Kodiak Alerts Include Karluk River King Salmon Fishing Closure

The following updates are courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

Karluk River Closed to King Salmon Fishing

(Kodiak) – To protect returning king salmon and ensure fishing opportunities in the future, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is closing sport fishing for king salmon in the Karluk River drainage including the lagoon and its outlet stream effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 1 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 25, 2021. This closure prohibits sport fishing for king salmon including catch-and-release. During the closure, king salmon may not be targeted, possessed, or retained; king salmon that are caught incidentally while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately. In addition, as a measure to reduce incidental hooking of king salmon, the use of bait is prohibited and only one unbaited, single-hook artificial lure may be used in the Karluk River drainage below Karluk Lake including the lagoon and its outlet stream.

“The Karluk River king salmon fishery continues to be a stock of concern due to very low numbers of fish,” stated Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum. “With very low numbers of king salmon making it into the Karluk River, ADF&G is closing this king salmon sport fishery until it is apparent escapement goals will be achieved­­.”

King salmon angling opportunities may be restored in the Karluk River by a subsequent emergency order if inseason assessment indicates the king salmon run is stronger than anticipated. Beginning late May, ADF&G staff will closely monitor this fishery at the Karluk River salmon counting weir.

For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum at (907) 486-1880.

Ayakulik River Closed to King Salmon Fishing

(Kodiak) – To protect returning king salmon and ensure fishing opportunities in the future, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is closing sport fishing for king salmon in the Ayakulik River drainage effective 12:01 a.m. Tuesday, June 1 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, July 25, 2021. This closure prohibits sport fishing for king salmon, including catch-and-release. During the closure, king salmon may not be targeted, possessed, or retained; king salmon that are caught incidentally while fishing for other species may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately. In addition, as a measure to reduce incidental hooking of king salmon, the use of bait is prohibited and only one unbaited, single-hook artificial lure may be used in the Ayakulik River drainage.

“Even with management actions to reduce king salmon retention in sport, commercial, and subsistence fisheries, the king salmon escapement goal has not been achieved for several years,” stated Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum. “The Board of Fisheries designated this fishery a stock of concern during the 2020 meeting in Kodiak. Therefore, the combination of poor king salmon returns and the designation of a stock of concern warrants closing fishing for king salmon in the Ayakulik River drainage.”

King salmon angling opportunities may be restored in the Ayakulik River drainage by a subsequent emergency order, if inseason assessment indicates the king salmon run is stronger than anticipated. Beginning late May, ADF&G staff will closely monitor this fishery at the Ayakulik River salmon counting weir.

For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum at (907) 486-1880.

Eastern Afognak and Kodiak Islands Rockfish Limits Reduced for Nonresidents 

(Kodiak) – To ensure sustainable harvests of rockfish and implement provisions of the Kodiak Area Rockfish Management Plan adopted by the Board of Fisheries in January 2020, nonresident bag and possession limits for rockfish are being reduced for much of eastern Afognak and Kodiak islands due to increasing harvest rates and concerns over sustainability of these populations during 2021. This regulation restriction is effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday, April 1 through 11:59 p.m. Friday, December 31, 2021. The nonresident angler bag and possession limit for rockfish is reduced to three per day, six in possession, of which two per day, four in possession may be nonpelagic and only one per day, two in possession of the nonpelagic limit may be yelloweye. In addition, captain and crew of charter vessels may not retain rockfish in this area while clients are on board.

The reduced nonresident bag and possession limit for rockfish include the waters of eastern Afognak and Kodiak islands south of a line extending east from Big Fort Island near Shuyak Island (eastward from 58° 30.026’N, 152° 24.292’W), north of a line extending eastward from Dangerous Cape (eastward from 57° 16.596’N, 152° 42.388’W) and east of a line at 153° W in Kupreanof Straight, equivalent to groundfish statistical areas 525803, 525804, 515801, 515802, 525805, 525806, 525807, 525731, 525732, 525733, and 525701. Please refer to the map below for the waters where rockfish limits have been reduced for nonresidents.

Resident bag limits are not changing at this time and will remain as published in the 2021 Southwest Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet.

“Despite reduced bag limits in the Chiniak and Marmot bays area, harvest continues to increase, particularly for black rockfish,” stated Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum. “Since 2005, the Kodiak Management Area rockfish harvest has increased substantially to the point where anglers are the primary user of the resource. Much of this increase can be attributed to the areas nearest the Port of Kodiak and harvest rates in some areas are approaching rates that are considered unsustainable according to the best available information.”

If harvest continues to increase, further restrictions could be implemented according to the management plan criteria in this priority order:

1. implement an annual limit for nonresidents for rockfish
2. reduce nonresident bag and possession limit for rockfish
3. reduce the rockfish bag limit by area as specified by ADF&G
4. implement a rockfish season
5. reduce the resident bag and possession limit for rockfish

ADF&G will continue to monitor harvests and biological information using saltwater guide logbooks, dockside sampling data, and the Statewide Harvest Survey. An ongoing hydroacoustic abundance survey for black rockfish will also be conducted to compare harvest rates in all fisheries with the latest abundance estimates.

For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum at (907) 486-1880.