Chignik Bay, Central districts open five days for commercial salmon starting Aug. 17

Chignik permit holders get a five-day commercial salmon opening next week: the Chignik Bay District, the Central District, and the Inner Castle Cape subsection of the Western District open at 6 a.m. Monday, Aug. 17, and close at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 21. The current period ends at 10 p.m. Friday, Aug. 14, so the fleet faces a weekend gap before it can fish again.

The closures matter as much as the opening. Inner Kujulik Bay (statistical area 272-51) stays closed until further notice, as do the Eastern, Perryville, and Western districts, the last excluding Inner Castle Cape. In the Alaska Department of Fish and Game's inseason commercial salmon summary posted Thursday, Chignik Area Management Biologist Teresa Fish said the three open areas "will open weekly from 6:00 a.m. Monday to 10:00 p.m. Friday, provided sockeye salmon escapement is being met." The department has attributed the standing closures elsewhere in the area to low pink and chum counts in aerial surveys, and the advisory reminds permit holders that closed waters are as listed in 5 AAC 15.350.

Chinook handling rules carry over. Purse seine gear may not retain Chinook 28 inches or greater; those fish must go back in the water unharmed. Visibly injured or dead Chinook must be retained and recorded on a fish ticket. Chignik River kings have been a Board of Fisheries stock of concern since 2023, the year a record low 267 fish crossed the weir.

This schedule has moved repeatedly all season, shifting from short openings and mandatory closures in July to the current weekly pattern. For permit holders, processors, and vessel crews, the repeated inseason changes and continuing district closures shape harvest opportunity and trip planning, forcing operations to adjust on short notice. The department urges fishers to monitor VHF Channel 6 at 9:15 a.m. and 5:15 p.m. daily, because next week's window is provisional.