Page 10 - Elizabeth Earl News Today : Breaking News, Live Updates & Top Stories | Vimarsana

Wed, 04/21/2021 - 8:53am Crew from the Barnes’ setnet site near Nikiski guide a skiff loaded with salmon into the beach to be sorted on July 11, 2016. Fishermen in Cook Inlet are facing another poor harvest forecast for sockeye and the drift fleet is battling a plan to close the federal waters of the Inlet to all salmon fishing. (Photo/Elizabeth Earl/For the Journal) Cook Inlet’s commercial fishermen are facing pressure from two directions in the upcoming season: one is the looming potential for a complete federal waters closure, and the other is another poor projection of sockeye returns. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s sockeye forecast issued April 8 predicts a total return of 4.4 million sockeye to the upper Inlet, which includes major salmon-producing waterways like the Kenai, Susitna, and Kasilof rivers A return that size would allow for a commercial catch of about 1.6 million sockeye, a little more than half of the average in the last 20 years.

United statesCook inletFish creekKasilof riverDeshka riverSusitna riverKenai riverElizabeth earlPacific fishery management councilAlaska department of fishCook inlet fishermen fundUnited cook inlet drift associationNational marine fisheries serviceAlaska departmentEast sideNorthern district