ADF&G opens 54-hour Kodiak salmon period at noon Thursday

Commercial salmon fishers in Kodiak will get 54 hours on the water from noon Thursday, Sept. 24, to 6 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 26, under Emergency Order 4-FS-K-49-26, released Wednesday morning by the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

The opening covers the Afognak District, except Izhut Bay, Outer Kitoi Bay and Inner Kitoi Bay; seven Northwest Kodiak sections (Uyak Bay, Zachar Bay, Spiridon Bay, Inner Uganik Bay, Terror Bay, Kizhuyak Bay, Sharatin Bay); the Outer Ayakulik Section of Southwest Kodiak; the Humpy-Deadman Section of Alitak; and the Eastside Kodiak District, minus Pasagshak Bay northeast of a line from 57°26.04′ N, 152°31.13′ W to 57°25.44′ N, 152°29.39′ W. The Outer Karluk, Central and North Cape sections remain open until further notice.

In the Kodiak Area, including the Mainland District, king salmon 28 inches or greater may not be retained by purse seine gear and must be released unharmed. That rule runs all season by regulation, not in response to this year's returns.

Escapement, the count of fish reaching the spawning grounds, has collapsed. The department's 2025 season summary reported Karluk River Chinook escapement of 93 fish against a biological goal of 3,000 to 6,000, and Ayakulik escapement of 444 against a goal of 4,800 to 8,400. Karluk has missed three years running: 379 fish in 2023, 76 in 2024, 93 in 2025.

The 2025 season drew 142 purse seine and 105 set gillnet permit holders and an estimated exvessel value of about $36.9 million, the price paid at the dock. For updates, call the department's 24-hour record-a-phone at (907) 486-4559.