Historical Review of Nushagak River King Salmon Management

Introduction

In 1992, the Alaska Board of Fisheries (Board) adopted the Nushagak-Mulchatna King Salmon Management Plan (Plan) to guide management of the subsistence, commercial and sport fisheries that harvest this important stock. The Nushagak River fisheries that harvest Chinook (king) salmon have been managed under the direction of the Plan since then. However, restrictions to the sport fishery due to low early season inriver passage of king salmon combined with sometimes intense fishing for sockeye in the Nushagak District in the mid-2010’s led to calls to pair restrictions in the commercial and sport fishery in 2018. Proposals 41 and 42, submitted for deliberation at the November 2018 Bristol Bay Board meeting, both sought to restrict time in the commercial fishery when the sport fishery is restricted inseason by emergency order.

In response to the proposals, the Board established a committee at the 2018 meeting to develop a comprehensive solution to the Plan and charged the committee with reporting back to the Board. The Bristol Bay Science and Research Institute (BBSRI) also committed to supporting the committee’s work through a stakeholder-led technical analysis of options the committee was expected to consider. Possible committee products included regulatory proposals and/or other non-regulatory recommendations.

An early (October 14, 2019) draft version of this report was developed to summarize management of Nushagak River king salmon for the committee’s benefit. The history of the fishery through the mid-1980s was well documented in a comprehensive, albeit dated, report (Nelson, 1987). The 2019 draft of this report provided an updated comprehensive historical overview summarizing Nelson’s report as a basis, then describing the evolution of the fisheries that followed.

The purpose of the 2019 draft was to provide committee members with key information, help create a better understanding, and provide a basis for future recommendations concerning management of the Nushagak River king salmon fisheries. The draft was intended as a “living” document and was expected to evolve with input from committee members and others and as new fishery information came available.

The committee met initially October 21, 2019, in Anchorage to get underway and discuss preliminary analysis of the fishery’s history, including information presented in the draft report, and technical challenges associated with the monitoring and management of the fishery. Break-out groups met in December 2019 and February 2020. At the Upper Cook Inlet meeting in February 2020, the Board disbanded the formal committee but encouraged stakeholders on the committee to continue to work together in preparation for the next incycle Bristol Bay meeting. Since then, the committee met on numerous occasions toward developing comprehensive recommendations to improve the Plan and stock assessment programs in preparation for the Bristol Bay Board meeting scheduled for November 2022. BBSRI facilitated the meetings and provided technical analysis and support. The committee process and outcomes are to be discussed in depth in a separate report and are therefore not discussed in this one.

In this report, historical king salmon management in the Nushagak District is portioned into three eras:

• 1884-1986 (recap of Nelson (1987))

• 1987-1992 (development of the Plan)

• 1992 through 2021 (the Plan years)

This report includes fishery data for the years that followed the early draft (2019, 2020 and 2021). Discussion of fishery trends have been adjusted accordingly. Comments received from committee members and staff from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) have also been incorporated. The report is intended to be made available with other work products, including a separate report on the committee process and a proposal to the Board detailing changes to the Plan, to the public prior to the 2022 Board meeting. Like the 2019 draft, its purpose is to improve understanding of the Nushagak River king salmon fisheries and their management and provide a basis for committee recommendations.