The August king salmon season will not take place in Southeast Alaska after the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) determined that catch exceedances occurred during the first holding period earlier this summer.
Commercial troll fishermen caught 82,000 Chinook salmon in the first season, exceeding the target of 66,700, forcing ADF&G to shut down fishing on July 8. While the agency’s 2024 preseason forecast estimated that commercial fishermen would have 15,000 Chinook salmon left to catch in the second season in August, sport fishermen caught about 52,000 Chinook salmon, exceeding their allocation by 14,000 fish. Under a controversial management plan approved in 2023, that total was subtracted from the commercial troll fishermen’s allocation.
“After this reduction, the remaining annual troll allocation is insufficient to open a competitive second summer troll fishery for Chinook salmon,” ADF&G said in an Aug. 6 news release. “However, if sufficient numbers of Chinook salmon remain in the contractual all-troll allocation, a limited-take troll fishery may be opened. Any plans to open a limited-take fishery will be announced later this month.”
According to the Alaska Trollers Association (ATA), the increase in fishing tourism is disrupting the delicate balance between the commercial and sport fishing sectors in the region.
“In the past, fishermen in southeast Alaska successfully shared the Chinook salmon catch. However, with the explosion of tourism, this model has collapsed,” it says. “The unexpected impacts of overtourism, which robs local sport fishermen and trollers of their traditional fishing seasons and areas, are destroying community relationships and economies.”
A similar situation arose in 2023, when the sport fishing sector exceeded its catch share by 17,000 fish and the opening of the Chinook fishery in August had to be cancelled.
“The problem is that the number of non-resident anglers is not capped and is growing rapidly as tourism increases throughout the region and charter companies expand,” ATA said. “Chinook salmon fishing for charter clients continues throughout the summer season, with daily and annual catch limits in place for individual anglers. However, there is no annual limit or management goals for the charter fishing sector. Tourists fishing in the Southeast are the only group permitted this unlimited practice.”
The number of salmon fishermen operating in Southeast Alaska has dropped from 756 a decade ago to 450 this season, according to the ATA, which expressed “deep concern” about ADF&G’s management approach.
“The recent management shift from seasonal, adaptive management to laissez-faire management for the tourists is contentious and controversial,” it says. “The Alaska Board of Fisheries Management plan negotiated in March 2022 by representatives of the region’s three salmon interest groups – resident sport, managed sport and commercial trollers – has worked well to sustainably distribute the Chinook harvest among the groups.”
However, in response to a request to revise the agreement to clarify management plans, ADF&G changed the terms of the agreement in favor of charter fishers starting in December 2023, giving them priority in calculating overages, the ATA said.
“As ADF&G attempts to implement laissez-faire management to appease the charter and lodge business, they are destroying the ability of our Alaska trollers to fulfill the orders of our fish-loving customers,” ATA said. “Accelerated catches by tourists are depriving our long-standing small-boat fisheries and processors of fish. If our local small-boat fishers go out of business, the economic resilience of our isolated island communities will be weakened and the entire region will be destabilized.”
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