December 9, 2020 — Federal managers voted Monday to close a huge swath of Upper Cook Inlet to commercial salmon fishing, capping a two-year fight over the fate of the fishery and its 500 permit-holders.
Fishermen and representatives from the Kenai Peninsula turned out in droves to the North Pacific Fishery Management Council meeting to oppose the closure and advocate for lighter conservation measures.
But when representatives from Gov. Mike Dunleavy’s administration said the state was unwilling to manage the area’s fisheries alongside the federal government, the council voted unanimously for the closure.
The 10-0 vote shuts down drift gillnet fishing in waters farther than three miles offshore, from the southern tip of Kalgin Island to Anchor Point. Fishermen like Georgie Heaverly of Anchorage said the area is a crucial fishing ground, and the closure will reverberate across industries.
“Fishermen have been leaving the fishery already for the last several years,” she said. “It’s hardly economically viable, and this really is the nail in the coffin.”