Copper River
RSSNews from Copper River, Alaska
Chitina dipnetters can keep sockeye but must release every king
Chitina dipnetters can catch sockeye but must release all kings this season, as weak Copper River runs raise an old question: which fishery fishes less first?
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as sockeye run under forecast
Copper River stays shut to commercial fishing as sockeye lag forecast; the only opening on the books is a 12-hour subsistence period Monday morning.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Chitina's dipnet window shrinks to 48 hours as sockeye falter
Chitina dipnetters get 48 hours next weekend, half the window two weeks ago, after last week's sockeye count came in 26,000 fish short.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read
Homer reverses Copper River Seafoods building plan, keeps December deadline
Homer City Council voted to scrap redesigned plans for a Copper River Seafoods facility and revert to the original 2019 building design, keeping the December construction deadline in place.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Copper River dip netters stranded on sandbar near Chitina, self-rescue before troopers arrive
Dip netters stranded on a Copper River sandbar near Chitina self-rescued Friday before troopers arrived.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
ADF&G issues four commercial salmon emergency orders across Alaska Peninsula, Kuskokwim, and Kotzebue areas in three days
ADF&G issued four emergency orders in three days for salmon fisheries. • Sand Point and Port Moller openings target sockeye and mixed stocks. • Kuskokwim Bay and Kotzebue Sound orders adjust chum salmon harvest rules. • Fishermen must track shifting schedules as run conditions dictate changes.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
PWS sockeye season ends with low returns as fleet pivots to coho
Prince William Sound sockeye season ended with historically low returns, forcing commercial fishers to chase coho in August to recover lost income.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Copper River king salmon closed to sport fishing; Chitina dipnetters barred from keeping kings all season
Alaska closed Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishing and barred Chitina dipnetters from keeping any kings this season due to a weak forecast of 33,000 fish, 27% below the 10-year average.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as Chinook run tracks weak
Copper River commercial salmon fishing stays closed through at least Saturday as Chinook counts track weak, though subsistence fishers get a 12-hour window Thursday morning.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Chitina dipnet fishery opens full 168 hours July 20–26 as salmon surplus builds
The Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting July 20 as salmon counts finally hit targets. King salmon remain off-limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishery closed through August 10
Alaska closes all Upper Copper River king salmon sport fishing from July 10 through August 10 after the lowest run count on record threatens the escapement goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Chitina dip net fishery cut to 96 hours as Copper River salmon run behind
Alaska Fish and Game cut the Chitina dip net season to 96 hours next week because the Copper River salmon run is running 30,600 fish behind schedule and sockeye escapement goals are at risk.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Three cited at Chitina dipnet fishery over July 4 weekend; one faces mandatory court date
Three fishers cited at Chitina dipnet fishery during July 4 weekend opening; one Fairbanks man faces mandatory court for retaining a king salmon in violation of emergency order.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Bush plane tips on Copper River sandbar during fishwheel check; no injuries
A bush plane tipped on a Copper River sandbar Friday while landing to check a fishwheel, sustaining minor damage with no injuries.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
The Copper River's sockeye run just hit a 40-year low
The Copper River is running its worst sockeye return in 40 years — so bad Alaska closed the popular Chitina dipnet fishery, even with no commercial boats fishing the river.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A fisherman feared lost, as Bristol Bay's run shows strain
A crew member is feared dead after going overboard near Egegik Bay, as record-low sockeye counts force fishery closures and troopers cite fishermen across Bristol Bay.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Weak Copper River runs bring king closures and a Chitina dipnet shutdown
Copper River salmon are running weak, so kings are now off-limits in Upper Copper sport fishing from July 6, and the Chitina dipnet closes July 6–12.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Cordova's fishermen are getting a new dock — and losing "the slowest crane in harbor"
Cordova cleared the way for a new offloading dock at Camtu's Alaska Wild Seafoods — retiring what one council member called "the slowest crane in harbor."
