For the first time ever the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has closed the Kenai River to king salmon fishing during the late run due to continued low counts of king salmon.

Sport fishermen, as well as commercial setnetters and driftnetters, were restricted in and around the Kenai River in an attempt by the department to meet the minimum in-season management objective believed to be necessary for an adequate escapement of king salmon.

The sport and commercial fishing divisions of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game on Tuesday issued emergency orders closing certain fisheries around the Kenai River due to continued low counts of king salmon. 

Setnetting in the Kenai, Kasilof and East Forelands sections of the upper subdistrict will be closed until further notice while driftnetting within one mile of the Kenai Peninsula shoreline north of the Kenai River and one and a half miles from the shoreline south of the Kenai River will also be prohibited. 

Kevin Feller wanted to get in and get his fish for the season before the beach got too crowded with out-of-towners.

So the Nikiski man and his wife Jan Feller spent five hours on the North beach catching the 12 fish they catch every season and will duck out before the weekend crowds descend on Kenai.

Saturday will be the first weekend day of the dipnet season, one several of the nearly 100 beach-goers dotting the shoreline Friday said would be far busier and an indicator of how the rest of the season would run. 

Questions about the city attorney's job description, and management of the city's teen center by the Boys & Girls Club dominated the discussion at the Kenai City Council meeting Tuesday.

After discussion about access to the teen center, the council approved a three-year $390,000 agreement between the city and the Boys and Girls Club for management of the Kenai Recreational Center Facility.

The Boys and Girls Club has been managing the recreational center since 2003 according to the city.