Manages Alaska's sport and commercial fisheries, hunting regulations, subsistence harvests, and wildlife conservation. Sets annual seasons, bag limits, and permit rules.
Photo by Lisa Hupp, USFWS, via Flickr · Photo source · Public domain
adfg.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
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Week of Jul 27
Alaska opens all of Togiak to fishing with the sockeye count far below goal
Alaska is opening the whole Togiak District to commercial fishing with the sockeye count at a fraction of its goal — and no stated reason why.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kenai dipnetting goes 24 hours as sockeye run hits 3 million
Daaaaang! Kenai sockeye are running hot — 3 million projected — so dipnetting goes 24 hours a day through Friday's season close. Residents only, and kings go back.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Week of Jul 20
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim mainstem reopens early as six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum
Strong sonar counts returned the Kuskokwim mainstem to state management July 13, but six spawning tributaries stay closed to Chinook and chum through July 31.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes so commercial boats can fish
Kuskokwim Bay subsistence fishing closes Monday through Friday so the same waters can open to commercial fishing — the latest such swap this month.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Southeast shrimp fishery closes, and three areas won't reopen
Southeast's commercial shrimp fishery closes in eight areas July 31, and three won't reopen this fall or winter as shrimp numbers keep sliding.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Frederick Sound chum stays below average as pink salmon rebound
Chum Slumps. Chum Slumps. Chum Slumps.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A Kodiak king salmon collapse is squeezing everyone who fishes
Just 93 king salmon reached the Karluk to spawn last year, against a goal of 3,000-plus. That collapse is why Kodiak's fleet is fishing on the clock.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago1 min read
Cook Inlet clammers need a permit, and the east-side beaches stay empty
You now need a permit to dig razor clams on Cook Inlet — though on the Kenai's east-side beaches, closed since 2015, there is almost nothing left to dig.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Strong escapement at one weir is driving long Alaska Peninsula openings
One weir at Orzinski counts salmon for the whole South Alaska Peninsula. It's running above average, and the openings have gotten long to match.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A dog reported killed in the Bear Valley bear attack turned up alive
The dog reported killed in Saturday's Bear Valley bear attack is alive and unhurt — another hiking party found it and brought it home.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Togiak sockeye escapement far below goal as fishing cuts loom
Low Fish counts lead to questions on season in Togiak
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min readFrom 
Fish Creek dipnet fishery opens Sunday for Alaska resident dipnetters
More fishing more fish
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
Bristol Bay sockeye limit stays at 10 fish through year's end in Wood River and Nushagak-Mulchatna drainages
Bristol Bay doesn't seem to be having the problems with fish the rest of the state is.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
High water has Southcentral anglers waiting it out
Flooding has Southcentral anglers mostly sidelined — weirs underwater, creeks blown out, and 12-foot waves hitting the Kenai dipnet beaches.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Coming up
Shaped by Wildlife: Stories of encounters, harvests, and traditions
Glenn Massay Theater, Palmer, Alaska
Performance
Upper Tanana Fortymile Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting
Meeting
Ketchikan Fish and Game Advisory Committee Meeting
Meeting
Northern Alaska Peninsula Caribou Hunt (RC504) Opens
Sports event
NPFMC Charter Halibut Management Committee - 12/02/2026
Meeting
About Alaska Department of Fish & Game
Photo by Lisa Hupp, USFWS, via Flickr · Photo source · Public domain
adfg.alaska.gov ↗Alaska
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is the State of Alaska agency that manages sport, commercial and subsistence fisheries, hunting and wildlife conservation. Its divisions include Sport Fish, Commercial Fisheries, Wildlife Conservation and Subsistence.
The department sets seasons, catch and bag limits and permit rules, opening and closing fisheries as harvest limits are reached. It surveys anglers and subsistence households, estimates crab and salmon stocks to set harvest levels, issues hunt and dip net permits, and offers outdoor education classes.
Fish and Game brings proposals to the Board of Fisheries and the Board of Game, which adopt the regulations it carries out, and Wildlife Troopers enforce them. Recurring questions include predator control for declining caribou herds, salmon allocation disputes that reach the courts, and crab limits in the Bering Sea.
