Alaska Board of Fish nominee Robert Ruffner makes his case

OK, we’re all Alaskans and we seem to love a good political fight. We really like to fight about fish. So grab the popcorn for the next round. If you’re following this, then you’ve seen half a dozen editorials, letters to the editor and stories over my nomination to the Alaska Board of Fisheries, all written by someone else. Most recently from an out-of-state individual paid to advance one group’s vision. With a couple days to go before the Legislature makes a decision, you need to hear from the applicant himself.

My name is Robert Ruffner. I’m a married, dedicated father of two young daughters and a proud dipnetter from the Kenai who can’t think of any better way to get fish onto the average Alaskans’ table. Every sockeye in my freezer and in jars on our shelf came from a dipnet. I harvest near my family’s limit and we eat every one. I will support and defend access to these fish and work very hard to improve the access of this fishery to ensure its continued success. What is needed moving forward is a better understanding and appreciation of these fisheries importance to the average Alaskan and recognition that each has unique challenges.

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TOUGH TIMES FOR KENAI RIVER GUIDES

Kenai River (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

From the Peninsula Clarion...

Bruce Ewitt guided on the Kenai River for 11 years before he quit after the 2012 fishing season and shifted his efforts toward king salmon returning to the Columbia River.

He joined the ranks of sportfishing guides, nearly 100 since 2007, who have stopped guiding on the Kenai River a trend that other guides say could be indicative of future river use.

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Questions remain over counts after shift to high-tech sonar

In the continuing saga of Kenai River king salmon management during the current period of low abundance, counting the number of fish coming into the river with enough accuracy to satisfy competing users has been a difficult task for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

Researchers are dealing with new, high-tech sonar counters they hope will meet the inherent challenge of finding and counting a few king salmon swimming along with thousands of sockeye salmon.

They are also faced with the task of communicating the subtleties of an increasingly complex system to a public upset by departmental missteps such as the 2012 closure of king salmon anglers and Cook Inlet setnetters due to what managers believed were dangerously low numbers of fish.

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2013 Salmon Harvest Sets New Records

(Juneau) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has completed compilation of preliminary values for the 2013 commercial salmon fishery. Powered by a record pink salmon harvest of 219 million fish, this year’s harvest ranks as the second most valuable on record. At $691.1 million, 2013 is only exceeded by the 1988 harvest value of $724 million. In addition to setting a record for pink salmon, the total number of salmon harvested also set a new record at 272 million fish.

“Our salmon managers across the state have done an excellent job of ensuring sustainability of our salmon stocks while optimizing fishing opportunity. We had an outstanding year over-all, though some areas returns did not allow for desired harvest levels,” said Director Jeff Regnart, ADF&G Commercial Fisheries Division. “We are pleased that so many Alaskans are able to enjoy the economic benefits of our salmon resources.”

Sockeye salmon narrowly held onto its position as the most valuable salmon species harvested in Alaska’s commercial salmon fisheries, with a statewide value of $284 million. Almost half of this came from Bristol Bay, where the price was up even though the harvest was modest. Pink salmon, riding a huge wave of production across multiple fishing areas, brought in $277 million. Chum, coho, and Chinook salmon, respectively, filled the remainder of the ranks.

Bristol Bay, usually the most valuable salmon fishery in the state, fell to third place this year behind Southeast Alaska and Prince William Sound. Southeast and Prince William sound realized the largest pink salmon harvests ever recorded in their management areas; just over 91 million pink salmon from Prince William Sound, and 89.2 million pink salmon from Southeast Alaska.

This year’s title of most valuable salmon fishing area in the state belongs to Southeast Alaska, with an all- species harvest value of $219 million. In addition to the $124 million in pink salmon, Southeast chum and coho salmon yielded values of $43.6 million and $23.4 million, respectively. In addition, the Chinook salmon harvest in Southeast Alaska was worth $17 million.

Kodiak and Chignik also had very good years with all-species harvests worth $61 and $23 million, respectively. For the first time in several years, the Alaska Peninsula also enjoyed a decent pink salmon harvest.

The Yukon and Kotzebue management areas had good chum salmon returns, but Chinook salmon returns throughout the Arctic/Yukon/Kuskokwim region were again low and provided no commercial fishing opportunities.

The Upper Cook Inlet sockeye salmon harvest was just over half the forecast. Management restrictions on the sockeye fishery were required to conserve a small Chinook salmon return to the Kenai River.

Values provided by ADF&G are based on estimated ex-vessel prices and do not include post season bonuses or price adjustments. The final value for the 2013 salmon fishery will be determined in 2014 after seafood processors, buyers, and direct marketers report the average prices paid to fishermen in 2013. It is entirely possible that after final prices are determined, the 2013 season, without accounting for inflation, could surpass 1988 as the most valuable salmon harvest in history.

Russian-Kenai River Public Forums

Image by USFWSAlaska via Flickr

Please come to a public forum in October to share and discuss your experience, thoughts and ideas on how to reduce conflicts between humans and bears in the Russian-Kenai River high-use area.

At these evening forums, management agencies will present information about potential management actions and strategies they have been investigating in response to suggestions made at public meetings held in April 2011 and in other public comments. Agency presentations will be followed by opportunity for questions and discussion.

Your input during the October public forums will assist the agencies as they continue their work in developing a five-year management action plan for the Kenai-Russian River area.

You are invited to email your thoughts and ideas to: comments-alaska-chugach-seward@fs.fed.us Please put “Kenai Russian River Comment” in the email’s subject line.

Schedule of Meetings

Soldotna-Gilman River Center 514 Funny River Road  Tuesday, October 25 ............. 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Cooper Landing-Cooper Landing Community Center Bean Creek Road Wednesday, October 26........ 6:00-9:00 p.m.

Anchorage-University of Alaska Anchorage The Commons 3700 Sharon Gagnon Lane, Room 106  Thursday, October 27............ 6:00-9:00 p.m.

  For more information, please go to: the website for more information or contact project facilitator Jan Caulfield at janc@gci.net or at 907-523-4610 (in Juneau).

Download the Meeting Flyer...

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