Spring is in the air and happenings of interest to our members are fast approaching. The Chitina Dipnetters Association (CDA) will be manning a booth at the 2023 Fairbanks Outdoor Show April 21-23 at the Carlson Center. Stop on by and see our selection of newly designed CDA Tshirts, hoodies and hats, and get the scoop on the latest Chitina dipnet fishery news. It is also a good opportunity to renew your annual $20 CDA membership. Your annual membership and apparel sales fund this all-volunteer organization. Without your support, both financially and through membership numbers, we would cease to function as the only organization working to protect and enhance your rights and opportunities to provide your family with freshly dipnetted Copper River salmon. As always, our online store provides 24 hour access to our goodies and memberships. https://shop.chitinadipnetters.com/

CDA is in need of members to supplement the board members manning our booth at the Outdoor Show booth. It's a fun time and great way to run into old friends and meet new ones. And this is about fishing, not rocket science, so booth-sitter training is fast and easy! Contact Paul Harrell (pharrell@chitinadipnetters.com) to select a time slot that fits your schedule between Friday afternoon, April 21, and late Sunday afternoon.

Our 2023 annual meeting will be held on Tuesday, May 9 at 7PM in the Tanana Valley Sportsmans Association Building, 1230 TVSA Way, Fairbanks, AK. It will be a fun night with raffles and a mid-meeting feast of various flavors of smoked salmon (courtesy of Alaska Interior Fish Processor/Santa’s Smoke House), fruit and veggie trays, dessert and beverages. Fish and Game representatives will be on hand with dipnet fishery updates, including the 2023 Copper River salmon run forecast, 2022 harvest and permit data, and to answer your dipnet fishery questions. Department of Transportation personnel will present information on last year’s use of Chitina dipnet permit funds for the toilet and garbage contracts, and Copper River Highway Right of Way (CRHR) maintenance between O'Brien and Haley Creeks. They will also address plans to fix major winter damage to O’Brien Creek Road.

The major damage mentioned above references two rock slides blocking the CRHR just prior to the bluff above O'Brien Creek. The slides and other road damage block vehicle access to the O’Brien Creek parking area. The Chitina area experienced a heavy snow fall, followed by warm temperatures and heavy rains last October, triggering the slides and causing 80-100 feet of road bed to split about 5 feet in from the outside edge of the road. The road is ready to slide out and down the hillside. This is true for both slide locations. A photo is attached showing one of the slide areas. DOT has drawn up plans for repair work, which will involve contracting a private construction firm to perform the repairs.

The cost of this contract will be far more than the dipnet permit fund can handle. DOT is looking into other funding sources, but as of last word, none has been secured. It is likely that travel to O'Brien Creek will be difficult for vehicles larger than an ATV this summer. CDA is working with DOT to find a solution. We will have updated information on the road’s status at the annual meeting. See you there.

Chuck Derrick
President, Chitina Dipnetters Association
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Chitina Dipnetters:

The Chitina Dipnetters Association president attended the March 10-13 Statewide Board of Fisheries meeting held at the Egan Civic Center in Anchorage. CDA gave testimony opposing four anti-dipnetting proposals, all submitted by commercial fishermen. Since I am also a member of the Fairbanks Fish & Game Advisory Committee, I spoke to oppose one subsistence proposal. Mark Spencer of Alaska Expeditions, Ryan Ford of Rock Skip Adventures, representatives from the Kenai River Sport Fishing Association and a few members of the public spoke in opposition to all five proposals. Public comments received by the BOF for these proposals averaged 30 FOR and 497 AGAINST. Thank you to all who took the time to send in your comments. Your input really helps to sway the BOF. I am happy to tell you that all four anti-Personal Use dipnetting proposals failed. One proposal banning guiding in subsistence fisheries statewide did pass.

Prop. 163 — Prohibit guiding in personal use finfish fisheries
Failed — BOF took no action — The no action vote was due to the withdrawal of the proposal by the author. I'm sure the large amount of opposition played a part in his decision.

