Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers

If you're fishing out of Craig or Klawock this summer, there's a rule worth knowing before you clean your catch: certain fish have to come back to the dock whole. Lingcod, nonpelagic rockfish, and king and coho salmon can't be filleted, gutted, or de-headed at sea — they have to stay intact until your boat is tied up, unless you've already eaten or preserved them aboard.

The reason is on the dock waiting for you. Fish and Game creel technicians spend the summer sampling catches and interviewing anglers, gathering the data used to manage and sustain the fishery — and they can't measure or sample a fish that's already a pile of fillets. Keeping the catch whole until offload is what makes that count possible. The rule applies specifically to boats returning to Craig and Klawock, not every port on Prince of Wales Island, and charter operators running custom processing will need to plan around it: filleting happens after you land, not before.

One regulation change to note alongside it: starting July 1, nonresident anglers can keep two Chinook over 28 inches per year, down from three.