Alaska Department of Fish & Game

Southeast king crab registration closes Oct. 2 ahead of a Nov. 1 opening

Southeast Alaska crabbers have until Oct. 2 to register for the red and blue king crab season, which opens Nov. 1 with a quota of about 213,000 pounds.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Prince William Sound seine season ends Monday, after Friday's Cannery Creek opening

Prince William Sound seining closes for the year Monday night. The last openings reached hatchery waters that are usually off-limits to the fleet.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 9

Wrangell-St. Elias weighs 10 more days of subsistence moose hunting

Rural subsistence hunters in the Wrangell-St. Elias area could get 10 more days to take a moose this fall, with the park set to decide Monday.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

The Kenai coho limit stayed at two when it was supposed to go to three

Kenai River anglers expected the coho limit to rise to three fish on Sept. 1. It stayed at two instead, and will stay there through November.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Moose hunting closes early west of the Darby Mountains

Moose hunting west of the Darby Mountains closes Sunday, a day early, as the last of several quota-driven closures around Nome this season.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Rabies is climbing among wildlife across the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta

Rabies is rising among Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta wildlife. Foxes come in to den in village landfills in late winter, and rural dogs live outdoors.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

More than 200 coho counted at Bear Creek weir near Seward

More than 200 coho have passed through Bear Creek weir near Seward, with freshwater fishing expected to improve over the next few weeks.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: More than 100 coho have passed Bear Creek weir near Seward

Sitka loses coho fishing as weak returns leave the hatchery short

Sitka anglers lose coho fishing in Bear Cove and Deep Inlet through October after this year's silvers came back too weak for the local hatchery to spawn.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Wrangell calls the Dungeness crab decline a disaster; the state calls it the plan

Wrangell declared a local disaster over Dungeness crab and asked for federal relief. The state cut the season by formula and did not use the word.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Jul 25

Funny River hunter cited after self-reporting sub-legal moose kill

A Funny River hunter self-reported killing a bull moose that didn't meet Unit 15B legal size requirements and was cited to appear in Kenai Courthouse.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Three Kodiak westside sections now open until further notice; 54-hour period ends 6 p.m. Saturday

Three Kodiak sections are open to salmon seining until further notice. The period covering much of the rest of the area closes Saturday evening.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 2

Unimak Bight scallop grounds close tonight with the season's 7,500-pound quota filled

Alaska closed Unimak Bight to commercial scallop fishing for the rest of the 2026/27 season effective Thursday after catch reports showed the 7,500-pound guideline would be met.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Prince William Sound anglers still limited to one king salmon a day

Anglers in most of Prince William Sound are held to one king salmon a day — half the usual — through Sept. 15, under a restriction over low king numbers.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

A third Baranof Island goat zone closes early as the state guards the herd

Baranof Island's Lisa Creek goat zone closes Sept. 13 after two billies filled its quota — the third zone shut down early this year over population worries.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The Yukon's fall chum run could support a fishery, none has opened

The Yukon's fall chum run is big enough to allow a commercial fishery for the first time since 2019. The state hasn't opened one or said why.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Yukon coho are running far below normal, and even a strong chum year likely won't reopen fishing

Alaska closes another zone of the Fortymile caribou hunt

Alaska closed another zone of its Fortymile caribou hunt Friday, expecting the 100-bull limit met. Two of four state zones remain open.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Sep 1

Subsistence salmon fishing reopens on the Tanana and Yukon after closures

Subsistence salmon fishing is reopening on the Tanana and Yukon rivers after a summer of closures, as the runs recover — though the long decline isn't over.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Pile driving at a Juneau fuel dock could damage seals' hearing

Federal regulators estimate a Juneau fuel dock rebuild could expose marine mammals to pile driving noise 1,660 times, 852 of them at injuring levels.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Minnesota hunter cited for wanton waste of a caribou near Sagwon

Minnesota hunter cited for leaving edible meat unsalvaged on a bull caribou near Sagwon and removing antlers before finishing the salvage.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readFrom Aug 22

Kodiak's silver salmon are stacking up at the Buskin, waiting for rain

Kodiak's silver salmon are piling up at the mouth of the Buskin River, waiting for rain to move upstream — with only about 500 counted so far this season.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Sand Point salmon fishery gets 131-hour opening in Stepovak sections

Sand Point salmon fishery opens for 131 hours Thursday through Tuesday in five Stepovak sections for purse seine and set gillnet permit holders.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Southeast geoduck season set at 264,000 pounds, first opening planned Oct. 7

