Will this help Cook Inlet setnetters?

The problem of poor Chinook salmon returns, which pretty much shut down eastside Cook Inlet setnetters in 2012, has received a lot of attention this off-season.

And the focus on the problem continues.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is now looking for a contractor to "identify differences in the migration patterns of Chinook and sockeye salmon" in the eastside setnet fishery and "determine potential alternative management strategies to reduce Chinook harvests."

The state solicitation indicates the research contract is worth $693,000.

Jump to page 23 to read the background information, and to see a map.

The department wants the contractor to attach acoustic telemetry tags to salmon captured in Lower Cook Inlet.

"Test fishing has determined that the majority of sockeye salmon entering the Central District migrate northward near the center of Cook Inlet ... but it is not known whether Chinook salmon follow this same migratory pathway," the solicitation says.

Speaking of ASMI...

The Alaska Seafood Marketing Institute is looking for a contractor to do some China market research.

Here is the request for proposals. The good stuff starts on page 11.

It appears the contractor's main task will be to evaluate the effectiveness of ASMI's marketing strategy in China.

The contract is worth up to $50,000.

Are hatchery salmon hurting our wild runs?

Deckboss regulars know we've occasionally touched on the topic of Alaska's prolific salmon hatcheries, and whether manufactured fish are having any detrimental effects on our purely wild runs.

This has long been a concern of some state biologists. Now it appears the state is taking steps to investigate the matter further.

The Department of Fish and Game has issued a request for proposals from "entities interested in conducting a research program to address interactions of wild and hatchery pink and chum salmon in Prince William Sound and Southeast Alaska."

It's a pretty serious contract, worth up to $4.5 million.

Jump to page 27 of the 73-page RFP to read the very interesting "scope of work" to be performed.

On a related note, the Wild Salmon Center of Portland, Ore., today announced new research suggesting hatchery-raised salmon "can harm wild salmon through competition for food and habitat."