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 6
Alaska is about to burn 54,000 acres on purpose, to grow more moose
Alaska plans to deliberately burn 54,000 acres of the Alphabet Hills this month to reset old spruce into the willow and birch moose need — a bet that pays off in 5 to 15 years.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
The sockeye are running strong on the Kenai, and the state just doubled your limit
Good news for Kenai anglers and dipnetters: strong sockeye runs just pushed the daily limit to six fish on the Kenai, Russian, and Kasilof — with more dipnet room on the Kasilof, too.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A Kenai woman is mauled by a bear on her own front deck
A Kenai woman was seriously hurt when a brown bear sow attacked her on her front deck — drawn in, troopers say, by bird feeders in the yard, on a peninsula that's a bear-attack hot spot.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
The offshore fleet that sees Bristol Bay's salmon run coming
200 miles out in the Bering Sea, research boats catch a glimpse of the world's biggest sockeye run a week before it arrives — and that early-warning window is now closing for the season.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Naknek River sockeye may fall short of forecast
Even in a 45-million-fish Bristol Bay year, the Naknek River is running weak — forcing managers to ration fishing time to protect the spawning run.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Bristol Bay's sockeye run is coming in stronger than forecast
Scientists raised Bristol Bay's sockeye forecast 16% to 48.2 million — a strong run pouring in as the fleet swells, though still below the bay's recent record years.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
A busy week on the Kenai brings a run of fishing citations
Four anglers were cited in one morning on the Kenai — three out-of-staters keeping snagged sockeye, and an Anchorage woman dipnetting two days before the season opened.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Yukon Chinook sonar count 34% below average; fall chum added to concern list
Yukon Chinook count at 95,370 by July 6, down 34 percent from average and short of Alaska and Canadian escapement goals. • Fall chum designated a stock of management concern, forcing communities to restrict harvest on two salmon species at once. • Summer chum run tracking above 900,000 fish, offering some relief for subsistence harvesters.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
So few kings are left in the Situk that the state closed their last pool
The Situk's kings have nearly vanished — 100 counted at midseason — so the state closed a popular fishing hole to shield the few survivors from accidental hooking.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Free Fairbanks streambank workshop opens July 15 for landowners and anglers
Fairbanks landowners and anglers can register free for a two-day streambank restoration workshop July 15 and 16 that teaches erosion control and fish habitat work.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Tanana River chum salmon sport fishery reopens as run exceeds forecast
Tanana River sport anglers can keep three chum salmon again as of Wednesday after the run exceeded forecasts, but the broader Yukon drainage remains closed due to weak returns.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Fish and Game will bring moose permits to four Nushagak River villages
Fish and Game will hand-deliver moose permits to four Nushagak River villages this year, so hunters without road access to Dillingham don't have to make the trip.
by Alaska News4mo ago1 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska sheep hunters must complete orientation course before Aug. 10 opener
Alaska sheep hunters must complete a one-time orientation course before the Aug. 10 season opener to learn how to correctly identify full-curl rams in the field, a new requirement starting this fall.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo 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
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 AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Bristol Bay Eastside salmon fishery under rapid-sequence emergency orders
ADF&G is issuing rapid emergency orders for Bristol Bay Eastside salmon fisheries. The shifting schedule forces fishers to react to real-time sockeye run data.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Yukon River gillnet closures spread as Chinook and chum run far below average
Alaska closed all Yukon River gillnet fishing after Chinook and chum runs fell far below historic averages, with Chinook passage at Pilot Station running 41 percent below the long-term average.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Southeast Alaska pink and chum test fisheries run below average ahead of peak season
Southeast Alaska test fisheries show pink and chum salmon running below average, signaling a weaker return ahead of peak season in Frederick Sound and lower Stephens Passage.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Week of Jun 29
ADF&G extends Districts 6 and 8 drift gillnet fishery 48 hours with mesh and area limits
ADF&G extended the Petersburg-area drift gillnet fishery 48 hours through Saturday noon with a 6-inch mesh cap and subarea closures in District 8 to protect Chinook salmon escapement.
