Copper River and Bering River drift fleets get 12 hours Monday

Copper River and Bering River drift gillnet permit holders get 12 hours on the water Monday, Aug. 24, starting at 7 a.m., half the fishing time the fleet had during the previous period. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced the opening in Prince William Sound Salmon Fishery Announcement No. 38, dated Aug. 21.

The department wrote that harvest from the 24-hour period that began Thursday, Aug. 20, is not yet tallied, but that "preliminary reports indicate that it was above anticipated for the date."

Todd Johnson, a finfish area management biologist, framed the shortened opener plainly: "As a compromise to allow for additional fishing opportunities while continuing to build early escapement, a 12-hour fishing period is being utilized on Monday." The Bering River District fishes concurrently with Copper River under the standard coho strategy.

That tradeoff sits inside a documented dispute over how tightly the department should manage the fishery. Conservation-oriented public commenters have argued that ADF&G has not demonstrated that Copper River king salmon escapement goals have been met in recent years and that commercial harvest should stay constrained until escapement is reliably met. Copper River commercial fishermen, including Kenneth Jones, have said prolonged closures and delayed openers cut into their economic opportunity and may unnecessarily restrict the fishery. The department describes the 12-hour period as balancing fishing opportunity against early escapement; the harvest figure behind that judgment is described only qualitatively, with no independent stock assessment in the record. Copper River has been managed tightly all season: Alaska News has covered the Chitina dip net closures, the season-long ban on king retention, and weeks when the commercial district stayed shut entirely.

Elsewhere, the Eshamy District remains closed. Its weir has passed 5,344 sockeye against a target of 8,921 to 19,214 for the date.