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Ok, my last missive on this topic was tongue-in-cheek (sort of), but now I'm serious.
AlaskaHippie recently said something important to this issue, namely that Alaskans like red salmon. A lot. And he's right, which explains the concentrated pressure on the Kenai: It's the nearest accessible red run of significance to the population centers in Southcentral.
To alleviate the crush of humanity that befalls the KP every red run, the State of Alaska should make the restoration of Susitna salmon stocks a high priority. Not simply for the convenience of Anchorage and Mat-Su residents but because, prima facie, the salmon are all but gone for reasons that can be addressed. The loss of salmon, and salmon fishing, in the Su drainage has had major economic and cultural impacts. These runs can be restored from a technological standpoint but the measures needed to do so would be contentious and expensive.
As I see it (and I am by no means an expert) the following would be required:
1) Catch as many wild (native) salmon as possible in the affected rivers and strip them of eggs and milt. This is needed to ensure the broadest genetic diversity when the stocks are re-introduced
2) Kill every Pike in the Su drainage. A tall order, but all it would take is a few hundred tons of Rotenone. Poison every pike bearing lake and stream in the entire Susitna watershed for 3 years running. Kill them all. Of course, trout, char, grayling, burbot and forage species such as sticklebacks will get wiped out too, but they can be restocked as well.
3) Restock the historic runs annually for a period of years equal to the normal life cycle for that species. Then target rivers with potential "brood lake" systems for possible red salmon enhancement. The Lake Creek / Chelatna Lake system comes immediately to mind. So do the Middle and East Forks of the Chulitna (Reds in Cantwell??) Road accessible streams in Mat-Su should be specifically targeted for red enhancement. Restocking would also have to include other game fish and forage species.
4) Restocking would require concurrent moratoriums on both commerical and sport fishing for Susitna bound fish for those years the runs are being restored, so no fishing for 3-5 years.
5) Once red runs are restored and/or established, public access should be improved as a means of dispersing fishing pressure and concentrated human use in general.
6) Establish a Susitna Salmon Conservation Stamp to amortize the costs of restoration: $15 for residents. $35 for non-residents. This would be replace the normal statewide King Stamp for the Su drainage only. If you fished for Kings elsewhere you would still need the statewide stamp.
7) Once the red runs reach the appropriate levels allow dipnetting on the main stems of the Susitna and Chulitna rivers, and possibly the lower Talkeetna. And borrow a page from deer hunting in several Eastern states and issue "Back Tags" to aid in enforcement. An LEO with a pair of binos can cover a lot of territory--On the river with a dipnet in possession but no back tag? Here's your fine. Also, charge $30 for head of household and $15 for each family member being fished for.
8) Increase the sport/subsistence allocation and reestablish the commercial fishery south of the line from Tyonek to Pt Possession
It would not be easy, logistically, or politically (well, it could be with a governor with vision and courage) and it wouldn't be cheap, but it would work, and restoring a viable red run in the Mat-Su would alleviate much of the mess accumulating along the lower Kenai every summer.
AlaskaHippie recently said something important to this issue, namely that Alaskans like red salmon. A lot. And he's right, which explains the concentrated pressure on the Kenai: It's the nearest accessible red run of significance to the population centers in Southcentral.
To alleviate the crush of humanity that befalls the KP every red run, the State of Alaska should make the restoration of Susitna salmon stocks a high priority. Not simply for the convenience of Anchorage and Mat-Su residents but because, prima facie, the salmon are all but gone for reasons that can be addressed. The loss of salmon, and salmon fishing, in the Su drainage has had major economic and cultural impacts. These runs can be restored from a technological standpoint but the measures needed to do so would be contentious and expensive.
As I see it (and I am by no means an expert) the following would be required:
1) Catch as many wild (native) salmon as possible in the affected rivers and strip them of eggs and milt. This is needed to ensure the broadest genetic diversity when the stocks are re-introduced
2) Kill every Pike in the Su drainage. A tall order, but all it would take is a few hundred tons of Rotenone. Poison every pike bearing lake and stream in the entire Susitna watershed for 3 years running. Kill them all. Of course, trout, char, grayling, burbot and forage species such as sticklebacks will get wiped out too, but they can be restocked as well.
3) Restock the historic runs annually for a period of years equal to the normal life cycle for that species. Then target rivers with potential "brood lake" systems for possible red salmon enhancement. The Lake Creek / Chelatna Lake system comes immediately to mind. So do the Middle and East Forks of the Chulitna (Reds in Cantwell??) Road accessible streams in Mat-Su should be specifically targeted for red enhancement. Restocking would also have to include other game fish and forage species.
4) Restocking would require concurrent moratoriums on both commerical and sport fishing for Susitna bound fish for those years the runs are being restored, so no fishing for 3-5 years.
5) Once red runs are restored and/or established, public access should be improved as a means of dispersing fishing pressure and concentrated human use in general.
6) Establish a Susitna Salmon Conservation Stamp to amortize the costs of restoration: $15 for residents. $35 for non-residents. This would be replace the normal statewide King Stamp for the Su drainage only. If you fished for Kings elsewhere you would still need the statewide stamp.
7) Once the red runs reach the appropriate levels allow dipnetting on the main stems of the Susitna and Chulitna rivers, and possibly the lower Talkeetna. And borrow a page from deer hunting in several Eastern states and issue "Back Tags" to aid in enforcement. An LEO with a pair of binos can cover a lot of territory--On the river with a dipnet in possession but no back tag? Here's your fine. Also, charge $30 for head of household and $15 for each family member being fished for.
8) Increase the sport/subsistence allocation and reestablish the commercial fishery south of the line from Tyonek to Pt Possession
It would not be easy, logistically, or politically (well, it could be with a governor with vision and courage) and it wouldn't be cheap, but it would work, and restoring a viable red run in the Mat-Su would alleviate much of the mess accumulating along the lower Kenai every summer.
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