Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion  In this July 9, 2014 file photo Devin Every, Travis Every and Damien Redder pick fish from a setnet  in Kenai, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have suspended regular fishing periods in the east side setnet fishery due to Kenai River king salmon restrictions.

Photo by Rashah McChesney/Peninsula Clarion In this July 9, 2014 file photo Devin Every, Travis Every and Damien Redder pick fish from a setnet in Kenai, Alaska. Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers have suspended regular fishing periods in the east side setnet fishery due to Kenai River king salmon restrictions.

Kenai River king salmon return triggers restrictions in commercial setnet fishery

  • By Rashah McChesney
  • Wednesday, July 1, 2015 5:20pm
  • News

On the opening day of fishing for Kenai River late run king salmon Wednesday, Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers announced restrictions for the commercial setnet fishery that operates on the east side of Cook Inlet.

For the second consecutive fishing season, restrictions in sport fishing for Kenai River king salmon have triggered automatic restrictions in the number of hours setnetters can fish.

Sport fishing managers announced a no-bait restriction in the sport fishery after they forecasted fewer than 22,500 king salmon to return to the Kenai River in 2015.

As a result, the set gillnet fishery will be limited to no more than 36 hours per week of fishing beginning July 1 with mandatory 36-hour weekly closures required to begin between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Thursdays.

Commercial area managers have removed the regular Monday and Thursday scheduled fishing periods and will provide all fishing time for set gillnets in the area via emergency order, according to a media release.

The paired restrictions are the result of regulatory changes made during the 2014 Board of Fisheries meeting on Upper Cook Inlet. However, east side setnet fishermen have seen consistent restrictions to fishing time and area since 2012 due to declining numbers of king salmon.

 

Reach Rashah McChesney at rashah.mcchesney@peninsulaclarion.com or follow her on Twitter @litmuslens

More in News

Montessori materials sit on shelves in a classroom at Soldotna Montessori Charter School on Tuesday, Sept. 20, 2022 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Education debate draws state attention to peninsula charter schools

Dunleavy would like to see a shift of authority over charter school approvals from local school districts to the state

The Nikiski Senior Center stands under sunlight in Nikiski, Alaska, on Thursday, March 14, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Support available for community caregivers

Nikiski Senior Center hosts relaunched Kenai Peninsula Family Caregiver Support Program

Flags flank the entrance to Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s office on Thursday, March 14, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Dunleavy vetoes bipartisan education bill

Senate Bill 140 passed the House by a vote of 38-2 and the Senate by a vote of 18-1 last month

The Alaska State Capitol on Friday, March 1, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
House passes bill altering wording of sex crimes against children

The bill is sponsored by Rep. Sarah Vance, R-Homer

Ben Meyer and Brandon Drzazgowski present to the Soldotna and Kenai Chambers of Commerce at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska, on Wednesday, March 13, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Watershed Forum gives update on streambank restoration

The watershed forum and other organizations are working to repair habitat and mitigate erosion

The entrance to the Kenai Police Department, as seen in Kenai, Alaska, on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai resident arrested on charges of arson

Kenai Police and Kenai Fire Department responded to a structure fire near Mountain View Elementary

Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, speaks in opposition to an executive order that would abolish the Board of Certified Direct-Entry Midwives during a joint legislative session on Tuesday, March 12, 2024 in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O'Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Legislature kills most of Dunleavy’s executive orders in rare joint session

All the proposed orders would have shuffled or eliminated the responsibilities of various state boards

Nikiski Middle/High School student Maggie Grenier testifies in favor of a base student allocation increase before the Alaska Senate Education Committee on Monday, Feb. 12, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Screenshot)
Students report mixed responses from lawmakers in education discussions

Delegates from the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District lobbied the Alaska Legislature for more state funding and other education priorities

A child waves from the back of a truck as the 32nd annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade proceeds down Fireweed Street in Soldotna, Alaska on Friday, March 17, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
St. Patrick’s Day parade set for Sunday

The annual Sweeney’s St. Patrick’s Day Parade, hosted by the Soldotna Chamber of Commerce, kicks off at 2 p.m.

Most Read