Northern Kenai Peninsula Programs

Management of the Northern Kenai Peninsula Sport Fisheries

The Northern Kenai Peninsula supports the largest, most controversial, most complex and intensely regulated sport fisheries in Alaska. These fisheries include the early and late run Kenai River king salmon fisheries, the Kenai River sockeye fishery, the early and late run Russian River sockeye fisheries, the Kenai Rivercoho salmon fishery and the catch-and-release rainbow trout fishery in the upper Kenai River. The regulatory complexity of these fisheries is directly attributed to the large numbers of anglers who participate in these fisheries. At times, the demand for a particular species in a given fishery simply exceeds the ability of the resource to supply that demand. Additionally, sport anglers are not the only user group which harvests certain species of fish. Salmon (primarily sockeye with an incidental harvest of king salmon) are harvested by commercial users and Alaska residents participating in personal use fisheries. Allocation (the division) of the harvest between user groups (sport, commercial and personal use) also adds to regulatory and management complexity.

The Department of Fish and Game does not allocate the harvest between the aforementioned user groups. This is the responsibility of the Alaska Board of Fisheries.

This Board is comprised of seven members who are appointed by the Governor. The Board works closely with the public and Department of Fish and Game to develop Management Plans which allocate harvest between users of the resource. These Plans provide “action points” which identify situations whereby fisheries may be restricted or liberalized and which user groups are affected. These Plans are necessary to provide for the appropriate numbers of fish to spawn which ensures the perpetuation of Alaska’s valuable fisheries resources for present and future generations.

The Northern Kenai Peninsula is governed by more than a dozen Management Plans. Those of most interest to the sport angler address management of Kenai River king, sockeye and coho salmon; and Russian River sockeye salmon. Based on these Management Plans, the fisheries may be restricted or liberalized depending on the numbers of salmon returning. Those fisheries most likely to be restricted are the Kenai River king salmon fisheries and late run Russian River sockeye salmon fishery. The fishery most likely to be liberalized is the Early Run Russian River sockeye salmon fishery.

No one likes fisheries to be restricted. They disrupt vacation plans and have other negative economic and social consequences. However, sometimes it is necessary and these restrictions are implemented only after a careful review of all available information. The public is notified via radio, newspaper and TV announcements. Additional information is available through recorded message phones, the numbers of which can be found in the front of the Cook Inlet Regulatory Booklet.

Cook Inlet Marine King Salmon CWT Recovery Program

This project is designed to answer the commonly asked question in marine salmon fisheries, “Where is this fish from ?”. The problems with managing in-river fisheries are relatively simple and straightforward compared to managing a mixed stock fishery such as the one in Cook Inlet for chinook salmon. The Cook Inlet marine fishery has the third largest chinook salmon harvest in the state (7,000 to 11,000 for the early and late run combined) and sustains over 80,000 angler-days of effort. Maintaining this fishery is contingent upon achieving the spawning escapement goals of the contributing stocks; but first we need to determine which stocks contribute and at what level, the primary objective of this project.

We use two different types of marks (one inherent, one man-made) to separate the harvest into specific groupings. The inherent “mark” is the egg diameters of the female chinook salmon; the man-made mark is a coded-wire tag embedded in juvenile fish before they go to sea. We examine sport harvested chinook salmon for these marks at the key access points to this fishery (the beaches at Deep Creek and Anchor Point, and at the Homer harbor). Egg diameter appears to be a good indicator of whether a fish will: (1) be spawning that summer in a Cook Inlet tributary; (2) spawning later that Fall in a river further south; or (3) if the fish will not be spawning this year. So far, fish tagged in Cook Inlet tributary streams are generally harvested only as adults in this fishery (category 1), and non-Cook Inlet fish generally fall into category 2 or 3. Essentially, the egg diameter information gives us an estimate of how many Cook Inlet origin fish are harvested (category 1), and how many non-Cook Inlet origin fish are harvested (category 2 and 3).

The recovery of coded-wire tagged fish in the harvest allows us to estimate the harvest of a specific river stock or specific hatchery release in this fishery. The difficulty is in tagging the many wild stocks that return to Cook Inlet (several separate projects). The expense of the wild tagging projects precludes us from tagging fish from every river in Cook Inlet, and has forced us to focus our tagging efforts on an adjacent river stock (Deep Creek), and stocks of particular importance (such as the Kenai River and the Deshka River). In addition, all of our hatchery releases (10 different sites) are also tagged.

