Salmon anglers planning a summer fishing trip
around Sitka, Ketchikan, Skagway or Juneau should find oodles of
kings. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced that this
year's southeast Alaska chinook harvest quota will be the highest
in more than 10 years.
According to a 1999 agreement, this translates
into a catch for southeast Alaska of 366,100 chinook, up from last
year by nearly 10,000. This is the largest abundance index for
southeast Alaska since 1991, and is slightly larger than last
year's level. Chinook produced in Alaskan hatcheries may be caught
in addition to these treaty fish.
The abundance is due to continued large runs of
wild and hatchery fall and summer chinook to the Columbia River as
well as strong chinook runs bound for the Oregon coast, Fraser,
Upper Georgia Strait, Nass and Skeena.
The majority of the increases are due to a
recent upturn in ocean survival for many salmon stocks. The West
Coast Vancouver Island chinook stock that historically contributed
to southeast Alaska fisheries is expected to be slightly below
average and similar to last year. The total catch last year of
chinook (treaty and Alaska hatchery fish combined) in southeast
Alaska was the largest since statehood in 1959.
Although concentrations of the marine toxin
continue to decline at Long Beach and Twin Harbors, some samples
tested this week still exceed the state's health standard of 20
parts per million, said Dan Ayres, state Fish and Wildlife coastal
shellfish manager.
Domoic acid levels at the state's other three
razor clam beaches Mocrocks, Copalis and Kalaloch have continued to
test well above the state standard and will likely remain closed
until fall, Ayres said.
"There's still an outside chance of a spring
opening particularly at Long Beach but it's going to be close,"
said Ayres, noting that no clam digging will be allowed after May
when razor clams begin to spawn. Basically it's turned into a race
against time."
The rule states that domoic acid levels in all
samples taken from a beach must test below 20 ppm for two
consecutive weeks before a dig can happen.
Samples will be collected from all five razor
clam beaches for another round of tests.
Copyright 2003 The Seattle Times
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