Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 20 opens commercial salmon fishing with set gillnets in the Kenai, Kasilof, and East Foreland sections of the Upper Subdistrict from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 19, 2021.
As announced in UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 4, gear restrictions are in place for all Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishermen from the beginning of the season through July 31, 2021. 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. 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.
By regulation, drift gillnetting will be allowed from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 19, 2021; the area open will be the waters of Drift Gillnet Area 1 and the Expanded Kenai and Expanded Kasilof sections of the Central District.
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 19, 2021. As of July 17, Kasilof River sockeye salmon escapement is approximately 242,000 fish and 54% complete based on average run timing. The biological escapement goal for Kasilof River sockeye salmon is 140,000 to 320,000, with projections of final escapement of 450,000 fish. In the Kenai River, average sockeye salmon passage into the Kenai River is 23% complete through July 17, projecting an in river run of 825,000 to 1.6 million sockeye salmon based on average to 3 day late run timings. Fishing in the above described waters is warranted in order to harvest sockeye salmon returning to the Kenai and Kasilof rivers.
As announced in UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 4, Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 21.359(e)(3)(B)) 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 With regularly scheduled fishing periods on Mondays and Thursdays no longer in effect in the Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishery, any and all fishing time may occur only via EO beginning June 20, 2021. With this fishing announcement, 12 hours of EO time will have been used for the week of July 18–July 24.
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.