Weak sockeye run tightens fishing at Saltery Creek, twice in two days

A no-show sockeye run at Kodiak's Saltery Creek has triggered two restrictions in two days, one for subsistence fishers and one for anglers, both taking effect at 12:01 a.m. Thursday.

Only 7,454 sockeye had crossed the Saltery Cove weir by July 26, when more than half the run usually has. Fish and Game no longer expects the escapement goal of 15,000 to 35,000 fish to be met on a system that averages about 37,000. Area biologist Tyler Polum said the run looks smaller than recent years and the water is exceptionally low, though reduced harvest and rain should help fish move upstream.

For subsistence users, the department is restoring the normal closed waters, closing the extra room they'd been given. For sport anglers, the daily sockeye limit drops from five to two through Dec. 31, with possession capped at two.

Neither limit is locked in. The department may loosen up if counts improve or tighten further if fish keep coming in short. Saltery has swung hard the other way before: a 2023 emergency order pushed the sport bag to 10 fish a day.

The squeeze compounds another. The nearby Buskin is already closed to sockeye through year's end, and when it closes Kodiak households lean on exactly these waters to make up the difference. Commercial seine districts stay on their scheduled openings.