Nature & Outdoors
RSSNature and Outdoors in Alaska is the state's wildlife, public lands and waters, and the activities Alaskans pursue in them. It tracks hunting and fishing seasons, wildlife management decisions, and access to trails, parks, refuges and fisheries statewide.
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Week of Oct 5
Bering Sea pollock assessment moves to near-infrared aging, with microscopes as a check
Bering Sea pollock scientists are switching to near-infrared scans that age a fish ear bone in under a minute. Aging staff capacity is down about 40%.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
El Niño Kelvin wave moves up the West Coast; past ones have reached Alaska
An El Niño Kelvin wave is moving up the West Coast. Past ones have reached Alaska, but NOAA hasn't said whether this one will. Two Alaska gauges show no rise.
by Alaska News1mo ago4 min read
Fish and Game reopens Baranof Island's Necker Bay goat zone after clerical error
Fish and Game reopened Necker Bay's mountain goat hunt zone Sept. 8 after discovering a clerical error had wrongly closed it, with zero goats actually harvested against a quota of two.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Southeast Alaska sea cucumber dive fishery opens with a 1.4 million-pound cap
Alaska opened its 2026/27 Southeast sea cucumber dive fishery Monday with a 1.4 million-pound cap, down 18% from last season, with weekly openings by area until March 31, 2027.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Hilcorp seeks to fill Beluga wetlands for gas storage pad under emergency review
Hilcorp seeks emergency permit to fill 2.35 acres of Beluga wetlands for a natural gas storage pad, with public comment open through early November.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Western Gulf fishermen ask council scientists to back moving Bering Sea cod quota
Western Gulf fishermen say some Bering Sea cod spend winter in their waters, and they would like 3% to 7% of the Bering Sea quota to follow the fish there.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Council scientists back new Gulf of Alaska pollock model as survey mismatch persists
Federal scientists picked a new Gulf of Alaska pollock model, but the bottom trawl survey still won't line up with it, and nobody knows exactly why yet.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Council advisers debate studying more charter leasing of commercial halibut quota
Charter operators want room to lease more commercial halibut quota. Commercial fishermen say deal first with the boom in bareboat rentals.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
More from Nature & Outdoors
Council advisers back Bering Sea crab ceilings after the state already set its catches
Federal advisers signed off on Bering Sea crab ceilings a day after the state set its catches. The unsettled part: what to do about hybrid crab.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readInvasive pike may use Cook Inlet to reach new watersheds, ADF&G biologist says
Pike were thought to avoid salt water, but some appear to have crossed Cook Inlet. A state biologist explains how in Fish and Game's October podcast.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Cordova tests burn pile camera as violations could risk its permit
Cordova is testing a security camera at its burn pile after state regulators warned that continued violations of burning rules could shut down the facility.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min read
Forest Service contracts drinking water testing at eight Chugach National Forest sites
Forest Service hired a Michigan water-testing firm to monitor drinking water at eight Chugach National Forest sites for up to $31,600 over five years starting Sept. 30, 2026.
by Melinda Communities.News1mo ago1 min read
Japanese surimi executives visit Dutch Harbor on ASMI trade mission
Japanese surimi makers visited Dutch Harbor to push back against tariffs that treat Alaska pollock the same as Russian imports.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Bering Sea Tanner crab limit nearly triples as snow crab falls 45 percent
Alaska tripled the Bering Sea Tanner crab limit to 32.1 million pounds for winter 2026, while cutting snow crab 45% to 5.1 million pounds, with all three major crab fisheries opening Oct. 15.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
New models could cut Alaska's 2026 sablefish catch advice by nearly a third
New models could cut Alaska's 2026 sablefish catch advice by nearly a third. Longliners want a phase-in. The council sets the catch limit in December.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Alaska's 2026 fishing derby winners, from Valdez to Wrangell and Juneau
Chase Edstrom of North Pole won Valdez's Silver Salmon Derby with an 18.80-pound coho worth $10,000, the largest catch since 2010.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
About Nature & Outdoors
Nature and Outdoors in Alaska takes in the state's wildlife, public lands and waters, and the hunting, fishing and recreation Alaskans pursue in them. It spans sport, subsistence and commercial fishing, hunts for moose, caribou, elk and sheep, and access to parks, refuges and trails.
Decisions come from the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, the Board of Fisheries, the Board of Game, federal fishery managers and the National Park Service. Seasons open and close as harvest limits fill, and stocks of concern, salmon limits in contested fisheries and halibut shares between charter and commercial fleets are recurring questions. Fishing fleets and seafood plants also depend on federal relief and loan programs and on export paperwork that NOAA explains to sellers.
