Much of the conversation before the Board of Fisheries on Wednesday in Homer focused on whether to liberalize the winter salt water king salmon fishery in Lower Cook Inlet.
The fishery, which is open from Oct. 1 to March 31, allows anglers to target immature king salmon in salt water outside the regular season. There is currently a bag limit of two fish per day, with no annual limit for fish less than 20 inches long.
Before public comments Wednesday morning, Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff provided an update on a research project to gather genetic data on sport-caught king salmon in Lower Cook Inlet, establishing which stocks of fish are being caught in the marine fishery. The staff presented two years of data, which indicated that the vast majority of the stocks come from outside Cook Inlet during the winter.
A dozen members of the group Cook Inlet Recreational Fishermen testified in favor of the liberalization.
An opposing proposal asks that the board set a one fish per day, five fish per year limit on winter kings, and several spoke in favor of leaving the fishery as is with the regulations.
The Central Peninsula Fish and Game Advisory Committee, which covers Kenai, Soldotna and Homer, opposed all the proposals to liberalize the winter king salmon fishery. One of Fish and Game’s proposals includes a clause to remove the guideline harvest limit.
The Board of Fisheries is meeting at The Islands and Ocean Visitor Center in Homer through this Saturday to discuss related to fin fish in Lower Cook Inlet.
The meeting agenda, proposals and a live stream link can be found here.
Editor's note: A version of this story appeared on Nov. 30 in the Peninsula Clarion.