King salmon fishing on the Karluk River will be closed beginning 12:01 a.m. Thursday, June 1 through 11:59 p.m. Tuesday, July 25, 2017. King salmon caught incidentally may not be removed from the water and must be released immediately. As an added measure to reduce the probability of incidentally hooking a king salmon, the use of bait will be prohibited and only one unbaited, single-hook artificial lure may be used within the Karluk River drainage below Karluk Lake.

The biological escapement goal (BEG) for Karluk River king salmon is 3,000 to 6,000 fish. Despite management actions to reduce king salmon harvest in sport, commercial and subsistence fisheries, the king salmon BEG has been achieved only three times since 2006. In January 2011, the Board of Fisheries designated Karluk River king salmon a stock of concern. Although escapements improved slightly in 2016, the recent trend of poor runs and very low escapements warrant closing the inriver sport fishery.

The 2017 king salmon run will be monitored daily at the department’s Karluk River salmon counting weir. These restrictions may be relaxed by a subsequent emergency order if the inseason assessment indicates the king salmon run is stronger than anticipated.

For more information, contact the Division of Sport Fish office in Kodiak at (907) 486-1880.

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