'The question that needs to be asked'

Independent journalist Craig Medred today posted this remarkably cogent comment on his site:

When you look at the data, the pollock trawl fishery is among the cleanest damn fisheries in the state. Should the country sacrifice millions of tons of renewable, high-quality protein to save the comparatively small number of kings taken as bycatch in that fishery? That's the question that needs to be asked.

Commissioner outlines king rebuilding efforts

Alaska Fish and Game Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang has a piece on the Anchorage Daily News site headlined Here's what the state is doing to rebuild king salmon stocks in the Gulf of Alaska.

State to make Kenai River sonar adjustment

Details in this press release.

27 questions on Kenai king management

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game has posted an interesting set of frequently asked questions on Kenai River king salmon management.

The concise, four-page FAQ focuses on the 2013 season, and delves into issues such as escapement policies, how fish are counted, and research projects.

Of course, low king returns to the famed Kenai have caused a lot of angst for all user groups in recent years.

The department's FAQ comes in advance of the state Board of Fisheries meeting on Upper Cook Inlet finfish, starting Jan. 31 in Anchorage. That could be a brawl.

Deckboss himself learned a lot from the FAQ, and highly recommends you read it.

As a sample, here are a couple of questions from the report:

Q23: How many late-run Kenai River king salmon were harvested inriver in 2013?

A23: Inriver sport fishing mortality was 1,620 late-run Kenai River king salmon, including 1,578 fish harvested and 42 fish from release mortality.

Q24: How many late-run Kenai River king salmon were harvested commercially in 2013?

A24: An estimated 2,256 late-run Kenai River king salmon were harvested in the Upper Subdistrict set gillnet commercial fishery in 2013. This estimate is based on the total harvest of king salmon in the fishery and genetic stock identification data collected from harvested king salmon. A total of 426 king salmon were harvested in the Central District drift gillnet commercial fishery.