Saltery Cove sport sockeye limit drops to two fish Thursday

Anglers fishing the Saltery Cove drainage on Kodiak Island may keep only two sockeye salmon a day starting at 12:01 a.m. Thursday, down from five under the baseline 2026 sport regulations, which allowed all five fish in the combined salmon bag to be sockeye. The emergency order also caps possession at two and runs through 11:59 p.m. Dec. 31.

The driver is the weir count. Through July 26, 7,454 sockeye had passed the Saltery Cove weir, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game says roughly 58% of the run historically arrives by that date, which puts the projected total below the biological escapement goal of 15,000 to 35,000 fish.

"The run appears smaller than the last several years and the water level is exceptionally low in the drainage. With reduced harvest and future rain, it is expected that fish passage will improve in the drainage," Area Management Biologist Tyler Polum said.

Second restriction tied to the same count in two days

This is the second restriction the department has tied to that same count in two days. Alaska News previously covered Fish and Game restoring full regulatory closed waters at Saltery Creek for the subsistence fishery, also effective 12:01 a.m. Thursday. Saltery has swung the other direction before: in 2023, an emergency order pushed the sport sockeye bag up to 10 fish a day.

The two-fish limit is not fixed for the season. The department says limits may be raised if weir counts improve, or cut further if returns keep coming in short, so anglers should check its official updates before fishing.

The department says additional action may be taken in the sport fishery to adjust sockeye salmon limits in response to run strength. Fish and Game's Kodiak area office can be reached at (907) 486-1880.