The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is imposing what it calls “unprecedented” conservation measures to address declines of Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon — also known as king salmon — which is currently under review for listing under the federal Endangered Species Act.
The department said in a March 18 announcement that it will be restricting western Alaska king salmon fisheries, including in Kodiak, Chignik and Sand Point.
Matt Keyse, an area management biologist at Fish and Game’s Sand Point office, said the measures reflect a broader shift in strategy, and that it is unusual to restrict multiple fisheries based on broad concerns for Chinook salmon across the Gulf of Alaska.
“That is unprecedented,” Keyse said.
Sand Point — off the Alaska Peninsula — is in the middle of the management region known as Area M. Although it doesn’t have its own king runs, fishermen intercept salmon that migrate through the region. In recent years, Area M’s harvest levels have drawn criticism from stakeholders in Western Alaska, who argue the fishery reduces local salmon returns.
Keyse said genetic sampling shows much of the Chinook harvested in the South Peninsula fishery actually come from the Pacific Northwest. He noted the data comes from DNA sampling taken around a decade ago, but said new genetic sampling conducted over the next several salmon seasons will “provide us with a better understanding of the stocks that are harvested within this area.”
He added that the new management approach reflects a broader effort to distribute conservation burdens more evenly across the regions that encounter Gulf of Alaska Chinook.
Recent Chinook-related closures have also taken place elsewhere in the state. Last year, the fleet in the federally-managed Central Gulf pollock fishery, which is mostly based out of Kodiak, voluntarily ended its season when Chinook bycatch reached a specified threshold.
Keyse said the department is looking at ways to try to boost Chinook stocks throughout the gulf, and additional measures could affect other fisheries.
“Everyone that's catching fish is going to bear a little bit of that burden,” he said.
Starting July 1, for instance, purse seiners on the Alaska Peninsula in the Area M region will have to release Chinook measuring 28 inches or longer. That restriction was in place last year as well. But the department is also imposing a new catch limit of 1,000 salmon during any 36-hour opener in a harvest area on the east side of Popof Island, where Sand Point is located.
The current, planned restrictions apply only to purse seiners and are limited to July, but Keyse said the management plan could evolve based on in-season harvest numbers.
Correction: An earlier version of this story included a quote that incorrectly stated it was unprecedented to manage a fishery based on data from fish not found locally. While such management is not new, the current measures are unprecedented because they restrict several fisheries based on concern for king salmon in the Gulf of Alaska.
