Chignik fishermen get a five-day opening, but most of the area stays closed on weak runs

Chignik permit holders get a five-day commercial salmon opening next week, but only in part of the area: three districts open Monday morning and close Friday night, while much of the rest of the Chignik management area stays shut on weak fish counts.

The opening covers the Chignik Bay and Central districts and the Inner Castle Cape stretch of the Western District, running from Monday, Aug. 17 to Friday, Aug. 21. Because the current fishing period ends Friday, the fleet faces a weekend gap before it can fish again. The three areas are set to open weekly, Monday morning through Friday night, as long as sockeye escapement goals keep being met.

Elsewhere, the closures hold. The Eastern, Perryville and most of the Western districts, along with Inner Kujulik Bay, remain closed until further notice — a result, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says, of low pink and chum salmon counts in its aerial surveys.

A standing rule on king salmon carries over: seiners can't keep Chinook 28 inches or longer and must release them unharmed, keeping only those that come aboard injured or dead. Chignik River kings have been a state stock of concern since 2023, the year a record-low 267 fish crossed the weir.

The season has been stop-and-start throughout, shifting from short July openings and mandatory closures to the current weekly pattern.