JUNEAU, Alaska (AP) - State wildlife officials issued an emergency order Monday that will affect southeast Alaska sport fishers looking for an early catch of king salmon.
The order from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game closes the Juneau area to king salmon fishing from April 15 to June 14, The Juneau Empire reported (https://bit.ly/2mxwh4y).
The two-month closure comes as Fish and Game expects another year of record-low king salmon returns on the Taku River and other southeast Alaska rivers.
“We’ve been in a period of low productivity, not just on the Taku, but on several rivers up and down the coast,” said Daniel Teske, a Juneau-area management biologist. “Forecasts for this coming season are expected to be well below our escapement goals, so we need to limit harvest as much as possible.”
Fish and Game aims to keep escapement numbers for spawning king salmon between 19,000 and 36,000 to maintain a healthy population. The department forecasts only 13,300 spawning king salmon this year.
Teske says the low numbers aren’t surprising, as the king salmon populations “tend to go up and down.”
From 1989 to 2013, an average of 42,000 king salmon a year have made it to freshwater spawning grounds on the Taku River.
Last year marked a record low of 12,381 fish making it upriver, while returns were 28,800 fish in 2015 and 23,532 in 2014.
Biologists believe the increased die-off is due to conditions in the ocean.
“We look at the model and it’s primarily showing something happening in the ocean environment,” Teske said. “We can’t say exactly what it is but there’s potentially less prey available for these fish and potentially an increase in predators. It’s tough to pinpoint because there’re many factors involved when you look at the marine environment.”
As a result of Monday’s order, the Central Council of Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes of Alaska is canceling its Spring King Salmon Derby, which typically takes place during the entire month of May.
Richard Peterson, the tribe’s president, called the cancellation unfortunate, but said “it’s vital we protect our traditional and customary resources to ensure sustainability so future Taku River king salmon runs return stronger.”
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Information from: Juneau (Alaska) Empire, https://www.juneauempire.com
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