In the coming days, members of the North Pacific Fisheries Management Council (Council) will make important decisions about management of salmon fisheries in federal waters in Cook Inlet. Among the more contentious issues they will deal with is who can best manage Alaska’s fisheries – the federal government or the State of Alaska. For decades, […]
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADFG) today announced that it is restricting legal sportfishing gear to a single hook with no bait on the Ninilchik River king salmon fishery. At the same time, any hatchery king salmon harvested in the Ninilchik River will not count against the Kenai Peninsula/Cook Inlet annual king salmon […]
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) today released three emergency orders which may effect anglers in Southcentral Alaska. Kenai River: In favor of protecting returning king salmon, ADF&G is closing the early-run king salmon sport fishery in the Kenai River drainage downstream of the outlet of Skilak Lake effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June […]
May 15, 2020 The North Pacific Fishery Management Council voted 10-1 today to relax 2020 halibut limits for Alaska’s charter industry. The Council responded to requests from the charter industry, with support from KRSA, to soften regulations based on an expected drop in harvest due to the COVID-19 crisis. It is hoped that these changes in regulations […]
April 20, 2020 – The Alaska Sport and Personal Use Fishing COVID-19 Response Group today released guidance to promote responsible fishery access for individual anglers and Alaska fishing businesses. The guidance is available at www.KRSA.com/COVID-19. As Alaska moves towards safely re-opening, the sportfishing community is committed to doing so in a responsible manner. The website offers resources […]
April 13, 2020 – The Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA) applauds the efforts of the State of Alaska to maintain access to sport, guided sport, and personal use fisheries during the COVID-19 crisis. While travel between communities is prohibited under the health mandate, the public may still travel to fishing locations. Sport and Personal Use […]
Season to Start Under General Regulation March 19, 2020 The Alaska Department of Fish and Game released the 2020 Kenai River early-run king salmon preseason projection, estimating a return of approximately 4,800 large king salmon. This projection falls within the optimal escapement goal of 3,900-6,600 large king salmon. The early-run king salmon sport fishery will […]
KRSA hosts the Classic Roundtable on Fisheries featuring keynote speaker Chris Oliver, the Asst. Administrator of NOAA Fisheries. Oliver is the former executive director of the North Pacific Fishery Management Council who was appointed the top federal fisheries administrator last year. He will talk about funding pressures to fisheries research at the national level that […]
Kenai Kenai sockeye counts continue to lag with just 516,562 counted thru Friday August 3. At the normal 86 percent point in run timing, it is now unlikely that the minimum inriver goal of 900,000 will be reached. Current mathematical projections are for a final sonar count of around 600,000. With the fisheries closed to […]
Through Thursday, Aug 2, 10,855 large kings have been counted at the sonar at the normal 67 percent point in the run. After a slow start, numbers appear to be following a normal run timing. At normal run timing, escapement projects to be around 17,000 which is comfortably above the 13,500 minimum goal. Restrictions and closures […]