Alaska salmon fishery

Salmon have been an important source of food in Alaska for Native Communities for millennia. Alaska did not always have healthy stocks of salmon. The salmon catch grew rapidly with the expansion of the cannery capacity through 1920. This led to over fishing, which resulted in such low salmon stocks that President Eisenhower declared Alaska a federal disaster area in 1953. In fact, in 1959, statewide harvests totaled only about 25 million salmon, which is less than 20% of current sustained production.[3] This was a major factor in the declines of the Alaska salmon fishery that occurred between 1920 and 1959. Alaska achieved statehood in the year of 1959.[3] After analysis, it was clear that the reason for the decline was the lack of implementation of the federal policies in place before statehood. Furthermore, the Federal government failed to provide the financial resources needed to manage and research salmon stocks and fisheries such that fishing could be regulated and depressed stocks could be rehabilitated. The decline was temporarily arrested after Alaska became a state and instituted new conservation measures. However, the inexorable entry of more technological fishing gear coincided with further decline to record low levels in 1972. This decline helped promote the enclosure of the salmon fishery in 1973 under a limited entry permit system. Since then t catch has rebounded to near-record levels due to Alaska's salmon management.

There are five species of Pacific Salmon of economic importance in Alaska: Chinook, Sockeye, Coho, Pink and Chum.

It is relatively clear that the reason for increased populations of salmon fisheries was the conversion to state management in 1959 and then the limited entry permit system in 1973. However, viable alternative explanations always exist.

The most important change that showed instant increases in salmon populations was the enactment of the Magnusson Stevens Act in 1976 that moved the jurisdiction of Alaskan waters out from 12 miles to the 200 mile limit, effectively excluding foreign fleets from fishing within these American waters. This and sustainable escapement goals that allowed salmon to reach their wild spawning river systems allowed the salmon to return and reproduce naturally so that wild systems recovered from the over fishing, creek robbing, and the serious cold winter temperatures of the early 1970s so prevalent leading to the recovery of stocks seen all over Alaska without any artificial propagation.

One explanation often used is the enhancement of salmon due to the start of the hatchery program in 1971. But the salmon began to recover long before hatcheries began releases in the late 1970s. Modern salmon hatcheries in Alaska were developed too late in response to record low wild-stock runs in the 1970s so millions of dollars were wasted in building these expensive infrastructures. Initially conceived as state-run systems, paid for with Alaska general fund dollars. Today most Alaskan hatcheries are now run by private non-profit organizations but are in grave controversy for their massive straying into wild streams and competition with wild stocks.[7] Alaska now has 33 production hatcheries in a program designed to enhance fisheries but is masking the maintenance of healthy wild stocks. Some hatcheries release over 100 million juvenile salmon annually, competing with the wild out migrating Smolt. Statewide totals are 1.2 to 1.4 billion annually over the last decade. During the past decade, hatcheries have produced 27-63 million adults annually, accounting for 14-37% of lower valued salmon in the statewide commercial salmon harvest. 40% of these salmon are only stripped for their eggs and the carcass thrown away. The high valued preferred wild sockeye are 66-86%, contributing to the majority of the value for the state of Alaska coming from the wild naturally spawning salmon (Figure 2).[8] These high percentages of wild salmon help show that the massive increase in salmon populations was due to the policies implemented during statehood and the entry of the limited permit system, as well as the Magnusson Stevens Act and the climatic shift favoring salmon. Therefore, the natural cycles and strict management to protect American waters is an alternative explanation to the recovering salmon population surge.

Kow-Ear-Nuk and salmon catch, early 1900s

The Alaskan Board of Fisheries identified six “stocks of concern” in late 2000, categorizing them as having yield concern. This is defined as “a chronic inability (over four to five years, despite use of specific management measures) to maintain yields or harvestable surplus above escapement needs.”[1]

• Kuskokwim chinook salmon
• Kuskokwim chum salmon
• Yukon fall chum salmon (except Toklat and Fishing Branch stocks)
• Yukon chinook salmon
• Golovin Bay & Moses Pt. chum salmon
• Kvichak sockeye salmon

• Alaska Packers' Association