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Only a handful of driftnet-ters have begun to fish Cook Inlet since the commercial season began on Saturday and Sunday, but setnetters near the mouth of the Kasilof River are bringing in more fish than last year.

Last year commercial setnet fishermen were taking 20,000 to 30,000 sockeye salmon a day, said Jeff Fox, commercial fisheries biologist with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. This year setnetters are bringing 40,000 to 70,000 fish in.

"It's pretty good right now," he said. "In a lot of areas of the state it's been kind of slow, we're not seeing that in the Kasilof right now."

The Kasilof River sockeye salmon run moves deeper and closer to shore than the Kenai River run, Fox said, making it difficult for driftnetters to catch. Salmon prices and numbers are dwindling while gas prices are rocketing and Fox said in a typical year, a third of the drift fleet doesn't fish. In the 1980s driftnetters paid between $225 and $250 for a permit, he said. Now, they pay $30,000 to $40,000.

"It's a business," Fox said. "If you're not going to make money, you don't want to spend capital to invest in it. It's an economic decision they make this year. If the forecast is really good more drifters will fish."

Fox expects the majority of the drift fleet to begin fishing on Friday or Saturday, he said. The season should be good overall, Fox said. The total harvest of sockeye salmon should be around 4 million, he said, with the commercial sector catching between 3 and 3.5 million.

"The setnetters are probably liking it a little better than the drifters," Fox said, adding that the driftnets are taking between 100 and 150 a boat. "(It's a) fairly normal start for drifting."

Setnetters and driftnetters have been impacted by gas prices. Driftnetter Dan Thompson, president and co-owner of Kenai River seafoods, said driftnetters have to be fairly sure they're going to catch more than 100 fish so they can pay for fuel so most fishermen are waiting until the run increases before they go to the expense of putting their boat on the water. Thompson himself has been out less than usual, he said.

"I've been out just long enough to check the equipment and then I came back in," he said. "I just didn't want to burn the fuel."

The number of driftnetters on the water will increase beginning Thursday, Thompson said. And anyone serious about fishing will be on the water Friday.

"The Fourth has always been a hallmark time where there's enough fish to go fishing," he said. "(Driftnetters) have a better chance of paying for fuel on Thursday than last Monday."

The number of driftnetters in the inlet may be sparse, but Pacific Star Seafoods, Inc. is slightly ahead of last year's production. Plant Manager David Brindle said the number of driftnetters bringing their catch in has decreased, but they're receiving more fish from setnetters at this point than they did last year.

"Based on forecasts and the Board of Fish rulings we're looking at probably some extra fishing time for the drifters and setnetters, so that should amount to more production," Brindle said. "So far the Kasilof is exceeding (Fish and Game's) expectations."

Brindle also thinks more driftnetters will be fishing on Thursday, he said. It's too soon to tell what the driftnet opening will be like, he said, but it could be large. At this point, Brindle said fuel prices are making driftnetters wait.

"They can't afford to go out when they know fishing is lame," he said. "The price of fuel will eat them up. There's no profit in it at all."

Even though he doesn't have a drift boat to fuel, setnetter Paul Shadura, executive director for the Kenai Peninsula Fisherman's Association, said high fuel prices have affected his operation as well. The two-strokes he uses to pick his setnets take a lot of fuel, he said. It's hard to tell how the fuel prices have affected him during the season, but because the price of fuel has doubled, Shadura says he figures he'll have to get twice as much fish to cover that cost.

"There's not much you could do to cut the expenses," he said.

Despite the fuel costs, Shadura says things have been going well for him so far. Even though it's slowed down, the Kasilof River appears normal, he said. And because it's early in the season, he received a good price for the fish he brought to market.

"Last time I checked it was still over a dollar a pound or thereabouts," he said. "I don't want it to go down further than that."

Jessica Cejnar can be reached at jessica.cejnar@peninsulaclarion.com.