Alaska has the best resource management system in the world." If you've been here a while, you've heard that statement in some form or another. But in Cook Inlet, it's increasingly hard to believe we're managing our resources in a sustainable fashion. In the 1970s, Kachemak Bay was thick with shrimp, and king and tanner crab, but those populations crashed and have never come back.
While oceanic regime shifts – specifically, temperature – probably played a leading role moving Kachemak Bay from a habitat more conducive for fin fish, like halibut, pollock,
and cod, than shellfish, the harvest pressure just before the shrimp and crab populations crashed was significant.
The Cook Inlet beluga whale is another good example. In the 1980s, biologists estimated the population at around 1,300 animals; today, the beluga is listed as threatened under the Marine Mammal Protection Act and endangered under the Endangered Species Act. With latest counts showing around 340 whales, the Inlet beluga population continues to teeter on the edge of no return.
King salmon are yet another resource we've watched decline significantly, and while the Inlet "fish wars" result in endless finger-pointing from the various user groups, the fact remains we're repeating the very same mistakes made in the Lower 48 by failing to protect our in-river habitat.
Finally, a discussion about Inlet resource management would not be complete without talking about clams. Until a few years ago, the limit for hard-shell clams (i.e., butters and steamers) in Kachemak Bay was 1,700 clams. Then in 2011, after populations collapsed, the state reduced the bag limit to 70 clams. In 2014, I went to the head of Kachemak Bay, which once supported a commercial clam fishery. With three people digging for an hour, we found four clams.
Equally concerning is the plight of the Inlet's east-side razor clam fishery. Despite thousands of people hitting the flats during big low tides each summer for decades, the state was slow to reduce the bag limit once clam numbers and clam size started to decline. Now in 2015, the state has announced there will be no razor clamming on the east side of the Inlet for the foreseeable future. On the west side of the Inlet around Tuxedni Bay and Polly Creek, however, the state has set no limit on razor clams, despite the fact harvest pressure is increasing substantially.
Resource and habitat management are complex endeavors, and they're typically infused with a variety of social, economic and political pressures. Yet today, as more and more people compete for fewer and fewer resources, we're not seeing a commitment from our leaders -- either through increased budgets or personnel, or more progressive habitat and harvest policies -- to take care of the things that make Alaska such an incredible place to live, work and play. But we know one thing for sure: it's time to put a limit on razor clam harvests on the west side of the Inlet, and to start managing our resources with an eye toward the future.
Bob Shavelson is the executive director of Cook Inletkeeper, a community-based nonprofit dedicated to protecting clean water, healthy salmon and democratic participation in the Cook Inlet watershed.
The views expressed here are the writer's own and are not necessarily endorsed by Alaska Dispatch News, which welcomes a broad range of viewpoints. To submit a piece for consideration, email commentary(at)alaskadispatch.com