Southern Kenai Peninsula king salmon fishing regulations, Ninilchik surf casting and reduced limits for rockfish were among the topics targeted by proposals to the State Board of Fisheries that were discussed during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee on Monday.
The committee, which is composed of local anglers and hunters representing a variety of different user groups, is among many such panels based in different regions in the state. As part of the State Department of Fish and Game’s board cycle, they’ll be meeting over the coming weeks and months to set their position on the many proposals that will be presented to the board at regulatory meetings this winter. Advisory committee recommendations will be weighed by the board alongside public testimony as they deliberate.
At Monday’s meeting, the local committee focused on proposals from the Lower Cook Inlet area, which stretches south of Anchor Point. The board will meet to consider those proposals next week, their Lower Cook Inlet Finfish meeting scheduled from Tuesday, Nov. 28 to Dec. 1 in Homer.
The committee put support behind a proposal by John Bithos, who sought an opening of surf casting regulation at Ninilchik River mouth and Deep Creek River to support a youth and elderly fishery in the area. Department comments available to the committee voiced support for the proposal and pitched two possible ideas for implementing a liberalization of regulation in the area.
Andrew Carmichael, a member of the committee, moved for an amendment to the proposal that followed the second option raised by the department — which would allow fishing from shore for species other than king salmon in all three nearby conservation zones. That amendment, and then the amended proposal, passed unanimously.
Also supported was a proposal put forth by by the department, which seeks to “stabilize” sport harvest of king salmon in Lower Cook Inlet salt waters by implementing a guideline harvest level.
A pair of proposals, Proposal 9 and Proposal 10, both target guideline harvest level and king salmon bag limits for the winter saltwater king salmon fishery in Lower Cook Inlet. They both note that an existing guideline harvest level of 4,500 kings has been exceeded every year since it was implemented in 2016.
Proposal 9, by the department, seeks an updated guideline harvest level, a reduced bag and possession limit and implementation of an annual limit and harvest record. The committee unanimously voted against supporting it, but noted that their lack of support was because of questions left unanswered by the proposal, which doesn’t define any of the new numbers sought by the department.
On the other hand, Proposal 10, by the Homer Fish and Game Advisory Committee, saw unanimous support because it offers a more defined solution to the described problem. That proposal seeks a bag limit of two king salmon per day and four in possession, with an annual limit of 10 per person between Sept. 1 and March 31. Todd Smith, a member of the Kenai/Soldotna committee, unsuccessfully sought an amendment that would exempt king salmon with clipped adipose fins — hatchery kings — from the annual limit.
A similar exchange also centered on a pair of proposals describing modifications to limits for rockfish in Cook Inlet and Resurrection Bay — Proposals 18 and 19. The first, again by the department, describes a bag limit of three per day and three in possession for pelagic rockfish, and one per day and one in possession for non-pelagic rockfish. The second, again by the Homer committee, describes a limit for rockfish of three per day and six in possession, of which only one per day and two in possession can be non-pelagic.
According to department comments, they say that Proposal 19 would reduce harvest on rockfish in Cook Inlet at a higher rate than their own Proposal 18, and though they write that they are “neutral,” they say that Proposal 19 doesn’t provide enough structure for differentiating pelagic and non-pelagic rockfish and allows for multi-day trips by anglers.
Those multi-day trips, wherein the possession limit is twice the bag limit and allows for two days of fishing, were central to the committee’s decision to support Proposal 19 over 18.
Also supported by the board was a proposal submitted by the Department that would amend the Upper Cook Inlet Summer Salt Water King Salmon Sport Fishery Management Plan. If passed by the board, it would close king salmon fishing within a mile of shore in Cook Inlet salt waters based on different criteria including other nearby closures or low preseason predictions. The proposal is set for consideration at both the Lower Cook Inlet meeting of the board next week and the Upper Cook Inlet meeting scheduled to begin in late February.
The group supported the proposal unanimously, writing that the proposal describes an “appropriate conservation measure” that matches actions already taken this season via emergency order.
The committee said they were uncertain of how their work would or would not be impacted by a recent decision by the board to name Kenai River late-run king salmon a stock of management concern and call on the department to produce an “action plan” for the stock. The as-yet unpublished plan is cited in several proposals, and may be considered and acted upon by the board in lieu of some of the same proposals that the committee is set to discuss in the coming weeks.
Chair Mike Crawford said he was hoping to get clarity on how the committee was expected to proceed when he attends the Lower Cook Inlet meeting next weekend, if not sooner.
Proposals opposed by the committee included opening of an Upper Cook Inlet king salmon fishery in May, opening a king salmon sport fishery in Anchor Point and Deep Creek if set net fishery is opened, redefining the boundaries of the Lower Cook Inlet, allowing sport anglers to use two rods while fishing for winter king salmon and increase opportunity for Ninilchik River hatchery king salmon fishing.
The next meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee, to continue discussion and comments for Board of Fisheries proposals, will be held Monday, Nov. 27, starting at 6:30 p.m. in the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association building on Kalifornsky Beach Road. Meetings are open to the public and public comment is encouraged by the committee.
For more information about the committee or the boards process, visit adfg.alaska.gov and look under “Regulations.”
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
