By Bonnie Hedrick

Haines gillnetters are gearing up for the first king salmon fisheries in almost 30 years following a recent international agreement that will open the gillnet season about seven weeks early.

Regulations are still being written for the new Taku and Stikine fisheries, approved in February by the Pacific Salmon Commission, but it looks like Taku Inlet will open May 2 for harvest of 20,000 chinook, state commercial fisheries biologist Randy Bachman told Haines fishermen last week.

"It took a long time through serious negotiation, but it’s a reality now," Bachman said.

The state Board of Fisheries is expected to hammer out regulatory details at its meeting this month in Anchorage, but Bachman said some guidelines are already in place for Taku, just south of Juneau.

Commercial fishermen will be permitted to fish gear with mesh of up to 7.5 inches (about an inch larger than standard chum net), and will get two days of gillnetting per week, pending abundance assessments, Bachman said.

The news is exciting for fishermen, who will get to bring the fish to market before the state’s traditional early season harvests, which are in high demand and draw a premium price.

"It will be the first king salmon on the market, before Prince William Sound or Cordova," said Gregg Bigsby. "Could be lots of fish. Could be big prices."

"Who knows, maybe we’ll have a niche market here," said Mike Saunders, president of Lynn Canal Gillnetters Association. "There’s talk of five dollars a pound… Sounds like most people are pretty excited."

Because gillnetters haven’t fished for kings in Taku for nearly 30 years, most of the fleet has lots of learning to do, Saunders said.

"Nobody’s fished there for so long at this time of year, we’ll have to talk to the old timers," he said. Whether the fishery is worthwhile for Haines fishermen,"all depends on how many fish there are."

It’s already too late to order special nets for the fishery. "I could only get on a waiting list," Saunders said, saying he’ll likely use an old dog salmon net this season and see how successful the fishery is.

"The biggest problem is the price of fuel. It’s double what it was two years ago," Bigsby said.

In other fishery news, gillnetters learned last week that Chilkat sockeye returns are expected to be below average, but that Chilkoot reds were abundant in the 2000 parent year.

Returns of chum salmon to Boat Harbor are expected to be above average and fall chums are also expected to be strong, but coho runs could be disappointing, Bachman told fishermen.

The Northern Southeast Regional Aquaculture Association is also adjusting its plans for the Chilkat Valley, said Saunders, who serves on the NSRAA board.

The nonprofit last fall cut about $60,000 from the Haines budget and shifted local biologist Todd Buxton’s time, in part, to the Deer Lake coho project.

Saunders said the shift won’t affect ongoing enhancement efforts at spawning channels and incubation boxes, but could make it harder to get any new fisheries enhancement projects in future years.