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish
Record and clip each salmon before it goes in your cooler, or risk a summons like the Wasilla man cited at Kasilof on June 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
In Prince William Sound, the one-king summer is the new normal
Prince William Sound's one-king limit isn't a new emergency — it's the rule now, the same restriction as last year, as wild kings stay thin and only hatchery zones stay generous.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Why Alaska is giving out-of-staters more kings as the runs falter
Alaska just doubled out-of-staters' king limit in Southeast even as kings struggle elsewhere — because these are treaty-quota ocean fish, and visitors foot much of the state's fishing-budget bill.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Washington Man Cited for Keeping Snagged Sockeye on Russian River
A Washington angler got cited for keeping a snagged sockeye on the Russian — where "hooked in the mouth or it's poaching" isn't fussiness, it's how Alaska keeps the run honest.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Copper River Kings Hit a Record Low — and Limits Drop
The Copper River's king run is the worst on record, so Alaska is cutting anglers from four fish to one — betting this summer's catch against next year's spawn.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Federal rule renames Alaska subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory
Federal wildlife officials renamed the Upper Copper River subsistence bird-harvest region as Ahtna Territory and aligned spring and summer harvest dates to match local Indigenous Knowledge.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Both cranes on Cordova's Drive Down Dock are out of service at the height of Copper River salmon season
Bad timing for fishing season as Cordova Drive down dock crane is not up to snuff
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Chitina opens full 168-hour dipnet week starting Monday, even as counts run behind projection
Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting Monday, June 15, despite sonar counts running about 5,600 salmon below projection for early June.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
The navigability question that's been simmering since Alaska statehood just got four more answers
The federal government has formally cleared its claim to submerged lands beneath four Alaska rivers and lakes, affirming state ownership in a dispute that has simmered since statehood and will likely take decades more to fully resolve.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Hatchery groups cite NOAA Chinook decision as validation
NOAA found Gulf of Alaska Chinook salmon do not warrant endangered-species protection, a decision hatchery operators cite as validation of their management but that critics say masks weaker local populations.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
ADF&G opens Copper River drift gillnet fishery Thursday for 24 hours
Alaska Department of Fish and Game opens Copper River drift gillnet fishery for 24 hours starting 7 a.m. Thursday, June 26, targeting sockeye salmon while monitoring Chinook conservation limits of 21,000 to 31,000 fish.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Southcentral Foundation offers cultural education classes in June
Southcentral Foundation's Traditional Healing Clinic offers Alaska Native cultural classes in late May and early June, including Ahtna language, traditional food prep, and craft skills like kuspuk sewing in Anchorage.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 min read
Alaska opens Chitina dipnet fishery despite Copper River run 55% low
Alaska opened the Chitina dipnet fishery for 60 hours starting Friday despite the Copper River salmon run running 55 percent below target for early June, with subsistence fishers already reporting low catches upstream.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
DOT&PF lifts weight limits on Dalton, Elliott highways; dozens of Interior roads still restricted
Elliott and Dalton highways lifted all seasonal weight limits Friday. • Parks, Richardson, Glenn, and Alaska highways returned to summer permitting. • Dozen Interior roads remain restricted to 50 to 100 percent of legal axle load.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Chitina dipnet fishery tentatively set for June 10; low rivers and ice flows could delay opening
Alaska Department of Fish and Game tentatively set the Chitina Personal Use dipnet fishery to open June 10, but low river levels and ice flows from Miles Lake could delay the opening pending sonar salmon counts in early June.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
DEED seeks Interior, Northwest parents for migrant education council
Alaska's education department seeks two parents from Interior and Northwest regions by May 31 to join the council that guides the migrant education program for students whose families move for seasonal work.
by Alaska News4mo ago2 min read
Late breakup delays Chitina dipnet season; salmon run expected late
Chitina dipnet season tentatively opens June 10, delayed by late ice breakup and expected late salmon passage at Miles Lake sonar.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min readAlaska House passes fisheries tax credit expansion unanimously
Alaska House unanimously approved a bill extending a tax credit for seafood processors through 2037 and expanding it to all fish species, aiming to help the industry during poor market conditions.
by Bill AlaskaNews5mo ago3 min readUpper Copper River king salmon fishery requires new permit in 2026
King salmon anglers in the Upper Copper River must get a free individual permit this season and report any fish 20 inches or longer by August 31.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min readMcCarthy Road opens for season with difficult conditions, 35 mph advisory
McCarthy Road opened May 8 for the season with a 35 mph advisory due to soft shoulders, potholes, and rough conditions on the 60-mile gravel route to McCarthy and Kennicott.
by Alaska News5mo ago2 min read