Contact:
Mark Somerville
Area Management Biologist
Phone: 907-822-3309

The Chitina Subdistrict will open from 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 18 through 11:59 p.m. Sunday, June 24.
Effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 18, the Chitina Subdistrict Personal Use Dip Net Salmon Fishery is closed to the retention of king salmon for the remainder of the 2012 season. King salmon incidentally taken may not be retained and must be released immediately and returned to the water unharmed.
In summary, regulations in effect as of 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 18 for the Copper River personal use dip net fishery are as follows:
• The seasonal bag limit is a total of 15 salmon for a household of one, and 30 salmon for a household of two or more.
• Personal use fishermen must possess both their Chitina Personal Use fishery permit and a valid resident sport fishing license when fishing.
• Steelhead and king salmon cannot be kept, and must be returned to the water unharmed.
• When a harvestable surplus of 50,000 salmon or greater will be present in the Chitina Subdistrict, by emergency order, a supplemental permit for 10 additional sockeye salmon will be issued to Chitina Subdistrict personal use permit holders.
• Harvest must be recorded on the permit immediately.
• The tips of the tail of personal use caught fish must be clipped immediately upon landing a fish.
• Immediately is defined as before concealing the salmon from plain view or transporting the salmon from the fishing site. Fishing site means the location where the fish was removed from the water and became part of the permit holder’s bag limit.
During June 4 – June 10, there were 87,641 salmon counted past the Miles Lake sonar. The preseason projection for this period was 103,775 salmon, which results in a deficit of 16,134 salmon. Copper River sockeye salmon migratory timing and the previous five-year average harvest and participation rates indicate sufficient numbers of salmon available to maintain 168 hours of fishing time during the week of June 18 – June 24.
A total of approximately 9,363 king salmon have been harvested within the Copper River District commercial gillnet fishery as of June 7. This is less than half of the last 10-year average of 21,081 king salmon and 3,090 fish below the recent 5-year average of 12,453 king salmon. Through June 10, no king salmon have passed the Gulkana River counting tower. Cumulative counts from 2002 – 2011, through June 10, have averaged 35 king salmon with only 4 out of 10 years observing zero king salmon past the tower by this date.
In addition, cumulative catch rates through June 10 in the Native Village of Eyak sampling fish wheels are the lowest for this date since 2004. Copper River king salmon migratory timing and five year average harvest rates indicate insufficient numbers of king salmon to sustain a king salmon fishery in the Chitina Subdistrict and still attain a spawning escapement of 24,000 or more king salmon in the Copper River drainage.
All residents of Alaska qualify to participate in this personal use fishery. A Chitina Subdistrict Personal Use Fishing permit and a resident sport fishing license are required. There is no fee for the Chitina Subdistrict personal use fishing permit.
Public access, without a fee, to the Copper River is available in those areas where the eastern boundary of the 300’ wide O’Brien Creek Road easement reaches the ordinary high water mark of the west bank of the Copper River. Boat launch and fish wheel access to the Copper River is available via the 17b easement located upstream of the Chitina-McCarthy Bridge on the east bank of the Copper River. Public access and boat launching is also available downstream of the Chitina-McCarthy Bridge on the east bank of the Copper River within the DOT ROW where it reaches ordinary high water.
Uplands on both banks of the Copper River within the Chitina Subdistrict boundaries are private. Vehicle and foot access to the Copper River remains restricted along these private lands and at O’Brien Creek. Landowners in the area have incorporated a fee-based permit system which allows public access over their private lands. For more information on access across private lands contact Chitina Native Corporation at (907) 823-2223. Not all private land is posted. A brochure, which offers guidance into private land locations within the fishery area, is distributed with the Chitina Subdistrict personal use fishery permit. The Department urges dipnetters to respect the rights of private landowners.
Information regarding the fishery can be found at the ADF&G web site: http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=PersonalUsebyAreaInteriorChitina.main. This site provides information regarding the Upper Copper River fisheries including: fishery descriptions and summaries, maps of the subdistricts, a listing of vendors that carry the permits, and links to the sonar numbers and fishing schedule emergency orders. As in the past, changes to the fishing schedule and river conditions will be announced on the Chitina Fishery information line at 822-5224 (Glennallen), 459-7382 (Fairbanks), and 267-2511 (Anchorage). Please contact an information phone line prior to planning your trip to Chitina to ensure that the fishery will be open when you arrive. If you have any questions regarding the Chitina Subdistrict personal use fishery, please contact the ADF&G office in Glennallen at (907) 822-3309.
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