States·AK

Alaska fishing

News-desk briefs whose primary water is Alaska. California and Alaska also keep their category desks.

Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 17, 2026
Southeast red king crab opens Nov. 1 as a competitive fishery, GHL 213,076 lb
ADF&G will open the 2026/27 Southeast commercial red and blue king crab fishery as a competitive opener at 10 a.m. Nov. 1 with a regionwide guideline harvest level of 213,076 pounds — the second straight year above the 200,000-pound threshold.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 15, 2026
ADF&G Bristol Bay Sept. 14: Togiak coho good-to-excellent; Wood River fair-to-good
ADF&G’s Sept. 14 Bristol Bay sport report: Togiak River coho good to excellent through mid-to-late September, Wood River coho fair to good, and resident rainbow, Arctic char, and grayling still great to excellent on flesh and eggs.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 14, 2026
ADF&G: Kenai coho still handing out morning/evening limits; Quartz Creek closes Sept. 15 upstream
The Sept. 11 Northern Kenai sport report says Kenai River coho are still producing limits early and late. Quartz Creek above the Sterling Highway Bridge closes to all sport fishing Sept. 15–Oct. 31; Hidden Lake closes Sept. 15–Nov. 30. The two-coho EO stays through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 10, 2026
Alaska’s commercial salmon harvest climbs past 87 million fish
ADF&G’s preliminary Blue Sheet statewide total is about 87.4 million salmon so far in 2026, led by pink and sockeye, with figures still updating and subject to change.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 8, 2026
Seward Lagoon youth-only coho extended through Oct. 5
ADF&G stretched the Resurrection Bay terminal coho fishery for anglers 15 and under through Oct. 5 — two fish a day, bait OK, adults may help but the kid has to hook it.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 8, 2026
Kenai Silver Salmon Derby canceled for 2026
Kenai’s Chamber-run Silver Salmon Derby is sitting out 2026 after organizers cited weak in-season coho data — the same week ADF&G kept the Kenai River coho bag at two fish through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 3, 2026
Haines salmon runs look middling — dock prices do not
Alaska Public Media reports Haines fishermen saw mediocre 2026 salmon volume but decades-high ex-vessel prices, with sockeye cited near $3.25/lb and ADF&G saying Chilkoot and Chilkat sockeye still hit escapement goals.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskSeptember 1, 2026
NMFS closes directed Pacific cod for larger hook-and-line boats in Central GOA
Effective noon Alaska time Sept. 1, NOAA Fisheries prohibited directed Pacific cod fishing by hook-and-line catcher vessels 50 feet or longer in the Central Gulf of Alaska to protect that sector’s 2026 TAC.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskAugust 27, 2026
Kenai River coho stay at two fish through November
ADF&G emergency order 2-SS-1-49-26 keeps the Kenai River bag and possession limit for coho 16 inches or longer at two fish from Sept. 1 through Nov. 30.
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Alaska Fishing AKNews deskFebruary 9, 2026
ADF&G closes Kenai River king salmon sport fishing for the 2026 runs
Alaska Fish and Game shut both early- and late-run Kenai king sport fisheries, including catch-and-release, to protect a weak return.
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