The Federal Subsistence Board will be considering five fishery proposals for the Cook Inlet Area for its upcoming cycle, 2017 – 2019. The five proposals deal with time, area, methods and means of the federal subsistence fisheries on the Kenai River for residents of Ninilchik, Cooper Landing and Hope, and on the Kasilof River for residents of Ninilchik.
FP17-06 from the Cooper Landing and Hope Community Group and FP17-07 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service seek to remove gillnets from current regulations on the Kenai River. These two proposals seek to reverse the FSB decision last year to allow the use of gillnets; the FSB has yet to act on the more than 700 requests for reconsideration it received protesting the decision to allow the use of gillnets.
FP17-08 from the US Fish and Wildlife Service seeks to close the Kenai River to take of Chinook salmon from river mile 45.5 to Skilak Lake, and revises size restrictions, seasonal and daily harvest and possession limits.
FP17-09 and FP17-10 from the Ninilchik Traditional Council seek to expand the time allowed for the use of gillnets on the Kasilof and Kenai Rivers, respectively. On the Kasilof, the proposal seeks to expand the use gillnets, currently July 1 – 31, to May 1 – November 15. It also seeks to allow harvest of non-target species, such as Steelhead, which are currently closed to harvest in state regulation. August is also the primary month for Chinook salmon to spawn in the Kasilof River. On the Kenai, the proposal seeks to expand the use of gillnets, currently from June 15 – August 15, to May 1 – November 15. May 4 – June 10 has a rainbow trout spawning closure on the upper middle river, and August Chinook salmon fishing is closed for spawning.
Proposals can be viewed online at www.doi.gov/subsistence (direct link is https://www.doi.gov/sites/doi.gov/files/uploads/2017-2019%20Fisheries%20Proposal%20Book%28web%29.pdf )
Comment deadline in Thursday, May 26 – email: subsistence@fws.gov ; FAX: 907-786-3898 (attn.: Theo Matuskowitz).