Hi everybody Ben Allen here with Miller’s Riverboat Service in Wasilla, Alaska.

I Wanted to take a moment to share my thoughts about King Salmon abundance or lack there of in the Matsu Valley.

I caught my first Alaskan King Salmon when I was 8 years old. That’s when I decided I wanted to be a fishing guide.  I have dedicated my whole life to guiding and fishing for salmon and King salmon are my favorite.  King Salmon are the biggest, hardest fighting fish I know and they inhabit the most special places I’ve been- the still today wild and pristine rivers of Alaska.

First of all, I will preface this dark topic by saying Miller’s Riverboat Service is one of the most experienced guide services in the Matsu Valley and in the absence of King Salmon fishing opportunities, we are still able to offer quality trout fishing trips in addition to fishing for other species of salmon.   There are many good people who work for ADF&G and I really hesitate to say anything negative about the department because of this, but it is the entity as a whole that is a failure and this falls on the leadership, which begins with the Governor.

Why are Susitna Valley King Salmon disappearing?  Why are Matsu King Salmon so small now?  Why is Alaska as a whole, with very few exceptions, having these horrible problems?  These are the questions that nearly the whole state, the Pacific Northwest and just about anybody who has ever fished King Salmon, visited the State of Alaska, heard of Alaska, wants to fish for King Salmon in Alaska, asks repeatedly.  We have been told by ADF&G for 15 years that King Salmon are in a decline, without any definitive answers of why.  Actually one could argue Alaska King Salmon have been in decline since the early 90’s, and in crisis since 2008.  The State of Alaska has no diagnosis, vision or strategy for recovering these fish.  ADF&G’s actions suggest they are purposely letting these populations reach levels that do not support sport-fishing, so they don’t have to manage what was once one of the most vibrant and economically stimulating sport fisheries in the United States.  Every year we see fewer and fewer King Salmon, with a higher percentage being small males.  Every year we get restricted more and more and now we are at the juncture that there is not even enough King Salmon returning to support even a low participation catch and release, single hook only fishery.  ADF&G grasps on to decent years such as  2017 on the Kenai or 2016 and 2021 in the Susitna Valley, as excuses not to take action beyond sports fisheries and everything is okay. News flash, if goals are failed 9 out of 10 years, there is a problem.  Goose Creek in addition to western Cook Inlet streams were designated stocks of concern in 2010 and sports fishing for kings were closed.  How have those fisheries responded to 100% closure?  Well the runs have gotten even worse.  The Willow Creek King Salmon sports fishery, once the most participated fishery in the state and even rivaled the Russian River, has been closed to harvest since the early part of the run in 2012, and has hardly had participation since.  The Willow Creek King Salmon return is currently a shell of what it once was and can best be described as in a state of severe crisis.  Without question and proven through survey, a lot of the genetics from the historically big 4 and 5 ocean Kings throughout the valley, and especially Willow Creek, are already lost forever.  The same can be said for the world famous Kenai River.  You’d think the entity responsible for managing this precious resource would be motivated by these facts. Due to the scientifically inept nature of ADF&G’s lack of response in the forefront of King salmon decline, irreversible damage has ALREADY occurred. ADF&G’s inability to develop a comprehensive strategy for recovering King Salmon this late in decline of a keystone species in the ecology of Alaska, is why I firmly believe with all my heart ADF&G is not qualified to manage Alaska fisheries.   

ADF&G has made some failed responses to King salmon decline, first being to lower escapement goals which conveniently fits the narrative of commercial fisheries maximum extraction ideology.  Since then we have discovered low escapements produce low returns and this strategy was a failure and should have been projected a failure based on 30+ years of return data in south central Alaska.  Secondly, ADF&G has repeatedly closed extremely low participation, very low mortality, catch and release sports fisheries late in the season.  If the situation is this serious why is action not being taken elsewhere, such as on a statewide level? 

Today fisheries that once had extremely high participation such as the Talkeetna and the Deshka are essentially ghost towns.  Is it a mystery why license sales are at an all time low?  If we have the data right now that suggest poor returns that are projected to fall below escapement, why don’t we just restrict the fisheries right now.  These fisheries aren’t restricted in advance, to protect license sales, which in my opinion is arbitrary and capricious and parallels ADF&G’s whole approach to King Salmon management.

My call to action is for the State of Alaska to immediately develop a comprehensive management strategy and vision for recovering Kings by taking meaningful large-scale action. If change can’t be taken or improvement is not achieved in the next 10 years, then the State of Alaska must engage in a full fledged hatchery enhancement program to return King salmon sports fishery opportunities to what they previously were in the Susitna drainage.  I hope we don’t have to go there, but the scale I am talking about is similar to Dworshak National Fish Hatchery in Idaho.  Planning and implementation of a large scale hatchery enhancement program should begin now. Alaskans who fish for and depend on King salmon, should not be kicked to the curb.  We have given a lot to this state and community!

As a reminder we guide fishing trips on the Deshka River, Willow Creek, Little Susitna River, Kashwitna, Talkeetna River, Finger Lake and Big Lake.  Millers Riverboat Service is committed to excellence and wants you to have a quality fishing trip!

By: Ben Allen

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