Nonresident yelloweye retention closes on Prince of Wales

Nonresident anglers fishing Prince of Wales Island can no longer keep yelloweye or any other demersal shelf rockfish as of Wednesday, though the Alaska Department of Fish and Game still describes bottom fishing around the island as good. Alaska residents may keep one demersal shelf rockfish per day, two in possession. The covered species include yelloweye, quillback, copper, canary, china, tiger and rosethorn rockfish. "Demersal shelf rockfish, including yelloweye, harvest closed to nonresidents August 26 and lingcod reopens for nonresidents on September 1," the department said in the Prince of Wales area report authored by Area Management Biologist Craig Schwanke.

That lingcod reopening applies to the west side of Prince of Wales south of 56 degrees latitude at Cape Decision. Nonresidents get a daily limit of one fish and an annual limit of two: one between 30 and 35 inches and one over 55 inches. Anglers must record species, date and location immediately upon landing and retaining a fish. Resident lingcod anglers keep a daily bag limit of one fish with no size limit.

The closure fits a longer pattern. In 2025, nonresidents could keep demersal shelf rockfish from July 1 through Aug. 25 with an annual limit of one fish, while residents fished under a one-per-day rule. On Jan. 26, 2026, ADF&G issued a Southeast-wide restriction shortening the 2026 demersal shelf rockfish season for nonresident anglers, a conservation measure aimed at long-lived rockfish stocks. Charter operators who run nonresident bottomfish trips typically shift toward other species once the nonresident retention window closes.

All sport fishing vessels must carry a functional deepwater release device, and released rockfish must go back to depth of capture or at least 100 feet.