The Soldotna City Council last week called on Gov. Mike Dunleavy to proclaim an economic disaster for the 2024 Upper Cook Inlet east side setnet fishery.
Adopted via their consent agenda, a resolution by council member Linda Farnsworth-Hutchings says that the “dramatic” loss of harvest in this year’s ESSN threatens the livelihoods of those who participate. The resolution calls for a proclamation by the governor and implementation of a recovery plan that provides private assistance to participants by the state.
Dunleavy has recognized economic disasters for local fisheries in 2018, 2020, 2021, 2022 and 2023. Each of those disasters has been affirmed by the federal Department of Commerce, and funding has been allocated for each but 2023. Funding has yet to be distributed to private fishers for any of those disasters.
The ESSN has been heavily restricted in recent years and completely closed in 2023 and 2024, though a new opening using dipnets was allowed this summer and drew little participation — 27,000 sockeye salmon were caught by ESSN fishers with dipnets while the nearby drift fishery landed 1.6 million.
Farnsworth-Hutchings’ resolution says that, despite the use of commercial dipnets and some test fishing undertaken in the fishery using two commissioners’ permits, a “99% loss of traditional income” was observed.
The city council did not discuss the resolution during their meeting, but Lisa Gabriel, a member of the Kenai Peninsula Fisherman’s Association Board of Directors, thanked the council for adopting it.
“What you’ve done is very important to our fishery,” she said.
A full recording of the meeting can be found at “City of Soldotna” on YouTube. The text of the resolution can be found at soldotna.org.
This story was edited on Tuesday, Dec. 24 to correct details about which disasters have received funding and which funding has been distributed to fishers.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