Prop. 164 — Establish registration and reporting requirements for Personal Use guides and transporters
Failed — 0 for and 6 against.

Prop. 165 — Prohibit compensation for guide services in subsistence fisheries
Passed 5-1. Surprisingly the only no vote was cast by the quasi subsistence seat on the BOF.

Prop. 166 — Establish a statewide bag limit for all Personal Use finfish fisheries.
Failed 0-6

Prop. 167 — Require in-season reporting of subsistence and personal use salmon harvest within 5 days of harvest
Failed 0-6

Chuck Derrick
President, Chitina Dipnetters Association
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Chitina Dipnetters:

As spring fast approaches Chitina Dipnetters Association (CDA) dealings with Chitina dipnetting business and issues increases ten fold. Of the most pressing is the March 10-13 Statewide Finfish Meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) to be held in Anchorage. The board will consider five proposals establishing new statewide regulations dealing with personal use fisheries, which will include both the Chitina and Kenai Penninsula dipnet fisheries. All these proposals were submitted by commercial <!--break-->fishermen and seek to place new restrictions on those fisheries. These proposals are numbers 163-164 and 166-167; all are opposed by CDA. Also, for those who partake in subsistence dipnetting, you may want to look at proposal 165.

The Kenai River Sports Fishing Association (KRSA), which has always been very supportive of sport and personal use fisheries and been of great help to me in past BOF meetings, has put together a page simplifying the public comment procedure for voicing your opposition to these proposals. As a member of CDA, I would like you to take this opportunity to add your voice to the opposition. KRSA's page gives a link to the actual proposals and some sample wordage to use with an easy COMMENT BUTTON to get you started. The deadline is fast approaching for comment submissions: 11:59pm, Thursday, Feb. 23, 2023.

Comment Now

The Proposal Book and Online Comment Form are available at the State of Alaska's Board of Fisheries Meeting Information page for those people wanting to go straight to the source.

Proposal 163 seeks to eliminate guiding in personal use finfish fisheries. Remember that access to the Copper River for dipnetting, whether on land or by boat is very limited, especially on the east side. To lose the guided services in our fishery would mean many dipnetters, who do not posses the means to access the fishery on their own, will find it hard or impossible to continue dipnetting.

Proposal 164 would establish registration and reporting requirements for commercial guiding operations in personal use fisheries. This will only add to the cost of chartering guided fishing trips.

Proposal 166 would establish a statewide annual dipnet bag limit. CDA fought hard to get the Chitina Personal Use Dipnet bag limit to where it is today, with the number of salmon allowed in your bag limit reflecting the size of your family. The larger the family, the more fish allowed. Don't let the commercial fishermen take this away.

Proposal 167 would require dipnetters to report their harvest within 5 days of taking. Similar proposals have appeared in at least the last 3 BOF meetings dealing with Copper River finfish. The Alaska Dept. of Fish and Game has consistently opposed these proposals reminding the BOF that the Chitina P.U. dipnet fishery is managed by actual sonar counts and that in-season harvest data would be of little value in managing the fishery.

Please let your voice be heard.

Chuck Derrick
President

May 7, 2022

Chitina Dipnetters:

Just a quick reminder that the Chitina Dipnetters Association will be conducting their 2022 annual meeting on Tuesday, May 10, at 7PM in the TVSA shooting range building, 1230 TVSA Way, Fairbanks.

Door Prizes, Mid-meeting Smoked Salmon Feed, 2021 Harvest Review, 2022 Season Outlook, Latest on Chitina Fishery access projects, CDA Board Member Elections, O'Brien/Haley Creek Trail status, presentations by F&G and DOT. CDA Memberships and Apparel will be for sale

Come support the all-volunteer organization whose sole purpose is protecting and enhancing the ability of Alaska residents to harvest salmon from the Chitina dipnet fishery.

For more info please visit our website at chitinadipnetters.com or contact Chuck at cderrick@chitinadipnetters.

If you're interested in becoming a CDA Board Member, read on, otherwise, we hope to see you at the meeting!

