Another big step For Kenai Kings

 People who know me are aware of how close to my heart / life and of course for the future of these fish are to me. If we only knew then what we know now, but as Gary Allan sings ' life just don't work that way'.The Alaska Board of Fisheries just wrapped up their 3 year cycled meeting on Cook Inlet and gave the plans to recover these one of a kind fish and chart the future of them with a mild massage. Mmmmmm, well they lowered the spawning (escapement ) goal , once again . Back in the day the fishery and escapement number was set at a remarkable recruitment ( how many fish return per spawner) of 3 to 1 which for wild King Salmon stocks in the world would be exceptional . For the people needing the lettuce out of this deal it was simple and went like this - Lately ( 1970's and 80's ) our King run is 60,000 fish, so , 20,000 get caught and sold commercially, 20,000 get caught and killed sport fishing and 20,000 get up the river and spawn to repeat the process....perfect, what could go wrong ? 

So the stage was set. The total run shrank and shrank , 3 to 1 management projections weren't adding up so.....the escapement goal was reduced and the math worked out. Then the season was lengthened to add more fish to the count which made the baseline data questionable.  The escapement goal finally hit 15.000 and change before the experts began to question that the 3 to 1 formula was wrong  . The 3 to 1 recruitment model is used and works in many fisheries that have pristine spawning habitat and fisheries like Coho and chums that stay out to sea almost half as many years as big Kenai Kings which are 5 ocean fish....more time in the ocean = more chance of being killed before it's time to spawn. So now, the new action plans and escapement goals and hope for the future rest with what the ADF+G who are  now thinking that the actual recruitment for Kenai Kings is 1.4 or so to 1.0 . This is sustainable but with the current numbers will not allow for  any harvest and of course if they are still wrong and the actual recruitment is less than one to one...well....it's a downward spiral that will end in no fish somewhere in time after old guide #003 has left the planet. And with all this going on, all this guess work or S.W.A.G. at ADF+G (simple wild ass guess ) the B.O.F. lowered the escapement goal once again, now it's 14.500. 

I guess it's a goal thing. In my life I've always set high standards and goals for myself. Some of which I haven't met  and some that I'm still working on and hope to meet in the future....but bureaucracy works this way, set your goals low and success is easier . And if you're a B.O.F. member it will get you through to the next meeting . It's sad .😞

If only everyone could experience it. You've been on the water since 6:00 a.m. and it's finally starting to warm. Your rod goes off and you pull it out of the holder and set into resistance. My friend Sergio Tirado told me once ' there is nothing like the first run of a King Salmon ' . It takes 15 minutes until you get the first real look as the flashing silver grows larger and larger as it comes to the surface. It takes another ten minutes to get him laying on his side and swimming head first towards the net all the time you're knowing that this part is when it can go wrong. Head first into the net and then take the pressure off and drop the  tip, you're relieved . You put your rod down and help your buddy lift it into the boat and like a chorus you both say almost together , ' my gawd, that's a beautiful fish ' !