Nature & Outdoors

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

Draft permit would let Fairbanks discharge 11.2 million gallons a day into the Tanana

Fairbanks could keep discharging up to 11.2 million gallons of treated sewage a day into the Tanana River under a draft state permit.

by Maggie 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

West Coast halibut catch falls to a fifth of June's rate as NOAA adds a sixth period

The West Coast halibut fleet can't catch its full allocation — a sign of strain in a coastwide stock, near 40-year lows, that Alaska also depends on.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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

Sitka takes household hazardous waste free for two days next month, but not lithium-ion batteries

Sitka opens free household hazardous waste collection Saturday and Sunday at the Wastewater Treatment Plant, accepting oils, paints, antifreeze, and batteries except lithium-ion types.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Nine new deep-sea sponge species confirmed in Gulf of Alaska and Aleutians

Scientists found nine sponge species new to science off Alaska, one so strange it needed its own genus. Alaska now claims 232 kinds of sponge.

by Maggie 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

NOAA is paying $735,000 for more cleanup at a site Alaska will not close

NOAA is paying $735,000 for another year of cleanup at a former weather office site, where the state has refused to close out one building yet.

by Melinda Communities.News2mo ago1 min read

Alaska Fishermen's Fund appeals council to decide denied injury claims Oct. 14

Alaska commercial fishermen whose injury claims were denied get a decision Oct. 14, reached in a closed session before the council opens its doors.

by Walter 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

Retention of Aleutian rougheye and blackspotted rockfish closed for rest of 2026

Vessels working the Central and Western Aleutian districts can no longer keep blackspotted and rougheye rockfish.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Bronson calls for bottom trawling ban in state waters at Kodiak fisheries debate

Dave Bronson called for banning bottom trawling in Alaska's three-mile state waters, the only gubernatorial candidate to propose the measure at a Kodiak debate.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Gubernatorial candidates split on Board of Fisheries overhaul

Proposals range from expanding the board to nine or eleven members to stricter recusal rules and industry-conflict guidelines.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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

Juneau's wastewater permit would be renewed despite a record of violations

Juneau's permit to discharge treated wastewater into Gastineau Channel would be renewed, though the plant has broken its limits in 12 of the last 13 quarters.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 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

Red Dog's port has carried a top-tier air violation for years with no penalty

The port shipping Red Dog's ore has carried a top-tier EPA air-pollution violation for dust for nearly six years, with no formal state enforcement.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min read

Ninety-two Alaska water systems are listed as serious violators

Ninety-two Alaska water systems are federal serious violators, close to three times the national rate. The state has not brought a formal action since 2020.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 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

Pollock official puts bycatch impact on Western Alaska runs at 1.9%

Pollock fishing in the Bering Sea reduces Western Alaska salmon returns by 1.9% on average, but a proposed cap on chum bycatch won't take effect until 2028 and tribal groups say it's still not enough.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

Bering Sea halibut boats would get a catch cap double the rest of Alaska

Bering Sea halibut boats have gone five years with no catch limit. Regulators want to fix that, at roughly double what the rest of Alaska lives with.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readFrom Sep 3

Bering Sea pollock companies are hiring at an Anchorage event

Companies that catch and process Bering Sea pollock are hiring at an Anchorage job event Oct. 29, for jobs that pay a share of the catch.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Fish and Wildlife is putting GPS collars on moose in the upper Tanana

Tetlin refuge would like a word with its moose. It is spending $94,542 on GPS collars to learn where they go and how well they are eating.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 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

BLM rule would let NPR-A operators waive subsistence conditions without public notice

A new BLM rule lets oil and gas operators in Alaska's National Petroleum Reserve waive mitigation conditions, including four protections for subsistence hunting, without public notice.

by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago3 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

Federal money will put naloxone and first aid training on remote Alaska fishing boats

A nurse whose son died of an overdose at sea started mailing naloxone to fishing boats. Federal money will now expand it across remote Alaska.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read

Doyon says the Rig 26 tundra cleanup is in its final phase

Doyon says cleanup where its Rig 26 toppled near Nuiqsut has reached its final phase, though the state hasn't independently confirmed the company's account.

by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min read

NMFS closes directed perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district

Federal fisheries closed directed Pacific ocean perch fishing in the Western Aleutian district through year-end Friday after the trawl fleet's 214-metric-ton annual allowance was reached.

by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min read