Subsistence
RSSAlaska News covers subsistence hunting and fishing regulations, seasonal closures, and harvest management across Alaska's rivers and regions.
Kenai dipnet season closes after another strong sockeye run
The Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery closed for 2026 after a late-run sockeye return near 3 million, again clearing Fish and Game's escapement goals. Kasilof stays open through Aug. 7.
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
Chitina dipnetters can keep sockeye but must release every king
Chitina dipnetters can catch sockeye but must release all kings this season, as weak Copper River runs raise an old question: which fishery fishes less first?
by Bill AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Weak sockeye run tightens fishing at Saltery Creek, twice in two days
A no-show sockeye run at Kodiak's Saltery Creek closes extra subsistence waters and cuts the sport limit from five fish to two, two restrictions in two days.
by Alaska News1mo ago1 min readAI
The state ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow
Alaska ordered Cook Inlet setnetters onto gear their permits don't allow, deepening a years-long squeeze on a fishery it controls in state waters.
by Walter AlaskaNews1mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Western Alaska leaders take food security to a circumpolar assembly
Western Alaska tribal leaders are in Nunavut for the first circumpolar Inuit assembly in nearly a decade, with food security high on the agenda.
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Chatanika River whitefish spear lottery opens July 27
Everyone loves the lottery - this one for Fish
by Maggie AlaskaNews1mo ago1 min readAI
Nine years of one-year permits in the waters where the North Slope hunts
Federal regulators are weighing a ninth straight one-year permit letting Navy research disturb whales and seals in the Beaufort and Chukchi — the waters where North Slope communities hunt.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Chisana caribou subsistence hunt opens Aug. 10 with six-bull quota
Federal subsistence permits for Chisana caribou opened July 20, with hunting August 10 through September 30 or until six bulls are taken, limited to residents of five named Unit 12 communities.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Yukon District 4 federal waters open to summer chum subsistence with selective gear only
Federal and state managers opened Yukon District 4 and Koyukuk River to summer chum subsistence harvest with selective gear only, banning gillnets to protect Chinook salmon through late July.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 News2mo ago2 min readAI
Kreiss-Tomkins documents $20 milk, absent law enforcement in 11 Yukon River villages
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jonathan Kreiss-Tomkins documented $20 milk, $12 gas, scarce law enforcement, and collapsed salmon runs across 11 Yukon River villages in a four-day boat tour.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Wrangell-St. Elias subsistence permits open July 20 for Units 11 and 12
Subsistence permits for moose, goat, caribou, and sheep in Wrangell-St. Elias opened July 20 at Copper Center and Slana through September 20 for federally qualified rural Alaska residents.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Yukon District 3 closes to fall chum and coho subsistence Saturday as treaty goals fall short
Alaska closes fall chum and coho subsistence fishing in Yukon District 3 and Innoko River on Saturday because Canadian treaty goals will not be met.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
King salmon sport fishing closed in Norton Sound fresh waters
Alaska closed sport king salmon fishing in Norton Sound fresh waters and requires immediate release of any hooked incidentally.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Copper River stays closed to commercial fishing as Chinook run tracks weak
Copper River commercial salmon fishing stays closed through at least Saturday as Chinook counts track weak, though subsistence fishers get a 12-hour window Thursday morning.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Yukon Chinook count at Eagle stands at 1,633, a third of average; ADF&G launches telemetry study
Yukon Chinook salmon are running at one-third of normal, forcing subsistence closures, and ADF&G is tagging fish to find out why.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Kodiak conservation district seeks permit to spray glyphosate in Buskin watershed
Plant plant go away come get another day. Or, you don't have to.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Chitina dipnet fishery opens full 168 hours July 20–26 as salmon surplus builds
The Chitina dipnet fishery opens for a full week starting July 20 as salmon counts finally hit targets. King salmon remain off-limits.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
A small gold permit, on a river fighting for its future
A routine gold-mining permit on a Susitna tributary is a small piece of a much bigger fight over a salmon river conservationists just named one of America's most endangered.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Kuskokwim subsistence fishing reopens as salmon run strong
Subsistence fishing is back open on the lower Kuskokwim as salmon run strong — and the state is managing the mainstem again after losing a long fight over who controls the river.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Commercial fishing opens in Kuskokwim Bay as subsistence fishing closes
Commercial fishing opened in Kuskokwim Bay's Districts 4 and 5 through July 17, with subsistence fishing closed until the 18th — a real trade-off in a region built on salmon.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
More than 200 Alaska watersheds have turned orange
Uh-ohh. More than 200 Brooks Range watersheds have turned orange in a decade as thawing permafrost releases iron and metals — rusting rivers that villages drink from and fish.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Yukon summer chum run tops 900,000 projection, opening subsistence windows across drainage
Summer chum salmon run on the Yukon River is tracking above 900,000 fish, more than double the spring forecast, opening subsistence harvest windows across most of the drainage through late July.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
The Tanana opens for chum, but the kings must all go back
A strong chum run opens a Tanana personal-use fishery near Fairbanks July 27 — but every king caught must go back alive, and subsistence fishing there stays closed.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago1 min readAI
Weak kings, strong chum: the Yukon's salmon rules split by the run
On the Yukon this week: kings are weak so restrictions continue, summer chum is strong so openings arrive, and fall chum has slipped enough to close the Lower Yukon early.
by Bill AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 News2mo ago1 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
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 AlaskaNews2mo ago3 min readAI
Peltola tours the Interior on fish and costs — into a contested field
Peltola toured Interior Alaska on salmon and cost-of-living — but it's a campaign swing, not a coronation: Sullivan works the same ground and the same bycatch issue.
by Maggie AlaskaNewsadded 2mo ago2 min readAI
Dipnetting the Kasilof? Record and clip before you stash your fish
Record and clip each salmon before it goes in your cooler, or risk a summons like the Wasilla man cited at Kasilof on June 27.
by Walter AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
Federal migratory bird subsistence rules take effect across Alaska
Alaska's spring subsistence bird harvest is older than the U.S. — and a 1916 treaty effectively banned it until 1997. This week's update continues a hunt Native communities never gave up.
by Maggie AlaskaNews2mo ago2 min readAI
