Historically low numbers of chinook, or king salmon have been returning to their natal streams in the Gulf of Alaska and Cook Inlet to spawn this year. As a result, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has taken steps to restrict both sport and commercial fishing opportunities.
The department issued an advisory announcement earlier this year on Feb. 11, closing a large swath of salt waters in Cook Inlet to sport fishing for king salmon through Aug. 15. In Lower Cook Inlet, including Kachemak Bay, the bag and possession limits are restricted to one king salmon per day any size through Aug. 31.
About a month later on March 3, saltwater sport fishermen in the Gulf of Alaska, including the Aleutian Islands, Alaska Peninsula, Kodiak, and Prince William Sound, saw their bag limits reduced to one fish of any size per day through Sept. 15.
According to an emergency order issued on June 30, the department determined that in Southeast Alaska, “the projected end of season harvest for the sport fishery is expected to exceed the sport allocation and now requires restrictive in-season action."
That order closed the waters of the Exclusive Economic Zone, or EEZ, in Southeast to sport fishing for chinook salmon. The EEZ extends from three miles to two hundred miles offshore. Inside three miles in Southeast Alaska residents can continue to harvest one fish per day.
The department has also closed the chinook salmon sport fishery to non-residents, in accordance with a policy they adopted last year that prioritizes access for Alaska residents.
In addition, commercial fishermen have had their opportunities to catch sockeye salmon curtailed in an attempt to avoid the accidental capture of chinook salmon.
Setnet fishermen fishing for sockeye salmon in Cook Inlet have had reduced opportunities for years in an attempt to allow more chinook salmon upriver. The Cook Inlet East Side set net sockeye fishery was closed entirely in 2024 due to low returns of chinook to the Kenai River.
Chinook returns to the Karluk and Ayakulik Rivers in the Kodiak area have cratered, prompting the department to issue emergency orders closing the seine sockeye fisheries there. They opened fishing in the Ayakulik in July 6 when the number of sockeye returning there exceeded the department’s preseason target.
The Karluk remains closed to sockeye fishing in an attempt to allow as many chinook as possible upriver. As of July 8, only 38 chinook salmon have been counted swimming up the Karluk River. In 2022, more than 2,000 chinook had passed the weir by the same date.
