Alaska Department of Fish & Game

State plans to replace worn-out docking structures at Auke Bay ferry terminal

The state wants to replace rotting, corroded docking structures at Juneau's Auke Bay ferry terminal. Red king crab habitat already moved its dump site.

by Walter AlaskaNews19h ago2 min read

Mountain goat hunt south of Tracy Arm closes early after hunters reach limit

Hunters have reached the mountain goat limit south of Tracy Arm, so the state shuts that hunt Friday night, 17 days early. The same thing happened last year.

by Bill AlaskaNews20h ago2 min read

State cuts next spring's Sitka Sound herring limit 17% as its forecast drops

Fish and Game cut the 2027 Sitka Sound herring harvest limit to 28,980 tons, 17% below 2026's. The agency admits its 2026 forecast overshot actual herring numbers by 14%.

by Walter AlaskaNews20h ago2 min read

Fish board opens comment on Cook Inlet drift gillnet rules it adopted in March

The Board of Fisheries wants comments on Cook Inlet drift fleet limits it passed in March, which never took effect. A second vote is likely in January.

by Bill AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

State wants Tier II rationing ready as Fortymile caribou herd declines

The Fortymile caribou herd fell from 83,000 to under 30,000, and the state wants a Tier II rationing plan ready. Tok-area hunters start weighing in Tuesday.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

State cuts Craig and Klawock herring harvest limit 28% as forecast drops

Fish and Game cut the Craig and Klawock herring harvest limit 28% this season, to 5,135 tons, after forecasting fewer spawning herring than last year.

by Walter AlaskaNews1d ago2 min read

Kodiak's salmon catch fell a third below average, but the season paid more than usual

Kodiak's salmon fleet caught a third fewer fish than usual this summer but was paid more than average. Westside king runs missed their goals again.

by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago2 min read

Area M's June chum catch was near average as fish board moves to reconsider voided limits

Area M caught nearly 500,000 June chum this year with no cuts, after the state voided limits on the fishery. Now the fish board is moving to reconsider them.

by Walter AlaskaNews2d ago4 min read

Troopers seek tips after moose found near Palmer with only its antlers taken

Someone took only the antlers from a moose near the Matanuska River in Palmer and covered the rest with brush. Wildlife Troopers want to know who.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2d ago1 min read

Fish and Game takes caribou permits to three Bristol Bay villages

Fish and Game staff will hand out caribou permits in Levelock, Igiugig and Kokhanok before a Dec. 1 hunt near Iliamna Lake. It ends early if hunters reach 100.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago3 min read

Caribou hunt on remote Unimak Island reopens Nov. 15 after fall quota goes unmet

Hunters took fewer than 100 caribou on remote Unimak Island this fall, so the state is reopening the hunt Nov. 15. Last year's hunters got one.

by Bill AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read

Tanana Chiefs plans advocacy workshop as Board of Game takes up Ambler Road hunting

Tanana Chiefs Conference will hold an advocacy workshop Nov. 20, the day the Board of Game takes up an Ambler Road hunting closure TCC wanted five times wider.

by Maggie AlaskaNews4d ago2 min read

Tanner crab fishing stays closed around Kodiak, Chignik and South Peninsula in 2027

No Tanner crab season off Kodiak, Chignik or the South Peninsula this winter, the second in a row. Surveys found crab, just not enough to make a fishery.

by Bill AlaskaNews4d ago2 min readFrom Nov 2

Prince William Sound salmon value falls 45% below average as pink harvest hits a 1970s low

Prince William Sound's salmon were worth just over half the usual this year. Seiners averaged $74,100, down from $223,000 last year, as pinks hit a 1970s low.

by Bill AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read

Fish and Game forecasts a strong 49 million sockeye run in Bristol Bay next summer

Fish and Game forecasts 49.3 million Bristol Bay sockeye for 2027, a "strong" run after this year's dip below 50 million. Its forecasts have run low on average.

by Bill AlaskaNews5d ago2 min read

Fish and Game's wildlife storytelling night returns to Palmer Nov. 13

Fish and Game's wildlife storytelling night returns to Palmer Nov. 13. Last year's had a bear hunt, a harrowing outhouse trip and real moose in the parking lot.

by Maggie AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

Unharvested shrimp rolls into winter limit in a lightly fished Southeast trawl fishery

Shrimp trawlers near Wrangell and Petersburg can catch up to 250,000 pounds this winter. So few boats are fishing that their catch is confidential.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

Fish and Game closes Uganik and Uyak herring districts in the Kodiak Area

Fish and Game closed Uganik and Uyak to commercial herring fishing Friday, leaving six Kodiak districts open. The notice does not say why the two closed or how much herring was caught.

by Bill AlaskaNews6d ago2 min read

Ambler Road hunting closure up for Nov. 20 vote traces to a confidential agreement

The Board of Game votes Nov. 20 on closing a strip along the Ambler Road to hunting and trapping. A confidential road memo called for backing one.