The Chitina Dipnetters Association is managed and run entirely by an all-volunteer Board of Directors. We currently have four empty positions out of twelve. Average minimum commitment is a couple hours a month, with no activity some months and doubled up on others. If you're interested in helping us make the Chitina Personal Use Dipnet Fishery a better, more sustainable, more accessible fishery, please consider becoming a board member. Election of new board members takes place at the Annual Meeting on May 7th. Contact Board President Chuck Derrick or VP Paul Delys prior to the meeting if you're interested in helping out. Nominations for new board members will also be taken on the floor.

If Chitina dipnetting is important to you and your way of life but you're unable to volunteer on the board of directors, become a sustaining member of the Association. Annual dues are the major source of funding for our work, which includes representing dipnetters at the Alaska Board of Fisheries. The BOF manages the fishing rules, bag limits and salmon allocation betweeen the personal use, subsistence, commercial and sport fishers across Alaska and in the Copper River. Having a larger membership base is also important when approaching these political meetings!

Chitina Dipnetters:

My hope is in 2021 you had success in procuring an ample supply of Copper River salmon to meet your family's needs for the long winter.

As we start moving toward springtime in Alaska, issues and meetings concerning the Chitina dipnet fishery seem to increase as fast as the daylight.

With the relaxing of covid 19 restrictions, CDA will resume its annual in-person meeting in 2022. The annual meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, May 10 at 7PM in the TVSA shooting range building at 1230 TVSA Way, Fairbanks, AK. We will be conducting the election of CDA board members. F&G will be present to review the Copper River salmon forecast for the 2022 dipnet season, present fishery participation and harvest data from 2021 and answer any questions concerning their management of the Chitina dipnet fishery. A DOT representative will bring us up to speed on future projects planned for the fishery, continuing work on the trail between O'Brien and Haley Creeks as well as expenditures for fulfilling the garbage and toilet servicing contracts for the fishery. A table with various snacks (smoked salmon, cheese, fruit and vegetable trays, refreshments) will be available at the mid meeting break. Door prize drawings will occur throughout the meeting and CDA memberships as well as apparel will be available for purchase at the door.

CDA will man a booth and conduct a dipnetting seminar at the April 8-10 Fairbanks Outdoor Show. This is another opportunity for dipnetters to become involved by volunteering a couple hours at our booth. A CDA board member will be present during the entire show. It is a fun time and you will get to meet other dipnetters as well as educate newcomers to the fishery. CDA has printed a trifold handout giving a basic primer to dipnetting at Chitina. An informational flyer detailing CDA's purpose and achievements will also be available for handout. To volunteer for the Outdoor show, please contact Paul Harrell (pharrell@chitinadipnetters.com)

CDA memberships are based on calendar year (Jan.1-Dec.31) and most memberships are up for renewal in 2022. Please take the time to re-up your CDA membership on our website at https://chitinadipnetters.com, the Fairbanks Outdoor Show or the CDA annual meeting. While at the CDA website, check out the CDA apparel we have available for purchase. CDA is a non-profit all volunteer organization and we rely on your membership and apparel sales to fund our Chitina dipnet fishery watchdog activities.

Please consider joining the CDA board of directors as we need all the help we can get. We have 4 vacancies to fill. Either submit your name for nomination at the CDA annual meeting or submit it to myself at my email address. Also, if you have ideas for needed projects to make the Chitina dipnet fishery safer or a better experience, please bring your ideas to the meeting or email me at cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Dip On!
Chuck Derrick

Hello Dipnetters!

CDA Board Member John Siegfreid and I attended the December meeting of the Alaska Board of Fisheries in Cordova. I'm happy to report that no regulations negatively affecting the Chitina Personal Use fishery were passed. The CDA's one beneficial proposal was denied.

Multiple proposals that would have restricted dipnetting from a boat in the Personal Use (PU) and subsistence fisheries were not approved — boat fishing may continue with no new restrictions. The proposal prohibiting the use of gillnet mesh in dipnets failed. The proposal to lower the current PU bag limit, which CDA got put in place at the 2014 BOF meeting, failed. The proposal to require mandatory online reporting of PU salmon within 3 days of the time of harvest also failed.