More from Alaska Department of Fish & Game
Chatanika River whitefish spear lottery opens July 27
Everyone loves the lottery - this one for Fish
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Ketchikan Creek opens to dip netting for hatchery king salmon
Kings are closed across much of Alaska, but Ketchikan Creek just opened to dip netting for hatchery Chinook. Wild ones go back. Residents only, net in hand.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Southeast's Dungeness season closes early on a 25-year-low harvest
Southeast's summer Dungeness season closes three weeks early Saturday on the worst harvest estimate in 25 years. Sea otters are part of the long story.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Three salmon runs are down at once on Prince of Wales
Kings, coho, and pinks are all below average on Prince of Wales, and coho harvest is half last year's. The island needs rain to move fish into the creeks.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Past three miles, Alaskans fish like nonresidents
Alaskans lose resident fishing limits the moment they cross into federal water — and keeping a big lingcod inshore can shut you out of the EEZ entirely.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo 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 AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Too few goats, too easy to reach: South Baranof stays closed
South Baranof stays closed to goat hunting a second year running — too few goats, and too easy to get to, which is exactly the problem.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
A storm hits Norton Sound just before Friday's gillnet opening
A Bering Sea storm hits Norton Sound Thursday with 45 mph gusts and 9-foot seas, a day before a 24-hour commercial gillnet opening.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
No Juneau beach is tested for the toxin in clams
No Juneau-area beach is regularly tested for the toxin in clams that can stop your breathing — and cooking does not destroy it.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Five muskoxen are stuck on a 15-acre island, so Alaska is opening a hunt
Five muskoxen wandered onto a 15-acre island with no water and no way off. Alaska can't afford to move them, so it's opening a hunt instead.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Alaska closes District 4 subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho starting Wednesday
Alaska closes subsistence fishing for fall chum and coho salmon in District 4 starting Wednesday because the 2026 run is projected too weak to meet Canadian treaty obligations.
by Alaska News3mo ago2 min read
ADF&G extends Northwest Stepovak commercial salmon fishing 48 hours
Alaska Fish and Game opened Northwest Stepovak commercial salmon fishing for 48 hours starting July 12 noon, allowing purse seine and set gill net boats a brief window near Renshaw and Dent points.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min readFrom 
Kotzebue chum fishery opened Sunday, but only one buyer is registered to purchase fish
Kotzebue chum fishery opened Sunday with five fishing windows, but only one buyer is registered to purchase fish this season.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
Five dipnetters cited at Kenai personal use fishery for recordkeeping violation
Five people were cited July 18 at the Kenai dipnet fishery for failing to record salmon catches in ink before hiding or moving the fish, a violation that can cost future fishing privileges.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Week of Jul 13
Alaska Zoo female bear moved to solitary enclosure after June attack; ADF&G release came 32 days later
A female brown bear at the Alaska Zoo was moved to solitary housing after a June 14 fight with a male bear; both animals recovered, but the state did not announce it publicly until July 16.
by Maggie AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Brown bear injures hiker on Bear Valley trail above south Anchorage
A brown bear injured a hiker on a social trail above Bear Valley in south Anchorage on Saturday, prompting Fish and Game to post warning signs and urge hikers to travel in groups and carry bear spray.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 3mo ago2 min read
Southeast Alaska pink salmon counts fall far below average for fourth straight week
Pink salmon catches in Southeast Alaska have plummeted to 5 to 10 percent of normal for four weeks, prompting Fish and Game to consider cutting commercial fishing openings.
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
Southeast troll Chinook season stretches into mid-July with half the quota still in the water
Southeast Alaska's commercial Chinook troll season is running longer than expected because fewer boats are fishing and catch rates are slow, leaving about half the quota still available in mid-July.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago2 min read
Togiak sockeye count far below expectations, fishing cuts likely next week
Togiak sockeye count hit just 8,340 by mid-July, far below the 120,000 minimum needed, forcing Alaska Fish and Game to likely cut fishing time for gillnet permit holders next week.
by Bill AlaskaNews3mo ago1 min read
North Slope bearded seal hunters asked to save jaws for 2026 study
North Slope Borough is asking bearded seal hunters to save jaws and heads from their catch this year for a state study on seal population genetics.
by Walter AlaskaNews3mo ago1 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