Lower Cook Inlet King Salmon Limits Reduced

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

King Salmon Bag Limit Reduced from 2 to 1 in Lower Cook Inlet Salt Waters

(Homer) – In favor of protecting early-run and late-run Cook Inlet king salmon and ensuring sport fishing opportunities in the future, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is reducing the bag and possession limit from two to one king salmon of any size, in Cook Inlet salt waters south of the latitude of Bluff Point (59° 40.00′ N. lat.) to latitude of Cape Douglas and east to Gore Point. This includes all of Kachemak Bay. The Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon on the Homer Spit and the Seldovia slough and lagoon terminal fisheries are excluded from this change. This regulatory change is effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, May 1 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, August 15, 2024. For a description of the Nick Dudiak Fishing Lagoon and the Seldovia slough and lagoon waters, please see the current Southcentral Sport Fishing Regulation Summary booklet.

Based on the recent early-run and late-run king salmon escapement monitoring in the Kenai, Anchor, and Deshka Rivers, this year’s king salmon runs are forecasted to be below the lower end of their escapement goals, which has triggered inriver sport fishery preseason closures in these streams. Additionally, all of these stocks failed to achieve their escapement goals in 2022 and 2023.

This emergency order action in Cook Inlet salt waters is in combination with sport fishery restrictions throughout Cook Inlet. Emergency Order 2-KS-7-07-24 closed sport fishing for king salmon in salt waters north of Bluff Point. Emergency Order 2-KS-1-08-24 and Emergency Order 2-KS-1-09-24 closed the early-run and late-run king salmon sport fisheries in the Kenai River. Emergency Order 2-KS-7-10-24 closed the Anchor River and Deep Creek to all sport fishing through July 15. Emergency Order 2-KS-2-05-24 closed the Deshka River to king salmon sport fishing. Additional preseason emergency order restrictions also affect the sport fishing in other streams on the Kenai Peninsula, Northern Cook Inlet, and West Cook Inlet areas.

“Cook Inlet king salmon stocks are experiencing a prolonged period of poor productivity,” stated Area Management Biologist Mike Booz, “which has required conservative management with our sport fisheries. We are really fortunate to still be able to provide some sport fishing opportunity for king salmon in lower Cook Inlet salt waters”.

For more information, please contact Area Management Biologist Mike Booz or Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson at 907-235-8191.

North of Bluff Pt (gray)- closed to sport fishing for king salmon May 1 – August 15, 

South of Bluff Point (pink) – bag and possession limit of one king salmon May 1 – August 15.