Kodiak salmon fishing ends Monday evening in Eastside and Northeast districts

Commercial salmon fishing closes at 6 pm Monday in the Eastside and Northeast Kodiak districts and in the Outer Ayakulik and Humpy-Deadman sections. Seiners on the west and north sides of the island keep fishing until Wednesday evening.

The split is unusual. Nine sections across four districts had been extended together three times through August and were set to close as a group Saturday. Instead, Fish and Game gave five of them another 96 hours and gave four Alitak District sections 24. The rest of the Afognak District closed Saturday night. The announcement gives no reason for treating them differently.

The king restriction holds everywhere. Purse seine gear may not retain Chinook 28 inches or larger, and those fish must be released unharmed.

The reason is visible in last year's counts. Chinook escapement past the Karluk weir was 93 fish, the second lowest on record, against a goal of 3,000 to 6,000. The Ayakulik weir counted 444 against a goal of 4,800 to 8,400.

This year's forecast is thin on both sides of the fishery. The department rates the Kodiak pink harvest weak at 12.3 million fish and the sockeye harvest weak at roughly 2.05 million. Last season drew 142 purse seine and 105 set gillnet permit holders.