ANCHORAGE — Alaskans again this summer are wondering: Where are the king salmon?
Some of Alaska’s largest and best rivers are closed to king fishing because state and federal fisheries managers have determined that the largest of the salmon species, also called Chinook, aren’t showing up in enough numbers to ensure sustainable future runs.
In western Alaska, people living in dozens of villages along the Yukon and Kuskokwim rivers are turning to less desirable salmon species — fish with lower oil and fat content — to fill their freezers for winter in what one official described as a summer of “food insecurity.”
“It is pretty scary,” said Timothy Andrew, director of natural resources with the Association of Village Council Presidents in Bethel. “Chinook salmon is probably the biggest species that people depend on for drying, salting and putting away in the freezer to feed the family throughout the winter.”
Fishery managers predict that this year’s Yukon River king salmon run will be worse than last year, and that was the worst showing for Chinook in 30 years.
Commercial fishermen on the Yukon and Kuskokwim are turning to less desirable but more plentiful species of salmon that sell for under $1 a pound. King salmon sells for more than $5 a pound. With gas costing $6.70 a gallon in Bethel, many fishing boats are sitting idle, he said.
People living in the region’s 56 villages are devastated, Andrew said.
“It is an incredibly stressful time,” he said.
In mid-July, the Kenai River — considered by many to be Alaska’s premier river for salmon fishing — is normally crowded and chaotic with fishing guides steering their boats to give their clients the best opportunity to catch a trophy king.
But a ban on king fishing on the Kenai and Kasilof rivers went into effect Thursday.
Robert Begich, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s area management biologist, said the Kenai king run looks to be the lowest on record going back to the 1980s.
While the continued downward trend in kings isn’t clear, Begich suspects a combination of factors, with researchers looking more closely at changes in the ocean environment.
King salmon usually spend several years in the ocean before returning to rivers to spawn.
Ray Beamesderfer, a consultant with Cramer Fish Sciences in Gresham, Ore., also suspects changes in the marine environment.
He thought he and his family would be fishing for king salmon on the Kenai River on Thursday.
Instead, they were casting for rainbow trout or smaller sockeye salmon.
Beamesderfer said in the late 1970s, there was a change in ocean currents that favored Alaska salmon but contributed to poor salmon runs in the Pacific Northwest.
That situation appears to be reversing, with a change in ocean currents, he said.
“We have seen some better runs in recent years,” Beamesderfer said.
But he said the persistent downturn in king salmon can’t be fully explained by a change in ocean currents, especially when other salmon species in Alaska are thriving.
“It doesn’t seem to be that simple,” Beamesderfer said.
Jeff Regnert, director of the commercial fisheries division for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, also said something different in the marine environment likely holds the answer to the downturn in kings.
“That is probably where we will see the change,” he said.
Comments (13)
Add commentPolice and Fire
Read today's police beat for a clue...how many F/Vs AREN'T getting caught breaking the rules. Fish hard, but if you break the rules...
Our state dumps tons,
Our state alone dumps tons, millions of gallons of chemicals like chlorine etc… in our coastal waters; do people really expect our fisheries to thrive in this crap? Now think of all the other states and countries etc... and what they are all dumping in our oceans.
Think of your fish tank, now go get some grease, oil, gas, chlorine, plus all the chemicals you can think of and use that go down the drain, prescription pills etc.. and dump all this in your fish tank. Then check back in about one hour.
After one hour how are your fish doing?
Are they still thriving?
And overfishing has upset relationships in our oceans that took millions and millions of years to evolve. Our fish streams, habitat need more protections from logging, mining, and development. This is why we have regulations and a Federal Government so all states.... we need every Human being motivated and on deck playing by the same set of rules, or it is just not going to work out for us or our kids. What are our kids going to do if we all screw this up?
It is our Constitutional duty to protect our resources for the needs of our future generations.
Looking for the kings?
Start with the trawl bycatch nets
pollock
And the big pollock trawlers are still allowed to catch 50-75,000 king salmon each year, which all get crushed and thrown overboard? That is about 750,000 pounds of king salmon that is reported-- and surely 3 times that amount that is unreported. Replentish king salmon-- stop the pollock trawlling.
yep. I agree, it all matters.
yep. I agree, it all matters.
First off they take record
First off they take record numbers of herring. Then you have international treaties that allow other country’s fishing vessel’s to rape and pillage. Di-PAC puts in massive amounts of Pinks and Dog salmon that compete directly with King and Silver salmon.
There should be a 10 mile no commercial fishing limit at least on the Juneau road system.
Do we really need two commercial crab boats raping Echo cove and then selling you your crab back to you?
Echo Cove
I used to go crabbing there in my little rowing skiff. Did really well. Then some commercial pukes came in and laid about 1,000 pots. It was never the same. Disgusting.
I fantasized about having a buoy-cutting party some night. Never would, of course, but the idea crossed my mind.
bycatch, bycatch, bycatch, bycatch, bycatch, bycatch.
Outlaw pollock trawling! only 30% of draggers have observers on board, so much bycatch is unreported.
If they want fish sticks and "krab", let them use pots to catch pollock on a targeted fishery.
Arresting Y-K Delta residents when they are only trying to catch enough fish to feed their families while letting trawlers dump bycatch is wrong, wrong, wrong.
We can thank Uncle Ted and his boy Benny for this mess. Ted set up the drag fishery to "protect" our 200 mile zone.