Notably, the proposal to reduce the PU allocation from the existing 100,000-150,000 salmon to 50,000 if, by June 1, the commercial harvest is 50% below the 10 year average failed. I stressed to the Board of Fish that most recent commercial drift net harvest restrictions have been in place because of low king salmon numbers. Drift nets indiscriminately catch salmon and kings suffer a high mortality rate in them. Restrictions on the commercial fleet to protect king salmon could easily trigger the allocation reduction in our Personal Use fishery even if the sockeye run is outstanding. The PU fishery should stay open to harvest sockeyes, as dipnetters can release kings immediately, most times unharmed.

The CDA's single proposal before the BOF this year, proposal 18, would have extended the lower boundary of the PU fishery to relieve boat congestion and possible dangerous conditions in a short, crowded area at the very bottom of the fishery area. We twice amended the proposal to alleviate concerns brought forward by ADF&G staff comments, but it failed to pass. The proposal vote was on track to pass except our own Fairbanks BOF representative McKenzie Mitchell, who CDA endorsed in appointment and confirmation, voted against it. Her reasoning was that boat dipnetters could relieve the boat congestion at the lower limit by pulling up their nets and drifting farther down the river before heading back upstream. It made no sense.

The only major change to the subsistence fishery in the Glennallen District upstream of the McCarthy bridge was the elimination of paid charter operators such as Alaska Expeditions and Copper River Wild. They must now operate solely in the PU fishery.

The paired burden of king salmon conservation set at the 2011 BOF meeting, with the commercial fleet being restricted to only one 12 hour period inside the barrier islands in each of their first weekly openings and the PU fishery opening June 7-14 instead of, as it was prior to 2011, June 1, did not change.

Without CDA's representation at the BOF meeting, which is paid for with members' annual dues and merchandise sales (shop.chitinadipnetters.com), the proposals and public testimony placing restrictions on the Chitina Personal Use Fishery would have been unchallenged, much to the detriment of dipnetters.

Thank you for your continued support!

Chuck Derrick, Pres.
Chitina Dipnetters Association

Hello Dipnetters!

The Chitina Dipnetters Association store is having an extended Black Friday, Cyber Monday and Board of Fish meeting sale! Yes, the Board of Fish meeting is that important to us! Visit http://shop.chitinadipnetters.com to shop now!

Save 25% on all membership related purchases including a membership/hat combo! Save 15% on all other regularly priced merchandise including hats, zippered hoodies and t-shirts! Our older t-shirts and hoodies are already 15% off. CDA gear makes great Christmas and other holiday presents for the dipnetters in your life!

Want more? Spend $100+ in our store before December 6 and we'll ship your order for FREE!

Coupon codes for each of the discounts are listed when you checkout, before you pay. You MUST enter the codes to take advantage of the sales before going to the payment step.

All proceeds from our online store's sales go 100% to supporting the work our all-volunteer Board of Directors does to ensure the Chitina dipnet fishery remains accessible to all Alaskans. Two Board members will be traveling to the Board of Fish meeting in Cordova November 30 to December 6. Details below.

As the year winds down, Chitina Dipnetters Association President Chuck Derrick and Treasurer John Siegfried are preparing to travel to the 2021 Board of Fisheries meeting taking place in Cordova from November 30th until December 6th.

The CDA has submitted one proposal for the Board's consideration this year. The proposal, as originally written, asks the BOF to move the downstream dipnet boundary 1/2 mile downstream from the current markers to alleviate congestion and increase safety among the boat fishers who utilize the area down by Haley Creek.

Due to enforcement concerns because a 1/2 mile boundary extention would be beyond the sight of enforcement officers stationed at Haley Creek, Chuck has amended the proposal to extend the boundary so fishers have an additional 660 or so yards of fishing space but remain in view of enforcement officers.

