Original Source: Anchorage Daily News
By DAN COFFEY
The world famous Kenai River king salmon are facing a major crisis, with historic low returns of this special salmon to their spawning grounds. I say this as a former chairman of the Alaska Board of Fisheries and a concerned citizen still involved in fishery issues. As an attorney, I represent the Kenai King Conservation Alliance.
The late run of Kenai kings has been in decline. Late-run fish enter the river from late June through mid-August and spawn in the main stem of the Kenai. These fish are traditionally caught in large numbers by sportfishermen in July, and by setnet fishermen in July and August. The drift gillnet fleet in Cook Inlet catches very few of these salmon.
There appear to be several reasons for the low returns: poor ocean survival, catches by the high-seas trawlers, setnet catches in Cook Inlet and marginal productivity. And there may be others.
The effects of each of these on Kenai king returns are debatable. What is beyond dispute is that total Kenai king returns in 2012 were the smallest on record. This year’s late run now appears headed for another record low. The Department of Fish and Game, which manages the fishery, is on the verge of not achieving the minimum spawning goal.
In addition to declining numbers of fish, the kings returning this year are smaller than in the past. Early indications are that more than half of the 2013 return consists of small males. The number of breeding pairs (large males and females) now in the Kenai could be fewer than 2,000.
These numbers indicate real trouble for Kenai kings.
Due to copyright law, the Alaska Salmon Alliance cannot repost this article in full. You can read the article in its entirety here.
Dan Coffey is a former chairman of the Alaska Board of Fisheries and former member of the Anchorage Assembly.
As with all the articles we link to on the ASA website, this report does not necessarily reflect the views of the Alaska Salmon Alliance.