To ensure the sustainability of the greatest sportfishing river in the world – the Kenai. KRSA’s area of responsibility encompasses the Kenai River watershed, greater Cook Inlet Basin, and Alaska.
Conserve and rehabilitate fisheries habitat to maintain and improve the Kenai River watershed for sustainable fisheries
Promote predictable and meaningful sport and personal use fishing opportunities
Encourage and foster fisheries, economic, and conservation research to advance information for management of sustainable fisheries
Provide education and outreach to promote stewardship of the fisheries resources.
The Kenai River Sportfishing Association (KRSA) is a 501(c)(3) charitable nonprofit organization headquartered in Soldotna, Alaska. KRSA’s original focus was on the Kenai River. We have expanded efforts to protect fisheries and recreational fishing throughout the state.
KRSA has funded or created programs to protect and/or rehabilitate fish habitat, funded research on the health of Alaska rivers and other fresh waters and fish populations, funded or staffed programs to educate children, the general public, and government/business leaders on fish and water conservation, and advocated for sustainable and equitable science-based fisheries management.
Since 1984, KRSA has been the leading advocate for fisheries conservation in Alaska, working diligently to ensure recreational fishing rights are protected and the fisheries are healthy for generations to come.
The world-renowned Kenai River is home to Alaska’s largest sport and personal use fisheries, and anchors the broader recreational fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet. Unique among all of Alaska’s maritime regions in its relative proportions of recreational and commercial fishing, 70% of all Alaska angler days occur in this region, where sport and personal use fishing is heavily concentrated. Through the years the economic values of sport and personal use fisheries in Upper Cook Inlet have become very substantial and greatly surpass those of the region’s commercial salmon fisheries by every available measure.
Kenai River Sportfishing Association is at the forefront of ensuring the sustainability of the Kenai River as the greatest sportfishing river in the world and for advocacy on behalf of the needs and interests of sport and personal fisheries on the Kenai, Cook Inlet, and Alaska. The Kenai River is recognized as the crown jewel of Alaska’s recreational fisheries, with more responsible angler access and more fish habitat protections than any other location in the state. KRSA has been there every step of the way, whether it is providing funding support for habitat conservation, boating access and bank angling projects, protecting recreational fishing opportunities, generating informational awareness for policymakers, or educating the next generation of anglers and conservationists.
No other fish organization in Alaska has done more in ensuring the sustainability of the Kenai and is more effective in advocating for sport and personal use fisheries than KRSA. The opportunity to share the benefits of fishing with family and friends is a key driver for quality of life.
