Boy, do things sound awful on the Kenai River in terms of Chinook salmon returns.
Here's a news release announcing severe sportfishing restrictions, with this ominous paragraph:
Through June 18, all indices used to assess abundance of early-run king salmon in the Kenai River indicate the 2012 run is the lowest on record. Given the unprecedented low number of early-run king salmon, the department has determined that additional mortality associated with catch-and-release fishing cannot be justified.
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9 comments:
Shut it all down to save the Kings.
The Pollock Fishery is allowed to catch and waste 60,000 while the river people are hurting for a traditional resource.
Here are other opening lines for you - "Boy, do things sound awful on the (Kuskokwim, Yukon River) in terms of Chinook salmon returns.
lets not forget the taku,chilkat and stikine rivers here in southeast!the king catch is way below normal.
i guess anyone is going to blame the trawlers for this.
everone knows the draggers wouldn't catch any fish they weren't suppose to catch.
Time to shut down the Kenai River Classic.
This is just the beginning of the perfect Kenai river storm. On June 25 the Dept will likely open the Kasllof district to the set nets while closing Kenai river sports fishing because "every king counts" And do so knowing that some Kenai bound kings will be caught in the nets. That should set the stage for the real storm. In late July when it appears that the second king run will not even get its lower bound escapement level reds will continue to run and the Dept will have to make a big decision. Does it shut down the set nets in order to allow some kings to get into the river, while at the same time knowing that there will be a large over escapement or does it allow the nets knowing that the needed kings will be caught instead of being allowed into the river. With an election year the politics will be interesting. i would not want to be either the sport fish or commercial fish directors. Deck boss bloggers will undoubtedly support killing all the reds and heck with the kings. KRSA will want the opposite. Where are the fish traps when you need them?
Piss on the trawlwers.
Is there a Chinook fishery anywhere in Alaska that is showing normal or higher than predicted returns?
No King Salmon commercial fishery is going to happen anywhere in Alaska this summer. Lowest run ever recorded on the Yukon River the other day, and a civil disobedience situation on the Lower Kuskokwim River are at least two of the highlights of this week.
The people all over the State and into Canada are hurting. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will be held accountable as it's their job to manage the resource for sustainability. A full house cleaning is long, long overdue.
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