• Southeast Alaska’s king salmon sport fishery is closed for a month due to international treaty catch limits.
• The closure, announced by the state’s Department of Fish and Game, is not indicative of declining king salmon populations but is necessary to comply with the Pacific Salmon Treaty limits.
• State Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang expressed frustration, pointing out that higher than anticipated salmon abundance led to sport anglers exceeding their allocation by approximately 14,500 fish following preseason models that underestimated salmon numbers.
• The state has concluded the sport fishery exceeded its king salmon catch limit by more than 13,926 fish, leading to potential future penalties that would reduce next year’s limits.
• The current catch limit for Southeast Alaska is set at 211,400 fish, distributed among various user groups, with sport anglers allocated about 39,000 fish this season.
• Past years have shown inconsistencies between preseason projections and actual in-season salmon abundance, leading to issues in catch management.
• The closure impacts approximately 130,000 sport anglers, primarily during a time that isn’t peak for king salmon fishing.
• Tribal members, notably from the Tlingit and Haida Indian Tribes, expressed concern, as king salmon is a vital year-round nutritional resource.
• This marks the first closure of the sport king salmon fishery under the current management model, a change the Alaska Board of Fisheries is expected to address at its upcoming January meeting.
