News

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)

Fish and Game announces series of closures and restrictions for king salmon fisheries

Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity, the department said

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fisheries acts on proposals for central Kenai Peninsula fishing regulation

Various protections for king salmon and trout, increased opportunity for sockeye salmon fishing on the Russian River and moved regulatory markers were among changes

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of fisheries OKs dipnets for Cook Inlet commercial fisheries

Commercial Fisheries Entry Commission also has to approve before dipnets are used

A sockeye salmon rests atop a cooler at the mouth of the Kasilof River on Monday, June 26, 2023, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fisheries approves Kenai River king salmon action plan

The plan adds bait restrictions for in-river fisheries, doubles the sport bag limit for sockeye salmon, and adds a swath of restrictions to the commercial setnet fishery

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Travis Every, top left, speaks in support of fishing opportunity for the east side setnet fishery before the State Board of Fisheries at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Local fishers talk conservation, opportunity before Board of Fisheries in Anchorage

Local fishers from the Kenai Peninsula traveled to Anchorage this weekend to offer public comment and testimony to the State Board of Fisheries as they… Continue reading

Travis Every, top left, speaks in support of fishing opportunity for the east side setnet fishery before the State Board of Fisheries at the Egan Convention Center in Anchorage, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 27, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Gary Hollier pulls a sockeye salmon from a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Findings from pilot setnet fishery study inconclusive

The study sought to see whether shorter nets could selectively catch sockeye salmon while allowing king salmon to pass below

Gary Hollier pulls a sockeye salmon from a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
From left, Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, east side setnetter Ken Coleman and Konrad Jackson present information about a bill establishing a voluntary buyback program for east side setnet fishery permits during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)

Senate committee hears setnet buyback bill

The East Side of Cook Inlet Set Net Fleet Reduction Act is sponsored by Nikiski Sen. Jesse Bjorkman

From left, Sen. Jesse Bjorkman, R-Nikiski, east side setnetter Ken Coleman and Konrad Jackson present information about a bill establishing a voluntary buyback program for east side setnet fishery permits during a Senate Finance Committee meeting on Monday, Feb. 19, 2024, in Juneau, Alaska. (Ashlyn O’Hara/Peninsula Clarion)
Orion Willis, a student of Soldotna Montessori, holds up a rainbow trout he caught during Salmon in the Classroom ice fishing at Sport Lake in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

‘Fish on!’

Students try ice fishing during Fish and Game’s ‘Salmon in the Classroom’ event

Orion Willis, a student of Soldotna Montessori, holds up a rainbow trout he caught during Salmon in the Classroom ice fishing at Sport Lake in Soldotna, Alaska, on Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Public comment open for Upper Cook Inlet Board of Fisheries meeting

Nearly 200 proposals will be deliberated upon during the meeting

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Todd Smith, who sits in a commercial fishing set net seat, discusses proposals during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Advisory committee supports dipnets, shorter nets for commercial fisheries

The meeting was among a series scheduled to set recommendations ahead of the Upper Cook Inlet Finfish meeting next month

Todd Smith, who sits in a commercial fishing set net seat, discusses proposals during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)

State responds to proposed Cook Inlet EEZ management

A proposed rule would implement federal management on commercial and recreational salmon fishing in the Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone

Upper Cook Inlet Exclusive Economic Zone can be seen on this map provided by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. (Image via fisheries.noaa.gov)
Cook Inlet Coordinator for the Department of Fish and Game Matt Miller and Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee Members Greg Springer and Monte Roberts discuss proposals to the the State Board of Fisheries at a committee meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Advisory committee tackles sport fishing in latest meeting

The meeting was among a series slated to set recommendations on nearly 200 proposals to the State Board of Fisheries

Cook Inlet Coordinator for the Department of Fish and Game Matt Miller and Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee Members Greg Springer and Monte Roberts discuss proposals to the the State Board of Fisheries at a committee meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 15, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Scott Daletas, Monte Roberts and Jerry Strieby, all of whom sit in sport fishing guide seats, discuss proposals during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Optimal escapement goal supported at advisory committee meeting

How many king salmon does it take to rebuild a run, and what restrictions should be in place to protect king salmon? Those were questions… Continue reading

Scott Daletas, Monte Roberts and Jerry Strieby, all of whom sit in sport fishing guide seats, discuss proposals during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Jan. 8, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
A freshly stocked rainbow trout swims in Johnson Lake during Salmon Celebration on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Johnson Lake in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game accepting comment on sport fish stocking plan

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is accepting public comment on its 2024 Statewide Stocking Plan for Sport Fisheries until the end of the… Continue reading

A freshly stocked rainbow trout swims in Johnson Lake during Salmon Celebration on Wednesday, May 10, 2023, at Johnson Lake in Kasilof, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured by fishing guide Jeff Moore in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)

A stock of concern: Board of Fish to consider action plan for king salmon management

Kenai River late-run king salmon have failed to meet the board-set optimal escapement goal in the four years it has been in place

An 86 pound Kenai River king salmon is measured by fishing guide Jeff Moore in Soldotna, Alaska, on June 29, 1995. (M. Scott Moon/Peninsula Clarion File)
Doug Vincent-Lang is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (Courtesy Photo)

Opinion: Banning Russian seafood imports is good for Alaska

Alaska has been under attack for almost a decade by Russia’s lack of sustainable fishing practices and artificially low prices

Doug Vincent-Lang is commissioner of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. (Courtesy Photo)
Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish makes changes to Lower Cook Inlet king salmon and rockfish regs

The State Board of Fisheries met in Homer last month

Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion) Alaska Department of Fish and Game logo. (Graphic by Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Advisory committee supports protections for lake trout and king salmon

Advisory committee recommendations will be weighed by the State Board of Fisheries alongside public testimony as they deliberate on each proposal

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Silver salmon, personal use fishing discussed by advisory committee

The group set their recommendations on a variety of proposals to the State Board of Fisheries

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Lower Cook Inlet fishing regs discussed at committee meeting

The proposals to the State Board of Fisheries were considered during a meeting of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee on Monday

Members of the Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee raise hands to vote in favor of a proposal during a meeting at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska, on Monday, Nov. 20, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)