They were there, and then they weren't.
Southcentral anglers used to casting a line in Prince William Sound for late-season silver salmon at the Whittier Boat Harbor, Smitty's Cove, Salmon Run or nearby say the return has sharply declined in recent years and are seeking an explanation from biologists with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
"They stopped coming back," said David Lofland, an avid Anchorage angler who's docked his 32-foot boat in Whittier for 19 years. "I've fished it as hard and as often as anyone. I'm an insurance appraiser for auto accidents, and summer is my low season. So I have the time, equipment and wherewithal to do this.
"But four years ago, it didn't just slow down. It was flipping a fish light off. They just didn't come back."
Terminal fishery
Nearly 100,000 silver and king salmon fry have been stocked for years at Whittier in what's called a terminal fishery, where the fish are planted in the saltwater and have no fresh water location to return to and spawn. Consequently, state biologists manage the runs in an effort to allow anglers to catch most of them.
"Our concern is specifically for the Whittier area," said Mike Thalhauser, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game fishery biologist for Prince William Sound. "There was a pretty big dip in the 2011 catch, with harvest numbers around 3-4,000. It looks like that follows a big spike in '05 and '06."
That spike attracted crowds from Alaska's biggest city, lured by prospect of catching a late-season fish closer to town than a trip to the Kenai Peninsula.
"There used to be a whole lot of people -- probably a couple of thousand every year -- that fished fished for silvers in Whittier from boats and from the shoreline," Lofland said. "People used to line the rocks snagging. I would catch 150-200 trolling in Passage Canal (the finger of water on which Whittier is located), and know of others who did the same.
"They're still releasing the smolt, but zero adults are making it back.
"We have a clue. The commercial guys are fishing the western side of the sound harder and more efficiently than they used to. That may or may not be the reason. But we want to make sure Fish and Game knows the fishery has collapsed and that people care."
'Nonexistent this year'
Thalhauser and his Fish and Game colleague, area biologist Dan Bosch, were compiling and analyzing stocking, return and catch numbers Tuesday in anticipation of a Wednesday night meeting with the Whittier Boat Owners Association to discuss the issue.
"God, I hope (the silvers) show up again," said captain Kristen Labrecque of Saltwater Excursions Fishing Charters out of Whittier. "2013 was a banner year farther out in the sound with some of the best fishing for silvers I've ever seen in places like Montague Straits. I remember once we limited out in 38 minutes for the entire boat. Off the docks in Whittier, though, it was slow.
"But they (silvers) were nonexistent this year. I brought home 10 this year, and caught them all when we were fishing for rockfish.
"We used to troll around Pigot Point (where Passage Canal meets Port Wells, about 12 miles from Whittier) and limit out, and they're definitely not there anymore. From 2011 to now, something's definitely changed."
Wednesday night's meeting is sure to have its share of theories.
Contact Mike Campbell at mcampbell@alaskadispatch.com
• ?Meeting Wednesday Night: Whittier Boat Owners Association will discuss the declining return of silver salmon to Whitter at a meeting with Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologists, 6:30 p.m., in a meeting room of the North Denali Tower in Anchorage. Call Dave Lofland (345-4448) for details.
Alaska Dispatch Publishing