Speaking only of subsistence gillnet users, better known as residents of Haines: Should a white or red king salmon come into contact with our 300-foot nets, we are required by law to release the king back into the water. Yaw, sure we do. Ha ha. If a king gets hung up in our net, then that fish is as good as dinner time.
“But it was dead, when we brought it in the boat, or perhaps it just drowned! Really, Fish and Wildlife trooper, I had to keep it. Look at all those seals. If I didn’t keep it, then the seals would rob my net. I had no choice.”
I think if you fish with a net and you bring a king to shore, there should be a $200 fine. Of course, it is impossible to enforce anything like this, but look around and you will see a few fish that should have been returned to the water. Perhaps that is why we don’t have many kings to fish for? As for me, I never would do anything like keep a king any more than I would take an illegal moose. Or is it just that I never have had such an opportunity?
Dale Cobb