ADF&G extends Section 13-B seine opening 15 hours on pink uptick

Purse seiners working West Crawfish Inlet and Shamrock Bay get an extra day on the water. The Alaska Department of Fish and Game extended the Section 13-B opening, which began at 5 a.m. Thursday, Aug. 6, through 8 p.m. Friday. "Due to an increase in pink salmon abundance observed today, fishing time for the West Crawfish Inlet and Shamrock Bay purse seine fishery in Section 13-B will be extended," the department said.

The opening runs east of 135 degrees 16.00 minutes west longitude and south of 56 degrees 50.30 minutes north latitude, with Cedar Pass closed south of 56 degrees 48.02 minutes north. "All other lines, times, and restrictions described in the Southeast Alaska salmon purse seine fishery announcement issued on August 4, 2026, will remain in effect," the department said. The department identified the corresponding order as Emergency Order 1S5626. Aaron Dupuis, Sitka area management biologist, is the named contact.

The extension follows a rough stretch for pink salmon counts. ADF&G's Point Gardner and Kingsmill test fisheries recorded harvests far below their 10-year averages for four straight weeks through July 19. A July 25 department update showed improvement: the July 24 Point Gardner harvest came in above its 10-year average, and the July 20 Kingsmill harvest matched its average. ADF&G's preseason projection for Southeast pinks this year is 19 million fish, with an 80% prediction interval of 13 to 30 million. The abundance cited in this order reflects a single day's inseason observation in the Section 13-B area, and it does not establish a sustained or regionwide increase.

The stakes extend beyond one section. Southeast Alaska's purse seine fleet fished 197 permits in 2024, and common-property purse seine fisheries brought in an estimated $36.2 million in ex-vessel value that year. ADF&G adjusts commercial fishing time inseason based on observed abundance, and this order applies only to the specified Section 13-B waters.