The Buskin River and the surrounding waters about four miles south of Kodiak will close to subsistence, sport, and commercial fishing for sockeye salmon tomorrow, June 24. That’s according to an advisory announcement the Alaska Department of Fish and Game published on June 22.
The Federal Subsistence Board also announced a sockeye salmon fishing closure for all users in Womens Bay starting on June 24. Both closures will last through July 15, the last day of the state subsistence fishery for sockeye this year.
Mark Witteveen, the assistant area manager for sportfish at Fish and Game’s Kodiak Office, said it’s unlikely the sport fishery will reopen for sockeye, especially since the Buskin weir is closing down early at the end of June.
“Something pretty exciting would have to happen, he said. "We act more conservatively when we have less information, and certainly not having a weir is less information.”
The closures span from the southernmost tip of Near Island in the north to Cliff Point in the south, and include all of Womens Bay.
Both announcements cited low numbers of sockeye salmon passing through the Buskin Lake weir as the reason for the closures. As of June 21, only 916 sockeye had passed through the weir, compared to more than 5,000 fish at the same time last year.
“The biological escapement goal is 5,000 to 8,000 fish, and we don’t expect to make that," Witteveen said.
He said that these low sockeye numbers are not entirely surprising based on forecast data from previous runs. The Buskin last closed to summer salmon fishing in 2023 and 2021.
According to the Federal Subsistence Board announcement, the subsistence fishery could be reopened before July 15 if the run looks likely to hit its escapement goal.
