Kenai/Soldotna committee begins review of proposals to change Kenai king salmon plan

The Kenai/Soldotna Fish and Game Advisory Committee will begin reviewing Board of Fisheries proposals for Upper Cook Inlet finfish at 6 pm Wednesday, Nov. 18, at the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge Visitor Center in Soldotna. The committee agenda lists 20 proposals tied to the Kenai River late-run king salmon stock-of-concern plan.

Advisory committees are local groups that review proposals and make recommendations to the board. The Alaska Board of Fisheries decides. It meets March 4 to 15, 2027, in Anchorage, and comments are due Feb. 17, 2027, according to the agenda.

The current plan sets a recovery goal of 14,250 to 30,000 large king salmon, those 75 centimeters or longer from mid-eye to tail fork, according to the Upper Cook Inlet proposal book. Reaching the low end of that goal takes priority over keeping Kenai and Kasilof sockeye under the top of their goals. If the recovery goal is not projected to be met, the Kenai River is closed to sport fishing for kings.

The plan stays in effect until the recovery goal is met three years in a row, or four of six years, with at least one of those years at 18,000 fish or more. Even then, the plan states, the kings remain a stock of concern until the department recommends removing that status and the board adopts the recommendation.

The stock was listed in spring 2024. Large king abundance reached 15,641 in 2025, above the recovery goal, according to the department's Proposal 192 comments.

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed the Kenai River king salmon sport fishery for the entire 2026 season, covering both the early and late runs.