Rashah McChesney
Dave Goggia, president of the Kenai River Professional Guide Association addresses a crowd of nearly 50 during a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. The rally was slated to begin at 7 a.m., the same time commercial setnet fishing on the Kenai River portion of the East Side Setnet fishery was to open, however that fishery was closed by emergency order released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Several setnetters attended the rally, which was populated mainly by professional guides and recreational sport fishermen. Representatives of commercial setnet fishermen and sport fishermen along with one speaker who came to Alaska with his sons to catch kings on the Kenai River and is now unable to do so due to catch and release restrictions on the river addressed the crowd.
Photo: Fishermen rally for king salmon at ADF&G
Monday morning rally includes sport and commercial fishermen
Posted: July 9, 2012 - 1:51pm | Updated: July 9, 2012 - 2:29pm
Back | Next ![Greg Brush, of Soldotna, addresses a crowd of nearly 50 people attending a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. The rally was slated to begin at 7 a.m., the same time setnet fishing on the Kenai River portion of the East Side Setnet fishery was scheduled to open, however that fishery was closed by emergency order released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Several setnetters attended the rally which was populated mainly by professional guides and recreational sport fishermen. Brush asked if in-river users, whom he said make up a relatively small percentage of the total king harvest, should bear what he considered the brunt of ADF&G restrictions. Rashah McChesney](http://ken-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/RM_Fish and Game Protests_1_0.jpg "Greg Brush, of Soldotna, addresses a crowd of nearly 50 people attending a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. The rally was slated to begin at 7 a.m., the same time setnet fishing on the Kenai River portion of the East Side Setnet fishery was scheduled to open, however that fishery was closed by emergency order released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Several setnetters attended the rally which was populated mainly by professional guides and recreational sport fishermen. Brush asked if in-river users, whom he said make up a relatively small percentage of the total king harvest, should bear what he considered the brunt of ADF&G restrictions. Rashah McChesney")
Rashah McChesney
Greg Brush, of Soldotna, addresses a crowd of nearly 50 people attending a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. The rally was slated to begin at 7 a.m., the same time setnet fishing on the Kenai River portion of the East Side Setnet fishery was scheduled to open, however that fishery was closed by emergency order released by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game at 3 p.m. on Sunday. Several setnetters attended the rally which was populated mainly by professional guides and recreational sport fishermen. Brush asked if in-river users, whom he said make up a relatively small percentage of the total king harvest, should bear what he considered the brunt of ADF&G restrictions.
![Gary Hollier, setnetter, addresses a crowd of nearly 50
during a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. Of all the people who spoke, Hollier's comments were the least well received. He suggested the possibility of artificially augmenting the fish stock in the Kenai River and tried to suggest other options but was repeatedly interrupted by people in the crowd shouting expletives or disagreeing with his statements on commercial setnet fishing. Rashah McChesney](http://ken-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/RM_Fish and Game Protests_SecondaryB&W.jpg "Gary Hollier, setnetter, addresses a crowd of nearly 50
during a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. Of all the people who spoke, Hollier's comments were the least well received. He suggested the possibility of artificially augmenting the fish stock in the Kenai River and tried to suggest other options but was repeatedly interrupted by people in the crowd shouting expletives or disagreeing with his statements on commercial setnet fishing. Rashah McChesney")
![Travis Every, setnetter, talks to a group of sport fishermen after a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. While the group's conversation was heated it didn't end in an argument, rather Every invited several of them out to view his setnet set-up to see how he avoided catching king salmon and targeted sockeye salmon. Rashah McChesney](http://ken-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/RM_Fish and Game Protests_Third.jpg "Travis Every, setnetter, talks to a group of sport fishermen after a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. While the group's conversation was heated it didn't end in an argument, rather Every invited several of them out to view his setnet set-up to see how he avoided catching king salmon and targeted sockeye salmon. Rashah McChesney")
![David Burk, of Arlington, Texas, addresses a crowd of nearly 50 people attending a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. Burk said he came up to fish the Kenai River for kings and upon finding out that the fish were at historically low levels thought people should be more passionate about conserving them. Rashah McChesney](http://ken-cdn.com/sites/default/files/imagecache/superphoto/RM_Fish and Game Protests_Vertical.jpg "David Burk, of Arlington, Texas, addresses a crowd of nearly 50 people attending a "king salmon conservation rally" Monday July 9, 2012 at the Alaska Department of Fish and Game office in Soldotna. Burk said he came up to fish the Kenai River for kings and upon finding out that the fish were at historically low levels thought people should be more passionate about conserving them. Rashah McChesney")
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Comments (2)
Add commentLOL
Thank you, area fishing guides (residents and non), for again standing up for this precious resource. You guys are doing some incredible work for the river and deserve a big "thank you" for looking out for the rest of us who are powerless to make a difference on this issue.
Without your tireless efforts to improve habitat, imagine what the river would look like today. It's hard to fathom how our big kings would ever survive without the guide community's passionate stewardship of the resource. Without 400 boats sitting on the river for 12 hours a day, it's difficult to imagine how the kings would fare. After all, how can we determine if the fish are healthy enough to get upstream to spawn without first hooking them, playing them for 45 minutes, bringing them to the boat and then taking their picture?
For years, Brush, Gease and the rest of their ilk have continued to spout the same old C-N-R propaganda bull that continues to this day. Out of one corner of their mouth, they'll tell you the guides are only interested in preserving the big kings. Then they'll go on a fishing report and brag about catching 14-16 fish in a day, all the while claiming that because the fish were released back into the wild, there was no impact on the resource.
This fishery is no longer sustainable, nor is it enjoyable for anyone who doesn't have a thousand bucks to pay a guide.
Blame Fish and Game all you want, guides. Everyone knows who the real power brokers are on the river (guides and their political pals), and anyone with half a brain can figure out why places like the Kenai, Susitna, etc. are getting fished out.
It was illuminating to read how the setnetters got shouted down at this meeting, despite offering real solutions rather than rhetoric. Guides are used to controlling the conversation and using their considerable political voice to silence their critics, so this is not a surprise. Anyone who's been to a BOF meeting knows how they like to manipulate the dialogue.
Glad a few local setnetters came out to get their point across. Judging by who showed up to represent the commercial side, I think things would have turned out ugly for the pink-fingered crowd...
Re kenaikid
Thank You