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Date Posted: 03:57:51 04/28/04 Wed
Author: Don Johnson
Subject: KODIAK INTERCEPT FISHERIES & USER PARACHUTES

KODIAK INTERCEPT FISHERIES & USER PARACHUTES
IP: 24.237.250.150
Posted on April 15, 2004 at 04:30:14 AM by Don Johnson

Posted by Donald Johnson on October 10, 2002 at 02:05:44:

KODIAK INTERCEPT FISHERIES
& USER PARACHUTES

At the Feburary, 2002 Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting, the Alaska Department of
Fish & Game [ ADF&G ] announced that it believed that the historic, larger king salmon
within the Kenai rivers first run, were on the decline.
The ADF&G announced its concerns with little if any warning and most fisheries use
groups were totally blind-sided by it. When the early run data was presented, most of
these use groups accepted it at face value.

The Kenai River Sportfish Association [ KRSA ] immedately accepted the negative
infromation like the pilot of a doomed aircraft being told that his engine had failed.
In this case however, rather than the pilot attempting an emergency procedure or a
restart, the KRSA just strapped on parachutes and bailed out of the situation.
The " bail out " in reality was the KRSA just accepting the problem at face value
and not looking for the many possible reasons which could cause such low
returns of the larger king salmon.

Upon being told that other saltwater factor's could be involved, the KRSA basically laughed
at the thought and would not even investigate the possiblity, let alone bring it before the Board.
The Kenai River Professional Guides Association [ KRPGA ] basically took the same
approach as the KRSA in that it also did not even question if saltwater factor's could be involved.
Both associations final word on saltwater factors was that " there are no
saltwater fisheries involved within this early run problem".
This short-sighted belief is nodoubt the largest error both associations made at the
Feburary Board meeting. Because both sport fish associations were basically caught
off-guard, neither group was able to fully use their normal resources.
Both associations were " shooting from the hip " so-to-speak, and really had no time to
fully review all the possible factors involved within the very complex problem.

Rather than questioning the data or the possiblity of involvement of saltwater factors,
both associations allowed the developing problem to just carry them to the scene of accident.
When flying, one should first attempt to save the aircraft and then maybe bail-out,
but these associations basically headed for the parachutes as soon as they heard the engine
begin to spudder. Each person who testified did so with " the resource" in mind but for some
reason the resulting restrictions seemed to spare their own interests and sacrifice their neighbors.
Each concession / restriction seemed to somehow weave its way around persons attending
the meeting, thus leaving the fall-out to basically impact their neighbor.

The parachutes were fully handed out at the meeting and those who attended believed
that they had truly done a fine job. It was not until later, when they got home, that they
suddenly discovered that their neighbors where unhappy about not also being given
user parachutes. Of coarse their neighbors then began to give them grief over their
actions at the meeting and then the fur hit the fan and the public began to
communicate their displeasure to the Board of Fish. The Board quickly back-peddled
on the issue and agreed to take the issue up again in March of 2003.

------------------------------------

Now that we will have another shot at this issue we owe it to ourselves to do the best job
that we can do. That job takes into consideration that this time we should carefully consider
ALL FACTORS which may impact the king salmon which are attempting to return to both the
Kenai and Kasilof rivers. The NUMBER ONE consideration which was never
investagated at the Feburary meeting, was Kodiak commercial, sport and subsistence
saltwater interception factors. These intercept fisheries are imbedded within what will be
termed " Kodiak Interception Fisheries ".
-----------------------------------------------------------------

200 miles south of the Kenai river there are only two ways for a Kenai or Kasilof
king salmon to enter into Cook Inlet. These two paths consist of a northern and eastern
entrance around Kodiak Island. The Shelikof Straits make-up the southern entrance and
the Kennedy & Stevenson entrances combine to make-up the eastern entrance.

KODIAK MAP PICTURE
http://www.jobmonkey.com/alaska/html/maps.html

KODIAK MAP PICTURE
http://www.kodiak.org/swakmap.html
Kodiak island & surrounding area map


Both of these entry points are heavy guarded by intense commercial, sport and subsistence
fisheries within the month of June. In June of 2001 the Kodiak commercial fishery took
23,827 king salmon. 91% of these kings were taken by Kodiak Purse Seiners and 8%
taken by Kodiak Set Gillnets.
Kodiak sport fishing took 8,541 king salmon in 2001, with 351 kings being taken
by Kodiak subsistence fisheries.
----------------------------------------------------------
23,827 Commercial King salmon 73%
8,541 Sport King salmon --------- 26%
+ 351 Subsistence King salmon 1%
--------------------------------------------------------------
32,719 King salmon taken in 2001 within Kodiak Management Area Fisheries.

