The Alaska Department of Fish and Game reports Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 14 opens commercial salmon fishing with set gillnets in the Kenai, Kasilof, and East Foreland sections of the Upper Subdistrict from 9:00 a.m. until 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, 2022. During this fishing period, legal gear in the entire Upper Subdistrict is restricted to no more than two set gillnets per permit that are each not more than 35 fathoms in length and 29 meshes in depth, or no more than one set gillnet per permit that is not more than 35 fathoms in length and 45 meshes in depth. 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 other set gillnet fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet outside of the Upper Subdistrict, will fish the regulatory scheduled period from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, 2022, except for set gillnet fishing in the Western Subdistrict of the Central District south of Redoubt Point, which will be open as per Emergency Order #13, from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.
As announced in UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 2, 5 AAC 21.359(e)(3)(C) Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan restricts the Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishery to no more than 24 hours per week by Emergency Order (EO), with a 36-hour continuous closure per week beginning between 7:00 p.m. Thursday and 7:00 a.m. Friday. With regulatory scheduled fishing periods on Mondays and Thursdays no longer in effect in the Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishery, any and all fishing time may occur only via EO beginning June 20, 2022. With this fishing announcement, 12 hours of EO time will have been used for the week of July 10–July 16.
As of July 9, the Kasilof River sockeye salmon run is 35% complete based on average run timing and projects a final escapement of more than 555,000 fish. The biological escapement goal for Kasilof River sockeye salmon of 140,000 to 320,000 has been achieved. 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. The fishing time provided in this announcement is intended to harvest sockeye salmon returning to the Kenai and Kasilof rivers while minimizing harvest of Kenai River king salmon until the abundance of this stock can be projected with more certainty.
This announcement also extends drift gillnet fishing to the Expanded Kenai and Expanded Kasilof, sections of the Central District from 7:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, 2022. By regulation, drift gillnets will be allowed in the Drift Gillnet Area 1 and the Expanded Kenai and Expanded Kasilof sections of the Central District from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 11, 2022.
Fish harvested in the Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishery during this fishing period should be reported in statistical areas 244-21, 244-22, 244-31, 244-32, 244-41, or 244-42. Fish harvested in the drift gillnet fishery during this fishing period should be reported in statistical areas 244-60.
