Save the Kings!
Objective
Protect Chinook salmon statewide, eliminate wasteful bycatch, restore access to indigenous and subsistence communities suffering from low returns, and manage fisheries sustainably in both saltwater and freshwater environments.
1️⃣ Designate Chinook Salmon as a Priority Species
2️⃣ Designate Chinook Salmon as Zero-Tolerance Bycatch
3️⃣ Bycatch Utilization: Restore Fish to Indigenous Communities
4️⃣ Fisheries Management: Saltwater and Freshwater
Saltwater-
Benefits of the Plan
Objective
Protect Chinook salmon statewide, eliminate wasteful bycatch, restore access to indigenous and subsistence communities suffering from low returns, and manage fisheries sustainably in both saltwater and freshwater environments.
1️⃣ Designate Chinook Salmon as a Priority Species
- Applies to all Chinook runs: winter, summer, spring, fall.
- Automatically triggers:
- Special management attention
- Genetic monitoring and stock tracking
- Priority allocation to indigenous and subsistence users
- Habitat protections and stricter management rules
2️⃣ Designate Chinook Salmon as Zero-Tolerance Bycatch
- All Chinook caught as bycatch must be retained and landed; no discarding at sea.
- Automatic consequences for violations:
- Loss of Alaska port access and services
- Suspension or revocation of state permits
- Fines proportional to unreported or illegally discarded Chinook
- Required corrective actions (training, gear modifications, or bycatch avoidance measures)
3️⃣ Bycatch Utilization: Restore Fish to Indigenous Communities
- All Chinook and other salmon bycatch is:
- Processed (fleets pay processing costs)
- Genetically sampled to track stock and ensure responsible management
- Distributed via hub-and-spoke system designed with tribal leadership:
- Hubs: communities most impacted by low salmon returns and already served by existing infrastructure
- Spokes: remote villages connected to hubs, with tribal guidance on delivery methods
- State offsets shipping costs for hard-to-reach communities
- Priority goes to households and communities with the greatest food security need
4️⃣ Fisheries Management: Saltwater and Freshwater
Saltwater-
- Catch limits for commercial, sport, and personal harvest in sensitive areas.
- King Stamp requirement to fund genetic sampling, monitoring, and enforcement.
- Mandatory genetic sampling for all harvested Kings.
- Increased observer or EM coverage for fleets operating in key areas.
- Local tribal and community coordination ensures subsistence prioritization.
- Identify rivers with declining stocks and implement:
- Catch limits, gear restrictions, or temporary closures as needed
- Supplementation with fry from the same river population to avoid genetic dilution
- Genetic monitoring to ensure population identity and diversity is maintained
- Collaborate with tribes and local managers to prioritize subsistence harvest while protecting recovery efforts
Benefits of the Plan
- Conservation: Protects all Chinook stocks, preserves river-specific genetics, and boosts populations through targeted fry supplementation.
- Food Security: Restores salmon access to communities unable to catch them due to low populations.
- Accountability: Fleets pay processing costs; violations have immediate consequences.
- Tribal Partnership: Indigenous leaders guide distribution, monitoring, and subsistence prioritization.
- Flexible & Comprehensive: Applies to all Chinook statewide, in both saltwater and freshwater environments.
