Fishermen hold the key to solving Kenai’s salmon crisis

Fishermen hold the key to solving Kenai’s salmon crisis

Fishermen use a set-beach seine net in Upper Cook Inlet on July 23, 2024. (Photo provided by Brian Gabriel)Last summer, a quiet revolution unfolded on the shores of the Kenai Peninsula. A group of setnet fishermen — barred and facing economic ruin from their traditional fishery to protect dwindling king salmon — stepped into a new role: scientific collaborators. Testing set-beach seines as an alternative to gillnets, they proved something remark…