ADF&G shuts down Kenai River commercial king salmon fishing with escapements to fall short of goal
SEAFOODNEWS.COM [The Peninsual Clarion] by Rashah McChesney - July 25, 2014
Alaska Department of Fish and Game managers announced a closure of the Kenai River king salmon fishery Thursday after continued low counts of returning fish into the river.
The closure, effective Saturday, triggers a closure of commercial setnet fishing on the East Side of Cook Inlet and is meant to conserve Kenai-bound king salmon which are not currently projected to return in large enough numbers to make the escapement goal on the Kenai River.
As of July 23, the sonar estimate of king salmon passage into the Kenai River was 8,023 fish and current projections put the final escapement between 13,500 and 14,000 fish — below the river’s escapement goal range of 15,000-30,000 fish...
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