These are the regulations for fishing in the area where I live. The area is the Knik Arm Fresh Water area; Palmer/Wasilla Zone. Open season in flowing waters is June 15 – April 14.

* A total annual limit of 5 king salmon 20″ or longer may be taken from fresh waters of Cook Inlet north of the latitude of Point Adam, and from salt waters of Cook Inlet except that fish harvested in Cook Inlet salt water south of Anchor Point from October 1 – March 31 are not included in the limit. King Salmon 20″ or longer removed from the water must be retained.

* There is an annual limit of 2 rainbow/steelhead trout 20″ or longer taken from Knik Arm fresh waters (except stocked lakes).

* There is an annual limit of 10 rainbow/steelhead trout 20″ or longer taken from stocked lakes.

The above regulations are normally what a person fishing in my area would see, however, due to low salmon returns, there are new regulations

Restrictions for sport fishing in the Susitna River drainages and Knik Arm drainages will include:

• Area-wide: annual limit of two (2) king salmon, except the Eklutna Tailrace.
• Area-wide: unbaited, single-hook, artificial lures only, except for the lower Deshka River and the Eklutna Tailrace (single-hook means a fish hook with only one point).
• The Little Susitna River will be further restricted by allowing harvest on Friday-Monday only; catch-and-release fishing for king salmon will be allowed Tuesday-Thursday.
• Parks Highway streams within Unit 2 of the Susitna River will be further restricted to prohibit the harvest of king salmon beginning June 12 through the remainder of the fishing season. Catch-and-release fishing will be allowed during the three-day weekends (Saturday—Monday) beginning June 16 through July 2. Fishing for any species of fish will be closed Tuesday—Friday beginning June 12.

Restrictions for the Northern District commercial king salmon fishery will include:

• Reduction of all four commercial fishing periods from 12 hours to 6 hours.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo   is the site you can go to to find out about emergency closures or regulation changes such as this one.

https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/regulations/fishregulations/PDFs/southcentral/scknikarmregulations.pdf

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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On Tuesday, March 27th 2012, a meeting was held at the Curtis D. Menard Memorial Sports Complex. More than 50 people attended this meeting to discuss a proposed Dam project for the Susitina River. The following night, more than 120 people turned out for another meeting at the Susitina Valley Junior/Senior Hich School. The meetings were held by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commision. The message from the people who came was clear…”Don’t mess with the Susitina’s salmon” (Mat-Su Valley Frontiersman, 3-30-2012). The state has given it’s support for the proposed dam project and residents are not happy. According to the article, biologists are thinking about sweeping the Chinook fishing limits in the river because of expected low returns. Residents are concerned that the dam will affect the salmon run even more than it already has been affected. There is not a dam in the world that does not affect fish runs and habitat.

This project is a hydroelectric project and could potentially benefit energy efficiency and future natural gas projects in the Cook Inlet region, however, the river level could potentially be lowered or raised by about 3 feet in areas. These conditions could create unstable ice situations in the winter and many people use the river for transportation in the winter time. Changes in ice could also threaten the fish habitat. Residents are calling for a more through study of the project and it’s effects on the habitat. There was a study done in the 80’s but this data needs to be updated and re-examined. Even though this could potentially be a huge economic opportunity, there really needs to be more studies done before any concrete decisions are made.

The dam would be 700 to 800 feet tall and the reservoir would be at least 39 miles long. Part of the land is tribal owned and even though the group supports the project, even they are calling for a wildlife protection management program. The state hopes to start construction in 2015 and be operational by 2023.

I did not attend either one of these meetings, I read the article in the above mentioned paper. I personally know plenty of people who live in the area and use the river for travel in both the winter and summer months. If the biologists are already concerned about low salmon returns than maybe this is not the best plan of action.

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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The University of Alaska Fairbanks School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences is the headquarters for a new study. This study will be looking at species of seals, sea otters, king salmon, and red and blue King crab. The study is funded by Alaska Sea Grant and NOAA and UAF have teamed up to do the study.

Red and Blue King crab are going to try to be restocked around Kodiak island and the Pribilof Islands. This effort has been going on for several years but the juveniles are dying soon after release. The researchers are going to try to “boost” the nutritional content of the area and see if this helps.

