Court ruling reopens part of Cook Inlet to commercial salmon fishing

The United Cook Inlet Drift Association called the court’s ruling a “victory”

Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)

Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)

A key fishing ground for Cook Inlet’s drift fishers will be open for commercial salmon fishing this summer.

A district court this week vacated a ruling that closed Cook Inlet’s federal waters to commercial salmon fishing. The waters in question, called the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), run from south of Kalgin Island to about Anchor Point, and are a key fishing ground for many of Cook Inlet’s drift net fleet.

”(National Marine Fisheries Service) failed to include a reasoned explanation for its decision to exclude the recreational sector from the (Federal Management Plan) for the Cook Inlet salmon fishery,” the summary judgement says. “This by itself renders the Final Rule arbitrary and capricious under the (Administrative Procedure Act).”

ADVERTISEMENT
0 seconds of 0 secondsVolume 0%
Press shift question mark to access a list of keyboard shortcuts
00:00
00:00
00:00
 

This week’s decision comes after more than a year of pushback from commercial fishermen and peninsula municipalities in response to the closure.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) voted in 2020 to recommend the closure as a “management” plan — a move that drew swift criticism from multiple peninsula stakeholders, many of whom cited the potential economic harm and the alternative’s late addition to the council consideration process.

The United Cook Inlet Drift Association filed suit in response to the closure last year with the goal of reopening the waters before the 2022 summer fishing season. The group on Wednesday called the court’s ruling a “victory.”

“This is a substantial victory,” UCIDA said in an announcement shared to social media Wednesday. “The court has ruled, once again, that UCIDA’s position on salmon management is legitimate.”

Among other things, the UCIDA case called the decision to close EEZ waters “arbitrary, capricious, and contrary” to multiple laws, including the Magnuson-Stevens Act. UCIDA said the closure would also have “immediate and disastrous consequences” on commercial fish processors, their families and the local economy.

Multiple municipalities across the Kenai Peninsula have taken formal action to voice their opposition to the closure of EEZ to commercial salmon fishing, including the cities of Homer and Kenai as well as the Kenai Peninsula Borough. Homer and Kenai passed legislation last year asking U.S. Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo to veto the management council’s decision.

The cities of Kenai and Homer also filed amicus curiae briefs — which are frequently submitted by a person or group that is not party to a legal action but has a strong interest in the issue — in the UCIDA suit.

UCIDA’s case was consolidated with a separate suit that was also filed in anticipation of the closure.

Three local commercial fishermen represented pro bono by the Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization, also filed suit last year. PFL, which focuses on cases that deal with what they call government overreach, focused on what the firm said was the unconstitutionality of how members of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council were appointed.

Reach reporter Ashlyn O’Hara at ashlyn.ohara@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks, speaks on the House floor on Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Education funding bill unexpectedly advances again, nears House floor vote amid affordability concerns

HB 69 clears Finance Committee at first hearing as minority says discussions there are not worthwhile.

The front of the Kenai Police Department as seen on Dec. 10, 2019. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai accepts federal grant for police vests

The funds entirely cover the purchase of three ballistic vests this fiscal year.

Soldotna High School student Ethan Anding asks a question during a Kenai Peninsula Borough School District budget development meeting at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
District discusses $17M deficit at community meeting

More than 100 people gathered in the KCHS auditorium.

Alaska State Troopers logo.
Man found dead near Kasilof roadway on Tuesday

He was found off Pollard Loop Road near Reindeer Lane in the Kasilof area.

Fire Marshal Jeremy Hamilton gives a tour to students during Job Shadow Day at Kenai Fire Department in Kenai, Alaska, on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2025. (Roddy Craig/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai students try on careers for Job Shadow Day

Roughly 100 students from Kenai Central High School scattered to more than 30 businesses to get a feel for the workforce.

A 2015 Ford Explorer that was stolen from the Kenai Chamber of Commerce before crashing into a tree near Wells Fargo Bank is loaded onto a tow truck in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 18, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Car stolen, crashed in Kenai

The car was reportedly taken from the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center.

U.S. Rep. Nick Begich III, R-Alaska, talks with supporters during a campaign meet-and-greet Oct. 12, 2024, at the Southeast Alaska Real Estate office near the Nugget Mall. (Mark Sabbatini / Juneau Empire file photo)
‘This is no town hall. This is propaganda’; Begich takes heat at 1st virtual constituent forum

Congressman set to deliver his first joint address to the Alaska Legislature on Thursday.

Protesters stand with signs in support of federal employees, federal lands and the U.S. Constitution stand along the Sterling Highway in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Soldotna protesters call for Congress to oppose executive overreach

The local display was part of a “No Kings on President’s Day” effort orchestrated by the online 50501 movement.

Syverine Bentz, coastal training program coordinator for the Kachemak Bay Research Reserve, displays a board of ideas during a Local Solutions meeting focused on salmon at the Cook Inletkeeper Community Action Studio in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
In search of salmon solutions

Cook Inletkeeper hosts meeting to develop community project to help salmon.

Most Read