Fifty-two proposals are before the Alaska Board of Fisheries as these fishery managers wrestle with Bristol Bay fishery issues, including the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan. The board is in Anchorage meeting through Saturday, Dec. 3.
Proposals 11 through 13 suggest numerous amendments to the king salmon management plan, including reducing the commercial king salmon harvest, increasing the catch of sockeye salmon, and structuring fishing periods in the Nushagak District of Bristol Bay so pulses of king salmon not subjected to commercial fishing pressure may enter the Nushagak River.
Proposal 11, from the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Committee, would provide consistent sport fishing opportunity within and among seasons, and directed commercial king salmon harvests when surplus is available. It would help support an uninterrupted commercial sockeye salmon fishery by minimizing disruptions to the area fishery.
Proposal 12, by Nicholas Dowie, Michael Jackson and Frank Woods, calls for requiring a smaller (4.75-inch rather than 5.125-inch) maximum mesh restriction until July 1 to mitigate Chinook harvest. This should prove more effective in optimizing the sockeye/Chinook catch ratios compared to the use of larger nets, with smaller mesh size being more efficient at catching sockeyes. The proposal would close the sockeye commercial fishery in the Nushagak by emergency order until the projected sockeye escapement into the Wood River or the Nushagak River exceeds 20% of the minimum biological escapement goal for each river, likely providing more Chinook migration time
prior to the district opening.
Although the Nushagak River escapement would have triggered an earlier opening in 2021, use of a smaller mesh size earlier would have increased the sockeye harvest while still offering protection for Chinooks, writers of the proposal contend.
Proposal 13, by Bristol Bay fishing lodge owner Brian Kraft, calls for structuring fishing periods in the Nushagak District so that pulses of king salmon, not subjected to commercial fishing pressure, may enter the Nushagak River from June 1 through July 10. This would be accomplished by issuing commercial openings no earlier than one hour before the forecasted high tide at Clark’s Point.
Under Kraft’s proposal fishing would be closed at least four hours before the next scheduled high tide to allow for pulses of kings to make it into the Nushagak River while still allowing for commercial drift netters and set netters to access the resource.
The proposal would allow ADF&G to manage commercial and sport fisheries in the Nushagak District by scheduling commercial openings to provide pulses of fish into the river that have not been subject to harvest by commercial gear.
The fisheries board is also considering, among others, subsistence salmon proposals 14-16, sport fishing guide proposal 17, rainbow trout proposal 21, sport salmon proposals 22-29,and Chinook salmon harvest reporting proposals 31-32.
A complete list of all proposals under consideration for the Bristol Bay meeting is online at
