In a press release late Monday, Williams said that as of July 23, Alaska Department of Fish and Game sonar counts of Kenai River sockeyes totaled just 177,000 fish. Some 500,000 fish are considered the minimum spawning escapement for the river’s late-run sockeye salmon management plan, according to Fish and Game.
“At this stage of the run, it appears that this goal will likely not be met,” the mayor said.
In response to what he said appeared to be an impending economic disaster, Williams initiated discussions with Gov. Frank Murkowski’s office to determine what can be done to provide economic aid to the commercial fishing and tourism industries that are suffering because of the lack of fish. The mayor’s staff has begun developing an economic disaster declaration for his consideration.
A look at last year’s numbers reveals the degree to which the local economy depends on healthy sockeye returns. In 2005, the mayor said, general economic activity related to the Cook Inlet salmon stocks accounted for an estimated $105 million in direct value encompassing commercial harvesting, processing, and tourism-related businesses in the Kenai Peninsula Borough. A majority of that was in the central peninsula region.
“These combined industries also employed over 4,000 workers boroughwide,” the mayor said.
Tuesday, Williams’ aide Bill Popp said the borough administration had been in Cabinet-level discussions Tuesday with Bill Noll, commissioner of the Department of Commerce, Community and Economic Develop-ment, and with the governor’s senior policy adviser on fish, Alan Austerman.
“We’re working toward a unified strategy,” Popp said.
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