Bering River moose hunt closes after hunters reach 15-bull cap

Hunters working the drainages between Cape Suckling and Palm Point have until 11:59 p.m. Friday, September 25, before the Bering River bull moose hunt shuts down. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game issued Emergency Order No. 02-09-26 from Cordova on Thursday, closing registration permit hunt RM160 in Game Management Unit 6A West because reported harvest has reached the department's ceiling of 15 bulls.

The department's 2026 population point estimate for Unit 6A West is 213 moose, with a 90 percent confidence interval, a likely range of 117 to 292. Its objective for the area is 300 to 350, unmet for at least 15 years. Earlier surveys put the same area at 269 moose in regulatory year 2016 and 204 in 2019. The department says hunters remain in the field, so additional animals may have been taken and not yet reported, and the closure is necessary to prevent excessive harvest.

The department's Unit 6 moose management report already records the Unit 6A West allowable harvest being cut to 15 bulls, with the DM160 lottery hunt withheld until the population trajectory improved.

The order supersedes the season and bag limit language in 5AAC 85.045(4), which allowed a September 1 to 25 registration season, and runs through June 30, 2027 unless a later order replaces it. Area Wildlife Biologist Charlotte Westing signed it by delegation from Commissioner Doug Vincent-Lang. DM160 and all other Unit 6 moose hunting regulations are unaffected.

Hunters with questions can reach Westing at (907) 424-3215.