Working for such big company,
Working for such big company, I have notice such companies like silverbay seafoods and there vessels has NO observers? Yes even though it was hatchery fish, those hatchery fish are not all caught, they do make it to become ocean run and I am sure from there nature takes it place. Japanese are buying out alaska fishing industries, making sure their isnt nothing left for tomorrow just like they fished out there sea's. There is alot of females crabs going through these companies getting butchered and once you say something they all act like they never heard that there NOT suppose to kill females crabs.. The look on there face is surprising, and fish and game in Dutch Harbor, AK does nothing, processing young salmon is tasty treat to our japanese owned companies here in alaska. Young the better, the observers are for the most part, young and stupid and drunk and carry on like with hangover cant even perform there jobs correctly. I have witness this with my own eyes... Sorry to say, but alaska will soon have no fish, it is just a matter of time !!
Interesting comments
Consider all of the above comments then look at the recent comebacks of some of the western (lower 48) river systems and ask yourself why have these rivers ecaped the gaunlet of whats being said in the above posts. They are getting some HUGE/fair size returns of Chinook down there (***recently***) and I want to know why them and not us? Do they have trawlers down south to contend to the demise of the king salmon? Not that I know of.
Since the beginning of the pollock fisheries in the early 1980's, our fisheries have been changing. The Bristol Bay Sockeye run is nowhere near what it use to be. The western King Salmon runs almost gone. The Chum Salmon run a near disaster. Not only that, sea mammals had to adapt too - e.g., the Stellar Sealion invasion into southeast Alaska - Chinook eating Stellar Sealion I might add.
Folks, the closer you get to Southwestern Alaska (the Aleutians & Bristol Bay), the more problems we are seeing. Even Cook Inlet fishers are scratching their heads. The mighty Kenai is nothing anymore when it used to be the King of the mighty King fishery.
How long do we beat around the bush on this one?
Herring are a backbone component of all our fisheries
King Salmon feed on herring, if one reads historical accounts of our Southeast Native community, herring were ubiquitous around southeast Alaska. One has to wonder why this is ignored by scientists and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game?
Instead of giving our herring stocks a break by letting them expand their range or by distributing spawn through out the areas where they were known to spawn historically we seem to be on a maintain the status quo path in terms of our fisheries. This is a dead end policy, which contributes to continual decline. There is much more herring spawning habitat than only the Sitka, Kashakes, Seymour Canal and Annette Island fishery areas.
If the ADF&G's goals were to change to restoration of historical biomass stocks instead of maintaining a razor thin biomass margins, our region might begin to exhibit some truly remarkable rejuvenation of all kinds of endangered species.
Although it is likely there are combinations of issues which have put king salmon and other stocks at jeopardy. Restoration of species which contribute a substantial portion of biomass would seem a no-brainer.
I'm sure this is true statewide as well. Again, why is ADF&G not examining historical herring spewing accounts by our first people and working to restore these spawning areas?
Alaskans wonder where the king salmon have gone
"On Thursday, the following permit holders were cited for operating commercial salmon seines during a closed period; Patrick L. O’Neil, age 59 from Lopez Island, WA and off the F/V Saint Janet, Nick Miller-Olney, age 35 from Sitka and off the F/V Lucy O, Delbert B. Kadake, age 50 from Kake and off the F/V Jade Ann, Jeremy C. Jensen, age 37 from Petersburg and off the F/V Harvester, Frank Wright Jr., age 63 from Hoonah and off the F/V Vagabond Quenn, Christian W. Buschmann, age 25 from Petersburg and off the F/V Ascension. Buschmann was also cited for failing to properly display the vessel’s ADFG numbers. All six men were given arraignment dates of Sept.12 in the Juneau District Court.
Commercial drift gillnet fishing during a closed season
• On Tuesday, Homer resident, Donald Malcolm, 68 was cited by Juneau Wildlife Troopers for unlawfully commercial drift gillnet fishing during a closed season. Malcolm was observed by a Trooper stakeout team on July 10, fishing onboard his vessel the F/V Crimson Tide in Lynn Canal, north of the Pt. Bridget closure line. Malcolm was also observed and contacted on July 11, fishing in closed waters south of the Boat harbor terminal harvest area. Arraignments were set in the Juneau court on 8/9/12.
• On July 11, Wrangell resident, Winston Davies, 34, was cited for unlawfully commercial drift gillnet fishing during a closed season. Davies was fishing onboard his vessel the F/V Blue Mist, and failed to get his net totally onboard before the 12 noon closure. Davies’ net had drifted onto another vessel while it was at anchor near Little Island light. An arraignment date has been set in the Juneau District Court on July 25."
Our fish and wildlife are disappearing mostly because people don't obey the law.
The examples cited by the Dutchlady are charges, not convictions
I won't disagree about the charges, however, these folks are entitled to their day in court. Having fished commercially in the past, some of the circumstances while technically violations of the law, may happen to any of us commercial, sport-fishing or otherwise. While there are examples of gross violations that we've seen from some commercial fishermen - who were not salmon fishers, these don't appear to be examples of this type of gross violation. The trial's outcome will tell. I'd prefer to wait for the outcome of the trials prior to submitting these as examples of anything other than charges.
Has anyone left their sport fishing license behind? I have, if I got caught, I'd have to deal with the consequences. These folks are not likely using gear which would capture many kings. I know when I crewed on a purse seiner if kings salmon catch was closed, we'd do our best to release them unharmed.
Painting all fishing types, be they sport fishers, commercial fishermen, with broad generalized assertions is fairly lame.