Ship Creek limit rises to six non-king salmon a day Friday

Anglers on Ship Creek may keep six salmon a day starting at 12:01 a.m. Friday, Aug. 7, after state surveys counted more than 1,100 coho moving past the sport fishery and into the hatchery reach. The higher bag and possession limit, six eligible salmon per day and six in possession, runs through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, Dec. 31. It applies to salmon other than king salmon that measure 16 inches or longer, in any combination of coho, chum, sockeye and pink.

The change covers the Ship Creek drainage from the mouth upstream to the cable 100 feet downstream of the Chugach Power Plant dam. Fish are still entering the creek daily, and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game said the return is expected to fill coho broodstock needs at the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish Hatchery while leaving fish for natural spawning and viewing. This is not a one-off move: the department raised the Ship Creek limit to six fish in July 2025 after a similar count of roughly 1,100 coho reached upstream waters, part of a pattern of in-season adjustments as returns rise and fall.

"Survey counts of Ship Creek indicate there are adequate numbers of hatchery-produced coho salmon in the creek to meet broodstock goals and more harvest opportunity can be provided," Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth said.

Kings are a separate matter. Under an emergency order issued July 1, king salmon may not be retained for the rest of the year and must be released immediately. Alaska News previously covered the sequence that brought the fishery here: an 11-day closure in early July over a king shortfall at the hatchery, then a reopening with king retention banned. The department moves the other direction too. In August 2024 it cut the Ship Creek coho limit to one fish, citing a low run and broodstock needs.

One rule worth remembering at the bank: a coho 16 inches or longer that is lifted from the water must be kept, and it counts against the bag of whoever hooked it. Questions go to Blain-Roth at 907-267-2186 or Assistant Area Management Biologist Donald Arthur at 907-267-2225.