(Anchorage) - The Alaska Board of Fisheries (BOF) adopted two proposals establishing new sport fish regulations for the Anchorage Management Area at the February 2020 Upper Cook Inlet meeting in Anchorage. Regulatory changes are summarized below as a service to anglers, and not as a complete digest of all sport fishing regulations. The new regulations will take effect with the release of the 2020 Southcentral Alaska Sport Fishing Regulations Summary booklet when it is issued the first week of April 2020. Please see the 2020 booklet for a complete summary of the Anchorage sport fisheries regulations.

Anchorage Freshwaters

• All northern pike caught in Anchorage freshwaters cannot be released back into the water alive and must be killed. Northern pike are an invasive species in Southcentral Alaska and significantly impact native fish species. Anglers who catch a northern pike from Anchorage freshwaters are encouraged to report and, if possible, deliver the dispatched northern pike to the nearest ADF&G office.

Ship Creek Youth-Only Fishery

• The closing time for the king salmon Youth-Only Fishery on Ship Creek has been extended from 6:00 p.m. to 11:00 p.m. This Youth-Only Fishery occurs annually on the third Saturday in June. In 2020, the Ship Creek Youth-Only Fishery will occur on June 20 from 6:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. This fishery occurs from the C Street Bridge upstream to the Bridge Restaurant and is only open to anglers who are 15 years of age or younger. This section of Ship Creek is closed to all other anglers during the Youth-Only Fishery.

For additional information, please contact Area Management Biologist Jay Baumer or Assistant Area Management Biologist Brittany Blain-Roth at (907) 267-2265.

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