Seward Lagoon youth-only king salmon fishery closes Friday night

Kids have until Friday night to reel in a king salmon at Seward Lagoon. After that, the season's over.

The lagoon is closed to sport fishing except for anglers 15 and younger, who get a summer window at king salmon that Fish and Game stocked there just for them. The returning kings aren't needed for breeding, the area biologist has said — they were put in the lagoon for kids to catch.

The closure runs on the calendar, not a fish count: at 11:59 p.m. Friday, both the lagoon and its outflow stream shut to king fishing until next year.