Tag Archives: Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association
Commercial fish report shows impact of set-net closure
A recent report from the Alaska Department of Fish & Game shows the impact of the closure of a prominent fishery on the 2023 season for the commercial salmon industry in Upper Cook Inlet. Set-netters are worried about the future of their fishery, and the possible long-term impacts of over escapement. In Upper Cook Inlet, the report says, the 2023 commercial salmon harvest was about 40% lower than the 20-year average. Commercial fishermen caught 1.9 million salmon in the upper inlet, compared to the 20-year average of 3.1 million. Fish & Game attributes most of that decline to the closure of the east side set-net fishery, which the department closed before the season even began in anticipation of low king salmon numbers. >>click to read<< 13:04
Months before season begins, state closes most Cook Inlet king salmon fishing
Parts of the Kenai River are still frozen over. But the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has already closed the early and late king salmon runs to sport fishing — also shutting down the beleaguered Cook Inlet east side set-net fishery before fishermen can gear up. “This is my 53rd year coming up as a set-netter, and I have never experienced this,” said Ken Coleman, vice president of the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association. He said he’s never seen the fishery close completely this early. Fish and Game does release a preseason forecast for the early king salmon run every winter, to give guides and fishermen a sense of what to expect before the summer starts. >click to read< 15:09
Commercial Fisherman Timothy J. Moore of Homer, Alaska, has passed away
Timothy J. Moore, age 65, of Homer, Alaska, passed peacefully from this world into the loving arms of Jesus, the Great Fisher of Men on Dec. 2, 2021. After his family, Tim enjoyed hunting and sport fishing, but commercial fishing was his passion. his first fishing experience was set netting for salmon on his Uncle Pat McElroy’s sites as a skinny 13-year-old during a summer visit to Alaska in 1967. In 1991 the acquisition of the F/V Iliamna Bay allowed him to expand his herring fisheries to include Togiak and to participate in the halibut fishery during those crazy “derby” days before IFQs. The F/V Iliamna Bay was also the beginning of his Prince William Sound salmon seining career where he made many memories fishing with the family and some amazing crew. >click to read< 15:19
Sen. Peter Micciche is again moving to establish a buyback program for set-net permits in Cook Inlet
The program would reduce the number of commercial set-net fishermen on the east side of the inlet. Proponents of the bill, like Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association Director Ken Coleman, say that’s to reduce pressure and create a more sustainable fishery in an area that’s been under stress for years. “Our thought was if we could reduce our numbers, then those who would be left behind in a reduction scenario, assuming that some people would leave the fishing community, that those that are left behind would have a better chance for ongoing financial viability,” he said. >click to read< 09:46
Sen. Pete Micciche proposes setnet buyback bill
Sen. Pete Micciche (R-Soldotna) is having another go at getting a bill through the legislature that would reduce the number of commercial east side setnetters in Upper Cook Inlet by about half, something that is supported by the leaders of the Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association, a setnetter organization. Micciche and KPFA say the effort began about four years ago, and Micciche pre-filed a bill before the last legislative session. That bill, Senate Bill 135, stated that “the Alaska Legislature finds that it is in the public interest to reduce the number of commercial setnet fishers on the east side of Cook Inlet.” >click to read<16:53
Cook Inlet setnet buyback program gains support
Cook Inlet fishermen are again pushing for a bill that would authorize a commercial set gillnet permit buyback, but with the budget battles ongoing, it may not advance this year. Senate Bill 90 is the latest version of the plan to set up a buyback program for setnet permits on Cook Inlet’s east side. About 440 permits exist on the east side, targeting primarily sockeye salmon with secondary catches of king salmon headed for the Kasilof and Kenai rivers. The bill, sponsored by Sen. Peter Micciche, R-Soldotna, aims to permanently remove up to 200 permits and their shore leases from the fishery. The fishermen have been debating a way to reduce the fleet for about four years,,, >click to read<21:23
