Shaktoolik and Unalakleet subsistence fishers must pull beach seines Tuesday

Subsistence fishers in Shaktoolik and Unalakleet must pull their beach seines out of the water by 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, under a closure from Fish and Game in Nome. Gillnet fishing stays open in both subdistricts, with mesh restricted to 6 inches or less.

The closure ends a window the department opened earlier this summer, when it allowed beach seine gear from July 1 through Aug. 11 with king salmon non-retention, meaning any king caught had to go back in the water unharmed.

The gear swap is a conservation tool the department has used repeatedly in southern Norton Sound. Norton Sound Area Manager Kevin Clark described the practice to the Board of Fisheries: "We will close gillnetting in the marine waters and then open up beach seining and cast nets and dip nets in the Unukleet and Shaktoolik Rivers with a non-retention of king salmon." He said the department does that often because of long-running king salmon concerns in those two drainages.

Those concerns have driven several restrictions this year. The department forecast weak Chinook returns and closed subsistence fishing in both subdistricts starting June 15 for Chinook conservation, and Alaska News previously covered its later order reopening marine waters to 6-inch gillnets, which noted escapement was weak and unlikely to meet its goal.

The account comes only from the department, with no comment from Shaktoolik or Unalakleet fishers. Regional organizations including Kawerak, Inc. and the Norton Sound Economic Development Corporation have publicly pressed to protect the region's fish habitat and subsistence resources, but neither had commented on this closure.