fishery management report no. 12–46 - Alaska Department of Fish ...

fishery to catch-and-release only if there is a small chance of not achieving the lower end of the
BEG range; maintaining status quo regulations if projections indicate escapements will fall
within the BEG range; liberalizing regulations to allow a bag limit of 2 large king salmon if it is
likely escapement will exceed the upper end of the BEG range; and liberalizing regulations to
allow a bag limit of 3 large king salmon if it is likely escapement will exceed the upper end of
the BEG range by 30% or greater.
In 2010 and 2012, the plan indicated that the Chena River king salmon sport fishery be closed
because the run was not projected to meet minimum escapement. The fishery was closed by EO
in both years. These proved to be appropriate management actions, as the run did not meet
minimum escapement in either year (Table 3).
In 2011, the Chena River king salmon fishery was restricted to catch-and-release only by EO on
July 23 (Appendix A). This action was taken because the Chena River counting tower was
inoperable due to high and turbid water conditions, and lower river indicators suggested that the
king salmon run was weak. Restrictions had been placed on subsistence, commercial, and sport
users in the Yukon River, and closing the Chena (and all other Tanana River tributaries) to
retention of king salmon seemed prudent based on recent years’ production and the lack of data
from the current year.
The closure in 2010 was the first EO issued to restrict the Chena River king salmon fishery since
2000 (Brase 2008). Prior to 2010, management actions on the mainstem Yukon and Tanana
rivers subsistence, commercial, and personal use fisheries had, in part, enabled the Chena River
king salmon BEG goal to be met or exceeded every year since 1990. In 4 of the last 5 years, the
mainstem Yukon River commercial and subsistence fisheries have been restricted in order to
meet Canadian border passage obligations.
In 2010, downriver salmon assessment projects indicated that the fall chum salmon run was very
weak. Therefore, on August 20, in accordance with the Yukon River Drainage Fall Chum
Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 01.249), the chum salmon sport fisheries were closed
throughout the Yukon River drainage, including the Chena River and remainder of the Tanana
River drainage (Appendix A).
Current Issues and Fishery Outlook
While run strength and river conditions can override fishing effort in affecting harvest and catch,
the harvest potential of this fishery may be increasing due to a combination of increased public
awareness of its availability and improvements in the gear and fishing techniques used to target
king salmon; however, most recent estimates suggest that harvests have declined from the 1990s
and exploitation rates remain low (Brase 2009b, Table 4).
At the 2013 board meeting, the board will be presented with the Escapement Goal Review of
Select AYK Region Salmon Stocks, 2013; this report recommends no change to the current Chena
River king salmon escapement goal.
The board will also deliberate over proposals 137 and 138 which address the Yukon River
Summer Chum Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 05.362) and Yukon River Fall Chum Salmon
Management Plan (5 AAC 01.249). Any changes to these management plans may affect the
chum salmon sport fisheries in the Tanana River drainage.
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