The Kenai Peninsula’s iconic sockeye setnet fishery, once a cornerstone of Kenai Alaska’s historic fishing economy, has been severely restricted or completely closed despite a healthy abundance of sockeye salmon to both the Kenai and Kasilof rivers for over a decade. Even while the two river systems have been vastly exceeding the in-river management goals the ESSN fishery has been declared an economic disaster six of the last seven seasons — not because of lack of fish, but because of closures on fishing time. These draconian measures implemented to prevent the harvest of kings in the ESSN have had little to no effect on the returning numbers of king salmon which continue to be low.
The evidence now indicates the cause of the missing kings is that they are not returning healthy and abundant from their years in the ocean maturation life cycle. The king salmon demise is an ocean problem and is not caused by harvesting when and where they return to spawn. These closures have financially devastated fishing families who have relied on this sockeye fishery for generations and have severely hurt the local community culture and economy.
Fortunately, last summer in 2024, a game-changing hope emerged: a newly adapted method of fishing, called a “set beach seine” was tested and proved that the abundant and prized Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) sockeye salmon can be harvested — with no injury to kings — by fishing very close to shore in a substantially different method than that of a set gill net. King salmon were only seen in very small numbers, and at a ratio of approximately 1 king to every 1,000 sockeye salmon! Further and most importantly — all kings were gently released UNHARMED.
Despite this success, the Alaska Board of Fisheries hesitated at a meeting in March, citing the need for more data and indicated a desire to see further testing expand and continue for the set beach seine experiment under the special commissioner’s permit process. Board of Fisheries members expressed a desire to obtain sufficient data over the next two seasons for an adequate evaluation at the 2027 Cook Inlet BOF meeting cycle.
In science, more data is better, and good data drives good decisions. The time for solution focused action is now. The solution is obvious: expand the set beach seine experiment for the next two seasons by enlisting setnet fishermen as science partners and let the abundance of data do the talking about whether this is the right solution going forward!
The set beach seine experiments worked — now we must scale it
The 2024 set beach seine trials were a resounding success. Unlike gillnets, that can entangle and kill king salmon, the set beach seine method allowed for 100% of the few kings encountered to be successfully released alive and unharmed. The data was promising and doing more research makes good sense. As the Board of Fisheries noted, one season’s data is a little thin for making a permanent decision.
The ADF&G officials must act sufficiently to ensure a thorough experiment is executed and to obtain an adequate data set. This can only be accomplished by harnessing the unique and vital expertise of the very fishermen impacted by this crisis. If 20 setnet permit holders were carefully selected and granted experimental commissioner’s permits for set beach seine operations this summer the data pool would expand tenfold, which is just what is needed. More importantly, these fishermen bring decades of on-the-water knowledge that no academic or institution can replicate. They understand fish behavior, tides, and gear innovation in ways that are essential to refining and successfully developing and deploying this fishing method.
Experienced fishermen are the essential link in this science
The Department isn’t only studying whether set beach seining can work to safely protect and preserve the kings — it must also determine if it’s a practical, efficient, and economically viable method to harvest sockeye. Who better to answer that than the knowledgeable and experienced fishermen themselves?
Setnet families have spent generations perfecting their trade. They know how to adapt, innovate, and make fisheries sustainable. The setnet fishermen and the value available from the sockeye are both fundamentally essential to co-design and test a fishery that works for both salmon and people. The ADF&G officials must include those from the industry — the fishermen — in answers and solutions to the many questions involved in creating the current road map forward. The time to act is now so these experiments can be done this coming season and the next in preparation for the 2027 Board of Fish meeting.
As fishery management expert Dr. Ray Hilborn (University of Washington) has emphasized: “The most successful fisheries management integrates local knowledge with science. Fishermen aren’t just stakeholders — they’re essential partners in finding solutions.”
A call to action: Issue 20 experimental permits now
The Alaska Commissioner of Fish & Game and the department staff must act swiftly to:
1. Authorize the selection of 20 experimental beach seine permits for the 50 miles of the ESSN fishery. Much planning, preparation and many expenditures are necessary.
2. Allow participants to sell their catch to recover their costs and test economic viability.
3. Formalize a co-management partnership where industry’s expertise, commitment and hard work directly shape the future of this fishery.
This isn’t just about saving kings or sockeye — it’s about saving an historic fishery. The Kenai Peninsula’s setnet fishermen and families have already paid a very steep price for conservation. Now, they’re ready to be part of the solution.
The ADF&G must make the most of this current unique opportunity to work together with a core of dedicated setnet fishermen to thoroughly test and evaluate the set beach seine fishing method.
Supporting materials and key points
• Alaska Department of Fish & Game 2024 Beach Seine Report: “Preliminary results indicate minimal king salmon encounters in beach seine trials, with expected high survival rates for live released kings.”
• Quotes from Fishermen: “We’ve spent our lives on these waters. We want to help fix this — but we need the chance to prove it can work.” (Local setnet fisherman, Kenai Peninsula)
• Economic and Cultural Necessity: The economic and cultural values of the Upper Cook Inlet Salmon Fishery to the Kenai Peninsula local communities and to their economies are truly tremendous.
Ted Crookston is from a lifelong, four-generation Salamatof Beach setnet fishing family. Russ George is a lifelong ecologist and ocean scientist. Both authors are passionate about the preservation of these resources.