Alaska cut Southeast geoduck harvest to 264,000 pounds this season, down 40% from last year, with the first opening set for October 7 pending toxin tests.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Southeast king crab reopens for a second year after a long drought

Southeast Alaska's king crab fishery reopens Nov. 1 for a second year after seven closed seasons — a modest comeback, still barely over the legal line.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Chignik opens four districts to salmon fishing for 48 hours starting Monday

Alaska opens four Chignik districts to commercial salmon seining for 48 hours starting Monday as the region's weak king salmon run strains both fishing crews and conservation goals.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Chignik fishermen get a five-day opening, but most of the area stays closed on weak runs

Norton Sound commercial salmon fishing closed for the rest of 2026

Norton Sound's commercial salmon fishery is closed for the rest of 2026 after most of the state's fish-counting projects failed, leaving too much uncertainty.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Aug 31

Kamishak Bay pink and chum escapement runs preliminarily below goals

Pink and chum escapement in Kamishak Bay finished below their spawning targets as the Lower Cook Inlet commercial salmon season closed.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kamishak District closed to seining after survey found fewer pinks

Southeast pink seining closes at 19.8 million fish; hatchery areas stay open

Alaska Department of Fish and Game closed Southeast pink salmon seining Friday after the fleet caught 18.7 million fish at the best prices in years.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

State opens four-permit muskox hunt in Unit 26B as herd falls to 220

Alaska will issue four bull muskox permits in Unit 26B starting Oct. 1, even though the herd has crashed to 220 animals, well below the 300-animal management target.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

The Peninsula caribou hunt opens Dec. 1 without a quota set

Alaska residents can take two caribou in the Northern Alaska Peninsula hunt opening Dec. 1, though the quota will not be set until fall surveys finish.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Razor clam permit still required on Cook Inlet as September digging season runs on

Cook Inlet razor clam diggers need a subsistence permit, not the new household permit, to harvest legally this season, and east side beaches stay closed through 2027.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Two bulls close the bow-only moose hunt at Eklutna Lake, with hunters still out

Two bulls came out of the Eklutna Lake country and the bow hunt is over. That is roughly half a ton of meat taken off a herd of about seventy.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Kodiak salmon fishing extended into Sunday across multiple districts

Alaska Department of Fish and Game extended Kodiak commercial salmon fishing into Sunday across multiple districts, with closing times varying by area between 6 p.m. Saturday and 6 p.m. Sunday.

by Bill AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min read

Follows: Kodiak salmon fishing extended again, running through Wednesday evening

Koyukon elder ties Galena swallow decline to Air Force mosquito spraying in TCC bird booklet

Elder Benedict Jones links Galena's 89 percent swallow decline since 1970 to Air Force pesticide spraying, documented in a Koyukon bird knowledge booklet published by the Tanana Chiefs Conference.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Nonresident lingcod retention reopens at Prince of Wales; yelloweye stays closed

Nonresident anglers around Prince of Wales Island can keep lingcod again starting September 1, but yelloweye rockfish stays closed to them through year-end under federal harvest limits.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Seward Lagoon youth-only coho fishery extended through Oct. 5

Kids 15 and under can fish coho at Seward Lagoon through Oct. 5, two months longer than usual, while adults stay out.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Copper River dipnet and subsistence fishing runs through Sept. 30

Copper River dipnetters have until Sept. 30 to fish, closing out a below-average sockeye year — and the river gauge is down, so check conditions first.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Southeast Alaska's king crab fishery will open, barely clearing the bar

Southeast Alaska's commercial red king crab season opens Nov. 1 with a 213,076-pound quota, the fourth opening since 2006 and the second in a row after years of closures.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Unit 22C bull moose season closes 12 days early, after two days

Bull moose season in Unit 22C on the Seward Peninsula closes Sept. 2, twelve days early, after hunters are expected to fill the 30-bull quota in just two days.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Strong chum run opens Tanana coho fishing and more gear this weekend

Fairbanks-area personal use fishers can now use gillnets and keep coho salmon starting Friday, Sept. 4, after the state projects a strong fall chum run above target escapement.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Follows: Fairbanks's chum salmon fishery reopens on the Tanana on Friday

Southeast seiners get one 15-hour opening, in Sitka Sound

Southeast seiners get one 15-hour opening in Sitka Sound this week and nothing else. The fleet has thinned to 75 boats from 121 a week earlier.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read