Alaska King Salmon
Dear Editor: Thanks to all the fine fishing folks who attended Friday’s king salmon forum. Thank you to the Sentinel for running the PSA and to KSCT-TV for recording the discussion. The meeting was well attended and we thank ADF&G Commissioner Sam Cotton for sending Scott Kelley as his representative to listen to the concerns of those present. Mr. Kelley is the Commercial Fisheries Division director for all of Alaska.
It is my hope that, by viewing the meeting recording on Channel 11, people can become more familiar with king salmon management issues. There are 285 power troll permits held by residents of Sitka, and 80 State of Alaska business licenses held by charter operators and lodge owners in Sitka. Our town is a popular destination for visitors that come to Sitka just to fish. I’m not sure how many resident sport fishing licenses are held in our community but with a population of 8,000 and a fishing boat in almost every yard in town, it is evident we all place a very high value on our salmon, especially king salmon. If you would like a copy of information handed out at the meeting please contact me.
Many Alaska king salmon streams are experiencing the lowest escapement levels on record. This is similar to the depressed escapements of the late 1970s and 1980s. Ironically, management action taken by the State to rebuild king salmon in those years led Alaska into an international treaty with Canada and the lower 48 states to rebuild king salmon coastwide. The Jan. 11 Board of Fisheries meeting here in Sitka will develop an action plan to guide management of all the user groups to improve king salmon escapements into S.E. Alaska river systems.
One of the most sobering facts discussed at the forum was a calculation made by Tad Fujioka, a citizen scientist, that only 162 S.E. Alaska king salmon were saved by closing the August troll fishery. Tad made his calculation because the ADF&G has yet to publish data substantiating the number of S.E. Alaska King salmon that would have been saved by forfeiting the harvest of 31,000 king salmon in the August troll fishery. In other words the closure may not have been necessary.
Did you know that the amount of king salmon available to be harvested in Southeast Alaska is set each year according to a table and formula developed by the Pacific Salmon Commission and the treaty process? For 2017 the S.E. Alaska all-gear treaty quota was 209,700 king salmon. The formula used to set that number predicts king salmon abundance through the use of an Abundance Index (AI). For 2017 the AI was 1.27. In other words, king salmon were estimated to be 27 percent more abundant in 2017 than in the period before the treaty was signed. (1979-1982).
Most people know that most of the king salmon caught in Southeast Alaska are not fish returning to Alaska streams but are king salmon returning to rivers in Canada and Washington. When Alaska entered into the treaty to help rebuild king salmon the state agreed to reduce Southeast Alaska historic harvest share by about 20 percent. During the early years of the treaty, from ’85-’99, Alaska’s harvest was a fixed number and was called the “ceiling fishery.”
In 1999 a change to abundance-based management was made and the state treaty negotiators agreed to an even greater reduction in harvest share. The new formula calculates harvest share on a sliding scale. The minimum reduction in year of greatest abundance is 45 percent. In years of lowest abundance the reduction in 63 percent from our historic share of the coastwide king salmon harvest. In 2017 the number of king salmon allocated to S.E. Alaska (209,700) represents a 49 percent reduction in harvest share of king salmon.
Next year, the overall abundance may be even lower and our harvest share reduction will be even greater.
It will take many good minds, endless goodwill and lots of good data to help us all care for our precious king salmon. Please take the time to learn about your fishery and, if you can, please participate in the Board of Fisheries meeting in January. Here is the link to the Board of Fisheries meeting information http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.main.
Deborah Lyons,
Chinook Futures Coalition,
Executive Director,
Member of State of Alaska Board of Fisheries 1990-1993,
Pacific Salmon Commission
Northern Panel Troll
representative 1995-1999
BH Bowl Event
Dear Editor: We truly live in an amazing community. The turnout and support for the Brave Heart Volunteers Bowls event was outstanding! Thank you to all who showed up to support our work of compassionate caregiving, companionship, end of life, grief and bereavement support, respite, and education services.
This is our biggest fund raiser of the year and like any event, requires hours of behind the scenes volunteer work, community support and sponsorship, for which we are humbly grateful.
Thank you to the Hames Corporation and Sea Mart for their continued yearly support of our work, not only helping us to serve meals throughout the year, but supporting all our soup makers for this event. A huge thank you to Tamara Fondell and the Goldsmith Gallery, Trish and Dirk White and White’s Pharmacy, Shirley Robards with Stereo North, and the F/V Coral Lee, the businesses in town that sponsored rooms at the Centennial Hall helping us keep our costs low.
