oregon State hatchery fish here on the South Coast. I don't their sports fishers are allowed to fish for them when we do.

 

[Gong Show]

I'm ok with catching Washington and Oregon State hatchery fish here on the South Coast. I don't their sports fishers are allowed to fish for them when we do.

We are not talking about AK recreational/sporties, we are talking SE AK commercial salmon fishermen.

 

[Gong Show]

Hating on Alaskans is irrelevant, they do what they do and will continue to do so. Top of the food chain and could give two figs about anything to the south of them. So they have finally taken some steps to conserve "their" fish, who cares.

I like to think that last year was good in part because the SE AK commie shutdown.
But I have hated them for so long that my bias is clearly showing.
They used to claim that since CDN and lower 48 fish were eating food in SE AK, that they could catch a portion of them to reimburse Alaska for this 'pasturage'. Clearly a BS argument, but nobody could do anything about it.