An Outdoor View: Long Live the King

On Aug. 8, I attended the Wild and Scenic Film Festival in Kenai. One of the films really raised my hackles.

“Long Live the King,” a Fly Out Media video, is sponsored by makers of high-end gear and apparel, among them Orvis, Patagonia, and Smith Optics. The “stars” are mainly lodge owners and fishing guides, bemoaning the fact that Alaska’s king salmon runs have been declining for several years. Half of the film is something-has-to-be-done whining that has little or nothing to do with the likely cause of the poor runs, which is some unknown change in the ocean. The other half is anglers catching king salmon with fly-fishing gear and releasing them with a backdrop of Alaskan wilderness.

I’ve caught king salmon on fly tackle and light tackle in the past, so I’m not without some knowledge and experience on the subject. What galls me about this film is that it encourages fishing for kings while Alaska’s king runs are at a historical low. Worse, it encourages catch-and-release fishing for them with fly-fishing tackle.

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

Studies have found that blood lactic acid levels increase in fish due to the stress of being captured, and that these levels increase for up to four hours after the event. If critical levels are reached, the fish die. In other words, that salmon you catch and release “unharmed” can die of lactic acid poisoning hours after you hooked it.

It has been known for decades that quickly bringing in a hooked fish minimizes the build-up of lactic acid. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s brochure, “How To Be An Ethical Angler,” urges anglers to “Use strong fishing line to bring fish in quickly.” That may be true, but strong fishing line doesn’t bring a fish in very quickly if one end is attached to a 9-weight fly rod and the other end to a 30-pound salmon.

The International Federation of Fly Fishers’ “Tips for Catch & Release” brochure advises anglers to “Use tackle and line strong enough to bring fish in quickly.” This tip presents Federation members with a quandary. With the occasional exception, large salmon can’t be brought in very quickly with fly fishing or other light tackle.

To me, knowingly using tackle that increases the stress during the capture, thereby risking the fish’s life, seems more than a little unethical.

Even more than the risk of killing the occasional king salmon by “playing” it too long, it irks me that these guides and lodge owners waving the conservation banner are encouraging anglers to come to Alaska and have fun with fish that are right on the edge of sustainability as a species. They aren’t doing it for the fish, but to keep people fishing. If people don’t fish, they don’t buy gear, go on guided trips or stay at lodges. Profit, not conservation, was the reason for making “Long Live the King.”

When salmon aren’t abundant, when they’re having trouble just sustaining, no ethical angler can possibly justify making their survival even more difficult. And no business or organization, no matter how conservation-oriented it claims to be, can justify heaping even more pressure on salmon by attracting even more anglers to “conserve” them by fishing for them.

It wouldn’t bother me as much if these people with money in the fishing game weren’t so hypocritical. I wish they’d just come right out and say, “To conserve these salmon that are having trouble surviving, we’re going to have some fun with ‘em, put ‘em through yet another life-or-death struggle before they spawn. Hell, we’ll even mess with ‘em right while they’re spawning. By using fly rods and barbless hooks, we’ll make it more sporting, give ‘em more of a chance to get away. Sure, it’ll take a little longer to bring ‘em in to where we can get a good trophy video, and the injury and stress of the fight kills a few, but it’s less than 10 percent. What the hell, you have to break a few eggs to make an omelet. We can’t just quit fishing.”

If this were children throwing stones at spawning salmon in a creek, I wouldn’t approve of it, but at least I could understand the urge, the ignorance and the lack of a sense of responsibility. But these people are mature, intelligent adults.

Or are they?

Les Palmer can be reached at les.palmer@rocketmail.com.

More in Life

A clipping from a Homer Death Cafe poster.
Homer group tackles death and dying through open conversations

The local group mirrors a growing worldwide trend of “Death Cafes.”

Peonies bloom on Friday, July 4, 2024, in the garden beside Cosmic Kitchen on Pioneer Avenue in Homer, Alaska. Photo by Christina Whiting
Homer chamber hosts 6th annual Peony Celebration

The weeks-long festival features art exhibits, events, flower sales, guided farm tours and more.

These fudgy brownies are a classic, decadent treat. (Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion)
Dessert for a thoughtful reader

These classic fudgy brownies are dense and decadent.

Volunteers scoop up ducks at the finish line during the annual Anchor River Duck Races on Saturday, July 5, in Anchor Point.
Locals win at 4th annual Anchor River duck races

The event is part of the Anchor Point VFW’s Fourth of July celebrations.

Photo courtesy of the Melchior Family Collection
Between 1879 and 1892, Stephan Melchior (far left, middle row) performed his mandatory Prussian military service. He was a member of the Eighth Rhineland Infantry Regiment No. 70 in Trier, Germany.
Steve Melchior: Treasured peninsula pioneer with a sketchy past — Part 1

Did anyone in Alaska know the real Steve Melchior? That is difficult to say.

File
Minister’s Message: ‘Be still and I will fight for you’

Letting go of control and embracing faith and silence can encourage us in peace and divine trust.

"Octopus" is an acrylic painting by new co-op member Heather Mann on display at Ptarmigan Arts in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Ptarmigan Arts
July First Friday in Homer

Homer’s galleries and public art spaces celebrate with new and ongoing exhibits.

Frank Rowley and his youngest child, Raymond, stand in knee-deep snow in front of the protective fence around the main substation for Mountain View Light & Power in Anchorage in 1948 or ’49. This photo was taken a year or two before Rowley moved to Kenai to begin supplying electrical power to the central peninsula. (Photo courtesy of the Rowley Family)
Let there be light: The electrifying Frank Rowley — Part 2

In July 1946, the soft-spoken Rowley was involved in an incident that for several consecutive days made the front page of the Anchorage Daily Times.

This nostalgic sauce is so shockingly simple, you’ll never buy a bottle again. Photo by Tressa Dale/Peninsula Clarion
America’s favorite culinary representative

The original recipe for ranch dressing was invented and perfected in Alaska, out in the bush in 1949.

Most Read