There are few topics in Alaska more divisive than our fisheries, and no fish divides us more than salmon. During its perilous migration journey, a spawning salmon must navigate an ocean filled with nets, hooks and countless predators before entering its native stream and miraculously evading every wading fisherman in search of a meal. I find it remarkable that any salmon is able to complete its spawning pilgrimage given the collective effort dedicated to capturing these fish.<\/p>\n
A witness to the hordes of sharp-elbowed dipnetters on the Kenai River might be under the impression that our fisheries are managed as an exploitive free-for-all; however, underlying every effort to harvest salmon is an intricately woven tapestry of rules, delicately balancing harvest and conservation in order to ensure that our salmon utilization provides sustained benefits to Alaskan residents in perpetuity.<\/p>\n
[Solving the salmon problem]<\/a><\/ins><\/p>\n The Alaska Board of Fisheries (BoF) determines how and when fish can be caught and, of course, who gets to catch them. It is this last consideration, the question of who gets the fish, that creates the most contentious issues. One board member, Robert Ruffner, whose three-year term expires this spring, has played the role of neutral arbiter on a board otherwise consisting of user-group partisans. While the other six board members are easily categorized as sport, commercial, subsistence or enforcement affiliates, Ruffner has defied such characterization. As an avid sport fisherman with a strong scientific background, any user group knows they have chance pleading their case to Ruffner, just as long as they resort only to reason, law and the basics tenets of conservation when making their arguments.<\/p>\n