The good season for Cordova commercial fishermen continues as ADF&G announced another fishing session for Copper River king salmon Thursday, May 25.
The first two openings netted dramatically more king salmon than expected, especially given a dire run forecast of only 29,000 Copper River kings from ADF&G. And with the much-desired early season fish selling for up to $75 a pound in fish-crazy markets like Seattle, it’s a fortuitous year for the netters.
That is all the more galling to sport fishermen, whose season in the Copper River has been closed entirely, as well as subsistence fishermen who are allowed just two kings this year.
The Thursday opener is shortened from 12 to nine hours, the release says, to avoid fishing a low tide when the kings would be especially vulnerable to netting. But ADF&G also said that despite bad weather conditions, the first two netting sessions produced lots of kings, despite that low run forecast.
Here’s the exact wording of the release announcing the opener:
COPPER RIVER DISTRICT: King salmon harvest from the first two fishing periods was above anticipated levels despite unprecedented area restrictions, and poor weather conditions in the second period that reduced harvest efficiency. This information provides a preliminary indication of above anticipated king salmon abundance. Given the poor preseason king salmon outlook, a continued conservative commercial fisheries management approach is warranted. To reduce king salmon harvest during the next fishing period, start time will be delayed to avoid opening on an extreme low tide (minus 3.4) when fish are more vulnerable to harvest. In addition, the duration of this fishing period is shortened to avoid fishing after the evening low tide. The Copper River District will open for a 9-hour commercial fishing period from 11:00 am to 8:00 pm on Thursday, May 25. Waters within the expanded Chinook salmon inside closure area will be closed during this period.
The complete release and map of open fishing area is online:
http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/static/applications/dcfnewsrelease/782980451.pdf
What this means for the entire run for the season remains to be seen, including whether sport and subsistence fishermen might get a shot later if the run continues to build beyond forecasts.
