Southeast gillnetters ride a strong pink run, with the season about to turn toward coho

Southeast Alaska drift gillnetters are working a well-above-average pink salmon season, and state managers say the focus will start shifting toward coho later this month or in early September. For now, the openings continue: boats in Section 1-B get five days on the water this week, and several other stretches around Petersburg, Wrangell, Haines and Lynn Canal are open into Thursday.

The picture is a patchwork, as it usually is — some areas open, others closed, and a couple extended a day or so this week as fish moved through. A few grounds stay shut entirely, including waters near Prince of Wales Island that open to gillnetting only after a qualifying purse-seine opening; the department says it will announce that separately if it happens, likely on short notice.

The strength is in the numbers. The preliminary gillnet harvest for the second week of August came to 248,975 salmon across 179 boats, which the department credited to the strong pink performance. The next gillnet announcement is due Thursday.