Alaska Board of Fisheries

The department says it already has good data from prior experimental beach seines, and that issuing new permits won’t fill remaining data gaps, like how many king salmon die after being released back into Cook Inlet.

The changes do not impact the basic management plan for Cook Inlet’s east side setnet fishery and came over the objections of local fishermen.

Department data show that, of the 20,981 fish caught through experimental beach seines in 2024, 98% were sockeye. All 16 king salmon caught were released into Cook Inlet.

The new rules significantly restrict the fleet’s fishing grounds.

The declaration opens set-netters up to relief funding, but it could take a long time for that money to reach individuals. A 2023 disaster declaration for the fishery is currently pending.

Set-netters said the proposal was a chance at relief for their fishery in 2022.

Soldotna’s Indy Walton has resigned from his seat on the state Board of Fisheries, the seven-member board that makes decisions about fish allocation and…

Cook Inlet’s commercial fishermen argued in the state’s highest court this week that the Dunleavy administration’s fisheries policy is deliberately…

The Alaska Board of Fish will consider a proposal to loosen restrictions on Cook Inlet set-netters this March, two years ahead of its scheduled meetings…

Locals might know Indy Walton from the ice rink, where he coached the Soldotna High School hockey team. Or they might recognize him as a financial adviser…