Fisheries board to consider emergency Copper River commercial closure; sport fishing already closed

Alaska Board of Fisheries will expand its special meeting on Wednesday, May 17  to review an emergency petition by the Fairbanks Fish and Game Advisory Committee to limit commercial fishing for the dismal forecast of Copper River king salmon.

Arrival of the first Copper River kings to market was once a historic photo opp, as in this 2012 event at Anchorage’s Bridge Restaurant. Poor runs may mean neither sport nor commercial fishing for Copper River fish this year.

The meeting starts at 1 p.m. and will be streamed online live.

This is an expanded agenda from the board’s special meeting on the Bering Sea Tanner Crab Harvest Strategy, to be held May 17-18

At the very beginning of the meeting will be a review of the emergency petition requesting the board consider a number of measures to limit the harvest of king salmon in the Prince William Sound commercial salmon fishery. The meeting will be in Anchorage at the Sheraton Hotel, 401 East 6th Avenue, Kuskokwim Room.

Copper River kings are usually the first and most heralded of the annual runs of the big fish statewide, with the first Copper River fish commanding astronomical prices in fish-hungry markets like Seattle.  For 2017 ADF&G is forecasting the worst Copper River king run in a generation.

Sport fishing for the entire Copper River basin has already been closed and the Fairbanks advisory board wants the fish protected from commercial fishing pressure as well.

The board will not take oral public testimony in its consideration of the emergency petition. A live audio stream of the meeting is intended to be available on the Board of Fisheries website which can be accessed at: www.boardoffisheries.adfg.alaska.gov.

Meeting materials will also be posted on this website and will be available through the Department of Fish and Game Boards Support Section.

http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.main