(Juneau) - The Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Division of Sport Fish announced today that sport fishing regulations for hatchery-produced king salmon will be liberalized in a designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area near Juneau consisting of the contiguous waters of Stephens Passage, Auke Bay, Fritz Cove and Gastineau Channel, enclosed on the west by a line running from the tip of Point Louisa to the navigational aid at the northern tip of Portland Island (58° 21.13’N. lat., 134° 45.52’W. long.) then along the eastern shore of Portland Island to its most southern point and ending on Douglas Island at the northern tip of Outer Point, and enclosed on the east by the Juneau-Douglas Bridge and all salt waters of Lena Cove south of a line from Pt. Lena to a regulatory marker on the mainland shore located at 58° 24.20’N. lat.,134° 45.64’W. long., (see attached map). These new regulations are intended to provide an opportunity to harvest surplus hatchery-produced king salmon returning to the Juneau area.

The hatchery-produced king salmon regulations in the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area will be in effect from 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 1 through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, August 31, 2022. These regulations are as follows:

• For all anglers, the daily bag and possession limit is 4 king salmon of any size;
• King salmon harvested by nonresidents in the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area do not count toward their annual limit.

The department is liberalizing sport fishing regulations in the designated hatchery sport harvest area due to the number of returning hatchery-produced king salmon exceeding broodstock needs for the hatchery program.

Anglers should note that the bag, possession, and size limits for king salmon in the salt waters outside of the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area are more restrictive and that regulations prohibit anglers from possessing fish that exceed the limits for the waters where they are fishing. Therefore, anglers who catch king salmon within the designated saltwater hatchery sport harvest area may not continue to fish outside of that area if they possess king salmon that do not comply with the regional king salmon bag, possession, and size limits.

For additional information contact the Division of Sport Fish Region 1 office in Douglas at
(907) 465-4270.

#22-3313