In addition to working for passage of our proposal, Chuck and John will also be supporting and opposing other people's and organizations' proposals that could be a benefit or detriment to our fishery.

Paul Delys, vice-president
pdelys@chitinadipnetters.com

Chitina Dipnetters:

The Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) will meet in Cordova from November 30 - December 6 to deliberate and vote on proposals submitted for Prince William Sound/Upper Copper and Susitna River finfish. The Chitina Dipnetters Association (CDA) will be represented at the meeting by two of our board members who will be defending proposals beneficial to Chitina Personal Use Dipnetters (PU) and opposing those detrimental to our fishery.

Several of this year's proposals deal with restricting or eliminating the ability to dipnet salmon from a boat, targeting both the PU and subsistence fisheries of the Upper Copper. Many dipnetters choose to use their own boats to harvest their annual family bag limit. CDA feels that dipnetting from boats is just another viable method of securing that bag limit. Our proposal comment opposes restrictions to boat dipnetting in the subsistence fishery for fear that those restrictions could later be applied to the PU fishery.

CDA will be defending a proposal we submitted, #18, which asks the BOF to extend the lower boundary of the PU fishery 1/2 mile downstream. Not only will this provide more shore based dipping territory, but also serve to relieve the congestion of boats that occurs in the short stretch of Copper River across from Haley Creek, a favored area for boat dipnetters.

I am attaching CDA's proposal comments below. The entire CDA Board of Directors encourages individual dipnetters to send their personal comments supporting CDA's position. Comments to the proposals are due by November 15th and can be made online at http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=process.comments. Be sure to select "Prince William Sound — Comments due 11/15/2021" as the Board Meeting for which you are commenting. This email's content will also be posted on our website at https://chitinadipnetters.com/BOF2021.

CDA board
Chuck Derrick, president
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Chitina Dipnetters:

This member email is long overdue and I apologize for that. The year 2020 has been one that most of us are probably glad is coming to a close. What with Covid 19 and all the procedures to deal with it and the contentious political elections, the poor 2020 run of sockeye salmon in the Copper River only added to the negative column. I hope you were lucky, like I was, and timed your dipnetting trip to Chitina when there were enough salmon in the river to fill your limit.

The Alaska Board of Fisheries meeting dealing with Prince William Sound/Copper River fin fish was scheduled to take place in Cordova on Dec. 11-17. The Chitina Dipnetters Association (CDA) had planned to send two board members in support of Chitina dipnetters, but the meeting was canceled. Boards support requested comments from interested parties concerning new timing of delayed Board of Fish (BOF)and Board of Game meetings. We were asked to choose among several options including “keep original date of meeting”, “delay till sometime in spring 2021”, or “have those 2020 meetings at their original dates, only moved to 2021”. The latter option would push future 2021 meetings to 2022, 2022 TO 2023 and so on. We suggested moving everything to the same date in 2021. This would delay the December PWS/CR fin fish meeting till December 2021. The BOF decided to reschedule the PWS/CR finfish for March 2021 if the Covid 19 pandemic was by then under control. Commercial fishermen for the most part were unhappy with this change citing that this was the time of year they are prepping for the upcoming season. At this point, it looks like a stretch to get everyone vaccinated and the virus under control in that time frame. My guess is the PWS/CR meeting will be in December 2021. Be assured that when ever the meeting takes place, CDA will be there to represent Chitina dipnetting interests.

Even though the PWS/CR fin fish meeting is delayed, the time period for commenting on submitted regulation change proposals, is open (no dead line yet). I drafted comments on proposals of interest to the Chitina Dipnetters Association and the dip net fishery as a whole. The CDA board approved my comments and they were submitted to Alaska Boards support. I have attached CDA's comments below. You can view the full text of the PWS/CR fin fish submitted proposals by visiting the Alaska Board of Fisheries website (http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=fisheriesboard.proposalbook). Please review CDA's comments in the attachment below and submit your own comments to support ours by clicking “submit comments” on BOF website front page.

