News

Kenai Chamber plans silver salmon derby

Move over, Seward — the Kenai River will get its own silver salmon derby this fall. The Kenai Chamber of Commerce is planning a derby… Continue reading

Concerns arise over Kenai silver salmon derby

Not everyone’s totally on board with the idea of an open silver salmon derby on the Kenai River in the fall. The Kenai Chamber of… Continue reading

Kenai partners with Chamber of Commerce for fall silver derby

Kenai’s city government will have a say in how the town’s first silver salmon fishing derby — initiated by the Kenai Chamber of Commerce and… Continue reading

Victoria Evans of Soldotna fishes the Ninilchik River opener on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Ninilchik opens slow and steady

The spirits of anglers at the Ninilchik River season opening weekend were a stark contrast to the dreary weather that plagued the holiday weekend. “This… Continue reading

Victoria Evans of Soldotna fishes the Ninilchik River opener on Saturday, May 27, 2017 in Ninilchik, Alaska. (Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Copper River managers proceed cautiously after big king salmon takes

Commercial fishing managers in Prince William Sound plan to continue opening the fishery, despite concerns about low king salmon returns to the Copper River system.… Continue reading

Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday, May 20, 2017 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday in Anchor Point. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fishing report: Hail to the kings

There were plenty of anglers on the Anchor River’s opening day this year, but king salmon were in shorter supply. The river on the southern… Continue reading

Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday, May 20, 2017 in Anchor Point, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Two anglers head out through the shallows of the Anchor River to cast a line for king salmon Saturday in Anchor Point. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
From right, Alaska Department of Fish and Game geneticist Sam Rabung, Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack and Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Acting Director Matt Weideke listen to concerns from Homer and Tutka Bay residents about a permit that would authorize Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association to move its net pens in Tutka Bay from the lagoon to the head of the bay at a meeting at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center on May 15 in Homer. (Photo/Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Park users, commercial fishermen clash over Tutka Bay net pens

HOMER — The debate over whether a Cook Inlet hatchery operator can move some net pens out into a Homer-area bay is tangled up with… Continue reading

From right, Alaska Department of Fish and Game geneticist Sam Rabung, Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten, Alaska Department of Natural Resources Commissioner Andy Mack and Division of Parks and Outdoor Recreation Acting Director Matt Weideke listen to concerns from Homer and Tutka Bay residents about a permit that would authorize Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association to move its net pens in Tutka Bay from the lagoon to the head of the bay at a meeting at the Islands and Ocean Visitor Center on May 15 in Homer. (Photo/Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon makes its flight into the back of a truck on a set gillnet site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

While other species increase, salmon, herring landing values drop

The total value of commercial fisheries landings in Alaska didn’t change much between 2014 and 2015, but by species, salmon have been the millstone around… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon makes its flight into the back of a truck on a set gillnet site on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Participants in a streambank rehabilitation workshop at the Donald E. Giman River Center unwrap bundles of felt willow to install as reinforcement along a damaged section of the Kenai River’s bank Wednesday, May 10, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The free two-day annual workshop, hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, teaches people how to properly repair damaged fish habitat along streams in Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Participants in a streambank rehabilitation workshop at the Donald E. Giman River Center unwrap bundles of felt willow to install as reinforcement along a damaged section of the Kenai River’s bank Wednesday in Soldotna. The free two-day annual workshop, hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, teaches people how to properly repair damaged fish habitat along streams in Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Kenai Peninsula residents get hands-on with streambank restoration

A sunny, warm Wednesday in Soldotna found about 40 people busily digging trenches and mounting willow boughs into the banks of the Kenai River, all… Continue reading

Participants in a streambank rehabilitation workshop at the Donald E. Giman River Center unwrap bundles of felt willow to install as reinforcement along a damaged section of the Kenai River’s bank Wednesday, May 10, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The free two-day annual workshop, hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, teaches people how to properly repair damaged fish habitat along streams in Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion) Participants in a streambank rehabilitation workshop at the Donald E. Giman River Center unwrap bundles of felt willow to install as reinforcement along a damaged section of the Kenai River’s bank Wednesday in Soldotna. The free two-day annual workshop, hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, teaches people how to properly repair damaged fish habitat along streams in Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Workers at Alaska Salmon Purchasers sort sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet in this July 2016 photo near Nikiski, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

