If you pulled an Upper Cook Inlet dipnet permit, you have until Aug. 31 to file, even if you never fished

Everyone who holds an Upper Cook Inlet personal-use fishing permit needs to file a harvest report by Aug. 31, and that includes people who pulled a permit but never went out. The fishery is closed for the season, and Fish and Game requires every permit holder to report online whether or not they fished.

The consequence for missing it is steep: skip the report, and you lose your personal-use fishing privileges for the next calendar year.

The requirement attaches to the permit, not to the fish. A family that pulled a permit in June, watched the run reports, and decided to stay home still owes the state a filing, or risks losing the right to dipnet next year. The report is filed on the ADF&G harvest reporting website.