In April 2020 Governor Dunleavy made his appointments to the Board of Fisheries. Re-appointed was John Jensen. New appointments were Abe Williams, John Wood and McKenzie Mitchell. These additions should make for a well rounded and hopefully fair Board of Fisheries. Because of the pandemic, the joint bodies of the legislature were unable to hold confirmation hearings for any state boards or commissions. The legislature passed a bill saying that if appointees were not confirmed by July 1, 2020 then the governors appointments fail and cannot be reappointed for one year. The attorney general disagreed and Dunleavys' appointees were seated until confirmation can take place. The legislature filed suit and that is where things remain as of this email.

On a much brighter note, DOT Tazlina station informed CDA that they were able to complete the opening and widening of the canyon trail between O'brien and Haley creeks by the end of October. All landslides were cleared and, if no new slides occur this spring, the trail should be in great shape for the 2021 dip net season.

The forecast for the 2021 Copper River salmon run is not out yet, but preliminary data indicates lower than average sockeye and chinook numbers for the Copper. I hope this is not the case, but if so it means reduced fishing time in the dipnet fishery.

Whether we have a CDA annual membership meeting in May 2021 will depend on the progression of getting the pandemic under control. The CDA board will make that decision as May draws nearer and I will inform the membership.

2021 CDA $20 annual membership fee will be due starting January 1, 2021. You can re-up your membership at chitinadipnetters.com or mail in your payment to

Chitina Dipnetters Association
POB 72665
Fairbanks, AK 99707

While you are at our website, browse our CDA store for great CDA apparel.

Thank you for your membership and support of CDA.

HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!!
CDA board
Chuck Derrick, president
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

As the dipnet season approaches, this year brings a few changes to our fishery.

Permits for the Chitina personal use dipnet fishery, which have been available online for a couple of years, became available on May 1.

"For the Chitina permit, this year it is required that all harvest reporting be done online. In the past you could fill out your paper and mail it to the department. No longer. For those without internet access, they can call the Fairbanks F&G office and go through the process over the phone, but mailing physical reports in is no longer an option.

"The department is also going to be working harder to enforce penalties on those who fail to report harvests in the Chitina Personal Use Dipnet fishery. Reporting has fallen almost below 80%. Regulations state that failure to report harvests can result in a fine and a loss of fishing privileges in the following year. This has rarely been properly enforced in recent years, resulting in a decline in reported harvests. Due to this steady decline in reporting, F&G is going to begin enforcing the loss of fishing privileges for dipnetters who fail to report. For F&G, non-reporting results in more error in the harvest estimation making it more difficult to manage the fishery."

Electronically issued permits not only makes the system more cost efficient, but allows for easier enforcement of failure to report. Harvests must be reported by October 15.

Link to the full story http://fairbanksdailynews.ak.newsmemory.com/?publink=00160a61f

The initial red run sounds somewhat weak. Let's hope it revs up as the season develops.

Chuck Derrick, President
Chitina Dipnetters Association
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Chuck Derrick, President
Chitina Dipnetters Association
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

Chitina dipnetters:

I hope you had a fun and productive dipnetting trip to Chitina this year.

The Tazlina DOT crew, using monies from the $15 Chitina Personal Use dipnet permit fee, were back at work this October clearing the O'Brien to Haley Creeks trail used by dipnetters to access the Woods Canyon section of the Copper River. They began where they left off (5.2 mile) in the fall of 2018 and, after removing 2 large rock slides, were able to complete another mile of trail repair. I have attached several pictures of their work. More and higher resolution pictures are available at our website or our Facebook page. The crew hopes to continue work in spring and fall of 2020. Barring any new land slides, work should go quickly up to the landslide at Haley Creek.

The Copper River Watershed Project (CRWP) will conduct a two day Copper River salmon harvesters roundtable in February, 2020. It will be held in the Copper River Valley. This will be the third roundtable get together. The initial meeting was held in 2017 during the Board of Fisheries meeting in Valdez; the second in 2018 in the Copper River Valley. The Chitina Dipnetters Association has been invited to attend again. Several of our board members will attend. CRWP covers all participant expenses for the meetings. The rountable will feature professional presentations about new and ongoing salmon research. The various user groups are asked to concentrate on aspects of salmon research and management that we can all support. Discussion of salmon allocation issueas are avoided.

