AM 890 and kbbi.org: Serving the Kenai Peninsula
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Board of Fish denies petition to block larger Solomon Gulch Hatchery egg-take

Valdez Fisheries Development Association

After some back and forth during an Alaska Board of Fisheries emergency meeting Tuesday, a Prince William Sound pink salmon hatchery will be allowed to move forward with its plans to increase its production by 20 million eggs this summer. 

The board denied the emergency petition, filed by Kenai River Sport Fishing Association, in a four to three vote. The board denied a similar proposal earlier this year. The latest petition aimed to prevent the Valdez Fisheries Development Association from collecting an additional 20 million pink salmon eggs at its Solomon Gulch Hatchery in Prince William Sound this summer.

In 2014, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game permitted the hatchery for a total increase of 40 million eggs over four years. The hatchery association moved forward with the first half of that increase in 2016.

Petitioners argue the plan will increase the number of Prince William Sound hatchery pinks straying into lower Cook Inlet and that those fish pose a risk to the wild stocks they spawn with. Fish and Game officials say the larger egg-take is not an unexpected event threatening wild stocks, which would constitute an emergency under board policy.

Board member Reed Morisky of Fairbanks was one of three board members to support the petition. He told his fellow board members that finding an emergency would be in line with the state’s sustainable salmon policy.

“This policy indicates that wild salmon stocks and fisheries on those stocks should be protected from adverse impacts from artificial propagation and enhancement efforts,” Morisky said. “It also indicates in the face of uncertainty, artificial propagation shall be managed conservatively. A precautionary approach requires the avoidance of potentially irreversible changes.”

Board member Israel Payton agreed, and he also said Fish and Game did not sufficiently consider the potential for larger numbers of stray pink salmon or whether those fish would out-compete wild stocks for food when it approved the production increase.

Fish and Game Director of Commercial Fisheries Scott Kelley told board members that those concerns were addressed when the department reduced the Valdez Fisheries Development Association’s initial request for an additional 70 million eggs down to the approved incremental increase of 40 million.

Kelley also added that wild pink salmon returns in Prince William Sound have shown no signs of being impacted by increased hatchery production.

“In fact, we had the highest wild return in 2015. We had the second largest in 2013. These are wild pinks in Prince William Sound, and then the fifth largest was last year,” Kelley explained. “Those are factors the department, at least from ’13 and ’15, had in the backs of their minds while they evaluated the effect on wild stock pinks.”

Other board members said they are concerned about the impacts hatchery operations might be having on wild pinks and other species of salmon, but members like Robert Ruffner of Kenai, said the issue would be better addressed by the board’s hatchery committee.

“At this point, I’m along the lines with member Cain in that I don’t see that this particular action at this time warrants us to find an emergency,” Ruffner said. “But I am concerned about it, and I am looking forward to continuing to learn about it through our work sessions that we’ve already scheduled for October.”

The board recently reinstated its committee on hatcheries, which will evaluate operations around the state region by region over the next few years.

Correction: A previous version of this story incorrectly spelled Fairbanks board member Reed Morisky's last name. 

Aaron Bolton has moved on to a new position in Montana; he is no longer KBBI News Director. KBBI is currently seeking a News Director, and Kathleen Gustafson is filling in for the time being.
Related Content