A Senate resolution establishing a joint task force to examine Cook Inlet salmon issues has finally got the recognition from both houses of legislature. The resolution indicates that the task force will start out with an agenda to restrict commercial salmon fishermen in upper Cook Inlet to benefit sport fishermen before any other issues or concerns are aired.
According to the resolution the sport fishing community is an important part of the local and state-wide tourism industry and the Cook Inlet region has 55 percent of the state-wide sport and personal use fishing effort, and the economic contribution to the state of the in-river sport and personal use fisheries far exceed the ex-vessel value of the Cook Inlet commercial fishing harvests.
At the heart of the issue is escapement in the Susitna drainage, specifically the Yentna River, which runs through the Mat-Su electoral district. It is being studied by Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association, which has done weir studies and tag and recapture studies. The Alaska Trollers Association in a letter said that resolutions of this nature do nothing but pit citizens against one another, while demoralizing the many fine people who willingly serve on the Boards of Fish and Game, and work for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
Sen. Charlie Huggins, R-Wasilla, said it is getting harder and harder and harder to catch fish in the upper Cook Inlet. He added that the history of Cook Inlet is changing. He explained that this resolution simply asks for the formation of a task force to gather information and doesn’t have any decision-making authority.
