Kenai City Council Members passed a resolution requesting Governor Bill Walker declare an economic disaster for the Upper Cook Inlet Fisheries region and create a recovery plan following 2018’s low salmon returns.
President of the United Cook Inlet Drift Association David Martin said in his 47 years of fishing the Cook Inlet, 2018 was “probably the worst” season he’d seen. He thanked the council for prompting the declaration…
“There’s many different avenues that could be addressed to help give relief to the fishing industry, not only the fishermen, but the processors, on down through all the helpers and all down through that. Could be relieving fees for certain things, waiving them for a year, all sorts of different things just to keep people afloat to hopefully face another season, keep going.”
Mayor Brian Gabriel recused himself of voting on the resolution since he is a commercial set net fisherman in the Upper Cook Inlet Region.
Resolution sponsor Bob Molloy said previously the passage of the resolution would encourage the Kenai Peninsula Borough Assembly to pen a similar resolution, which in turn might bolster the disaster determination.
