The Kenai Silver Salmon Derby will return for its eighth year next week, running from Tuesday through Sunday, Sept. 10-15.
Though emergency orders issued by the State Department of Fish and Game in August limited harvest of coho salmon in response to a weak return, the derby is continuing with the department’s blessing.
“There was a period of time where we weren’t sure if the Alaska Department of Fish and Game was even going to be on board with us doing the derby — whether or not it was even responsible for us to do the derby,” Kenai Chamber of Commerce Executive Director Samantha Springer said. “It’s important to me that we make sure that the resource is available if we’re going to do something like this, because if it’s not, then we won’t be doing it.”
But, given assurance from the department, Springer said she’s looking forward to seeing families out fishing together, like returning two-time youth champion, now-7-year-old Abigail Craig.
The derby is unlike others because the winning fish is not the largest. Instead, the grand-prize winner and daily winners are determined by spinning wheels to determine “the magic weight.” The salmon closest to that weight is the winner. Daily derby tickets can be purchased online, at the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and Visitor Center and at Three Bears Grocery in Kenai.
After each day of fishing, salmon can be brought to Three Bears to be weighed, and at the end of the day the magic weight will be determined and the winner named.
In past years, derby organizers have said that the magic weight discourages selective fishing and lowers the barrier to entry.
Proceeds raised are designated for management and protection of riverbanks and other riparian zones in Kenai. Last year, derby funds were allocated toward the replacement of a culvert in Cemetery Creek to promote passage of salmon smolt.
As of Wednesday evening, emergency orders by the department limit coho harvest to two per day, down from three, through Nov. 30.
That emergency order says that coho harvest restrictions are motivated by weak runs throughout Cook Inlet, but notes that abundance on the Kenai and Kasilof Rivers “seem to be comparable to recent years and able to sustain some harvest.”
For more information about the derby, find “Kenai Silver Salmon Derby” on Facebook.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