by Walter AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Kuskokwim subsistence households face empty freezers as salmon closures hold
Federal salmon closures on the Kuskokwim through July 31 are leaving subsistence households with few chances to harvest fish for winter, forcing families to buy more groceries as prices rise.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Egegik and Kvichak stocks rise at Bristol Bay's Port Moller intercept
Egegik and Kvichak sockeye stocks are now dominating the catch at Bristol Bay's Port Moller intercept station, shifting the mix managers use to decide commercial fishing openings in early July.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Nushagak king salmon run on pace for near-record low season
Nushagak king salmon run is on pace for one of its weakest seasons since 1980, triggering a subsistence closure and forcing commercial fishermen to sell or donate all kings starting July 12.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Yukon River District 4 opens for summer chum; Chinook closures hold
Yukon River District 4 opens summer chum harvest July 2 through late July, but all Chinook must be released alive under a rebuilding agreement that closes Chinook fisheries through 2030.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Five dipnetters cited at Chitina in four days, three headed to court
Troopers cited five dipnetters at Chitina in four days, three now court-bound — for keeping kings when barred or fishing when it was closed. Check before you drive out.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Council sends Kodiak Tanner crab closure to second initial review with preliminary preferred alternative
North Pacific Fishery Management Council advanced Tanner crab protection measures to a second review, selecting non-pelagic trawl restrictions while keeping closure options open for further analysis.
by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 4mo ago4 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 AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Fishing Prince of Wales for kings? The nonresident limit just dropped.
Nonresident king limits on Prince of Wales tightened July 1. Two ADF&G documents disagree — the annual cap may be as low as one fish — so confirm the number before you keep one.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
One place near Anchorage where you can still keep a king
ings are closed across the Mat-Su and Northern Cook Inlet — except Eklutna Tailrace, a stocked fishery where you can still take one home while the wild runs stay shut.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Lingcod is open outside Seward but closed inside Resurrection Bay
Lingcod season is open outside Seward, where fishing should be hot — but inside Resurrection Bay you can't even cast for one. And bring 'em back whole.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska's kings are down almost everywhere — here's the picture
From the Yukon to Kodiak to Prince William Sound, Alaska is closing or tightening king salmon fishing nearly statewide — a slow-motion decline now measured in decades, not seasons.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago3 min read
Anchorage hunters can zero rifles at free sight-in day July 8
Alaska Fish and Game hosts a free rifle sight-in day July 8 at Rabbit Creek Shooting Park, 4 to 8 p.m., with a gunsmith and chronograph on site.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska plans to burn the Alphabet Hills to grow more moose forage
Alaska plans to set the Alphabet Hills ablaze this July on purpose. Burning old black spruce regrows the willow and birch that moose, caribou, and hunters rely on.
by Maggie AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
Alaska now makes Dall sheep hunters pass a perfect-score test
Alaska now makes full-curl sheep hunters ace a 20-question quiz before hunting — because the herd is down 40 to 70 percent and every misjudged ram counts.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Ship Creek closes for 10 days as a king shortfall hits the hatchery
Anchorage's Ship Creek closes to all fishing July 3–13. A weak king return isn't meeting hatchery broodstock goals that supply fisheries across Southcentral, not just the creek.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read
In Juneau, the shellfish rules just moved in opposite directions
Juneau's shellfish rules split around July 1: personal-use king crab reopens for residents, but shrimping in Section 11-A and Tenakee Inlet stays closed with no date set.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Alaska's fall hunt is coming, and hunters still don't know the rules
Fall hunts are almost here, but Alaska's season rules are stuck in legal review with no end date, and harvest tickets are delayed. Last year's rules apply for now.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago2 min read
Bring it back whole: a catch rule for Craig and Klawock anglers
Fishing out of Craig or Klawock? Certain fish have to come back whole — so the dock crews counting them can do the sampling that keeps the fishery healthy.
by Bill AlaskaNews4mo ago1 min read