It's my belief that King fishing on the Kenai should have seen a complete closure years ago, and a huge reduction in guides before that. We've already killed all the big ones. The rest will be gone soon.
So we're gonna kill Kings on the Kenai?
- Thread starter SmokeRoss
- Start date
4merguide
Well-known member
Totally agree. Only thing I might add is....MANY years ago!
urbanhillbilly
Active member
Definitely sad to see the fishery how it is today.
urbanhillbilly
Active member
Makes you wonder why they do catch and release only for kings anywhere in the state and claim they are trying to preserve the species. The big kings are gone from most places in the state.
It’s safe to say that “most people” targeting kings want to be able to take them home for dinner(s), so you know for certain that there are poachers out there keeping what they catch, even taking multiples. In this statement I am NOT saying that all who target them are poachers, but acknowledge that they are out there. Even while dip netting.
If the species are at risk and you want to preserve the trophy size gene pool, close the fishery completely. It would be way easier to enforce a complete closure than to enforce a c&r fishery in my honest opinion.
It’s safe to say that “most people” targeting kings want to be able to take them home for dinner(s), so you know for certain that there are poachers out there keeping what they catch, even taking multiples. In this statement I am NOT saying that all who target them are poachers, but acknowledge that they are out there. Even while dip netting.
If the species are at risk and you want to preserve the trophy size gene pool, close the fishery completely. It would be way easier to enforce a complete closure than to enforce a c&r fishery in my honest opinion.
urbanhillbilly
Active member
I am not familiar with the commercial rules and regulations, therefore I cannot speak on that subject. I am talking about on shore personal use dip netting. All I am saying is that someone is always going to be breaking the rules.
Certainly nets do kill some kings. But there is no commercial fishery targeting the early run Kenai kings, and the early run is doing even worse than the late run. So...hard to blame that one on the nets. (I'm specifically referring to gillnetting in Upper Cook Inlet. Trawl nets out in the Bering are another issue entirely.)
iofthetaiga
Well-known member
If we kill off the few that manage to make it back to the river then there won't be any more for those China ships to catch out at sea. That'll show them!
Two years ago a study showed that just in the Central and Western Gulf 16,802 chinook salmon were taken as bycatch. This is an issue that comes up every year and doesn't get addressed in any of those years in any meaningful way.
https://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...d-king-bycatch
China is the least of our worries when we are killing our own valuable fish by the thousands as they return home to spawn all so we can catch pollack for McDognalds.
https://forums.outdoorsdirectory.com...d-king-bycatch
China is the least of our worries when we are killing our own valuable fish by the thousands as they return home to spawn all so we can catch pollack for McDognalds.
4merguide
Well-known member
I wonder how many kings the Ninilchicans kill when they string out their "subsistence" net on the Kenai?
Too many.....
4merguide
Well-known member
One is too many imo.
river mist
Member
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Since both "K" rivers are completely shut down to king fishing in any shape or form starting 7/19, does this have any affect on beach set-netting.
<br/><br/>Yep, setnetting is closed unless the king numbers come back up. <br/><br/>https://www.alaskapublic.org/2021/07/20/kenai-king-salmon-fishery-shuts-down/
The in river closure completely kills the beach nets and will increase the chance of over escaping the river with reds. They will increase bag limits soon I bet and switch to 24 hr dipping get ready for some chaos. I give it less than a week and boat will be capsized in the dip net fishery.
I wish the management was not connected. I understand the com guys get some Kings but it’s not the large Kings normally. The large number I hear people talking about includes all kings including all the jacks that are under 10 lbs.
I wish the management was not connected. I understand the com guys get some Kings but it’s not the large Kings normally. The large number I hear people talking about includes all kings including all the jacks that are under 10 lbs.
kwackkillncrew
Well-known member
small kings is better then no kings. If over escapement is an issue are we going to have a terrible red run on the russian in a couple years since they had over 80 thousand fish through the counter a couple years ago?
iofthetaiga
Well-known member
Runs are likely to continue to decline, but not because of "over-escapement", which is nothing more than a human economic construct.
According to ADFG the Kenai has met the Sustainable Escapement Goal every year since 2011, it over escaped the SEG every year except 2018. The Kenai has over escaped the Inriver Escapement Goal year since 2011 except for 2013 (which would have over escaped if they didn't stop counting on Aug 7th), 2016 (which would have over escaped if they didn't stop counting on Aug 19th), 2017 (which might have over escaped if they didn't stop counting on Aug 24th when 16,610 fish were counted), and 2018 (which didn't meet the Inriver Escapement Goal). There have been four years since 2011 the Inriver Escapement Goal was not over escaped, but in reality two of those years most likely were over escaped one year might have over escaped and 2018 was the one year that wasn't over escaped by any reasonable measure.
There is a point where too many fish in the river will result in less returning fish in future years, I don't know what that number is. Out in Bristol Bay they've over escaped for years and they keep bringing back more and more fish.
What all of that means while we dump billions of hatchery pinks into PWS, I don't know but I'm glad it's not my job to know what it all means.
