Jerzy Shedlock
A crowd of Cook Inlet setnet fishermen and their families gathered Monday outside the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to protest restrictions to the setnet fishery. On Sunday, Fish and Game issued an emergency order closing Monday’s Kasilof setnet opening, the third consecutive regular fishing period to be cancelled this season. Pat Shields (middle, in gray jacket, holding papers), area management biologist for the commercial fisheries division, answered fishermen’s questions, acknowledging the early season restrictions are unprecedented. The reasons are complicated, he said, but center on king salmon conservation and sockeye salmon escapement numbers. The early run of kings was the weakest on record, and the sockeye numbers on the Kasilof River are below average. In past years, the management agency allowed setnetters to fish five to six times a week. Shields provided a dissatisfied crowd with the numbers of officials in Anchorage and Juneau.
Photo: Setnetters express concerns
Posted: July 3, 2012 - 8:16am
Jerzy Shedlock
Doug and Mary Blossom express their concerns during the protest. Doug Blossom said he believes many of the setnetters were unaware management plans could be disregarded with little to no warning. Conservation is important, he said, but he feels the east side fishery, which stretches from Ninilchik to Nikiski, is the only fishery bearing the burden for the low numbers.
Comments (2)
Add commentGreed
Historically, commercial fishermen will destroy the resource if allowed.
In Alaska, commercial fishermen get all kinds of government support which they DO NOT PAY FOR.
I'm sick of this greedy group.
Once again
Historically, once the introduction of an UNCONTROLLED number of commercial guides is allowed to enter a fishery they destroy the resource. Commercial fisherman are there to harvest the excess once the escapement goal are reached to obtain a maximum sustainable yield.
Examples, the Columbia River, the Columbia had a very sustainable sport and commercial industry,limited entry permits capping the number of commercial fisherman allowed to participate in the fishery. Commercial GUIDES come into the fishery and there numbers exploded with no limit to the amount of guides allowed on the river. As the number of Kings in the Columbia began to decline faster and faster the guides once again tried to pin it on the commercial fisherman who's numbers had been limited for 30 years prior and had,up to that point a very sustainable fishery.
Homer, there has been limited entry commercial and sport fishing for halibut in Cook Inlet and Homer for over 40 years. Once again an uncontrolled number of guides were allowed to enter into this fishery. Now look at the halibut fishing down there it is a joke! The Feds had to step in and cut the guides back in order to try to gain a little bit of control over the situation.
The Commercial entity in cook Inlet has not grown since 1974 and look at how sustainable the fishery has been. The only user group number increases have been from the commercial guides, and the dip net fishery. At the rate these numbers are growing within the next 2 years we could see 1000 certified Kenai River guides and 50,000 dip netters!!
Something needs to be done in order to relieve some of the in river pressure from the fishery before it is too late. The Kenai River is not going to be able to continue providing more and more salmon just because of the fact there are an unlimited number of in river users.