More from Nature & Outdoors
Craig and Klawock winter herring bait fishery opens Wednesday before harvest limit is set
Craig and Klawock winter herring bait fishery opens Wednesday, Oct. 7, six days later than last year and before the state sets a harvest limit.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
North Pacific council's SSC keeps snow crab buffer at 40%, not 50%
Alaska's Bering Sea snow crab catch ceiling rises to 12.73 kilotons after the North Pacific council's science committee kept a 40 percent safety buffer instead of increasing it to 50 percent.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Prince William Sound parallel cod season closes to pot gear at noon Wednesday
Alaska closes pot fishing for Pacific cod in Prince William Sound at noon Wednesday, Oct. 7, following a federal season closure, while longline and jig seasons stay open.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Ship Creek moose permits available online only starting Tuesday
Fish and Game opens 100 Ship Creek moose permits online Tuesday at 8 am. Last year the hunt closed after 12 days; in 2015, after four. Bring your legs.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kenai silver salmon derby canceled over unclear coho run data
Kenai Chamber canceled the 2026 Silver Salmon Derby over unclear coho run data, and Fish and Game cut the daily coho limit to two fish through November.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Southeast winter troll king season opens Oct. 11, with five inside areas closed
Southeast's winter king troll season opens Oct. 11 and runs to March 15 or a 45,000-fish cap. Five inside areas stay closed to protect wild fish.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Yakutat set gillnetters must donate any Situk king that dies in the net
Yakutat gillnetters cannot keep any Chinook salmon through Oct. 7 and must donate dead kings because the Situk River run fell far short of its escapement goal.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
EPA ties rise in health-based water violations to missed service-line inventories
EPA records list 67 Alaska water systems with health-based violations for a missed service-line inventory, a filing EPA groups with contamination.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Week of Sep 28
TM059 moose hunt in Unit 1D closes Monday night at 24 bulls
Alaska Fish and Game closed the TM059 moose hunt in Unit 1D early Monday night after hunters reported 24 bulls, meeting or exceeding the 20 to 25 bull harvest limit.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal managers raise Bering Sea perch, rockfish and flatfish catch limits
Federal fisheries managers raised Bering Sea catch limits for three groundfish species by 3,961 metric tons starting Oct. 30, drawing from reserves without risking overfishing.
by Alaska News1mo ago2 min read
Ketchikan Indian Community asks judge to halt Shelter Cove timber sale before contract award
Ketchikan Indian Community and two conservation groups asked a judge to halt the Shelter Cove timber sale before the Forest Service awards a logging contract.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readFrom 
Eagle Glacier to Sawmill Creek goat hunt in Unit 1C closes Sunday night
Alaska closes the Eagle Glacier to Sawmill Creek goat hunt in Unit 1C after Sunday, October 4, through June 30, 2027, citing low population counts and poor recovery since a severe 2006/2007 winter.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kodiak waste board passes bear resolution after softening its wording
Kodiak's waste board approved a bear management resolution Sept. 9, softening it from a directive to a recommendation as the landfill stays out of compliance with state rules.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
State reviews Bering Sea crab catch calculations Wednesday
Fish and Game reviews its Bering Sea crab catch numbers Wednesday. Last season's limits went up for red king, snow and Tanner crab. This season's? Stay tuned.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Every preregistered Bering Sea crab boat is selected for observer coverage
Every Bering Sea crab boat that preregistered for winter fishing must now carry a state observer or risk delayed fishing, with skippers needing to give 10 days' notice to the contractor.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Kodiak Island Borough plans bear hazing at landfill Monday as bear reaches resident's door
A Kodiak resident says a brown bear had its paws on his front door Wednesday night. Fish and Game and troopers plan to haze bears out of the landfill Monday.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Southeast Alaska gillnetters caught less salmon this year but expect higher pay
Southeast gillnetters caught less of every salmon species than average this year, but prices are way up, so the paycheck should be bigger. Not a bad trade.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Cordova science center gets NOAA grant to rebuild Prince William Sound ocean profiler
Prince William Sound's robotic ocean sensor runs on a computer and battery nobody makes anymore. A $354,971 federal grant aims to fix that problem.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Troopers cite Soldotna man for leaving edible moose meat on carcass
Alaska Wildlife Troopers cited a Soldotna man for leaving edible meat on a moose carcass three days after killing it, requiring a court appearance in November.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Western Gulf of Alaska Pacific ocean perch fishery closes through Dec. 31
Federal managers closed the Western Gulf of Alaska's Pacific ocean perch trawl fishery Thursday. The fleet hit its 2026 limit, the year's fourth perch closure.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Girdwood Trails Committee seeks comment on grant bid to restore Beaver Pond Trail
Girdwood's trails committee wants a federal grant to fix the Beaver Pond Trail's drainage and water crossings. Residents can weigh in by Oct. 30.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readFrom 
Chitina dip net permit holders must report online by Oct. 15
Chitina dipnetters: report your 2026 harvest online by Oct. 15, even if you got skunked. Miss it, and your whole household sits out next season.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min read
Federal regulators approve Norton Sound group's trade of unused flatfish quota for 900 tons of rock sole
Nome-based NSEDC traded unused flathead and yellowfin sole quota for 900 more metric tons of rock sole, so its community quota fleet can keep fishing.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
Federal managers weigh permit letting a Bering Sea trawler donate halibut it now must discard
One Bering Sea trawler could give food banks the halibut it now has to throw overboard, under a federal permit open for comment through Oct. 16.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min read
