According to the information released by ADF&G these regulations take effect from May 15 and these restrictions are in addition to rules already in place in the sport fishing regulation booklet for Southcentral Alaska and the commercial fishing regulations for the Northern District. The authority said that the commercial restrictions are fairly simple. They are contained in a statement of the overall management strategy the department is employing to address anticipated poor king salmon returns this season.
Since 2007 the population of Northern Cook Inlet king salmon remained well below average due to its management strategy. New management strategy (additional sport and commercial restrictions), in addition to reducing the Northern District commercial king salmon fishing periods from 12 hours to six hours, is designed to provide fishing opportunity throughout the season and reduce the potential for midseason closures while conserving northern Cook Inlet king salmon.
The Susitna River restrictions mirror the two-fish bag limit. Only two king salmon may be harvested from fresh waters of the Susitna River drainage this season and any king 20 inches or longer harvested before the May 15 implementation date is exempt from the two-fish limit, but counts toward the five-fish Cook Inlet limit.
