An organization called Cook Inlet Fisherman's Fund is suing the Alaska Department of Fish and Game in an effort to force additional fishing time for eastside salmon setnetters.
CIFF alleges Fish and Game mismanagement has cost the setnetters millions of dollars this season and last.
Here are three documents:
CIFF complaint
Memorandum in support of motion for preliminary injunction
CIFF press release
Big mistake to sue the Dept. now the sports fish organizations will get involved and try to make their case that the comm guys are getting to take far more than their share of the kings. This law suit is a loser and the plaintiff is taking a chance of really pissing the Sept and the judge off with their greedy approach. The real fact is that the Set net fishery is not needed from a biological point of view as there is ample harvesting power in the drift, dip net , and sports fisheries to prevent any serious over escapement. That is we're we should be heading.
ReplyDelete"Not needed from a biological point of view"? What does that even mean? These are livelihoods, not management instruments. Talk about devaluing your neighbors. What point is fisheries management if not for the management of diverse and thriving fishing communities?
ReplyDeleteWhat I meant was is that there is sufficient harvest power in the drift fleet, the dip net fishery and the sports and guided sports fisheries to prevent over escapement of sockeyes into the Kenai River. Without the ESSN fishers, there would never be an issue of over harvest of Chinooks. I am fully aware of the livelihoods that would be lost and it would be regrettable. However a limited entry permit is NOT a property right. It is a permit and use of it is subject to the mandate of Alaska's constitution requiring that the fisheries (including Chinook) be managed for sustained yield. If the chinook go away because of over harvest the" diverse and thriving communities " you refer to will, in many cases, be gone as well. If the ESSN users would be willing to experiment with some creative ideas where sockeye are targeted, but chinooks are not killed, they might help solve the problem. but so far except for Gary H and Brent J they have been unwilling to look into ways to avoid chinooks. Look at the Yukon. Those fishers were not permitted to gill net for chums because they killed chinook at the same time. So now they use dip nets and beach seines. And what happens is that they get a season and make some $. Whereas, before they sat on the beach. Why doesn't the ESSN group figure this out? Instead, greed trumps conservation each time.
ReplyDeleteDrifters don't catch kings?
ReplyDeleteIf setnetters are to blame for poor king runs, how do you explain the early run? There has been zero setnetting during the early run and yet it's in trouble. A more likely suspect is the booming sport fishery, especially the guided sport fishery.
ReplyDeleteDrifters in Cook Inlet do not catch as nearly as many kings as do the east side set netters.
ReplyDeleteAs of 7/21, drifters harvested 1,375,818 sockeye and 346 kings,
while set netters harvested
839,076 sockeye and 2,172 kings
In-river anglers have harvested an estimated 1,003 Kenai kings by creel survey.