Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 31 opens drift gillnetting in Drift Gillnet Area 1 from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 23, 2018. By regulation, Drift
Gillnet Area 3 and 4 remain open from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, August 23, 2018.
Fishing in the above described waters is warranted in order to harvest sockeye salmon returning to the Kenai and Kasilof rivers and other salmon species in UCI. This action is warranted under 5
AAC 21.363(e) Upper Cook Inlet Salmon Management Plan.
Sockeye salmon run strength in the Kenai River continues to improve. As of August 21, 2018 the Kenai River sockeye salmon cumulative passage estimate of 943,922 fish is within the inriver goal of 900,000–1,100,000 fish. Approximately 51% of sockeye salmon passage in the Kenai River has occurred in the month of August and run timing models project the Kenai River sockeye salmon run is about 9 days late. This unprecedented late return of Kenai River sockeye salmon in the month of August has occurred in only one other year (2006). The final Kasilof River sockeye
salmon cumulative passage estimate is approximately 394,288 fish. Therefore, the upper bound of the optimal escapement goal (OEG) range of 160,000–390,000 sockeye salmon has been exceeded.
Northern Cook Inlet sockeye and coho salmon assessment projects are also projecting to meet or exceed escapement goals. Additionally, the 2018 Offshore Test Fish (OTF) cumulative coho index was the second highest on record.
