King Salmon

The Copper River's Chitina dip net salmon fishery has been closed to the retention of king salmon this season as new restrictions hit the river's upper section, adding to the locations across Alaska affected by fishing closures in the wake of weak salmon runs. In a Tuesday announcement, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game amended rules for the fishery, which is also closed to the retention of steelhead. The Chitina fishery will be open from 12:01 a.m. on Monday, July 1 through 11:59 p.m. on Sunday, July 8. Personal use fishermen must have both their Chitina personal use fishery permits and a valid resident sport fishing license when fishing.

Several lower Cook Inlet streams, as well as offshore fishing in some areas of the inlet, will fall under sport-fishing bans and bait restrictions effective Sunday, as state officials continue to respond to shortages in king salmon runs statewide. According to a Monday emergency order from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Anchor and Ninilchik rivers will close to sport fishing effective from 12:01 a.m. Sunday, July 1 through 11:59 p.m. July 15. The sport fishing ban will be followed by a ban on using bait and multiple hooks on the rivers, set to take effect from 12:01 a.m. July 16 through 11:59 p.m. July 31. A separate ban on bait and multiple hooks will affect Deep and Stariski creeks throughout the month of July.

The Susitna River drainage became the latest area of Alaska to be targeted for a king salmon closure Friday, as the state Department of Fish and Game banned sport fishing for kings in the region effective Monday morning. During the closure, effective from 6 a.m. June 25 through July 13, kings may not be targeted for any type of fishing, including catch-and-release fishing. Kings may not be retained, and any kings caught while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be immediately released.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game decided late Wednesday to allow Southwest Alaska subsistence fishermen to fish for chum and sockeye salmon on the lower Kuskokwim River starting Friday, but kept a ban on fishing for king salmon in place through the end of the month. Fishermen in the Bethel area have been very concerned in recent weeks, as a delay in the king salmon run has prompted state and federal action to protect the fish from overfishing. “We have some early indications, we're at an early point in the run, but we have early indications that we're looking at low abundance of Chinook (salmon)

Alaska king salmon shortages produced emergency orders Tuesday from federal and state authorities, closing the Kenai River to fishing for kings and restricting fishing on the Kasilof River until at least the end of the month. An emergency order from the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service closes the Kenai downriver of Skilak Lake to subsistence fishing for kings, effective from 12:01 a.m. Friday, June 22 through 11:59 p.m. on Saturday, July 14. “Through June 18, all indices used to assess the abundance of early-run Chinook salmon in the Kenai River indicate a run that is well below average and lowest on record,” wrote USFWS biologist Doug Palmer.

Fish camps up and down the Kuskokwim River in Southwest Alaska remain unusually quiet and void of activity.  But callers on a Bethel talk radio show had plenty to say about the failure of the king salmon run to appear.   Monday's radio show on KYUK-AM came one day after a seven-day closure of subsistence fishing was extended for another five days.  “I depend on that salmon for my life and health,” said one caller, Elena Aluskak of Bethel. “It's who we are. It's who I am.”  Harry Jackson of Kwethluk worried out loud on the radio.

The head of the largest tribal organization in the state says he will request a disaster designation from Governor Sean Parnell to address the king salmon crisis on the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers. Myron Naneng who is president of the Association of Village Council Presidents, says the situation is getting critical for people in the region who depend on the wild salmon harvest to feed their families.  A 7-day subsistence closure for king salmon, which was set to expire at midnight on Saturday was extended five more days on Friday.

“Empty fish racks, after empty fish racks,” said Bev Hoffman of Bethel, describing a trip Friday up the Kuskokwim River, which is lined with family fish camps.   In most years by this time, those racks and smokehouses are filling up with king or chinook salmon, the main staple of the subsistence diet in Southwest Alaska.  Hoffman is co-chair of the Kuskokwim River Salmon Management Working Group, which is mostly made up of subsistence and commercial fishermen representing communities up and down the wide, muddy river.

A lot of dads are planning to do some recreational fishing thisfather's dayweekend, but before they head out, they might want to read the fine print, because emergency orders are in place -- anticipating yet another summer of low king salmon runs. “It's unprecedented,” said Robert Begich, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game biologist who oversees the Kenai River, “since 2009 the Kenai River king salmon runs have been very low.” 2012 looks to be no different than the past four years, Begich said.

Restrictions on king salmon fishing on the Kenai River go into effect Friday, according to the AK Department of Fish & Game. State officials say in an effort to meet early-run king salmon minimum escapement numbers, the department is restricting the sport fishery to catch-and-release/trophy king salmon fishing only beginning Friday, June 15. In a press release, Fish and Game advised anglers on the Kenai River that the department is...