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Common Property Fishery Update

 

2011:  Common Property Fisheries in Neets Bay Special Harvest Area

There are three general common property opportunities involving the Neets Bay Special Harvest Area:  (1) Early season rotational fisheries for chinook; (2) chum troll; and, (3) late season rotational fisheries for coho and fall chum.

 

Early Season Rotational Fisheries:  SSRAA and ADF&G have opened the Neets Bay SHA for early season rotational net fisheries and troll for a number of years.  Historically these rotations ended on the 20^th of June to give the bay a rest period before cost recovery and broodstock collection.  SSRAA’s chinook returns have been consistently strong for the past 6 or 7 years and with a dramatic increase in the value of net-caught chinook, there has been a growing interest in these fisheries.  As a result, a single rotation (drift and seine) was added in 2010, extending the fishery through the 24^th of June.  This past winter the SSRAA Board extended this fishery for one more net rotation ending on 28 June (see rotational calendar in the Spawning News or on this web page).

 

Though there may be some summer chum caught during this period, we do not usually see any significant number of chum salmon until early July, these rotations are primarily pointed at chinook salmon.  Though SSRAA harvests chinook for cost recovery, we are primarily set up to handle smaller fish (fish pumps) and a good number of chinook harvested in cost recovery, when they are mixed with chums and cannot be treated separately, are damaged.  It is our impression that the value will prove greater to common property fishermen.  Our forecast suggests they are not essential to cost recovery in 2011 – as forecasts are not certain, we will assess the impact of this fishery after the 2011 season.

 

Note:  Existing cost recovery contracts define a cost recovery fishery beginning on 25 June.  Our two cost recovery seiners will be fishing during the rest periods of the rotational fishery beginning the morning of 25 June.  We will not look for significant harvest, but will attempt to harvest some fish to meet our contract obligations.

 

Neets Bay Troll Fishery:  As was the case in 2009 and 2010, it is SSRAA’s intention that the troll fleet harvests 200,000 summer chum from Neets Bay and the immediate area outside of Neets Bay in 2011.

There are two important considerations related to this fishery in 2011:

1.     SSRAA’s Neets Bay cost recovery revenue forecast is large enough to allow this harvest, but with little margin for error.  This forecast is similar to the forecast in 2010.  But, the return in 2010 was 28% greater than our forecast, a first-time occurrence as in the 10 previous years the return had been less than the forecast.  Regardless, we are committed to promoting a 200,000 chum troll harvest of summer chum salmon returning to Neets Bay.

 

2.     This fishery has become very popular.  With the current speculation on rising chum prices and the historic success in harvesting these fish, it will continue to grow.  Our peak boat count last year was 85 trollers.  We anticipate larger numbers this year.  Trollers are effective harvesting chum salmon immediately outside the THA, probably in all circumstances; but there are some circumstances that favor this fishery more than others. 

Since SSRAA must closely manage the troll harvest in 2011, probably more closely than what we experienced in 2010; and, at the same time we can’t totally control harvest since we cannot stop the fishery outside the SHA.  The fishery will be managed conservatively in 2011…in a sense, backward from what was done in 2009.  In order to have a successful fishery in 2009, it was important to get commitments from both the troll fleet and for tendering from at least one processor.  Would each group show up?  It was a catch-22 of sorts as the troll fleet was reluctant to commit without the processor and the processor was reluctant to commit tenders without the troll fleet commitment.  SSRAA’s commitment was to make certain the harvest goal could be reached if that was at all possible.  So, to make the situation a best case for both trollers and processors, we opened the entire SHA to the old boundary near the barrier and we asked our seiners to stay inside of the trollers whenever possible.

We cannot do this in 2011.

The fish can and will be caught outside the SHA, and using a conservative approach; we will let the fishery outside the SHA begin of its own accord. That may happen as early as July 1 for a few trollers.  We will watch harvest daily through the processors. If the troll harvest is not going well somewhere between approximately 10 and 12 July, we will consider opening the SHA inward from the mouth of the bay to the Bug Island Line.  The consideration will also include an assessment of run size.  A dramatic negative deviation from the forecast would influence this decision.  On the other hand, if there is a substantial abundance of chum and they are not being harvested in the open area of the SHA, we will consider moving the line inward to the narrowest part of the bay, we call that point “Sims Line”, an adjustment we made some years back to give trollers a decent “drag” in the bay. 

After the 2009 experience we are reluctant to open the bay inside this line.  Trollers can be very effective in Fire Cove and closer to the barrier, but when they fish this area they even more effectively clean up the fish that are there and break up the schools of those they don’t harvest.  Our seiners are not effective in this circumstance and fish don’t approach the barrier in good numbers so that we can collect broodstock and pass those fish over the barrier.  This significantly disrupts our ability to judge the strength of the return and adequately collect broodstock at the appropriate time for egg collection.

 

The short version: 

1.     Let the fishery begin of its own accord outside the THA.  Daily monitor participation and harvest.

2.     Consider moving the line inward to Bug Island on about the 10^th or 12^th of July dependent on the abundance of summer chum and troller effectiveness outside the THA.

3.     Consider moving the line in to the “Sims Line” on or about 15 July if trollers have not been effective fishing outside Bug Island and the abundance of

chum salmon still suggests harvest should have been greater.

4.     Close the THA at about 180,000 harvested summer chum anticipating that some trollers will remain in Behm Canal to catch another 20,000 fish plus or minus.  We could decide to close it at a lower number if the fleet was effective outside the THA.  We would do our best to match harvest rate and participation to sum harvest to 200,000 fish before 1 August plus or minus depending on the run dynamic.

There is one more stipulation in 2011.  If at any point we judge that the return is only 50% or less of the projection (in pounds) the THA will be immediately closed to common property harvest.

Late Season Rotational Fisheries:

At some point in late September, after fall chum broodstock is secured, cost recovery harvest becomes marginally cost effective.  In addition, as fall coho approach spawning they quickly orient to “the flats” immediately in front of the barrier.  We are not able to harvest those fish that will not come off the flats with seine gear.  More than in the past we will make this decision, to begin common property rotational fisheries, more liberally, not intending to catch every possible fish. UPDATE:  If fall chum broodstock is secured, the first next rotation beginning with gillnet will occur Saturday, 9/24 at noon.  Some fall chums are usually available until the end of September and fall coho continue to return through the first 10 or so days of October.