Southeast Alaska not ready for a hatchery-only king fishery, study finds

A 45.8-pound king salmon sits connected crystal during Petersburg’s salmon derby successful 2015. (Joe Viechnicki/KFSK)

Should Southeast Alaska person a hatchery-only king salmon sports fishery? Researchers precocious tried to reply that mobility arsenic a imaginable solution to a declining number of chaotic kings.

Chinook aliases king salmon are nan largest and astir valuable salmon species. They’re sought-after by sport, commercial, and subsistence fishermen alike. But successful caller decades, their harvest has go much restricted arsenic populations plummet. A caller study considered if a caller Southeast fishery could thief – 1 that allows athletics fishermen to support only hatchery king salmon and merchandise chaotic ones.

“And an important mobility location is could this really beryllium done wrong nan existent guidance context? And is this thing that is desirable for folks successful Alaska?” asked Anne Beaudreau, who led nan study, which took astir a year.

Beaudreau is an subordinate professor pinch nan University of Washington’s School of Marine and Environmental Affairs. The study was initiated and funded by nan Alaska delegation of the Pacific Salmon Commission. Members asked nan Alaska Department of Fish and Game to research nan anticipation of a hatchery-based sports fishery, and nan authorities past contracted pinch nan university.

As portion of nan study, Beaudreau helped tally respective nationalist meetings passim Southeast. Dozens of group participated.

“We heard a batch of interest brought up astatine these meetings,” she said.

In theory, a hatchery-only fishery – aliases what’s called a ‘mark selective fishery’ – could supply much athletics sportfishing opportunities. All types of sportfishing for chaotic kings are highly restricted because of a treaty that nan U.S. has pinch Canada. It sets harvest limits to make judge that some countries get kings each year. And hatchery king salmon don’t count toward nan U.S. pact allocation.

But nan study recovered that a batch would person to beryllium successful spot for specified a fishery to work. For starters, not each hatchery king salmon successful nan region are marked. Marked kings person their adipose fin removed, making them easy identifiable. In fact, moreover a fewer chaotic kings successful Southeast are besides marked that aquatics to spawn successful transboundary rivers starring into Canada. So, successful bid for a hatchery-only fishery to work, location would person to beryllium buy-in from each nan region’s hatcheries. But Beaudreau said immoderate conscionable aren’t group up for marking each of their food correct now.

“The much food you mark, nan much successful you tin beryllium successful really implementing a mark-selected fishery,” she said. “It would besides require hatcheries to support nan thought of wide marking for a mark-selected fishery. And that’s not nan lawsuit presently.”

Southeast residents besides worried astir different ramifications – for illustration really specified a hatchery athletics fishery mightiness impact commercialized fisheries. And charter boats concentrating their efforts adjacent hatcheries that locals trust on. And really nan guidance of it mightiness divert resources distant from different issues for illustration residence and bycatch.

Beaudreau said a awesome interest that arose from nan study was incidentally sidesplitting chaotic kings while targeting nan hatchery fish. It’s estimated that 16% of drawback and merchandise sport-caught king salmon successful Southeast die.

“One point that has risen to nan apical complete and complete again, particularly successful conversations pinch organization members, is these concerns astir incidental mortality, nan mortality of those unmarked food that are released,” Beaudreau said.

Also, Southeast’s king salmon sportfishing is analyzable because location is simply a operation of food swimming towards galore different destinations. Some chaotic kings are heading to Alaska spawning grounds and others are present temporarily until they return to spawn successful British Columbia aliases nan Lower 48. And immoderate are hatchery-produced, returning to wherever they were released. The fish’s root varies and depends connected nan clip and location.

Ketchikan athletics fisherman Russell Thomas questioned nan study’s deficiency of information connected nan complaint of encountering chaotic versus hatchery kings.

“It conscionable seems to maine for illustration without that information, really do you ever really measure what nan feasibility is?” he asked astatine 1 of nan nationalist meetings.

Beaudreau admitted that nan study was a high-level overview of nan region. Researchers didn’t drill down connected really a athletics fishery for illustration this could activity successful circumstantial areas.

Staff from nan state’s Sports Fish Division agreed. They said location are excessively galore unknowns correct now to commencement a caller fishery successful Southeast. Patrick Fowler, a location fisheries guidance coordinator, addressed Russell’s concerns.

“I would conscionable opportunity astatine this time, nan Department doesn’t intend to beforehand a peculiar proposal,” he said.

But Fowler added that if residents wanted to prosecute a section fishery nan authorities section could thief stitchery information for that circumstantial area for a early proposal.

Here is simply a summary of nan study and online meetings.