Elizabeth Earl for Alaska Journal of Commerce

For the first time this summer, the federal government will be managing the salmon fishery in the Cook Inlet EEZ.

Kenai River late run king salmon are now officially designated a stock of concern, which means a host of changes in the management plan. Sockeye bag limits in the river are up, and commercial setnet fishing is likely to be closed for the foreseeable future.

State Fish and Game is recommending king salmon be designated a stock of concern, based on a “chronic inability” to meet escapement goals. If the Board of Fisheries approves the designation, it will likely trigger some major changes in the Upper Cook Inlet salmon fisheries.

Residents are pushing for the area to be preserved and leased for carbon offsets instead, but the state says it’s not enough land to make a carbon offset lease viable.

So far, 22 sea lions have been found, with signs of human interaction, including gunshot wounds.

Years after the Cook Inlet east side setnetters were closed for their 2018 and 2020 disasters, they will finally see the federal funds to help offset some of those losses.

The plan has been in development for the last several years, with much contention between user groups and at least two lawsuits in the mix.

Commercial fishing has historically been one of the most dangerous industries in the state, but in recent years the industry has seen improved gear, changes in fisheries management and new regulations.

With little warning, the snow crab fishery went from booming and healthy to overfished and collapsing within five years.

In the child care market, there’s huge demand for workers and capacity, but because tuition is already so expensive, providers don’t have much room to raise it to pay workers more.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced an opening for the Upper Cook Inlet drift fishery on Thursday, including in federal waters.

“This is unprecedented in the United States for a mature, rationalized fishery to suffer a stock collapse, in part due to climate change,” the executive director of the Alaska Bering Sea Crabbers said.

Renewable IPP already owns three projects—one in Willow, one in Houston and one in Anchorage. Renewable IPP’s CEO said the Willow project is the largest so far, but the Kenai Peninsula project will be significantly larger.

The North Pacific Fishery Management Council is debating changes in its meeting this month.

For the past three years, the late run of Kenai River king salmon has been too small to meet the escapement goal, leading Alaska state biologists to place restrictions on close-to-shore sockeye fisheries.