2019 Chitina Dipnet Permit Reports Due On October 15

The following press release is courtesy of the Alaska Department of Fish and Game:

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) would like to remind Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery permit holders that October 15, 2019 is the deadline to report fishery participation and harvest. The Chitina Personal Use Fishery, which allows for dipnetting in the Copper River downstream of the Chitina-McCarthy Bridge. near the community of Chitina, closed on September 30, 2019. Reporting on the permit is mandatory and all permit holders are required by law to report even if they did not fish, or if they fished and caught nothing. If no one in your household went dipnetting, please report on the permit that you “Did Not Fish”. On days the permit was fished but nothing was caught, please report those dates and record zeros for each salmon species.

ADF&G encourages permit holders to report online at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/Harvest/, whether they obtained their permit online or at a private vendor or ADF&G office. Alternatively, filled-out permits may be mailed, with appropriate postage, to the address printed on the permit or be hand-delivered to a local ADF&G office during regular business hours. Timely and accurate reporting of participation and harvest is necessary for the management of this personal use fishery.

Additionally, ADF&G is notifying fishery users that beginning next fishing season, all 2020 Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery permit participation and harvest reporting must be completed online through the ADF&G website. Online reporting will be required regardless if you purchased the permit through the ADF&G online store or through a vendor. Returning permits by mail or hand-delivery will no longer be an acceptable means to report in 2020. Also, beginning with the 2020 fishing season, the penalty for failure to report Chitina Personal Use Salmon Fishery harvest online by the October 15^th reporting deadline will be the loss of future personal use fishing privileges, and permit holders who fail to report will be denied a permit for the fishery in the year following the failure to report.