At the Board of Fisheries meeting last week, it considered 52 proposals to change fisheries regulations in Bristol Bay. The board delayed deciding on proposals 11 - 13 on the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan until its statewide meeting in March, so it started deliberations with proposal 14.
Read the original proposals here
Listen to the 2022 meetinghere
Subsistence Proposals:
- Proposal 14: Reinstates provision that set gillnets are the only lawful gear for subsistence fishing for salmon in the Naknek, Alagnak, and Wood River Special Harvest Areas.
PASSED 6 - 0
- Proposal 15: Allow use of small fishwheels to harvest salmon for subsistence purposes in the Ugashik Bay, Ugashik River, and Dago Creek drainages.
Failed 3 - 3
- Proposal 16: Repeal requirement that subsistence salmon fishing permits for the Naknek River Drainage may only be obtained at the King Salmon office of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
PASSED 6 - 0
Sport Fishing
- Proposal 17: Limit guided angler access to sport fishing in a section of the Naknek River.
Failed 1 - 5
- Proposal 18: Ban the use of spawn for sportfishing.
Failed 0 - 6
- Proposal 19: Prohibit the use of certain sport fishing tackle in a section of the Naknek River.
Failed 0 - 6
- Proposal 20: Prohibit the use of bait and barbed hooks in the Wood River Lakes system.
Failed 0 - 6
- Proposal 21: Prohibit harvest of rainbow trout by nonresident anglers in a section of the Naknek River drainage.
Failed 1 - 5
- Proposal 22: Close Big Creek to all sport fishing for salmon upstream of its confluence with the Naknek River.
Failed 2 - 4 - Proposal 23: Allow retention of king salmon less than 20 inches in length in Big Creek.
Failed 0 - 6
- Proposal 24: Reduce king salmon bag and possession limits and prohibit harvest of female king salmon in the Naknek River drainage.
PASSED 4 - 2 as amended with substitute language from RC107, which does not prohibit the harvest of females and instead reduces the number of larger kings that can be kept annually.
- Proposal 25: Reduce king salmon bag and possession limits and prohibit harvest of female king salmon in the Naknek River drainage.
No action
- Proposal 26: Close tributaries and upper section of the Naknek River to sport fishing for king salmon.
Failed 0 - 6
- Proposal 27: Create a nonresident annual limit for coho salmon in the Naknek River drainage.
Failed 1 - 5
- Proposal 28: Would close portions of the Nuyakuk and Nushagak and Mulchatna drainages to fishing for king salmon.
Failed 1 - 5 as amended with substitute language from RC69 to only include portions of the Nuyakuk and Mulchatna drainages.
- Proposal 29: Restrict the Togiak River king salmon sport fishery until a minimum king salmon commercial harvest is achieved.
PASSED 6 - 0 as amended by RC50 and RC66, which remove the commercial harvest trigger and limit harvest to kings under 20 inches in length. The board also amended it to remove the word “barbless” from RC66.
- Proposal 30: Create a youth-only sport fishery in the Naknek River drainage for children under 16 years old during three days in the summer — one each in June, July and August.
PASSED 6 - 0 as amended with language from RC96.
King salmon harvest reporting
- Proposal 31: Require reporting of king salmon harvest in guided sport fisheries and commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay.
PASSED 5 - 1 as amended with language from RC105.
- Proposal 32: Require reporting of king salmon harvest in guided sport fisheries and commercial fisheries in Bristol Bay.
No action
Gear and operations
The board considered proposals 33 - 60 on Saturday, Dec. 5. There are only six member serving on the seven-member board. Board member Jensen was not present because he had a conflict of interest and could not vote on the commercial salmon fishing proposals.
- Proposal 33: Increase maximum offshore operation distance for set gillnets in Ugashik from 600 to 800 feet from the 18-foot high tide mark.
PASSED 4 - 1
- Proposal 34: Increase minimum distance between units of drift and set gillnet gear in the Ugashik District.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 35: Increase minimum distance between units of drift and set gillnet gear in the Naknek-Kvichak, Egegik, Ugashik and Togiak districts.
Failed 3 - 2 (3 for, 2 against) as amended by RC100.
- Proposal 36: Limit the length of drift gillnet towlines to 100 feet.
Failed 3 - 2 as amended by RC94 to 300 feet, which the board then amended to 600 feet.
- Proposal 37: Limit the length of drift gillnet towlines to 100 feet.
No action
- Proposal 38: Limit the length of drift gillnet towlines to 100 feet.
No action
- Proposal 39: Prohibit placement of set gillnet gear on the shore fishery lease site of another set gillnet permit holder.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 40: Increase area available to set gillnet fishermen in the Graveyard Point area.
Failed 2 - 3
- Proposal 41: Adjust seaward boundary for set gillnet gear near in the Nushagak District.
PASSED 5 - 0 as amended with substitute language from RC101, which also sunsets it at the next Bristol Bay Board of Fisheries meeting.
Dual permits and permit stacking
- Proposal 42: Repeal provisions allowing for operation of 200 fathoms of drift gillnet from a vessel with two CFEC permit holders onboard.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 43: Repeal provisions allowing for operation of 200 fathoms of drift gillnet from a vessel with two CFEC permit holders onboard.
No action
- Proposal 44: Repeal provisions allowing for operation of 200 fathoms of drift gillnet from a vessel with two CFEC permit holders onboard.
No action
- Proposal 45: Provide drift gillnet vessels with a single permit holder onboard more fishing opportunity per opening than vessels with two permit holders onboard.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 46: Allow permit stacking in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon drift gillnet fishery.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 47: Allow permit stacking in the Bristol Bay commercial salmon drift gillnet fishery.
No action
- Proposal 48: Delay the date at which fishermen may register to or from the Togiak District.
PASSED 5 - 0 with substitute language from RC95 to delay when fishermen may register in the Togiak District until its run has reached its midpoint escapement goal as specified by an announcement from the commissioner.
General district proposals
- Proposal 49: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
Failed 1- 4
- Proposal 50: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
No action
- Proposal 51: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
No action
- Proposal 52: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
No action
- Proposal 53: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
No action
- Proposal 54: Reestablish a General District Salmon Management Plan.
No action
- Proposal 55: Align Naknek Section southern boundary line with Naknek-Kvichak District southern boundary line.
PASSED 5 - 0
- Proposal 56: Allow drift gillnet fishermen to make ‘test sets’ under certain circumstances.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 57: Repeal set and drift gillnet allocations in the Naknek-Kvichak District.
Failed 0 - 5
- Proposal 58: Provide increased commercial salmon fishing opportunity in the Naknek-Kvichak District and Egegik District.
PASSED 4 - 1 as amended to add a subsection saying that fish harvested in the Naknek section or the Naknek-Kvichak shall be delivered before fishing in the NRSHA.
- Proposal 59: Repeal provisions directing the department to avoid continuous fishing with set gillnet gear in the Egegik District.
PASSED 4 - 1
- Proposal 60: Aligne the Ugashik District fall fishing schedule with the Naknek-Kvichak and Egegik fall fishing schedules.
PASSED 5 - 0
- Proposal 61: Require reporting of king salmon harvest by size class on fish tickets.
No action because the proposer withdrew their request.
- Proposal 62: Allow all commercial gear types to fish for herring simultaneously in Bristol Bay.
PASSED 6 - 0
Get in touch with the author at izzy@kdlg.org.
