The Board of Fisheries will meet in Ketchikan Jan. 28–Feb. 9 to consider Southeast proposals, including Proposal 156 which calls for a 25% reduction in Southeast Alaska hatchery-permitted pink and chum salmon egg takes. Public testimony is scheduled to be heard in the afternoon of Jan. 28 and Tuesday–Wednesday, Feb. 3–4. How serious is the threat posed by Proposal 156 to Juneau area sport fishing?
The consequences of such a move could be devastating to the Juneau area sport fishery — a cornerstone of Juneau’s community, culture and economy. Our local hatchery, Douglas Island Pink and Chum Inc. (DIPAC) is funded primarily through cost recovery harvest and the salmon enhancement tax on its production of commercially caught chum salmon (DIPAC has not raised pink salmon for decades and there is very little pink salmon hatchery production in Southeast).
Recognizing the importance of other salmon to the Juneau community, DIPAC also produces chinook and coho salmon that are reared to migrate home to Fish Creek pond, Gastineau Channel, Thane, Lena and Auke Bay, to be accessible to marine and shoreside anglers, and raises sockeye that are harvested at the Sweetheart creek personal use fishery. DIPAC salmon provide Juneau anglers the opportunity to catch salmon by boat or from shore at little cost without harming our limited local wild salmon populations and roadside accessible fishing streams.
The proposal if approved would jeopardize the financial stability of DIPAC. If the chum production is cut by 25% it is likely to result in a reduction or elimination of sportfish programs that do not bring positive revenue. Imagine the outlook for wild salmon of Cowee Creek, Montana Creek, Mendenhall River and Auke Creek if our population and visitors did not have DIPAC salmon to target for their families.
Before DIPAC was able to obtain an improved coho broodstock in the early 2010s, the coho program was nowhere near as popular or productive at it is now, with low returns of small coho. In that era it was common to see illegal snagging and out-of-season bait fishing at Cowee Creek, and snagging of coho at the mouth of Peterson Creek, which is now banned.
Revenue from chum salmon returning to (DIPAC) release locations have long supported not only our local commercial fishing and these sport fisheries, but educational programs and outreach such as student tours, ocean week, the visitor center and its aquarium.
Claims that DIPAC hatchery chums harm wild stocks in the Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim (AYK) region lack scientific support. In fact, DIPAC’s operations have been carefully adjusted to minimize competition between hatchery and wild juveniles, with release timings informed by rigorous studies from the early 2000s. The assertion that hatchery production is spiraling out of control is equally unfounded; DIPAC has no plans to expand and is constrained by available resources.
This is a matter of misplaced blame. The public process for hatchery oversight, led by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s Hatchery Program Review Team, is transparent and science-based. The system is not perfect, but it provides a fair and collaborative framework for balancing the needs of wild and hatchery-enhanced stocks.
The root cause of king salmon declines includes many effects to the ocean and freshwater ecosystems related to climate change —and is far more complex than this proposal suggests. Targeting hatcheries as the scapegoat distracts us from addressing these real challenges. Proposal 156 offers no tangible benefit for wild salmon conservation but guarantees significant harm to our local fisheries and communities.
For the sake of Juneau and Southeast Alaska’s fisheries, Proposal 156 must be rejected. Let us focus instead on collaborative, evidence-based solutions that sustain both wild and hatchery-enhanced salmon for the future. To learn more or submit comments opposing Proposal 156, visit https://www.dipac.net.
• After nearly 20 years fishing the shoreline areas of the Juneau road system as a local resident, Mark Vinsel retired in 2019 to the Skykomish River valley in Washington State and since then has fished the Juneau area as a nonresident on regular visits — because the Skykomish and its tributaries are closed to all fishing from mid-February through October due to conservation concerns. In his time in Juneau he was president of Raincountry Flyfishers (2003-2005), executive director of United Fishermen of Alaska (2004-2012) and the commercial fish seat on the Alaska Board of Forestry (2008 – 2021). Mark also continues to serve, since 2006, on the DIPAC Board of Directors, representing non-marine roadside fisheries.
