More Alaskans went dip netting in the Cook last year than any other year in the fishery’s existence, even higher than in 2012 when a 24-hour fishery was implemented to slow the over-escapement of sockeye.
According to the Department of Fish & Game, 35,989 Alaskans applied for permits in 2014.
Dip netters: “Oh it’s more the trip is fun to sit at the beach and watch everybody dip netting and watching them pull the fish in. We drive down from Anchorage all the time. It’s the craziest thing I’ve ever see. Oh, she has a ball. I love salmon.”
Researchers say roughly 534,000 salmon were netted during the 22-day season last July. More than 400,000 of those fish would have come from the Kenai River. The rest are attributed to other Peninsula dip net fisheries, like the Kasilof River or Fish Creek.
