Cook Inlet
RSSNews from Cook Inlet, Alaska
Cook Inlet, North Gulf Coast clammers must report harvest by Dec. 31
Cook Inlet and North Gulf Coast clam diggers must file a harvest report by Dec. 31, 2026, or lose their permit next year, even if they never dug.
by Bill AlaskaNews17h ago1 min readAI
Lower Cook Inlet seiners are shut down while set netters keep fishing, days before the season ends
Lower Cook Inlet's purse seiners are shut down while set netters in the same district keep fishing, right as the salmon season closes out Aug. 15.
by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Senate majority to regulators: reconsider the rejected gas storage project, and make BlueCrest produce
Senate majority members want a rejected gas storage project revisited and an idle Cook Inlet lease produced — amid a fight over who fixes the gas crunch.
by Walter AlaskaNews4d ago3 min readAI
Upper Cook Inlet reopens to a one-king limit after a spring closure
Upper Cook Inlet anglers north of Bluff Point can keep one king salmon from Aug. 16 through Sept. 15, after a closure meant to protect declining king stocks.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
Kamishak District closed to seining after survey found fewer pinks
Alaska closes the Kamishak District to commercial salmon seining Wednesday night after an aerial survey found fewer pink salmon than expected in Lower Cook Inlet.
by Walter AlaskaNews3d ago2 min readAI
A weak coho run just shut down federal commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet
A weak coho run just closed commercial salmon fishing in Cook Inlet's federal waters through Aug. 15, and the low cap is already squeezing state gillnetters.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 6d ago1 min readAI
Cook Inlet's oil and gas discharge rules expired in 2021, and EPA is finally rewriting them
The rules for what oil and gas exploration can discharge into federal Cook Inlet waters expired in 2021 and have run on an extension. EPA is rewriting them.
by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago1 min readAI
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min readAI
Sockeye keep the drift fleet fishing while the Kenai's kings stay closed
Kasilof sockeye escapement is way past the top of its goal, so the drift fleet got another opener. The Kenai's kings are so weak the sport season never opened.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
ADF&G closes Northern District set gillnet fishing for 12 hours Monday
Alaska closes Northern District set gillnet fishing for 12 hours Monday to protect coho salmon escapement into Cook Inlet streams.
by Walter AlaskaNews5d ago2 min readAI
Convicted child abuser killed by troopers after armed standoff near Whittier
A man convicted of child sexual abuse was killed by troopers near Whittier after he armored up and pointed a gun at officers from an anchored boat, days after fleeing sentencing.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Wind advisory: 50 mph gusts and 12-foot Cook Inlet waves threaten Kenai dipnetters Thursday
Yeah, maybe think about your choices before you just haphazardly go out - I don't know. I guess that's on you. Best of luck.
by Walter AlaskaNews3w ago1 min readAI
Cook Inlet Razor Clam Harvest Now Requires a Permit
Cook Inlet razor clam diggers must now get a permit before heading out this summer, and face a December 31 reporting deadline or lose eligibility next year, even if they never dug a clam.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Cook Inlet drift fleet limited to Area 3 for a single 12-hour opener Thursday
Cook Inlet drift gillnetters get just one 12-hour opener in Area 3 Thursday, driven by coho conservation — a federal EEZ closure and state limits are squeezing the fleet's access as coho harvest runs over its cap.
by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readAI
Buried under the Kenai refuge: seismic data on a stranded Cook Inlet gas find is about to go public
As Southcentral eyes a gas shortage, old seismic data on Shadura — an undeveloped Cook Inlet gas find near Nikiski, stuck under the Kenai refuge — is set to go public.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Cook Inlet drifters get 12 more hours as Kasilof sockeye double the goal
Kasilof sockeye are running at double the escapement goal, so Cook Inlet drifters get 12 hours Monday — still two miles off the beach for the kings.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
State opens comment on $5.8 million Cook Inlet setnet relief plan
Cook Inlet's East Side setnetters get to weigh in on splitting $5.8 million in disaster relief, arriving two-plus years after the 2023 season that earned it.
by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Alaska LNG project secures financing proposals, targets 2027 construction start
Alaska LNG secured private financing to build 800-mile pipeline from North Slope to Cook Inlet, targeting 2027 construction start and 2029 gas delivery. • Needs tax stabilization law and utility regulator approval to proceed. • Export facility would sell 20 million tonnes of LNG yearly, mostly to Asia. • Project addresses Cook Inlet gas shortage and aims to lower Alaska energy costs.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Dunleavy says Alaska gas pipeline depends on property tax overhaul
Governor Mike Dunleavy urged the legislature to pass a payment-in-lieu-of-taxes bill within three weeks, calling it essential to financing what he described as the largest project in Alaska history, an LNG pipeline from the North Slope.
by Alaska News3mo ago5 min readAI
Deshka king run collapse forces Cook Inlet closures amid allocation fight
The Deshka king run is projected to come in at under half its minimum goal, and ADF&G is closing fisheries to save what's left.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
With 331 belugas left, the Park Service is chartering a boat to learn what they eat
Just 331 Cook Inlet belugas remain, so the Park Service is chartering a boat to study what they eat in winter — while critics say research alone won't save them.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min readAI
Alaska regulators say gas-line oversight hinges on federal decision
Federal regulators claim exclusive authority over Alaska's proposed North Slope gas pipeline, blocking state oversight of ratepayer costs. • The project's split into in-state and export phases may give Alaska regulators a limited role if federal jurisdiction is revisited. • Lead developer Glenfarne is targeting a final investment decision this year and first gas by 2029.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Hilcorp, ENSTAR seek leases for three Cook Inlet gas storage sites
Hilcorp and ENSTAR filed three applications to convert depleted Cook Inlet gas fields into storage facilities, a move the state says is critical as the inlet's aging reserves decline and supply reliability becomes a concern for Southcentral Alaska.
