Unimak Island caribou hunt reopens Nov. 15 after fall quota goes unmet

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will reopen the Unimak Island caribou registration hunt, known as RC205, in Game Management Unit 10 at 12 am Sunday, Nov. 15, because hunters did not fill the 100-caribou harvest quota during the fall season, the department announced Monday.

Nonresidents can hunt through Dec. 31 and residents through March 31, 2027. The department can close either season earlier by emergency order.

The winter season was planned from the start. The department's emergency order for this year's hunt set the fall season for Aug. 1 through Sept. 30 and provided for a Nov. 15 reopening if the quota was not met. The winter season hunts against the same quota. The order cited a June 2025 survey that counted at least 704 caribou on Unimak Island.

The same thing happened last year, when the department opened a 2025 winter season after the fall quota went unfilled. The department's 2025 reported-harvest table lists 60 permits, seven hunters and one caribou taken, a cow, for a 14% success rate.

Hunters need a valid 2026 Alaska hunting license and an RC205 registration permit, available at the King Salmon Fish and Game office and online. Nonresidents also need a caribou locking tag. Hunters may take up to three caribou but need a separate permit for each animal. The permit is not valid on Adak Island.

Successful hunters must report to the King Salmon office, 907-246-3340, within two days of taking a caribou. Every permit holder, successful or not, must return a report within 15 days after the season closes. Reports can be mailed, turned in at any Fish and Game office, phoned in to the King Salmon office or filed through the department's online reporting portal.