The Copper River commercial gillnet fishery will open later than ever this coming spring, following a new mandate the Board of Fisheries decided on in Cordova this past week.
The Board – which met in Cordova from Dec. 10-16 – considered a suite of proposals limiting commercial activity in the Area E fishery. The Board ended up passing Proposal 51, which aimed to significantly reduce commercial activity on the Copper River by time. The proposal was heavily opposed by both individual permit holders and by Area E’s fishermen advocacy group Cordova District Fishermen United (CDFU).
Prop 51, brought to the Board by Wrangell St. Elias National Park, originally presented language that would have prohibited commercial fishing in the Copper River district until a certain number of salmon have been counted at the Miles Lake sonar after the first two openers. The number of escaped salmon needed in order to open the fishery would be 70% of management’s objective for that date. Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s (ADF&G) official staff comments were neutral on the proposals.
During early discussions about the proposal, the Board expressed concerns about king salmon escapement in the Copper River in light of the knowledge that ADF&G had not achieved escapement goals for the district in two of the last five years. Karen Linnell, executive director of the Ahtna Intertribal Resource Commission, shared in her Traditional Knowledge testimony how decreasing salmon return in the upper reaches of the Copper River have negatively affected the communities there. In tandem, commercial groups expressed their own concerns about prolonged closures – stating they result in lost economic opportunity and the pitfalls of salmon over-escapement. Consequently, Board Chair Märit Carlson-Van Dort presented alternate language that she believed would conserve kings while lessening negative economic impacts on the commercial fleet.
The Board moved forward with newly adopted language to Proposal 51 – which in the end will delay the opening of the commercial fishery until after May 21, and include paired restriction on king salmon retention in the personal-use fishery until July 1. There was not an opportunity for official public comment on the amended language.
“My intent here is to try and do what we can to give us the best chance to meet those [king] escapement goals,” said Carlson-Van Dort during deliberations on Prop 51. “This is a special fishery and we want to try and maintain its viability for as long as we can.”
The chair went on to speak about how she received feedback from many stakeholders and interested groups and felt that the language agreed upon was a compromise on all parties toward a common goal.
The proposal put forth by Wrangell St. Elias National Park echoes recent tensions between federal entities operating in Alaska and the state’s own department, both of which are tasked with managing salmon and subsistence in different mandates. In other regions of the state, these incongruencies in management plans have led to high-level lawsuits, including most recently in May when a federal judge ruled on the side of the Yukon Kuskokwim Delta National Wildlife Refuge over ADF&G in a subsistence fishing dispute.
Board member Tom Carpenter alluded to such tensions with his questions and comments around Prop 51.
“What I took from that proposal … gave me the idea that the National Park Service didn’t feel that the department [ADF&G] was doing their job, and I found that repulsive,” Carpenter said while discussing Prop 51.
During deliberations, members of the Board shared their process in agreeing to the updated alternate language. Some commented that originally, they planned on taking more restrictive actions in the district.
“When I started thinking about this I wanted all four days in May gone,” Board member Greg Svendsen said.
Svendsen followed his comment by saying that after speaking with stakeholders in the area he understood more about the high value of the early season fishery to the commercial fleet and management.
Commercial fishermen spoke emotionally of their disappointment with Prop 51. In discussions, some permit holders shared that up to 15% of their entire profit for the season is made during the first two open periods of May.
“It’s a further loss of opportunity,” said Steven Day, who fishes on the Copper River flats. “I feel like we’re doing more than our part. It’s a huge hit to my bottom line.”
Overall, many locals who had been involved in the process closely reported a range of emotions – varying from deep defeat to a slight relief that heavier action was not taken. During the final discussion before the vote, board members across the table echoed sentiments of respect and gratitude for the stakeholders involved who were willing to work through a difficult solution.
Board member Mike Wood said that the process left him with a deep impression of Cordova as a community with the shared goal of conserving salmon resources for all.
“This town has suffered more trauma and environmental impact than any other place in Alaska,” he said. “What blew me away was that … there was … willingness to achieve that goal. I think it’s amazing how this community operates, you’re all in it together.”
Kinsey Brown is a Cordova Times freelance reporter. She’s also a co-chair at the Alaska Marine Conservation Council and a commercial harvester on the F/V Lucid Dream.
