King salmon allocations jump in southeast Alaska

JUNEAU, Alaska — King salmon fishermen in southeast Alaska have reason for optimism this year with news that estimates of the fish's population have more than doubled from 2013 and allocations for sport and commercial harvest will significantly increase. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will allow a catch of 439,400 kings, up from 266,800 in 2012 and just 176,000 last year. High returns last year and projections of high escapement, in which the kings leave fisheries and spawn, for rivers outside Alaska are part of the reason for optimism, the Juneau Empire (http://bit.ly/PXRcJy ) reported. Anglers are in line for an allocation of 81,353 king salmon, up from 32,466. On the commercial side, trollers, who drag fishing lines through the water, take the highest percentage, and their increase in allocation will be striking, said Pattie Skannes, troll management biologist for the department. The troll allocation is 325,411 chinook salmon, up from 129,862. "This year's allocation is just far and away much higher. This is the largest quota we've had since we began abundance-based management regime back in the late '90s," she said. "Before that, harvest ceilings were not set based on abundance." The returns of kings last year was underestimated, and southeast regional management coordinator Bob Chadwick said the sport anglers faced restrictions. The numbers are governed by the Pacific Salmon Treaty. A limit index determines allocations based on 30 river drainage stock groups ranging from southeast Alaska to Oregon. This year, "There's large numbers of chinook in the water," Chadwick said. Many of those increases are coming from streams in Washington, Oregon and Canada, he said. The Columbia River is projected to have a second year of record returns, Skannes said, in contrast to southeast Alaska rivers. "Our stocks — like the Taku, the Stikine . they're at escapement levels, but they're not as high as they have been in the past," Chadwick said. Resident sport fishermen last year were limited to a bag limit of one king salmon. This year, it's three. Read more here: http://www.adn.com/2014/05/02/3452066/king-salmon-allocations-jump-in.html?sp=/99/188/189/#storylink=cpy