Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 29 opens commercial fishing with drift gillnets only in the Expanded Kenai and Expanded Kasilof sections of the Central District from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2021. As per 5 AAC.21.359 Central District Drift Gillnet Fishery Management Plan, through July 31, the Anchor Point Section of the Central District is not open during Monday or Thursday regulatory fishing periods when the Kenai River late run sockeye salmon run is projected below 2.3 million fish.
On July 27, 2021, Upper Cook Inlet (UCI) Commercial Fisheries staff estimated the total Kenai River sockeye salmon run to be 2.1 million fish. With this inseason assessment, management of the Central District drift gillnet commercial fisheries fall under the regulations of run sizes less than 2.3 million Kenai River sockeye salmon and all regular Monday and Thursday fishing periods will be restricted to the Expanded Kenai and Expanded Kasilof sections of the Upper Subdistrict through July 31.
As a reminder no Upper Subdistrict set gillnet fishing periods will be opened unless the Kenai River late run king salmon abundance improves.
All other set gillnet fisheries in UCI, outside of the Upper Subdistrict, will fish the regulatory scheduled period from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2021.
As of July 27, Kasilof River sockeye salmon escapement is approximately 371,300 fish and 71% complete based on average run timing. The biological escapement goal for Kasilof River sockeye salmon of 140,000 to 320,000 has been exceeded, and the current count projects a final escapement of 468,000 fish. In the Kenai River, average sockeye salmon passage into the Kenai River is 54% complete through July 27, projecting an in river run of 1.2 to 1.4 million sockeye salmon based on average to 3 day late run timings.
Also as a reminder, UCI Commercial Fishing Announcement No. 24 reduced legal set gillnet gear in the Northern District of Upper Cook Inlet during the regulatory fishing periods from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 22, 2021, from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Monday, July 26, 2021, and from 7:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. on Thursday, July 29, 2021. In the General Subdistrict, of the Northern District, legal gear during these fishing periods will be reduced to no more than one net per permit, measuring no more than 35 fathoms in length. In the Eastern Subdistrict, of the Northern District, legal gear during these fishing periods will be reduced to no more than two set gillnets per permit, with each set gillnet measuring no more than 35 fathoms in length with the aggregate net length not to exceed 70 fathoms.