Division of Sport Fish
Dave Rutz, Director

Anchorage Headquarters Office
333 Raspberry Road
Anchorage, AK 99518


Alaska Department of Fish and Game
Doug Vincent-Lang, Commissioner

P.O. Box 115526
Juneau, AK 99811-5526
www.adfg.alaska.gov


Advisory Announcement
(Released: June 17, 2021)

CONTACT: Rich Chapell
Haines/Skagway Area Management Biologist
(907) 766-3638

REVISED SOUTHEAST ALASKA REGIONAL KING SALMON SPORT FISHING REGULATIONS FOR 2021

(Juneau) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is announcing revised 2021 sport fishing regulations for king salmon in Southeast Alaska and Yakutat. These regulations will be effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, June 21 through 11:59 p.m. Thursday, March 31, 2022. The regulations are:

  • Alaskan Resident

    • The resident bag and possession limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length:
    • From October 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022, a sport angler may use two rods when fishing for king salmon, a person using two rods under this regulation may only retain salmon.
  • Nonresident
    • The nonresident bag and possession limit is one king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length;
    • From January 1 through June 30, a nonresident's total harvest limit is three king salmon 28 inches or greater in length;
    • From July 1 through July 7, a nonresident's total harvest limit is two king salmon, 28 inches or greater in length, and any king salmon harvested by the nonresident from January 1 through June 30 will apply toward the two fish total harvest limit;
    • From July 8 through December 31, a nonresident's total harvest limit is one king salmon 28 inches or greater in length, and any king salmon harvested by the nonresident from January 1 through July 7 will apply toward the one fish total harvest limit;
    • Immediately upon landing and retaining a king salmon a nonresident must enter the species, date, and location on their sport fishing license or on a nontransferable harvest record;

King salmon regulations for non-retention areas and designated hatchery sport harvest areas in the Haines, Skagway, Juneau, Petersburg, Wrangell, and Ketchikan vicinity remain in effect and are unchanged by these new regulations.

The Southeast Alaska king salmon sport fishery is managed under the directives of the Southeast Alaska King Salmon Management Plan (5 AAC 47.055), which prescribes management measures based upon the Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE. The Southeast Alaska Winter Troll CPUE for the 2021 season is 3.85 which equates to 37,900 king salmon allocated to the sport fishery. To address the implementation of the new Pacific Salmon Treaty agreement which includes provisions to reduce the Alaska harvest ceiling the following year if the Alaska harvest ceiling is exceeded, the Southeast Alaska king salmon sport fishery is being conservatively managed for a total king salmon treaty harvest of 37,120 fish. Although sport fishing effort in Southeast Alaska is lower than expected the harvest rate in the sport fishery is double what was anticipated. With higher than average harvest rates under the current regional king salmon regulations the sport fishery is expected to exceed its king salmon allocation by 3,460 to 12,650 fish. By enacting the new king salmon regulations listed above the sport fishery is expected to stay within its allocation. The Southeast Alaska king salmon fishery will be monitored in-season and additional management action will be taken if needed to keep the sport fishery within the sport allocation.

For further information, contact the Yakutat ADF&G office at 907-784-3222 or visit the Emergency Orders and Press Releases page.

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