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Ninilchik Tribe Sets Net in Kenai River

Image Courtesy of Ninilchik Traditional Council

The Ninilchik Traditional Council has for years been seeking approval to use a more effective method for catching their subsistence allocation of sockeye salmon on the Kenai River and late last week, they got that opportunity. 

On July 27, the Federal Subsistence Board approved the tribe’s emergency special action request to operate a community subsistence set net fishery on the Kenai. 

Approval came after a lawsuit filed in 2015.

But the change has drawn stiff opposition from other fishermen and fisheries managers who worry about the new gear type’s potential effect on king salmon and trout.

As of July 31, the Ninilchik tribe had harvested 33 sockeye since they began fishing on July 28.

Ninilchik is allowed to harvest all species of salmon with a single net. The tribe is allocated 2,000 sockeye and voluntarily agreed to restrict its harvest to 50 kings for the shortened 2016 season.

The special action allows the tribe to operate the subsistence set net fishery in the federal waters of the Moose Range Meadows for the next two weeks, until Aug. 15.

Daysha Eaton holds a B.A. from Evergreen State College, and a M.A. from the University of Southern California. Daysha got her start in radio at Seattle public radio stations, KPLU and KUOW. Before coming to KBBI, she was the News Director at KYUK in Bethel. She has also worked as the Southcentral Reporter for KSKA in Anchorage.