We provide and protect the salmon resource of the Cook Inlet and Kenai Peninsula
So there will be enough for all
Salmon return to Bear Creek Weir. Kendra Krasin
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News and Events
Setnetters: Please help stop Northern pike
ADF&G You may be familiar with the issue of invasive northern pike decimating regional fisheries. Pike are native to Interior and Western Alaska waters but were not naturally found in Southcentral. This changed decades ago when an angler illegally introduced pike...
Resurrection Bay Sockeye: A CIAA Success Story
https://youtu.be/-DkXAsQILIc Toward the end of summer, Alaskans and tourists flock to the famous Seward Silver Salmon Derby. This event is made possible by coho hatchlings from the state’s William Jack Hernandez Hatchery and Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association’s Trail...
Port Graham Hatchery: A remote operation in a village setting
Ariel view of Port Graham Hatchery (with the blue roof). The backside of the building houses a cannery. Paul Roth Although located in a village, Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association’s hatchery at Port Graham is the most remote of CIAA’s three operating hatcheries. Port...
Board Member Profile: 45 Years of Volunteer Service
CIAA Board Member Steve Vanek. Photo provided. Forty-five years. That’s how long Steve Vanek has served as a volunteer board member of the Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association (CIAA). During that time, Steve has continued to be one of the most involved and...
Kirschner Lake: A terminal fishery for sockeye salmon
Sockeye salmon smolt leave Kirschner Lake via this waterfall leading to the ocean. ShoreZone Kirschner Lake sits on the north coast of Kamishak Bay, just north of Bruin Bay and west of Augustine Island in the Cook Inlet Watershed. The coastline is made up of steep...
Freshwater skirts: An aquaculture estuary for sockeye
A freshwater skirt at Tutka Bay Lagoon Hatchery. CIAA In a previous article, we talked about a freshwater lensing bag. CIAA's hatcheries use this tool to create a suitable artificial adult sockeye spawning environment in the ocean. We can also use another aquaculture...
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Hatchery born.
Ocean raised.
The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association is a private, non-profit corporation that engages in salmon enhancement and habitat work throughout the Cook Inlet region for the benefit of commercial, subsistence, sport, and personal use fishing.
We provide hatchery-born, ocean-raised, wild salmon harvest through science, data, and community involvement.
Hatcheries
CIAA maintains four hatcheries that enhance the wild salmon runs of the Cook Inlet region.
HABITAT
CIAA conducts numerous restoration and monitoring projects each year.
Education and Outreach
CIAA shares its knowledge and resources with the community through tours and school visits.
Salmon meals provided by Alaska hatcheries in 2018
DOLLARS ALASKA HATCHERIES INJECT INTO THE LABOR FORCE
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CIAA has been a great partner! In my over 10 years of working with them, CIAA has, and continues to be very engaged and committed in their support of salmon habitat conservation in the Mat-Su.
One small association
makes a huge impact
As a private, non-profit corporation organized under the laws of the State of Alaska, CIAA engages in salmon enhancement and habitat work throughout the Cook Inlet region. This region includes waters of Alaska in Cook Inlet and Resurrection Bay north of Cape Douglas and west of Cape Fairfield including the Barren Islands and all the region’s freshwater drainages.
- The Cook Inlet area is 192 miles long with more than 8,000 square miles of saltwater.
- The area stretches 430 miles from north to south and 220 miles from east to west. It drains 39,000 square miles, about the size of Virginia.
- The area includes the Kenai River, Kasilof River, Susitna River, Little Susitna River, Matanuska River, Resurrection River, and the outer Kenai Peninsula coast.
- Over half of Alaska’s population live in the area—around 460,000 residents.
- The most popular and accessible fisheries in Alaska are located in the Cook Inlet area, Resurrection Bay, and the outer Kenai Peninsula coast.
Board affiliations
The Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association board includes members of the following municipalities and organizations
- Cook Inlet Fishermans’ Fund
- Cook Inlet Region, Inc.
- Cook Inlet Seiners Association
- Kenai Peninsula Fishermen’s Association
- North Pacific Fisheries Association
- Northern District Set Netters of Cook Inlet
- United Cook Inlet Drift Association
- Kenai Peninsula Borough
- Matanuska-Susitna Borough
- Municipality of Anchorage
- City of Homer
- City of Kachemak
- City of Seward
- Port Graham/Nanwalek
- Representatives of inlet-wide commercial fishermen and processors