May 1, 2024 — Commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the federal waters of Cook Inlet will resume this summer, but under new management by the federal government, according to a rule made final this week.
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s National Marine Fisheries Service, also known as NOAA Fisheries, is taking over what had been state management of salmon in inlet waters designated as the federal exclusive economic zone, located more than 3 miles offshore.
The new rule goes into effect May 30.
Until now, the state had managed salmon fisheries in both state and federal waters of the inlet. But the switch in management was ordered by federal courts, as a result of litigation stretching back a decade.
The United Cook Inlet Drift Association, or UCIDA, which is made up of commercial salmon fishermen, sued the federal government in 2013 for failing to develop a salmon harvest management plan for the federal waters of the inlet. The National Marine Fisheries Service, rather than developing a Cook Inlet salmon plan, had deferred to the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, which since statehood has managed salmon harvests throughout the inlet in both state and federal waters.
The UCIDA lawsuit took issue with state management decisions and argued that the National Marine Fisheries Service was failing in its duties. The 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in 2016 ruled in UCIDA’s favor.