Sitka loses coho fishing as weak returns leave the hatchery short

Sitka anglers lose coho fishing in Bear Cove and Deep Inlet starting Tuesday, Sept. 15, and running through the end of October, after this year's silver salmon came back too weak to supply the local hatchery.

Of the 2,250 coho Medvejie Hatchery needs to collect for spawning, it has so far gotten none. The state blamed a mix of harvest and lower-than-expected survival at sea, and returns are running below a forecast that had projected 37,000 coho for the hatchery's waters this year. The closure covers coho only — any hooked must be released without being lifted from the water.

It's the second closure stacked on these waters. Deep Inlet, the hatchery's backup source of spawning fish, was already shut to commercial salmon fishing at the end of August to protect chum broodstock. Now the sport closure lands on top of it.

The overlap is the concern. Deep Inlet is a rotational fishery shared among different gear groups, and the regional aquaculture association says it's especially valuable late in the season — exactly when both commercial and sport users are now being shut out. Bear Cove has been closed before, too, under a 2024 order to protect the hatchery's king salmon.