In December, 2020, the Alaska Board of Fisheries will be meeting to address proposals submitted for changes to the Prince William Sound and Copper River fin fish regulations. Proposals for this meeting must be submitted by May, 2020. If you have ideas for new regulations or changes to existing regulations that would benefit our fishery, please email your suggestions to board@chitinadipnetters.com. Don't be shy. Let us hear from you! If a majority of the board agrees with your ideas, we will submit a proposal to put your suggestion into regulation.

Christmas will be here before you know it and Chitina dipnetter apparel makes a great gift for that dipnetter on your list. Come shop CDA apparel at http://shop.chitinadipnetters.com.

Happy Holidays from the CDA board!!

Chuck Derrick, President
Chitina Dipnetters Association
PO Box 72665
Fairbanks, AK 99707
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Date: Tue, Jun 4, 2019, 11:46 AM
Subject: O'Brien Creek to Haley Creek Landslide and Trail Update

Region 3-Interior News Release

(Released: *June 04, 2019*)

Division of Sport Fish
Dave Rutz, Director
Anchorage Headquarters Office
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518
------------------------------

Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Doug Vincent-Lang, Commissioner
P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526
www.adfg.alaska.gov
------------------------------

Contact: Mark Somerville , UCUS Area Management Biologist (907) 822-3309

*O'Brien Creek to Haley Creek Landslide and Trail Update*

*Warning:* A landslide, consisting primarily of slate, occurred along the Copper River Road right-of-way (ROW) from O'Brien Creek to Haley Creek approximately 3.0 miles past O'Brien Creek. This slide is significant and unstable with the possibility of more rock sliding onto the ROW or off of it into the Copper River.

The Alaska Departments of Transportation and Public Facilities (DOT&PF) and Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) recommend dip netters not cross the slide with ATVs, bike, or on foot. If people do cross the slide they do so at their own risk of being injured during crossing or being trapped beyond the slide. Due to operator safety concerns and the location of the slide, DOT&PF will not be able to clear this slide during the 2019 fishing season. DOT&PF tentatively plans to address the rock slide this fall.

In 2018, DOT&PF, in cooperation with Chitina Dip Netters Association and ADF&G, improved and maintained several miles of the trail with plans to continue improvements in the fall of 2019. This slide will now be added to the work list for these trail improvements.

#19-2753

View Online at ADF&G

View Online at DOT

Copper River and Chitina update from ADF&G:

Chuck

---------- Forwarded message ---------
From: Viavant, Tim R (DFG)
Date: Wed, May 22, 2019, 4:18 PM
Subject: FW: Copper River Salmon Management Update

Here is Mark's message for the week, which does a good job of putting a lot of information in one place.

---------- Forwarded message ---------

Sent: Wednesday, May 22, 2019 4:11 PM
Subject: Copper River Salmon Management Update

Hello all,

The commercial fleet harvested 53,232 sockeye salmon and 1,755 king salmon in the second 12 hour opener on Monday May 20. Total commercial harvest now stands at 73,766 sockeye salmon and 4,064 king salmon. The harvest on Monday was within the expected harvest range for that date for sockeye salmon and a little below expected for king salmon. Weather played a large role in the lower king salmon harvest.

Passage of salmon at the Miles Lake sonar is running a few days early and now stands at 41,190 salmon with today's count expected to exceed 15,000 fish (Figure 1). NVE has sampled 397 king salmon at their Baird Canyon site which is well above the average sample of 172 king salmon for this date (figure 2).

