Portland fisherman cited for fishing during a closed period in Kvichak Section

Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited a Portland, Oregon, commercial fisherman on July 9 for fishing a closed period in Bristol Bay's Kvichak Section, and for fishing before the mandatory 48-hour re-registration waiting period had elapsed, according to a Department of Public Safety dispatch. Conor Jerome Roland-Chicvara, 36, is due in Naknek District Court on Aug. 6 to answer both charges.

The charges were filed under the Bristol Bay Salmon Enforcement Program. They are accusations, not findings, and Roland-Chicvara is presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty. The dispatch includes no response from him.

Troopers did not give the time or the detailed circumstances of the alleged violation. For management context: the Kvichak Section was open to drift gillnet gear for seven hours on July 9, from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., under an Alaska Department of Fish and Game emergency order issued as Kvichak River escapement reached 2 million fish. Fish and Game reported 300 vessels registered to fish the district as of July 8, with registrations expected to rise to 396 within 48 hours.

The case is one piece of a broader enforcement push. Troopers issued 11 citations across the Naknek and Nushagak districts between June 27 and July 10 under the same program, covering violations that ranged from closed-water and closed-period fishing to unlicensed crew and gear-marking infractions.

The 48-hour re-registration rule figures into that broader count: the vessel registration total climbed from 300 to a projected 396 within 48 hours over that same period, illustrating how quickly the registered fleet was changing as openings ran seven hours at a time.