Mat-Su Salmon Returns Are Plummeting

Tomorrow a marathon meeting gets underway at the Egan Civic Center in Anchorage that could change how fisheries are managed in Upper Cook Inlet. The Matanuska-Susitna Borough Fish & Wildlife Commission is making a plea to the Alaska Board of Fisheries to allow more northernbound salmon to pass through the gauntlet of nets in the Inlet to Mat-Su area waters. The number of days anglers sportfish in Southcentral Alaska has fallen to its lowest in 37 years due to fewer fish.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries is a 7-member group of citizens, appointed by the Governor, to create policies and management plans that ensure the sustainability of fisheries and allocate the available harvestable surplus to user groups.

Download the attached the fish booklet and learn more about how some 7 of the 11 stocks of concern in the State are here in the Mat-Su.

 See what locals are thinking about fish in a scientific survey of more than 404 Mat-Su residents.

 • Some 40 percent said they wanted to fish but couldn't.

• Of those who fished, the group mean said they spent nearly $2,000 a year on fishing.

• 65 percent said more fish should be allowed to pass through commercial nets to Mat-Su rivers.

• 67 percent said fishing is very important & somewhat important when choosing elected leaders.

Sign up to testify at the meeting tomorrow, with a deadline by Saturday.

The meeting for this area only comes around every three years and will last 14 days from Friday, January 31 through Thursday, February 13, 2014.

Reporters call Public Affairs Director Patty Sullivan at 907 355-0103 for an interview with Borough Fish Commissioners in Anchorage at the Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting. Or email This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.