The salmon runs on the Karluk and Ayakulik rivers on the southwest side of Kodiak Island have faced strict restrictions over the past few years, and this year is no different. Subsistence fishing for Chinook in the Karluk river is closed all year while sport fishing for kings on the Ayakulik and Karluk rivers is closed until July 25.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced these closures earlier this year citing the need to “protect returning king salmon and ensure future fishing opportunities.”
The department has also closed the entire west side of the island to Chinook sportfishing again from May 1 to June 30 to protect the returning Karluk Chinook, which numbered less than 100 fish in both 2024 and 2025. Both Karluk and Ayakulik Chinook have seen record low returns over the past years.
The Karluk sockeye have also failed to meet their escapement goal since 2024. According to this year’s forecast from the department, this summer's Karluk sockeye run will consist of around 115,000 fish, a far cry from the escapement goal of 200,000 fish.
For commercial fishing, the department said in an announcement released May 6 that the Northwest Kodiak District and inner and outer Karluk sections of the Southwest Kodiak District are expected to be closed from June 1 to July 5. According to the release, the inner and outer Ayakulik sections will likely be closed until July 15 to allow for Chinook to return.
If the sockeye run exceeds the upper end of its escapement goal, the release states that the outer Ayakulik section could be opened early. Last year, fisheries near the Ayakulik river were initially slated to be closed from June 1-July 15. But the outer section opened to sockeye salmon fishing from July 6-10 because the sockeye run exceeded its escapement goal. This year’s harvest forecast predicts that the Ayakulik sockeye run should be very strong, with over a million fish returning to the river.
According to a February advisory announcement from the department, Chinook salmon bag limits continue to be limited to one for sportfishing throughout the Gulf of Alaska salt waters until Sept. 15. The department cited failing returns and also the low Chinook forecasts for this year as reasons for the limit.
No exact dates for Kodiak’s first commercial salmon fishing openers of the summer have been announced yet. But the first openings typically occur sometime in early June.