Early results from this ongoing project suggest that the harvest is comprised of stocks from throughout the Inlet. Hatchery fish from all but 1 of the 10 different release sites (sites from Seldovia Harbor to Eagle River near Anchorage) in the Inlet were recovered in this fishery in 1997. We will not be able to fully evaluate the contribution of wild Deep Creek and Kenai River origin fish until 1998. In 1996 and 1997, immature fish comprised ~23% of the early run harvest. In 1997, immature fish accounted for ~12% of the late run harvest.

Kenai River Coho Salmon Population Assessment

Coho salmon smolt resting in a holding pen after being tagged with coded, micro-wire tags.

Study techniques include creel surveys to estimate annual sport and personal-use harvests and a mark-recapture experiment to estimate commercial harvest. Harvest estimates from all sources are combined to estimate the total number of Kenai River coho salmon that are harvested annually.

Estimates of sport and personal-use harvests require a combination of on-site interviews during the fishing season and post-season interviews through the annual Statewide Harvest Survey that is mailed to a sample of licensed anglers. Estimates of commercial harvest depend heavily on the annual tagging of coho salmon smolt with coded, microwire tags.

Attempts to estimate escapement have not been successful to date. The use of sonar technology to count adults has been explored, but studies concluded that it could not accurately differentiated coho salmon from sockeye and pink salmon. A telemetry study is therefore planned in 1998 to tackle the escapement question.

Until estimates of escapement are made, the study has provided a valuable piece of information. The tagging of smolt to estimate commercial harvest also provides annual estimates of the total Kenai River smolt abundance. The Department has been tracking smolt abundance as a barometer of population status. A relative decline has been observed, and, although its cause is unknown, it has raised a conservation concern given the sizable nature of the harvests identified in the harvest studies. The Department has therefore recommended precautionary conservation measures until more information is available.

The next information milestone will be achieved in the late-Fall of 1998 when annual estimates of harvest and smolt abundance are added to the existing record. With a little luck, estimates of escapement from the telemetry study will enhance the assessment program. This Fall the Department will have a new perspective from which to assess the status of the Kenai River coho salmon resource.

Kenai River Dolly Varden Study

The Kenai River drainage is the most heavily utilized system for freshwater sport fishing in Alaska. Although most anglers participate in the river’s salmon fisheries, the Kenai River drainage also supports a major Dolly Varden fishery. Unfortunately, angler harvest and catch of Dolly Varden has been in decline since 1993 throughout the major fishing areas upstream of Skilak Lake. A cooperative effort between the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and the U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service to study movement and general biological characteristics of Kenai River Dolly Varden is ongoing. This preliminary information will form the foundation of an advanced study to estimate Dolly Varden abundance and the contribution of specific sub-populations to the major sport fisheries within the Kenai River water shed upstream of Skilak Lake.

Preliminary findings indicate Dolly Varden occupy most streams tributary to Kenai Lake and the Kenai River during the summer and fall period and over-winter in lakes during the winter. Dolly Varden are very mobile and capable of crossing either Kenai or Skilak lakes in a 24 hour period. Radio telemetry data shows an individual fish can range from Skilak Lake to Trail Creek, a distance of over 45 miles. Although Dolly Varden, tagged upstream of Skilak Lake, move freely throughout the Kenai River drainage, they rarely migrate downstream of river mile 47.

The majority of the Dolly Varden upstream of Skilak Lake are hypothesized to be resident rather than anadromous fish. To date only one out of 180 radio tagged Dolly Varden from the Kenai River drainage has been known to over-winter outside the drainage. This fish over-wintered in Tustumena Lake near Crystal Creek during 1996-97 (a traveling distance of over 100 miles) and returned to the Kenai River drainage the following spring (1997).

The search for a greater understanding of Dolly Varden continues. Additional exploration and tracking of fish movements is necessary in order to more completely understand how various Dolly Varden populations contribute to various sport fisheries. All anglers are asked to cooperate in this endeavor. In addition to reporting tagged fish, the accuracy of your responses to surveys you may be asked to participate in will ensure management decisions are based on the best information available.

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