by Alaska Newsadded 2mo ago1 min readAIKing salmon closures spread across Mat-Su and West Cook Inlet as runs remain weak
Alaska closed all king salmon sport fishing in the Susitna drainage and West Cook Inlet
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Federal regulators renew HEX authorization for Cook Inlet marine-mammal harassment
Federal regulators renewed HEX Operating's permit to incidentally harass marine mammals during natural gas work in Cook Inlet through September 2027.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Cook Inlet gas production drops 60% since 2010
Cook Inlet natural gas production has dropped 60% since 2010 to 200 million cubic feet per day, leaving winter demand unmet and forcing utilities to plan for costly LNG imports starting in 2033.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
ENSTAR Caps the Price. Stedman Eyes the Debt.
ENSTAR is locking in a $16 price ceiling, but Sen. Bert Stedman argued the costs may have just moved upstream, to the tune of $3.3 billion over 30 years.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Cook Inlet beluga population still declining 16 years after listing
NOAA Fisheries is hiring an Alaska woman-owned business to photograph and identify Cook Inlet beluga whales. Bids are due June 26 for a two-year contract starting September 2026. • The Cook Inlet beluga population has dropped 75 percent since 1979 to about 331 whales and is the only endangered beluga stock in Alaska.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Southcentral utilities warn of steep rate hikes as Cook Inlet gas dwindles
MEA and ENSTAR told lawmakers Southcentral electricity and heating bills will jump $21 to $31 monthly starting in 2029 when Cook Inlet gas contracts expire and utilities switch to costlier imported liquefied natural gas.
by Alaska News2mo ago3 min readAI
Cook Inlet's salmon season opens June 22 — and could slam shut early
Cook Inlet's salmon season opens June 22. The last two years so many reds came back they went uncaught — and the rule behind that is still on the books.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Senate Panel Questions DNR Commissioner Nominee on Gas Development
The Senate Resources Committee conducted a confirmation hearing for John Crowther, the governor's nominee for Commissioner of the Department of Natural Resources.
by Alaska Newsadded 4mo ago2 min readAIOil industry opposes tax provisions in Alaska gas pipeline bill
Alaska Oil and Gas Association testified against multiple tax provisions in SB 280, warning that sections decoupling oil and gas lease expenditures and imposing new S-corp taxes could harm current operations and chill investment.
by Alaska Newsadded 3mo ago4 min readAI
Hilcorp seeks Cook Inlet gas storage lease at Beluga River — part of how Southcentral plans to get through winter as gas production declines
Hilcorp seeks gas storage lease at Beluga River in Cook Inlet to manage Southcentral's winter demand surge. • The site overlaps critical habitat for the endangered Cook Inlet beluga whale, population around 300. • Alaska Department of Natural Resources is taking public comment on the application.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
HEX Operating files to renew Cook Inlet spill plan
HEX Operating filed June 3 to renew its Cook Inlet oil spill response plan covering potential discharges up to 82,500 barrels. • The renewal comes as HEX expands drilling with state-backed financing, raising stakes for Cook Inlet salmon habitat and subsistence fishing. • Public comment period runs through July 6, with hearing requests due by June 22.
by Alaska News2mo ago2 min readAI
Senate Republicans link Cook Inlet gas decline to rural power costs
Senate Republicans warn Cook Inlet gas decline will raise rural power costs through state subsidy program. • Caucus calls energy shortage an existential crisis and pushes Legislature to build gasline instead of importing liquefied gas. • Three priorities set for special session: cut energy costs, create jobs from pipeline, manage resources for public benefit.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
NMFS issues renewal IHA to HEX Operating for Cook Inlet natural gas activities
Federal regulators renewed a permit letting HEX Operating produce natural gas in Cook Inlet while monitoring disturbance to beluga whales and other marine mammals that share the inlet.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
NOAA Fisheries declined to list Gulf of Alaska Chinook under the ESA
NOAA decided Gulf of Alaska Chinook don't qualify for ESA listing — even as Chinook closures pile up across Alaska systems.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
A coho cap could close Cook Inlet's sockeye season early, fishermen warn
Cook Inlet boats are after sockeye, but the coho they catch by accident could shut the whole season — at a limit the feds set below their own scientists' advice.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Cook Inlet gas production falls to 61 Bcf in 2025
Cook Inlet gas production fell to 61 billion cubic feet in 2025, matching annual regional demand with no winter cushion. • Daily output of 200 million cubic feet falls short of peak winter demand of 320 million cubic feet per day. • Hilcorp has drilled 192 wells since 2012 and spent $1.5 billion just to hold production steady as individual wells decline 30 to 40 percent annually. • Utilities are developing LNG import terminals to fill the gap, targeting first imports in 2027 to 2029.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Oil-company seismic data is going public — the price of a state tax credit
Oil-company seismic surveys from Cook Inlet and the North Slope are going public — the eventual price of the state tax credits that funded them — as companies hunt for new gas in a declining basin.
by Walter AlaskaNewsadded 2w ago2 min readAI