What would a Bowl’s event be without bowls? Our gratitude to the many long hours and months of work provided by our talented potters who turned out an exceptional array of beautiful bowls for this event: Auriella Hughes who organized the potters and spent countless hours throwing pots and glazing along with Robert Rose, Amy Blair, Blake Conaway, Bridget Reed, Dee Corbell, George Bernstein, Joy Light, Josh Ragnes, Kathleen McCossin, Liz Zacher, Lucy Phillips, Lynn Brandon, Marge Steward, Michele Friedman, Ritch Phillips, Tom Crane, Trenton Capp. A special thanks to Liz Zacher and UAS for accommodating the work and use of the art room.
We offered our usual delicious variety of soups, bread and desserts this year thanks to Barbara Beach, Haley Burkhart, John Murray and Marian Allen, Kathy Kyle, Sherie Mayo, Max and Bonnie Cottrell, Paul Rioux, Sarah Brewer, Steve Warren, Susan Padilla, Tom Brown, Patti Hudson, Michele Friedman, Ruth Culp and Fredi Young.
A huge thank you to our volunteers who helped with set-up and the evening of the event: Christy Anderson, Phyllis Hackett, Cheri Hample, Kathy Kyle, Mary Levesque, Karen Boyer, Sherie Mayo, Ruth Culp, Aleeta Bauder, Dave Miller, Emilie Carr, Abe Kanter, Josh Ragnes, Taylor Bowers, Laura Bennett, Elizabeth Faulkner, Kim Hunter, Morced Asnin, Vern Culp, Robert Rose, Liz Zacher, Tuli Aan, Betty Henning and the awesome MEHS Honor Students, Jay Stellzenmuller, Maury Hackett and our spontaneous young volunteers who helped clear tables and rinse dishes: Rory Benedict, Autumn, Lily and Song Mayo.
For several years now the Sitka Blues Band has lent their musical talent to provide us with entertainment for the evening. A big thank you to Fred Knowles, Gary Gouker, Ritch Phillips and Auriella Hughes for your time, talent and general awesomeness.
Our live and silent auctions are dependent on the generosity of various members and businesses of our community. A heartfelt thank you to Harris Air, Cpt. Gary’s Sitka Adventures, Botanika Organic Spa, Spenard Builders Supply, Fairweather Prints and Ludvig’s Bistro. A huge thank you to the generously donated items from the wealth of talented artisans in our town: Linda Janacek, Pat Kehoe, Janet Berlin, Jerry Wright, Lisa Teas, Elizabeth Faulkner, Katherine Weaver, Lori Laing, Norm Campbell, Dave Brian, Ruth Culp, Vern Culp, Jamie Autry, Dee Corbell, George Burnstein, Josh Ragnes, Liz Zacher, Michele Friedman, Ritch Phillips, Robert Rose, Trenton Capp, Marg Parsons, Auriella Hughes, Ellen Frankenstein, Gayleen Jacobs, Jay Sweeney, Krisanne Rice, Phyllis Hackett, Ron McClain and Ursula Zertuche.
Please forgive any omissions of thanks to those who contributed and not mentioned. We are appreciative of all the effort put forth to create this successful fund raiser. All support is vital to our mission to provide compassionate caregiving, companionship, respite and education to those facing illness, isolation, end-of-life and grief.
Thank you, Sitka, for caring!
Sherie Mayo,
Brave Heart Volunteers
Board President
Sports Coverage
Dear Editor: Want to thank the Sentinel staff member Abigail Bliss for the excellent coverage on local sports. She conveys the stories well with quotes, descriptions and good story lines.
I especially appreciated the article Dec. 11 ‘‘Sitka Swimmer Breaks Former Coach’s Record.’’ That was such a cool write-up with Robbie Jarvill (one of our many inspiring swim coaches over the years) graciously passing on the torch. As an ex-local swimmer grandpa it was very gratifying to see it all circling back from coach to record-breaking swimmer Ben Turner. Congratulations, Ben.
We are fortunate in Sitka to have the degree of coaching skills and the great output by the ’Cudas and SHS swimmers. Thanks to Coach Kevin and Rachel for keeping things moving and grooving in the lanes.
And, again, thanks to Ms. Bliss for the coverage recognizing such events.
John Murray, Sitka
