Fishing restrictions are not enough to protect and recover the salmon population on the Kuskokwim River. At least, that’s the growing consensus in the fishery management advisory groups on the Kuskokwim, made up of local subsistence fishers. Those groups are now looking at restricting boat traffic in small tributaries where fish spawn to protect the eggs.
LaMont Albertson used to be a sports fishing guide on the Aniak River for 30 years. Retired now, he watches with concern as guides travel up the narrow, shallow tributaries of the Aniak.
“We're concerned that the jet traffic, the several boats that are using those rivers that are not very wide to begin with and not very big to begin with, are interfering with the spawning of the salmon,” Albertson said.
Sports fishing for salmon has been prohibited on the Kuskokwim and its tributaries in recent years. Albertson’s concern was for the fishing guides’ boat motors damaging fish eggs in shallow streams, which he expressed in this month’s Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group meeting where Albertson is a member. That group advises state fishery managers.
Albertson proposed a resolution that would temporarily close streams where fish spawn to boat traffic. He wants to protect all fish eggs, not just salmon. His proposed restriction would last for three months between the beginning of June and the end of August.
“We are not trying to in any way interfere with the moose hunters after Sept. 1 or whoever might be out there before June 1,” Albertson said.
Albertson was most concerned with the Aniak river’s tributaries. But in the meeting, working Group member Mike Williams Sr., who’s in Akiak, said that jet boats disturb spawning grounds in other tributaries like the Kisaralik or Kwethluk.
“I think we need to look at all of the tributaries here. Because we're all affected by it,” Williams Sr. said.
The state working group unanimously passed a motion to draft a resolution limiting boat traffic in streams on the Kuskokwim where fish spawn. The group would vote on it at a later date once the language is specified. Both Williams Sr. and Albertson are also members of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission, which advises federal fishery managers. Albertson told KYUK that that group would pursue a similar resolution as well.
Research supports the working group’s assumption that jet boat traffic can damage salmon eggs in spawning grounds, but only in specific conditions. One study conducted in Southwest Alaska almost 30 years ago showed that in extremely shallow streams, less than 9 inches deep, jet boat traffic can destroy nearly all the salmon eggs laid there. But in water between 9 inches and a foot deep, the impact of boat traffic on eggs was much less; less than 20% of eggs were destroyed. Larger boats can cause more damage to eggs.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service fishery biologist Gary Decossas agreed with that study. In an email he wrote “the effect of boating on salmon eggs in the tributaries is unlikely unless the river water level is extremely shallow or there is an excessive amount of boats.” He added that jet boats or propeller boats would cause similar damage in shallow waters.
It’s unclear how this restriction on boat traffic would be enforced. Neither the state working group nor the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commision have the legal authority to enforce a restriction on boat traffic. The federal and state governments share management over the Kuskokwim River and its tributaries. Plus, someone would need to identify all the streams where fish spawn. Working Group member Barbara Carlson said that this effort would require a patchwork of organizations working together.
“Lots of balls to juggle, but I think it's something worth juggling for,” Carlson said.
The state working group is also trying to reduce salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea as another way to protect the fish.
