King Salmon

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced it will shut down the Kenai set gillnet fishery at 11 p.m. Sunday August 7, 2011. Department officials say it's because of concerns of Kenai king salmon stocks, and a dwindling sockeye run. "It is likely the escapement goal will not be achieved without passing the remaining Kenai River king salmon into the escapement", according to the department's press release. If the minimum escapement goal is not met it will be the first time in history that has happened, said members of the Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA)

by Channel 2 News staff Wednesday, June 9, 2010 ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- The Department of Fish and Game has issued an emergency order prohibiting the use of bait on the lower portion of the Deshka River and parts of the Susitna River. The restriction goes into effect at 6 a.m. Saturday, June 12, and will last until 11 p.m. Tuesday, July 13. The use of bait is prohibited on the Deshka River from its mouth upstream to a Department of Fish and Game marker near Chijuk Creek.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is restricting the federal subsistence fishery for early-run king salmon in the Kenai River downstream from Skilak Lake, beginning Thursday, June 30 at 12:01 a.m. The restriction will be in place through Thursday, July 14 at 11:59 p.m. Anglers will be limited to using one single, unbaited hook and bag and possession limits are reduced to one per day and one in possession for fish less than 46 inches or...

Despite restrictions on multiple popular rivers in Southcentral Alaska, there is some good news for anglers. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the king salmon counts in the Mat-Su Valley and on the Kenai Peninsula are improving. The Kenai River early-run king salmon sport fishery will reopen to harvest of more king salmon. Starting at 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 15, the fishery will be open to harvest of king salmon less than 46 inches in length or 55 inches in length or greater.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the use of bait and treble hooks is prohibited in the Anchor River, in addition to the closure of fishing areas near the river. According to a press release, starting July 1, anglers are only allowed to use one unbaited, single-hook, artificial lure in the flowing waters of the Anchor River drainage. Areas adjacent to the river’s mouth for one mile upstream and one mile downstream, up to one mile offshore, are closed to fishing.

NASA says a “spring fling,” or mid-level solar flare will spur the Northern Lights this weekend, April 12 to April 14. The aurora forecast for Friday and Saturday is high and weather permitting should be seen from “Barrow to Bethel, Dillingham and Ketchikan, and visible low on the horizon from King Salmon,” according to the University of Alaska Fairbanks Geophysical Institute. The aurora forecast for Sunday is active, a level below high, and weather permitting should be seen from “Barrow to Anchorage and Juneau, and visible low on the horizon from King Salmon and Prince Rupert,” according to UAF. On April 11, NASA said a mid-level solar flare , also associated with a coronal mass ejection, sent billions of solar particles towards Earth and will create a geomagnetic storm once the particles hit the giant magnetic bubble surrounding Earth called the magnetosphere.

A massive aerial search-and-rescue effort in Southwest Alaska is continuing after a float plane and four men on board were reported missing Saturday. The three passengers work for Katmai National Park, and family members as well as National Park Sservice officials remain optimistic. Search crews were delayed leaving King Salmon Monday morning, but the weather over the search site has since cleared up. Five agencies are working together, using 10 aircraft in a full-scale search to locate the plane, the pilot and passengers.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game expects the state to meet its escapement goal for king salmon on the Yukon River, but it came at a heavy cost to area residents. Under an international treaty 42,500 chinook salmon are required to make it to the spawning grounds in Canada.  The Department closed periods of subsistence fishing on the first two pulses of early run king salmon in order to allow a greater number of kings to reach the spawning grounds.  "That was a major contributor," Dr. Katie Howard, Arctic-Yukon-Kuskokwim regional biologist for ADF&G, said.

State biologists have closed the English Bay River drainage and Port Graham subdistrict to sport fishing for sockeye salmon effective Wednesday, in conjunction with an existing subsistence closure of the fishery. Changes have also been made to previous king salmon restrictions in the Nushagak-Mulchatna River drainage. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says the English Bay River closure, which will be in effect from 12:01 a.m. on Independence Day through the end of the month, is necessary after only 1,909 sockeyes had passed through the English Bay weir as of July 1. The escapement goal for the region is 4,018 sockeyes, with 66 percent of the run already complete by July 1 according to historic run timing.

New regulations passed by the Alaska Board of Fisheries in February will affect fisheries in the Mat-Su Valleys and Northern Cook Inlet. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game says king salmon, coho (silver) salmon, general salmon and northern pike fisheries will be affected. From the Fish and Game Release (not a comprehensive list of regulations):  King salmon sport fisheries: The Chuitna, Theodore, Lewis, and Beluga rivers are closed to sport fishing for king salmon.