Emergency Orders - Cook Inlet Salt & Freshwater King Salmon Closures

Beginning June 3 thru July 15, all saltwaters north of Bluff Point are closed to King salmon fishing, including Catch n Release, within ONE MILE from shore.  Anchor River and Deep Creek have also been closed now to King salmon fishing thru July 15.  Below is the Emergency Order released by ADFG on June 1st.  If you fish more than one mile out for kings you will be legal. (Few adult migrators are out that far.) These measures are to protect the remaining poor returns entering these streams as well as the Kasilof and Kenai rivers king salmon early runs which are far below normal this year.

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King Salmon Restrictions in the Cook Inlet Saltwaters

(Homer) - In favor of protecting returning king salmon and ensuring sport fishing opportunities in the future, the Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) is closing sport fishing for king salmon, including catch-and-release, in the Cook Inlet saltwaters north of the latitude of Bluff Point (59° 40.00' N. lat.) and within one mile of shore. This regulatory change is effective 12:01 a.m. Wednesday, June 3 through 11:59 p.m. Wednesday, July 15, 2020.

“So far this season, the king salmon counts at our monitoring locations throughout Cook Inlet have been below average. ADF&G is managing this fishery conservatively to minimize the harvest of local stocks,” stated Area Management Biologist Mike Booz. “Anglers will still be able to target king salmon in lower Cook Inlet since there are no restrictions to the summer saltwater fishery south of Bluff Point, which is mostly composed of nonlocal feeder king salmon stocks.”

In conjunction with this restriction, Emergency Order 2-KS-7-15-20 (https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/sf/EONR/index.cfm?ADFG=Region.NR&NRID=2943) closes the Anchor River and Deep Creek drainages to all sport fishing from June 3 through July 15, 2020. Please review the emergency orders in their entirety.

For more information, please contact Area Management Biologist Mike Booz or Assistant Area Management Biologist Holly Dickson at (907) 235-8191.

That's not good. Based on a quick scan of recent news articles, a number of AK salmon returns are way below the forecasted number. I have a friend up in Bristol bay; I'm hoping to hear his take on it.... when he's able to get cell service/internet.

Does "percent above/below forecasted return" for AK salmon fisheries have a significant relationship with "percent above/below forecasted return" for salmon fisheries in the lower 48? It seems like it would, but I'm about as uneducated as they come when it comes to fisheries science.

Not a lot of correlation between West Coast runs and fisheries and AK runs with one exception. The millions of chinook salmon the WC hatcheries dump into the rivers most often migrate all the way to our coastal waters to feed and grow before heading back to their home waters. That is what you may read us mentioning as "feeder kings." They are often WC hatchery and natural production fish up here. So the more you guys pump out, the more feeders we have up here to target while they are growing.

Because there is such a difference in ocean temps and food supplies between your area and ours those environments most often have their own boom and bust cycles when it comes to fisheries crashing due to water temps or lack of food supplies....quite often one causes the other.

Alaska's chinook natural stocks across the entire state from Southeast waters up through all the mainland runs even to the Yukon River have been in dire straits for a decade now. Kodiak was the first hit and to this day every year their freshwater king fisheries are severely restricted or most often shut down with only saltwater fishing and harvest allowed.

All the rest of our king runs in Prince William Sound and Cook Inlet covering all the streams on the Kenai Peninsula and Matsu Valley are in deep trouble for the past ten years. The valley fisheries have been closed for I believe this is the sixth year and still the streams and runs have not recovered with 100% protection. I believe the Kenai River and Kasiof River early king runs in progress right now will see further restrictions, probably only CnR if that in the next week or so. Return numbers are dismal so far in the sonar counters.

Much of this impact on our AK kings is most likely due to changing ocean conditions, i.e. all the variables in play with climate change affecting water temperatures and thus impacts of food resources. And one must realize that has to cover every type of food supply from tiny half inch invertebrates and krill for the 1st year smolt up to herring, sand lance, and hooligan for the larger fish.

There is little humans can do other than close the fisheries to allow whatever returns to the stream a chance to spawn. The fish will need to sort this out for themselves and adapt and adjust to these new conditions. We can't do anything about the ocean's environment.