Author: Joe Viechnicki, KFSK

King salmon sport fishing this spring will be closed on most of the inside waters of Southeast Alaska for a second year in a row. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game Monday, January 7 announced that keeping chinook salmon would be prohibited starting April 1st in many parts of Southeast.

Local residents Monday turned out to oppose some potential cuts to hours at the Petersburg library and community gym. Some on the assembly are hoping to have the discussion about budget reductions this winter but others signaled it was too early to be making decisions on borough spending.

Petersburg’s borough assembly Monday approved lists for capital project priorities but acknowledged that outside funding for new public projects would likely be scarce. Replacement of the community’s 911 system and maintenance work on local streets are now the top projects for the borough.

Commercial salmon trolling in Southeast Alaska had a slow start to the winter season. That’s likely to mean another year of restrictions for both commercial and sport fishing for king salmon in 2019. Recently-adopted guidelines in the Pacific Salmon Treaty link the success or failure of winter fishing to the numbers of salmon available for harvest the rest of the year.

The state’s Board of Game meets in Petersburg this month to consider over 50 proposals to change hunting and trapping regulations in Southeast Alaska. While many of the proposals are limited to one part of the region, 16 of those would make region-wide changes for how people can hunt deer, black bear, waterfowl and trap beaver and other animals. Petersburg’s Fish and Game advisory committee weighed in on some of those regional changes at a meeting last month.