Yakutat opened a short sockeye gillnet fishery, with kings still off-limits

Most Yakutat District waters opened to commercial set gillnetting for sockeye for three days in mid-August, but king salmon stayed off-limits — part of a pattern of closures this year as the Situk River's king run has declined. The neighboring Yakataga District opened on the same schedule.

Any Chinook caught dead in a net couldn't be kept for sale. Fishermen had to turn those fish over to a buyer or to the Yakutat Fish and Game office, which distributes them to people in need.

The terms applied to that opening only, and Fish and Game posted a newer Yakutat notice on Aug. 21; openings can change quickly by emergency order.

The department has repeatedly closed king retention this year as fewer fish return to spawn. Situk River escapement has fallen from about 1,250 kings a year between 1976 and 2007 to roughly 600 since 2008.