Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 12 opens commercial salmon fishing with set gillnets in the Kasilof Section of the Upper Subdistrict within 600 feet of the mean high tide mark on the Kenai Peninsula shoreline from 5:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021. Set gillnets will also be allowed within 600 feet of the mean high tide mark in that portion of the Kenai Section north of the latitude of the Blanchard Line (60° 27.10ʹ N. lat.) and south of the latitude of the ADF&G regulatory marker (60° 30.49ʹ N. lat.) located south of the Kenai River mouth; i.e., the North Kalifornsky Beach statistical area (244-32) from 5:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday, July 6, 2021.
As announced in UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 4, Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 21.359(e)(3)(B)), when the Kenai River late run king salmon sport fishery is restricted, gear restrictions are in place for all Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishermen from the beginning of the season through July 31, 2021. During the July 6, 2021 fishing period in the Kasilof Section of the Upper Subdistrict, legal gear is restricted to no more than four set gillnets per permit that are each not more than 35 fathoms in length, 105 fathoms in aggregate length, and 29 meshes in depth, or no more than two set gillnets per permit that are not more than 35 fathoms in length and 45 meshes in depth. As a reminder, any set gillnet that is not more than 29 meshes in depth as part of this restrictive provision must be identified at the end of the gillnet with an attached blue buoy that is not less than nine and one-half inches in diameter. All set gillnets must be 600 feet apart (5 AAC 21.335), and they must be within 600 feet of the mean high tide mark as per this announcement.
Following 5 AAC 21.310 (b) (2) (C) (ii), during the July 6 opening in the North Kalifornsky Beach statistical area, legal gear is restricted to set gillnets that are no greater than 29 meshes in depth and with mesh sizes no greater than four and three quarters inches. Up to 4 set gillnets per permit may be used, each no greater than 35 fathoms in length, and 105 fathoms in aggregate length. No set gillnets greater than 29 meshes in depth may be used in the North Kalifornsky beach statistical area during this opening.
As of July 4, the Kasilof River sockeye salmon run is 29% complete based on average run timing and projects a final escapement of more than 485,000 fish. The biological escapement goal (BEG) for Kasilof River sockeye salmon is 140,000–320,000 fish. Both Kenai River late-run large king and late-run sockeye salmon runs are too early in the season to project final escapement with a high degree of accuracy. Therefore, the additional fishing time provided in this announcement is intended to harvest sockeye salmon returning to the Kasilof River while minimizing harvest of Kenai River king and sockeye salmon until the abundance of these stocks can be projected with more certainty.
Fish harvested in the Kasilof Section set gillnet fishery during this fishing period should be reported in statistical areas 244-21, 244-22, or 244-31 (for a description of these statistical areas, please see UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 5).