The sockeye salmon run appears to be tracking above projection and the king salmon run appears good. Based on the harvest to date and the strong sonar passage the commercial fisheries manager has determined enough sockeye salmon surplus to justify a 24 hour fishing period tomorrow. The catch, is that the weather in the Gulf of Alaska is expected to generate over 12ft seas, which will greatly reduce the efficiency of the commercial fishery. Therefore, the opener tomorrow will start with 12 hours of fishing time that will include fishing within the king salmon inside closure area and then continue only outside of the king salmon closure area for the final 12 hours. The expectation is that with the predicted weather and lower efficiency, overall king salmon harvest will not exceed the expected harvest that would happen under 24 hours of fishing outside the king salmon closure area in good weather.

There was much discussion between fishery managers on this topic and all the ways it could go wrong. In the end it was agreed that a 24 hour opener with 12 hours of fishing time inside the king salmon closed area was the best way to ensure needed sockeye salmon harvest while minimizing the effect on king salmon. If, at the end of the period, king salmon harvest is well above the expected (expected is around 2,500 king salmon) further commercial openings may see additional closed areas to protect the remaining (about 60% of the run) king salmon. I fully trust the commercial manager's insights on the fishery and his many years of experience on how the commercial fishery works and how tides, weather, river flows, and fish movement can affect the harvest. The decision on this opener took a lot of analysis and discussion.

One last point on the commercial fishery. Although the inside area will be open this period, it is likely that it will be closed in any opener next week unless there is very clear indication that the king salmon run is at or above forecast. If you have some questions that the commercial manager can answer that may answer or alleviate any concerns you have I'm sure he would appreciate your call (907-424-3212 and ask for Jeremy)

For the upper river, the Chitina personal use fishery will open at 12:01 am on June 7th and if sonar passage continues as it is now that fishery will remain open through at least June 16. I have had reports of sockeye being caught already by hook and line and the federal subsistence is currently open. With the early river entry we are seeing at the sonar, there should be good fishing in the subsistence fishery starting the first week of June.

The Copper River remains at historically low levels so fish passage will be different than past years. Sport anglers should see sockeye salmon in the Klutina River the first couple of weeks of June and king salmon in the Gulkana River by mid-June. We are still only two commercial openers into the season and both the commercial and sport fish managers are remaining cautiously optimistic about this year's run and we are using, and ready to use, any and all tools to manage the fishery to allow good opportunity for all users and continued sustainability of future salmon returns.

Feel free to call me or email with any questions or concerns you may have. Also feel free to forward this email to any other interested folks. I will send out my next update on Saturday.

Take care

MAS

Mark A. Somerville
Area Management Biologist
Upper Copper Upper Susitna Management Area
Phone: 907-822-3309
Cell: 907-259-4415
Email: mark.somerville@alaska.gov

CDA member:

I would like to remind you that the CDA annual membership meeting will be on Tuesday, May 14, at 7PM in the Tanana Valley Sportsmens Association (TVSA) clubhouse (1230 TVSA Way) off Boat St. on the way to Compeaus. It's a fun time to hobnob with other dipnetters and hear the latest on our fishery from ADF&G and DOT representatives. Please consider putting your name in during nominations and election of new CDA board members. Door prizes, including a night's stay at the Chitina Hotel, will be drawn throughout the meeting. Food (various flavors of smoke salmon from Interior Fish Processors) and drinks will be served at intermission. CDA apparel will be available for purchase. Bring your friends!

Fish and Game has released a pre-season schedule for the Chitina Personal Use Dipnet Fishery. These openings are entirely dependent on actual Miles Lake daily salmon sonar counts. As the run develops, expect ADF&G to publish Emergency Orders to extend, reduce or possibly eliminate openings published in this preliminary schedule. This link should be valid and updated throughout the fishing season.

A big thank you to CDA members Richard Reem, Ken Risse, John Sigfried, Bill Stewart, Pat Turner, and Ivan Vail for their many hours volunteering at our 2019 Fairbanks Outdoor Show booth. Thanks as well to the 35 new and 72 renewing members who chose this opportunity to show their support for CDA and all we do for our fishery.

Chuck Derrick, President
Chitina Dipnetters Association
PO Box 72665
Fairbanks, AK 99707
cderrick@chitinadipnetters.com