The state Board of Fisheries (BOF) is addressing proposals for fisheries at the Alaska Peninsula, Aleutian Islands and Chignik at its meeting in Anchorage now through February 24.
The Board will review proposed changes to the controversial Area M fishery along the Alaska Peninsula where chum salmon headed for Western Alaska rivers are taken along with targeted catches of pinks and sockeyes each summer. The fishery occurs primarily in the South Unimak and Shumagin Islands in June.
The Yukon River Inter-tribal Fish Commission said that proposals include shortening fishing periods and extending time between openers to create a migratory corridor for Western and Interior salmon. Any changes would take effect in the 2026-2028 cycle.
A Feb. 2 opinion piece in the Anchorage Daily News by Western Alaskans summarized the century-long chum interception problem as having two primary causes: bycatch by pollock trawlers and interception by Alaska Peninsula salmon fishermen targeting sockeye salmon in June…