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At the June 2018 Council meeting in Kodiak, Council Chairman Dan Hull announced his initial appointments to the Cook Inlet Salmon Committee. The rationale for the initial appointments was spoken into the record and is contained in this document. The composition of the Committee will likely change as the issues change during development of the FMP amendment. All Cook Inlet Salmon Committee meetings will be open to the public.
The following five nominees were appointed to the Committee: Erik Huebsch, Dan Anderson, Dino Sutherland, Hannah Heimbuch, and Mark Casseri.
The Committee will not meet until a Council member has been appointed to Chair the Committee, and that appointment will likely occur in early August.
The Cook Inlet Salmon Committee will assist in the development of an amendment that will incorporate traditional driftnet fishing areas in EEZ waters of Cook Inlet into the Federal Salmon FMP. The Committee’s primary functions will be to (1) review and provide comments on specific, Council-identified issues; (2) develop options for fishery management measures for specific, Council-identified management needs, and (3) provide perspectives on potential social and economic impacts of proposed fishery management measures.
Cook Inlet Salmon Committee Webpage
Newsletter Articles
- Salmon FMP (4/12/2018)
- Salmon FMP (10/17/2017)
- Salmon FMP Amendment (4/17/2017)
- Salmon Excluder EFP (12/19/2016)
Developing Actions
April 2018
At the April 2018 meeting, the Council reviewed proposals that stakeholders submitted in response to an October 2017 call for public comment on measures to manage the commercial salmon fishery. The information provided by stakeholders was used to develop an initial scope of work for the Salmon Committee. The Council also reviewed NOAA General Counsel guidance on the extent of federal authority under the Salmon FMP, specifically to the questions below:
- Did the Ninth Circuit in UCIDA v. NMFS hold that the Council and NMFS must prepare an FMP amendment that includes salmon fisheries conducted within State waters of Cook Inlet?
- Does the Magnuson-Stevens Act authorize and require the Council to prepare an FMP amendment that includes salmon fisheries occurring within State waters of Cook Inlet?
According to General Counsel, the answer to both questions is “No”. A rationale for that answer is provided in a memo to the Council provided at the April meeting. A further letter to the Council addressed the question of whether it is necessary to include in the FMP the salmon sport fishery that occurs in federal waters of Upper Cook Inlet. The answer to this question was left for the Council to determine at a later date. Read more.
October 2017
At its October, 2017 meeting, the Council received an update from staff on preliminary development of a Salmon FMP amendment that would extend federal management authority to three traditional net fishing areas that are located in federal waters, but are currently exempt from the FMP. An initial paper (April 2017) laid out the history and scope of the issue for the Council to recommend preliminary alternatives, and the expanded discussion paper presented at the October 2017 meeting provided potential options under the alternative management approaches currently under consideration. The options addressed in the expanded discussion paper consist of means of addressing specific Magnuson-Stevens Act (MSA) requirements for federal FMPs. The MSA requirements and corresponding options are summarized in Table ES 1-1 in the discussion paper’s executive summary, and are addressed in further detail in Chapter 2 of the discussion paper. Read more.
April 2017
At its April, 2017 meeting, the Council was presented with a discussion paper that provided a preliminary review of the steps needed to impose federal jurisdiction over portions of three traditional salmon net fishing areas currently managed by the State of Alaska. These net areas include federal waters in Cook Inlet, Prince William Sound, and the South Alaska Peninsula.
The Council’s existing Salmon FMP divides federal waters off Alaska into two management areas, East and West, with a boundary line at Cape Suckling. The FMP delegates management of salmon sport fishing and commercial trolling in the East Area to the State and prohibits all commercial salmon harvest in the West Area. Commercial salmon fishing in federal water portions of the traditional net areas would be prohibited since they partially overlap with federal waters of the West Area but these areas are specifically excluded from the federal FMP. This arrangement was facilitated by the Council through Amendment 12 to the Salmon FMP in 2012 recognizing the State’s superior ability to respond to in-season data by quickly and continually adjusting run-specific harvest measures. Read more.
About the Salmon FMP
The Salmon Fisheries Management Plan was developed to prohibit directed commercial fishing for salmon in the EEZ except by a limited number of vessels using troll gear. The vast majority of salmon fishing in Alaska occurs in State jurisdictional waters, and as such, management of the salmon fisheries is deferred to the State of Alaska, Department of Fish and Game.
- Fishery Management Plan for the Salmon Fisheries in the EEZ off Alaska, updated 1/14
- Most recent amendment (Amendment 12) analysis
Current Status of the FMP:
The Council’s existing Salmon FMP divides federal waters off Alaska into two management areas, East and West, with a boundary line at Cape Suckling. The FMP delegates management of salmon sport fishing and commercial trolling in the East Area to the State and prohibits all commercial salmon harvest in the West Area. Commercial salmon fishing in federal water portions of the traditional net areas would be prohibited since they partially overlap with federal waters of the West Area but these areas are specifically excluded from the federal FMP. This arrangement was facilitated by the Council through Amendment 12 to the Salmon FMP in 2012 recognizing the State’s superior ability to respond to in-season data by quickly and continually adjusting run-specific harvest measures.
Staff contact is Jim Armstrong, 907-271-2805.
