Homer Alaska - News -

Story last updated at 11:07 PM on Wednesday, September 24, 2008

Subsistence proposals offered



By Mike Nesper
Morris News Service

The Ninilchik Traditional Council elicited emotional responses with its two federal subsistence fishing proposals at a recent meeting of the Kenai-Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Council.

The council met to discuss five federal subsistence fisheries proposals potentially affecting the Cook Inlet area, testimony for which will be presented at the Southcentral Alaska Subsistence Regional Advisory Council meeting set for Oct. 7-9 in Tazlina. Of the five voted on by the council, both NTC proposals were opposed.

With federal proposal 09-07, Ninilchik is once again seeking to join the Hope and Cooper Landing communities to be allowed to harvest resident-species fish in the federal waters of the Kenai River. This issue was brought before the Federal Subsistence Board last year, but was denied with a 3-to-3 vote.

Ninilchik residents already have subsistence permits to fish for salmon on the Kenai River and to take both salmon and resident species from the Kasilof River.

The NTC also wants to allow dipnetting on the banks of the Kenai River at the Moose Range Meadows site. Currently, only dipnetting from a boat is permitted. This proposal, FP09-08, was also denied by the subsistence board with a 3-to-3 vote.

Three other proposals were discussed at last week's meeting. The advisory voted to support all three.

Alaska Department of Fish and Game proposes clarifying the regulations surrounding the retention of steelhead/rainbow trout on the Kenai Peninsula. The proposal states that no one person be allowed to keep more than two steelhead/rainbow trout greater than 20 inches in length. The proposal would include both state and federal limits.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service had two proposals discussed. One proposal deals with clarifying existing regulations. For all fish that have to be marked and recorded on a permit, "They must be marked and recorded prior to leaving the fishing site," according to the proposal.

The second FWS proposal deals with early run king salmon and late trout.

For early run kings, Fish and Wildlife is proposing to change the low end of the slot limit from 44 inches to 46 inches, making any fish less than 46 inches or more than 55 inches a legal fish.

For Hidden Lake, the daily trout limit now is four per day and four in possession, regardless of size. The proposal would bring the limit down to two per day and two in possession, regardless of size. Similar changes in the early run king salmon slot limit and Hidden Lake harvest limit were made by the Alaska Board of Fisheries in February 2008.

Mike Nesper can be reached at mike.nesper@peninsulaclarion.com.

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