Path forward after Kodiak sockeye genetic study unclear

A revelation that a large portion of sockeye harvested by Kodiak commercial seine fishermen originate in Cook Inlet may change the way the fisheries are managed, but no one’s quite sure how yet.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game recently completed a multi-year study taking genetic samples from sockeye harvested in the Kodiak Management Area seine fishery, about 70 miles southwest of Homer in the Gulf of Alaska. The study, which spanned the years between 2014 and 2016, found that a significant percentage of the sockeye harvested in that fishery were of Cook Inlet origin in two years, up to 37 percent in one year.

Cook Inlet fishermen have long theorized that Kodiak fishermen catch some Cook Inlet fish, but the study has provided hard data, at least for those years. The data, first presented at the Kodiak Board of Fisheries meeting in January, is the first time a mixed-stock analysis was conducted on Kodiak sockeye fisheries and was originally requested by the board as part of a longtime project to study stock composition in the Kodiak Management Area to further develop the management plans.

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

However, now that the data has confirmed the interception, the real question comes out: what happens now?

During public comments and deliberation at the Board of Fisheries’ Upper Cook Inlet meeting, the topic came up as a concern from drift gillnet fishermen. Although the Kenai and Kasilof river sockeye populations are fairly stable, sockeye stocks in the Susitna River system have been designated as a Stock of Yield Concern since 2008, meaning that they have consistently failed to meet escapement goals. Sockeye allocation is a sore subject between Cook Inlet commercial fishermen and Mat-Su sportfishermen — much of the deliberation at the Upper Cook Inlet meeting on drift gillnet restrictions took northern Cook Inlet stocks into account. If the Kodiak fishermen are harvesting large numbers of Cook Inlet sockeye, they could get dragged into the allocation fight as well.

At the tail end of its Upper Cook Inlet meeting, the Board of Fisheries briefly took up the topic to determine how to move forward. One of the key elements missing from the report is the individual stock classifications within Cook Inlet — all the stream systems are grouped together into one reporting group rather than listing Susitna, Kenai, Kasilof or other stocks individually.

The work to individually itemize each stock considers multiple criteria, including the sample sizes available, genetic identifiability, expected stock contribution to the mixture and value of the new information, according to a memo submitted to the board at the Kodiak meeting from Fish and Game principal geneticist Chris Habicht.

Board member Robert Ruffner request at the Upper Cook Inlet meeting that a day be added at the board’s 2017 worksession to talk about the Kodiak genetic study.

“I want to be cautious and deliberative and really thoughtful about how we do this, because any changes that we make are going to have implications in Kodiak,” he said. “… There are a lot of questions that aren’t really going to come to light until we sit down and talk about it in the worksession environment.”

He also asked for clarification that management plans are being followed. Kodiak is a complicated area, with multiple user groups, multiple species and 10 management plans, and Cook Inlet has at least half a dozen interlocking salmon management plans of its own. That may not be all, either — board member Reed Morisky pointed out that with more individual stock data, more areas may be involved as well.

Director of the Division of Commercial Fisheries Scott Kelly said he thought the board was following the management plans at present.

“I can unequivocally say yes, we are,” he said.

If Fish and Game further analyzes the data, it would make sense to separate the Cook Inlet group into Kenai, Kasilof, Susitna and other Cook Inlet, he said. Although it’s not really a new phenomenon, it’s based on better science, he said. When Ruffner and board member Sue Jeffrey, who fishes commercially in Kodiak, asked if the study could also be further honed down to Kodiak reporting groups, Kelly said one limiting factor may be the number of samples available.

“We could run and reanalyze them, and we’d have good information on how many of those are harvested in (the Kodiak Management Area) entirely across those three years,” he said. “The more samples we have, the more precision we have in our estimates.”

The researchers warned in their results that findings shouldn’t be applied outside the study years, that not all fishing areas were sampled and no sampling came after Aug. 29. They did state that the study indicated that the closer to shore fisheries were, the more likely they were to harvest local stocks.

The board agreed to add time for a discussion on the followup work at its 2017 worksession.

Reach Elizabeth Earl at elizabeth.earl@peninsulaclarion.com.

More in News

Robert Weaver was last seen at the Doroshin Bay public use cabin on June 25, 2025. (Photo provided by the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge)
Kenai wildlife refuge seeking information on missing man

Robert Weaver was last seen near Skilak Lake on June 25.

The Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team conducts a training mission in Seward, Alaska in 2024. Photo courtesy of the Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team
Anchor Point fundraiser to benefit Alaska rescue and recovery group

Alaska Dive Search Rescue and Recovery Team is an all-volunteer nonprofit organization established in 2016.

Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic staff (left to right) Angie Holland, RN; Jane Rohr, Sonja Martin Young, CNM; Robin Holmes, MD; and Cherie Bole, CMA provide an array of reproductive and sexual health services. (Photo provided by KBFPC)
Kachemak Bay Family Planning Clinic releases report on STI trends on the Kenai Peninsula

The report pulls from data gathered from 2024 to early 2025.

Pool manager and swim coach Will Hubler leads a treading water exercise at Kenai Central High School in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 17, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Swimmers, parents call on Kenai to support Kenai Central pool

The KPBSD Board of Education last week said communities will need to step up and take over administration of pools within the next year.

Traffic passes by South Spruce Street in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, June 10, 2025. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai drops effort to rename South Spruce Street

The resolution would have changed the name to make it clear which road led to North Kenai Beach

Gov. Mike Dunleavy compares Alaska to Mississippi data on poverty, per-pupil education spending, and the 2024 National Assessment of Education Progress fourth grade reading scores during a press conference on Jan. 31, 2025. Alaska is highlighted in yellow, while Mississippi is in red. (Jasz Garrett / Juneau Empire)
Dunleavy calls special session for August

Lawmakers on Wednesday said they were surprised by the move.

A makeshift coffin decrying the risks of Medicaid funding cuts is seen on Thursday, June 26, in front of the Blazy Mall in Soldotna. The cuts were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning. (Photo by Jonas Oyoumick/Peninsula Clarion)
Ahead of Senate vote, Soldotna protesters defend Medicaid funding

Cuts to the program were included in legislation passed by the U.S. Senate early Tuesday morning.

Board President Zen Kelly speaks during a meeting of the Kenai Peninsula Borough School District’s Board of Education in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 2, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai Peninsula Borough school board to finalize budget

The new budget designed by the committee will be considered at a public hearing during the full board meeting on Monday evening.

Most Read