Widespread fishing restrictions on Southeast king salmon could be decided as early as Friday when the Alaska Board of Fisheries reconvenes in Sitka.
So far, the board has not tipped its hand on how severe restrictions could be.
“It’s a work in progress right now,” Board Chair John Jensen of Petersburg said Thursday. “I think there’s several board members that are trying to develop some language to deal with the action plans and it’s just a work in progress.”
This week, the board heard from commercial fishermen, charter business owners and others concerned about the dwindling stocks of king, or chinook, salmon
Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists testified that survival is poor, meaning that kings aren’t returning from the open ocean.
The population is at an all-time low and stocks cannot support the fishing activity traditionally seen.
Fish and Game’s action plans give the board a few options:
- They can take no action,
- order unprecedented closures across Southeast fishing districts,
- or something in between.
That middle ground is favored by most fishermen.
“This three to four regional closure that’s contemplated in the action plans are very blunt tools,” Sitka-based fisherman Tad Fujioka told the board this week. “As an alternative, we can use a surgical approach that will allow us to catch the non-“stock of concern” kings when their value is highest in the winter and spring.”
The board could delay action as late as next week when its 13-day meeting wraps up Tuesday.
