Kenai City Manager Paul Ostrander submitted a letter to Senator Peter Micciche (R-K-Pen) that asks the state to enact a small dipnet permit fee paid for by participants to support the fishery in Kenai as well as other personal use dipnet sites.

Ostrander: “The City of Kenai plans to continue to provide a high level of service in support of the fishery. However, due to inconsistent participation over the last four years, it is evident the fees we collect, such as a daily drop-off pass or fee for overnight parking, to support the fishery are not sufficient to cover the costs that we incur.”

According to a letter sent to Senator Micciche on January 7 from Ostrander, a dipnet permit fee of $5 per personal use permit issued would generate enough revenue to allow the City of Kenai to sustainably provide the same level of support to the fishery as we have in the past. Based on the 5-year average number of permits issued, a $5 permit fee would generate approximately $157,000.

Based on the same five-year period, 69.3% of the household days fished were in the Kenai Dip Net fishery. Distributing the revenues from a dipnet fee based on household days fished would result in approximately $109,000 to the City of Kenai and approximately $48,000 to the State of Alaska to support the other Upper Cook Inlet personal use fisheries.

Ostrander in the letter: “The above photo, one of many taken in 2011, shows what the Kenai Beach looked like before the City of Kenai refined our processes and began to actively rake the beaches at low tide and provide educational materials to fishery participants about how to clean and handle fish and fish waste. The City and fishery participants cannot let the fishery revert to this previous standard, which was becoming dangerous to the health and safety of participants.”

All photos and media provided by the City Of Kenai