by Walter AlaskaNews6d ago4 min read

Follows: Board of Game moves Ambler Road hunting closure up to a Nov. 20 web conference

Prince of Wales wolf trapping season stays at 31 days as estimate dips below state goal

Prince of Wales trappers get their usual 31 days on wolves this winter, though the wolf estimate slipped below the state's new target of 200 to 300.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Fish and Game closes West Behm Canal to sea cucumber divers for the rest of the season

Fish and Game shut West Behm Canal to sea cucumber divers for the season after they hit the harvest cap. It's the third Southeast area closed this season.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Gambier Bay king crab fishery planned for 28 hours is now scheduled for 124

Gambier Bay's king crab fishery was supposed to last 28 hours. After a reopening and an extension, it's now scheduled for 124, with no word on the catch.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest forecast at 67 million fish, most since 2013

Biologists forecast a 2027 Southeast Alaska pink salmon harvest of 67 million, the most since 2013. They also sped up the net behind the forecast.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago3 min readFrom Oct 28

Alaska won't hold a Nelchina caribou hunt next year, weeks after proposing one

Alaska's new hunt booklet says there will be no state Nelchina caribou hunt next year, weeks after the state proposed reopening one on the growing herd.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Geoduck divers near Ketchikan get two more days, with a 400-pound limit each

Divers get two more days to dig geoducks near Ketchikan, but only 400 pounds each of a clam that can live past 100. Up to four can share a boat.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

State skips Kuskokwim subsistence salmon survey after grant request goes unfunded

Fish and Game skipped its door-to-door count of Kuskokwim subsistence salmon harvests this year after its federal grant request went unfunded.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago2 min readFrom Oct 27

State asks Board of Game to restore wolf removal for Mulchatna caribou after court ruling

Fish and Game wants wolves back in the Mulchatna predator control program after a court struck them out. The Board of Game decides Dec. 2 whether to take it up.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Troopers arrest Palmer man on DUI charge after pickup hits moose in Wasilla

Troopers arrested a Palmer man for DUI after his pickup hit a moose on the Palmer-Wasilla Highway bridge Monday.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

State estimates more legal-size king crab in Southeast, but the catch limit barely moved

The state says Southeast has 25% more keeper-size red king crab this year. The catch limit barely budged and still just clears the bar for a season.

by Bill AlaskaNews1w ago1 min readFrom Sep 11

Kodiak sea cucumber divers get a 13-day opening after forecasts show no gale warnings

No gale warnings in the forecast, so Kodiak's sea cucumber divers get 13 days. Fifty divers fished it in 1993; eight permits did in the 2023/24 season.

by Walter AlaskaNews1w ago1 min read

Southeast charter fleet tops its halibut share for a sixth straight year

Southeast's charter halibut fleet has topped its catch share six years running as size limits tightened. Fishery managers take up 2027 limits in December.

by Maggie AlaskaNews1w ago2 min read

Fish board plans a second vote on Cook Inlet drift limits that never took effect

The fish board voted in March to rein in Cook Inlet's drift fleet. The rules never took effect, and now it'll vote on them again, likely in January.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Federal managers close subsistence elk hunt on Afognak refuge lands for the season

Federal managers closed Afognak refuge elk hunting for the rest of 2026 after harvest hit 15% of the Waterfall Lake herd.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fish board agrees to reconsider Area M salmon limits the state voided in May

The fish board voted 4-3 to reconsider Area M salmon limits the state voided in May. The member whose ethics violation led to that voted yes each time.

by Alaska News2w ago3 min read

Conservation group plans to sue over Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak salmon fisheries

A Washington conservation group plans to sue, saying Alaska Peninsula and Kodiak salmon fisheries catch protected Northwest kings. The state will defend them.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

State biologists recommend a 26% cut to Norton Sound red king crab limit for 2027

Norton Sound crabbers caught over their limit this summer, and the crab were record-big. State biologists want next year's ceiling cut by about a quarter.

by Walter AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

Fish board adds eight Upper Cook Inlet king stocks and Little Susitna coho to concern list

The fish board added eight Upper Cook Inlet king runs and Little Susitna coho to its worry list, bringing the inlet's troubled king stocks to 13.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago2 min read

State proposes giving North Slope Borough 320 acres in the Brooks Range foothills

The state proposed giving the North Slope Borough 320 acres in the Brooks foothills, a week after proposing it get 583 acres in the Kuparuk oil field.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago3 min read

Chignik tribal coalition sues the state months after its Area M salmon rule was voided

The Chignik Intertribal Coalition sued the state in Dillingham. The record doesn't say why, but the state voided the coalition's Area M salmon rule in May.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Fish and Game closes two Southeast sea cucumber areas and raises the weekly limit

Divers took about all the sea cucumbers allowed off Gravina Island and in Zimovia Strait, so Fish and Game closed both and raised the weekly limit elsewhere.

by Bill AlaskaNews2w ago1 min read

Follows: Gravina Island sea cucumber divers get two hours as the area's cap nearly runs out