2017 sockeye forecast weak for Cook Inlet

Upper Cook Inlet’s commercial salmon fishermen are predicted to have another slow season, if the forecast proves accurate. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s… Continue reading

Workers at Alaska Salmon Purchasers sort sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet in this July 2016 photo near Nikiski, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Borough to restore bank behind River Center

Borough to restore bank behind River Center

A heavily trafficked stretch of the Kenai River’s southern bank will get some restoration work in time for the sockeye season. Fishermen who have visited… Continue reading

Borough to restore bank behind River Center

Bill would authorize individuals to get fish enhancement permits

Individual Alaskans, private companies and nonprofits could jump into the world of incubating and releasing salmon under a bill being discussed in the Legislature. House… Continue reading

Governor’s bill would cut CFEC commissioners’ pay

Gov. Bill Walker has introduced a bill to trim the Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission. The CFEC, the state agency that manages commercial fishing limited entry… Continue reading

In this undated photo, crew members haul scallops up onto the deck of a fishing vessel from a dredge. Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff have been researching the increasing incidence of a condition called “weak meats” in Alaska scallops, which makes the product unmarketable. (Photo courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)

Researchers identify widespread parasite in Alaska scallops

A lot of Alaska’s scallops are sick, and scientists are trying to figure out why. Alaska’s scallop fishery is a small one — in recent… Continue reading

In this undated photo, crew members haul scallops up onto the deck of a fishing vessel from a dredge. Alaska Department of Fish and Game staff have been researching the increasing incidence of a condition called “weak meats” in Alaska scallops, which makes the product unmarketable. (Photo courtesy the Alaska Department of Fish and Game)
In this July 2016 photo, the Russian River rushes under a bridge along the Russian River Trail near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

HB 199 gets hearing, won’t pass this year

The push a group of fisheries activists made to get a section of Alaska law overhauled is making its way through the Legislature, but won’t… Continue reading

In this July 2016 photo, the Russian River rushes under a bridge along the Russian River Trail near Cooper Landing, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Daniel Reynolds, an environmental technician with the Ninilchik Traditional Council, prepares to place the buoy marking the tribe’s subsistence gillnet on the Kenai River on Aug. 14, 2016 near Soldotna. On April 3, the Federal Subsistence Board granted the Ninilchik Traditional Council’s special action request for the gillnet to operate again in 2017. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Ninilchik gets approval for Kenai gillnet in 2017

The Ninilchik Traditional Council officially has permission to put a gillnet in the Kenai and Kasilof rivers again this summer, but with a few changes.… Continue reading

Daniel Reynolds, an environmental technician with the Ninilchik Traditional Council, prepares to place the buoy marking the tribe’s subsistence gillnet on the Kenai River on Aug. 14, 2016 near Soldotna. On April 3, the Federal Subsistence Board granted the Ninilchik Traditional Council’s special action request for the gillnet to operate again in 2017. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

North Pacific council eases into salmon FMP

A lot of new faces are coming to the table at the North Pacific Fishery Management Council, and not a lot of them are happy… Continue reading

North Pacific council to take up Cook Inlet salmon plan

Editor's note: This article has been corrected to show that UCIDA is no longer asking the court to vacate Amendment 12 and that the group… Continue reading

In this August 2016 photo, an angler lands a pink salmon on the docks at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Pink salmon forecasts look up for 2017

After last year’s disastrously low pink salmon runs to drainages all across the Gulf of Alaska, the forecasts offer a little more hope for the… Continue reading

In this August 2016 photo, an angler lands a pink salmon on the docks at Centennial Park in Soldotna, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Without both commercial and sport funding, UAF declines research donation

The University of Alaska Fairbanks turned down an offer for funding for research on Kenai River king salmon because it would only come from one… Continue reading