News

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)
Betty Hatch wades out into the mouth of the Kenai River with a dipnet in hand on Monday, July 10, 2023, at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Report: Kenai dipnetting participation was about average in 2023

Kenai collected around $483,000 in revenue from the fishery

Betty Hatch wades out into the mouth of the Kenai River with a dipnet in hand on Monday, July 10, 2023, at the Kenai Beach in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee meets on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish regulation recommendations to begin Monday

The committee will discuss nearly 200 proposals set for consideration that would impact the Upper Cook Inlet region

The Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee meets on Monday, Jan. 9, 2023, at Cook Inlet Aquaculture Association in Kenai, Alaska. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)

Opinion: Helicopter fishing a detriment to fish and fishers

Proposal would prohibit helicopter transport for anglers on southern peninsula

The Kasilof River is seen from the Kasilof River Recreation Area, July 30, 2019, in Kasilof, Alaska. (Photo by Erin Thompson/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game releases preliminary data from commercial fishing season

The harvest continued to fall below historical averages

Sockeye salmon are gathered together at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Tony Eskelin, Jenny Gates and Israel Payton listen to questions at a “Town Hall Style Meeting” held at Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Sport Fish division fields questions at town hall

The town hall meeting discussed the sport fisheries of the Northern Kenai Peninsula

Tony Eskelin, Jenny Gates and Israel Payton listen to questions at a “Town Hall Style Meeting” held at Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on Thursday, Oct. 26, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Sockeye salmon are caught in a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Assembly calls for economic disaster declaration for east side setnet fishery

The resolution is in response to this year’s unprecedented closure of the fishery by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game

Sockeye salmon are caught in a set gillnet at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (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)

NOAA seeking comment for proposed regulation of Cook Inlet commercial fishing

Public comment is being sought by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Fisheries on a proposed rule that would implement federal management on commercial and… Continue reading

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

Kenai River late-run kings designated a stock of management concern

The board-set optimal escapement goal for large late-run Kenai River king salmon has not been achieved in the four years that it has been in place

A man fishes in the Kenai River on July 16, 2018, in Soldotna, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion/file)
U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks before the Board of Game during their Southcentral meeting on Friday, March 17, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska.

Board of Fisheries will not move Upper Cook Inlet meeting to Kenai Peninsula

The board on Oct. 13 discussed requests received from local organizations and governments to move to the Kenai Peninsula

U.S. Sen. Dan Sullivan speaks before the Board of Game during their Southcentral meeting on Friday, March 17, 2023, at the Soldotna Regional Sports Complex in Soldotna, Alaska.
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)

Preliminary results released for selective setnet test

That test was to assess a shallower net intended to better target “abundant” sockeye while reducing harvest on “weaker” kings

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)
Photo courtesy Josiah Martin/Kenai Peninsula Food Bank Jon Kruger hands an award for Trophy Catch of the Day to a participant of Catching for a Cause at the Cannery Lodge in Kenai.

Marathon fundraiser raises $80,000 for food bank

Participants spent two days networking and fishing, first at Big River Lakes across Cook Inlet and then on the Kenai River

Photo courtesy Josiah Martin/Kenai Peninsula Food Bank Jon Kruger hands an award for Trophy Catch of the Day to a participant of Catching for a Cause at the Cannery Lodge in Kenai.
An angler holds up a massive fish in “Jacks: A Film by Jako Lucas & Ra Beattie.” (Photo courtesy International Fly Fishing Festival)

Fishing film fest to return

The International Fly Fishing Film Festival, or IF4, will return to the Kenai Peninsula on Monday

An angler holds up a massive fish in “Jacks: A Film by Jako Lucas & Ra Beattie.” (Photo courtesy International Fly Fishing Festival)
Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet are dragged up onto the beach at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)

Board of Fish proposals center on king salmon, east side setnet fishery

Many proposals describe changes to the Kenai River Late-Run King Salmon Management Plan

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet are dragged up onto the beach at a test site for selective harvest setnet gear in Kenai, Alaska, on Tuesday, July 25, 2023. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)