73% of total reported, king salmon taken by Kodiak commercial fisheries
were taken by the Kodiak Commercial Seine Fishery. What is a Seine Fishery?
click here - http://www.jobmonkey.com/alaska/html/purse_seining.html
The Kodiak Commercial Seine Fleet fully guards both Cook Inlet Entrances
and removed 21,611 king salmon from these entrances in June of 2001.
Kodiak set gill netting also removed 2,216 more king salmon in 2201.

KODIAK MAP PICTURE
http://www.fakr.noaa.gov/images/kodiak_map_hg_sm.jpg

REGION 3

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Kodiak Intercept Fisheries have grown substantially in the last 10 years and this can
be clearly seen by the rapid increase in its total king salmon catch.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
A.] KODIAK MANAGEMENT AREA COMMERCIAL SALMON
ANNUAL MANAGEMENT REPORT, 2001

Historical Commercial King Salmon Catch In The Kodiak Management Area,
1899 - 2001. Commercial gill net, seine and troller King salmon harvested.
[ page 44]. King Salmon Harvested

Year Kings
1899 ---- 1,104
1905 ---- 2,496
1909 ---- 3,907
1917 ---- 1,457
1927 ---- 4,358
1931 ---- 1,541
1936 ---- 2,548
1945 ---- 2,021
1951 ---- 2,402
1959 ---- 1,837
1972 ---- 1,300
1981 ---- 1,418
1987 ---- 4,612
1990 ---- 18,806
1991 ---- 22,233
1992 ---- 24,299
1995 ---- 18,704
1997 ---- 18,728
2001 ---- 23,827
------------------------
Commercial salmon harvest by gear type in the Kodiak Management Area, 2001.
Early Run Commercial fishing begins June 5th.
Purse Seine --- 21,611 King salmon - 91%
Set gillnet --- 2,216 King salmon - 8%
--------------------------------------------------------
23,827 Commercial king salmon
----------------------------------------------------------------------------

B.] Historical Sport Fish King Salmon Catch In The Kodiak
Management Area, 1977 - 2001. King Salmon Harvested
Year Kings
1977 ---- 483
1979 ---- 752
1981 ---- 789
1984 ---- 921
1986 ---- 520
1990 ---- 996
1991 ---- 2,508
1992 ---- 2,217
1993 ---- 5,092
1994 ---- 3,166
1995 ---- 2,662
1997 ---- 5,221
1998 ---- 4,052
1999 ---- 6,791
2000 ---- 9,629
2001 ---- 8,541
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
C.] Subsistence early run, salmon fishery harvest Kodiak
Management Area. [ Page 54 ] King Salmon Harvested
Year Kings
1990 --- 131 King Salmon
1991 --- 177 King Salmon
1992 --- 318 King Salmon
1993 --- 243 King Salmon
1994 --- 205 King Salmon
1995 --- 175 King Salmon
1996 --- 253 King Salmon
1997 --- 383 King Salmon
1998 --- 350 King Salmon
1999 --- 296 King Salmon
2000 --- 351 King Salmon
2001 --- 351 King Salmon, est. not final
----------------------------------------------------------
23,827 Commercial king salmon 73%
+ 8,541 Sport king salmon --------- 26%
351 Subsistence king salmon 1%
--------------------------------------------------------------
32,719 King salmon were taken in 2001 within
Kodiak Management Area Fisheries.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
There were 12,069 king salmon commercially havested within the Cook Inlet Area
in July & August of 2002.
There were 32,719 king salmon caught within Kodiak Fisheries in June of 2001.
This demonstrates a combined June Kodiak commercal/sport/subsistence harvest
which is TWICE as effective as Cook Inlets July commercial fishery.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The Department of Fish & Game claims that there is a problem with the escapment of
larger king salmon within the Kenai river first run. The above ADF&G data is showing that
if a Kenai river problem really does exist, that there are clearly saltwater factors involved.
It would be very short-sighted for anyone to claim that only in-river users could cause such
a river problem.
100% of the Kenai rivers early run king salmon must swim through the Kodiak Intercept
gauntlet. According to ADF&G's own data these Kodiak fisheries are TWICE as effective
as Cook Inlets commercial fisheries in July. Any fishery which was even close to Cook Inlets
July commercial fisheries should have been placed under a microscope at the Feburary Board
meeting but instead, it was not even looked at.

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