There were nine proposals at the recent Board of Fisheries meeting that dealt with sport fishing guides in Upper Cook Inlet. Two passed while seven were defeated. The only one that has an affect on what I do is Proposal 160.
The new regulation states: Registered Kenai River sport fishing guides may now transport up to five anglers to shore fishing locations during the month of July. Sport fishing guides may not have more than four anglers on board while fishing from a vessel in July.
Listening to the deliberations, the Board voted 5-0 in favor of this proposal for environmental reasons. Yup, you read that correctly, environmental reasons. Using one boat instead of two to get a group of five out creates one less boat wake. Boat wakes are the major cause of bank erosion and reducing the amount of boat wakes is a good thing. The Board also concluded that passing this proposal would reduce boat traffic on the river. This too is a good thing.
Is this new regulation a big windfall for my business? Not really. Getting a request for five anglers happens occasionally. At least now it’s nice not to break up a family by putting some members in another guide’s boat for the day.
2020 Board of Fisheries Recap