This table released by the Department of Fish and Game last Thursday compares forecasts for Chinook salmon runs next year to the 10-year average and preliminary escapement values for this year. With the exception of the Situk River, Southeast Alaska's major salmon rivers have failed to meet lower thresholds for escapement, potentially prompting special management actions for next year.
This graph shows odd-year King salmon escapement rates along the Stikine River over the past 42 years. The recent failure to meet goal is a rare one for the river, which has largely been productive since the mid-1980s.
Action plans for the emergency management of Chinook salmon in Southeast Alaskan rivers have been drafted ahead of next month's Board of Fisheries meeting in Sitka.
The board, which reviews regulatory oversight of fisheries across the state, planned to meet on January 11 to discuss shellfish and finfish proposals for the coming year. But added to its plate will be a trio of action plans drawn up by the Department of Fish and Game designating king salmon populations in several rivers as stocks of concern.
A stock of concern designation is set after a species demonstrates "a chronic inability to meet historical abundance thresholds," as was seen with king salmon stocks this year. With the exception of the Situk River, ADFG has historically low projections for Chinook in the Chilkat, Taku, Stikine and Unuk rivers for 2018. Looking back at a 10-year average, stocks in all four are expected to be but a fraction in comparison. On the Stikine, a king salmon forecast of 6,900 was projected, far short of the 24,550 fish average.
The projections come short of lower escapement goal thresholds as well, in all cases falling short of the rivers' preliminary escapement values for 2017 too, which also came under goal.
Based on these findings, in October ADFG recommended to Fisheries that the Unuk, King Salmon and Chilkat rivers' king salmon stocks be designated concern status. Departmental policy does not dictate the same response for the fisheries on the Stikine, Taku and Situk, but ADFG will be recommending "very conservative fishery management in the near term," according to a press release it put out Friday. Management actions to conserve those stocks will also be considered during next month's meeting in Sitka.
Each action plan begins with an overview of the resource, past management actions and possible courses to take to preserve Chinook stocks. Aside from a status quo approach, one of the options put forward for the commercial fisheries involves a combination of shaping and closures, closing the winter troll and limiting retention for king salmon. Additional limitations on personal use and sportfishing are also explored.
The Board of Fisheries will consider these proposals and weigh the different options, offering either concurrence or direction on how to preserve the region's Chinook stock.
"We expect a fair bit of input on it from the public," Fisheries executive director Glenn Haight expected.
In addition to these action plans, the board will look at 153 different proposals relating to finfish and shellfish management in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. A full copy of the 2017-18 fisheries proposal book and meeting materials are available online at the ADFG website, at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo&date=01-11-2018&meeting=sitka.
The public comment deadline for inclusion in the meeting's work materials ends at 5 p.m. today, though the board will still be receptive to comments through the end of next month's meeting. Commenters are asked to limit their submissions to 10 single-sided or five double-sided pages.
In addition to submitting written public comments, the public is invited to give oral testimony during the meeting. Shellfish proposals begins review January 11, with finfish starting January 15. Any person intending to testify must sign up at the meeting site at the Harrigan Centennial Hall in Sitka by 2 p.m. at the sessions' start.
All portions of the meeting will be open to the public and a live audio stream is intended to be available on the Board of
Fisheries website at http://www.boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov. Copies of advanced meeting materials, including the agenda and roadmap, are available from boards support section, either by calling 465-4110 orvisitingwww.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.meetinginfo.
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