Salmon will be measured for the amount of Strontium in their organs to see if they can be traced back to their birthplace.

The patterns of seal and sea otter subsistence harvest will be studied to see how the patterns have changed.

This was posted on the UAF website today if you would like to read more about it.

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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This is not “new” news, however, I have been studying alot about these regulations lately and did not know these things. I hope that someone finds it to be useful information.

On July 1 1990, the Federal subsistence management program began managing wildlife resources on public lands. In 1992:   the state Established Non-Subsistence Areas. The joint Boards of Fish and Game established non-subsistence areas around Fairbanks, Anchorage-Mat-Su-, Kenai, Juneau and Ketchikan where subsistence uses would not be allowed, subsistence regulations in these areas were then repealed. Five months later, Valdez was added to the list. Proposals for additional areas include game management unit 13 and all roaded areas . The specific areas that are around Wasilla (where I live) that are included in this regulation are Wasilla, Palmer, Sutton, Big Lake, Houston, Point MacKenzie, and Bodenburg Butte.

Under the customary and traditional use section of a link I found on the department of fish and game’s website, (alaska.fws.gov/asm/pdf/wildregs/geninfo.pdf)   the federal subsistence board decides which communities and areas have traditionally used a species. Each unit lists these customary and traditional use determinations along with seasons and harvest limits and any special provisions. When there is a positive determination for a specific community or area, only the residents of that community have a federal subsistence priority for that species in that game unit and they are eligible to hunt, fish,  or trap under these regulations. Regional and village native corporation lands are considered private lands and are under state management authority.

The knik tribal council provides a permit that the members can obtain for a limited period of time but it must be shared and is not a “subsistence permit’ it is considered a learning permit for youth. They had to call it that to get around the federal mandate that Wasilla is a non-subsistence community. I do not know if any other “non subsistence areas” have this type of permit.

You may propose changes to…

l Federal subsistence season dates

l Harvest limits

l Methods and means of harvest

l Customary and traditional use determination

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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On December 11th, 2004, the North Pacific Fishery Management Council re-addressed subsistence halibut regulations. The number of fish in possession, use of charter boats, and the trade or exchange of fish for money regulations have been revised and tightened.

These changes are expected to come into affect by January 2006. They are amendments to the laws that were established in May, 2003.

In Southeast Alaska, the council changed the law to where you can only harvest 20 fish per day. The charter vessel law now states that these vessels are defined by the State by being registered as such. Meaning that if they are registered as a charter vessel with the State, then they are considered a charter vessel and can only be operated by the owner or the owner’s immediate family. Clients are not allowed to be on-board while participating in subsistence halibut activities.

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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This may not be new news to anyone else but I was surprised to learn about it and found it interesting.

Apparently the felt fishing shoes and waders are transporting organisms and invasive species’ around the fresh waters of Alaska.

According to the Department of Fish and Game’s website at www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fishingSportFishingInfo  , this law is effective January 1st, 2012. This law, actually, is not new. It was adopted by the agency in 2010 to help reduce the spread of contaminates to other bodies of water by sport fishers and anglers. Although harmful organisms can be spread by boats, fishing poles, lures, and anything else that gets put in the water, these felt soles can harbor and transport more bacteria because of the  porous consistency.

To reduce the spread of invasive species’, all fisherman, boaters, and anyone who uses public waters, should rinse any equipment that is in the water as soon as possible and before putting it in a new body of water. Popular equipment that should be rinsed can include all gear, boats, boat trailers, waders and water shoes, life jackets, bilge pumps, coolers, and buckets. It is also recommended that the items be allowed to dry completely before going in the water again. Mud and debris are also a major carrier of bacteria and should be removed if possible.

Decontamination can be done with bleach water, a high heat dryer, or by freezing. The article did mention that bleach can sometimes degrade the life of the  item it is being used on so this sometimes may not be the best idea.

To report  an invasive species or for more information, please contact the above website or you can call 1-877-INVASIV.

hrbrown

Hello! My name is Heather Brown and I currently live in the growing community of Wasilla. I have three children and have lived in Alaska all my life. I have visited almost every place in the state you can access by road and love Alaska! I love to fish, hunt, and spend lots of time outdoors. I am sad to say that I have limited experience with fish which is why I am taking this course. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Heather

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