A fishing partner of mine just got back from Alaska fishing for Chinook. As we discussed the trip, talk turned to how Alaska has a one chinook per day limit on many of their rivers. Alaska has probably the healthest population of chinook salmon in the world. Alaska manages this resource very carefully it seems. My question to the board - "How many of you would like to see a similar daily bag limit on our Washington rivers, where open?" Should we decrease to 1 chinook per day with a small annual limit? Strictly in the name of conservation.

[This message has been edited by Rich (edited 06-22-2000).]

[This message has been edited by Rich (edited 06-22-2000).]

Good idea, but you have to be careful not to compare apples and oranges. Most Alaska kings that are harvested are wild, most of ours are hatchery in origin. As long the hatcheries pump enough fish through the raceways to satisfy commercial, tribal, and recreational needs, while still obtaining their escapement, there is no conservational reason to lower the limit.

But the Alaska example is proof that it doesn't take a lot of harvest pressure to diminish wild king runs such that restrictions are necessary. And Alaska is not even close to Washington in the amount of development on rivers and estuaries. There streams still operate at near historical carrying capacities. Ours do not.

Were already there in a lot of places, Nooch', Chehalis, Satsop, Area 11, one Chinook. Cowlitz, Skykomish (I think), no Chinook's. If the runs will support it make it two. How many times have you limited on two recently???
Tight lines, Jeff

As stated above yo8u can't compare apples to oranges. Alaska seems to keep a pretty tight lip on what is happening with their fisheries. Alot of their fisheries are not in as good a shape as folks would like to think. They have the same issues that we do-HARVEST! I read the Anchorage Daily news on a regular basis and they just changed to regs on one river(can't remember the name) because the sport fishers have been too good and not enough fish are making it up stream. Also about 6-8 months ago the feds seized control over some Alaska fisheries because they are not leaving enough for the aboriginals to survive on. I have a contact that spends the commercial fishing season in Alaska and he says the commercial seasons are getting hit hard.