The article concerning the alleged decline of king salmon stocks in the upper Chilkat systems was ironic. Their numbers have shown dramatic swings, up and down, over the years. Fishermen can quickly identify a good year or bad year for these fish, simply based on how much effort it takes to catch one of the critters.
Suggesting that habitat loss due to logging has affected the king salmon numbers doesn’t hold much water. Large-scale logging operations in the vicinity of the Kelsall River haven’t occurred in almost a generation, and old clear-cuts have been reclaimed by nature. There wasn’t a dramatic change in run strength noted during the logging days nor subsequent to them.
I served as a member and chairman of the Upper Lynn Canal Fish and Game Advisory Committee during much of the period those declines should have first been detected. They weren’t. Habitat isn’t the problem. In-river gillnets, salt-water gillnet interceptions both subsistence and commercial, aggressive sport hook and line effort, high-seas interception, severe winters, etc., all take their toll.
Last but not least, for many, many years, Eric Holle and other state employees had an ongoing egg-take on these kings from the Kelsall River area and Nataga Creek in particular. Those eggs went to enhance fisheries in other systems in Southeast Alaska. One would have to be blind not to see the connection.
Terrance Pardee MSG. USA (Ret.)