The Alaska Beat

ALASKA BEAT

Sockeye salmon that begin their spawning run in Alaska rivers and continue on into British Columbia waters are a point of contention between segments of U.S. and Canadian fishery worlds. (T. QUINN/NATIONAL PARK SERVICE)

WHOSE SALMON ARE THESE?

There’s a bit of a border dispute brewing between Southeast Alaska and British Columbia. It's a beef for sure, but it’s about salmon steaks and not T-bones.

A study commissioned by BC’s Watershed Watch Salmon Society and SkeenaWild Conservation Trust concluded that the majority of 800,000 sockeye caught in Alaska waters were headed upstream to Canadian rivers.

“Alaskan fisheries intercept and catch salmon of all species from British Columbia in Southeast Alaska,” the report states. “There is growing concern that as Canadian salmon abundance declines, and Canada closes or restricts its fisheries, Alaskan catch continues to have an impact on Canadian salmon and steelhead populations.”

And needless to say, Canadian wild fish advocates are not happy about the statistics.

“We knew that the Alaskans were catching a lot of BC salmon, as they have for a long time, but it was pretty jarring to see how their share of the catch has grown as ours has dwindled to protect salmon,” said Aaron Hill, president of Watershed Watch Salmon Society, in a report by Glacier Media’s Coast Reporter newspaper.

While the article says there isn’t much legally that can be done at present due to the Canada-US Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement, many Canucks aren’t holding back in their criticism.

“The Alaskans need to shut down this dirty fishery. It only exists to intercept B.C. salmon migrating through their waters,” Hill said in the newspaper report.

After that story was published, the state of Alaska responded with a strong statement that cited the migratory movement of Pacific salmon across international and state borders as common behavior.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang objected to the content of the report, and said that he was “disappointed by what I consider to be a targeted attack on Southeast Alaska salmon fisheries by these special interest groups.”

Vincent-Lang brought up the countries’ shared Pacific Salmon Treaty obligations and added, “I take our obligations to fulfill Treaty commitments seriously. Moreover, I find the timing of the release of this report to be suspect, as it coincides with ongoing Pacific Salmon Treaty meetings. The summary comments were subjective and one-sided and appear to be designed to derail Pacific Salmon Treaty talks.”

TWEET OF THE MONTH

And in my fifth winter in Alaska, I finally bought a real winter coat. -Adelyn Baxter @adelynbaxter, Jan. 12

NOTABLE NUMBER

1Where Forbes magazine ranked Alaska in its poll of the top 10 hunting states in America

“THEY SAID IT “I have a lot of mixed feelings. I really feel like the time is right. I mean, radio is my passion. And I think radio rules in Alaska, because of its remoteness. I have to admit that once I hit 70, I really got tired of the daily deadlines. But when I originally had decided to get out of everything, the writing and the radio, I really ” had some difficulty accepting that, because I still love what I do. I still learn something new every day.” –Journalist Laine Welch, who’s retiring after 33 years hosting the Alaska Fish Radio show, to KDLG radio

FROM THE ASJ ARCHIVES – FEBRUARY 2017 A KENAI RIVER TROUT ADVENTURE

Aquick hookset meant the fight was on. My rod bent under the strain of a decent-sized Dolly Varden, about 16 inches. It was a great fish, but not the target. We kept fishing. Gary could tell the type of fish I had on by the bend in my rod. “You’ll know when it’s a big one,” he would say.

Several more fish came, all built up, before I hooked my monster. “There. There. There!” Gary yelled at me as my float was gone in a flash.

It quickly became clear that this was what we were after.

When we arrived at the bank, I was instructed to hop out and fight the fish on the downriver side. Gary was right about the level of distinction between the fish. The caliber of the one I had on now was more than those I’d previously caught and released.

I was playing a new game too, a patience game. The fish tugged and ran, staying below the surface until he was mere feet from the boat. I would reel him in so close I could see color, only to have him shoot off again. As time wore on, the fish’s tactics changed. I would get him close and then he would roll in the water; I kept anticipating my hook shooting back at my face at any moment. Zach had the net ready.

Eventually the fish subsided and swam in close enough to be netted. He was roughly 26 inches long, not the biggest trout but certainly respectable. I dipped my hands into the cold water and grabbed the beast. Holding him softly, like a delicate bunch of flowers, I realized I had just caught a lunker trout on the Kenai. -Randy King

During a business trip to Alaska, Randy King enjoyed a memorable trip to the Kenai River, where the trout were

biting. (RANDY KING)

OUTDOOR CALENDAR*

Feb. 1 Resident caribou season opens in Game Management Unit 26B (North Slope) Feb. 5 Yukon Quest sled dog race begins, Fairbanks (yukonquest.com) Feb. 15 Wolverine season opens in GMUs 3 (Petersburg/ Wrangell) and 4 (Admiralty/Baranof/Chichagof Islands) Feb. 26 Safari Club International Banquet, Dena’ina Center, Anchorage (907-903-8329, aksafariclub.org) March 5 Expected start of Iditarod race, Anchorage (iditarod.com) March 15 Spring brown bear season opens in GMU 1 (Southeast Mainland) March 15 Resident spring brown bear season opens in GMU 3 April 9 28th Annual Homer Winter King Salmon Tournament (homerwinterking.com)

2022 SPORTSMAN SHOWS

Feb. 2-6 Washington Sportsmen’s Show, Washington State Fair & Events Center, Puyallup, Washington (otshows.com) Feb 16-20 Pacific Northwest Sportsmen’s Show, Expo Center, Portland, Oregon (otshows.com) March 25-27 Mat-Su Outdoorsman Show, Menard Center, Wasilla (matsuoutdoorsmanshow.com) April 1-3 Great Alaska Sportsman Show, Dena’ina Civic and Convention Center, Anchorage (greatalaskasportsmanshow.com) April 8-10 Fairbanks Outdoor Show, Carlson Center (fairbanksevents.com/outdoor-show)

For more information and season dates for Alaska hunts, go to adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=hunting.main. Note: Check with local contacts on events that could be postponed/ cancelled due to Covid-19 pandemic.

The Alaska chapter of Safari Club International is raffling off a Chugach Dall sheep as part of its Feb. 26 fundraising banquet at the Dena’ina Center in

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