Fish and Game keeps Prince William Sound seine fleet closed Monday

Prince William Sound purse seine permit holders stay tied up Monday, Aug. 10, under Announcement No. 31, which the Alaska Department of Fish and Game posted Sunday on both its Prince William Sound salmon page and its statewide commercial fisheries page. The department attributed the closure to poor weather that prevented the aerial surveys it uses to assess wild stock escapement, meaning another day of lost harvest opportunity for the fleet during peak season.

This is not a new posture. Purse seine fisheries in the Sound have been closed through a string of announcements, with the department citing conservative management until pink salmon escapement and hatchery brood stock goals are met. Announcement No. 30 flagged a possible opening as early as Aug. 10, but poor weather again prevented the aerial surveys the department needed to evaluate one. A third-party advisory tracker, Bristol Maps, lists the current status as "PWS purse seine fisheries remain closed." Commercial purse seine permit holders in the Sound were not reached for comment on the closure's operational and economic effects.

Fish and Game says it will issue daily updates through Wednesday, with any future opening contingent on aerial observations, cost recovery progress, and brood stock collection. That cost recovery progress varies by hatchery. Valdez Fisheries Development Association began egg take Aug. 3, working toward a goal of 270 million pink salmon eggs. Separately, on the revenue side, VFDA had reached 16% of its 2026 pink salmon revenue goal as of Aug. 7, while the Prince William Sound Aquaculture Corporation had reached about 70% of its assigned pink salmon revenue goal by Aug. 8.