The personal use set gillnet fishery at the mouth of the Kasilof River has been closed, the State Department of Fish and Game announced Thursday.
The closure is the latest effort to reduce mortality of Kenai River king salmon, according to an advisory announcement by the department. The announcement said that this closure is because of low counts of Kenai River king salmon instead of Kasilof River king salmon.
The gillnet fishery being closed targets sockeye and king salmon bound for the Kasilof River, the announcement says, “but also harvests an unknown number of king salmon bound for the Kenai River.”
It’s the Kenai River optimal escapement goal, not a Kasilof River escapement goal, that is cited by the announcement as triggering the close. The department manages for the OEG, set by the Board of Fisheries. That goal, for the early-run Kenai River king salmon season, is 3,900-6,600 fish.
As of Wednesday, the announcement says only 233 large king salmon have been counted passing the sonar at Kenai River mile 14 — below the OEG, and “significantly below” the department’s forecast of around 2,900 king salmon.
“We know the closure will impact Alaskans who utilize this fishery to fill their freezers with sockeye salmon,” said Jenny Gates, acting sport fish area manager, in the announcement. “But with the low numbers of kings we’ve seen so far, the department needed to take further action to reduce mortality of Kenai-bound king salmon. Hopefully Alaskans displaced here will be able to participate in the dipnet fisheries in the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers.”
Personal use dipnet fisheries open June 25 on the Kasilof River and July 10 on the Kenai River.
For more information about fishing regulations or closures, visit adfg.alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
