Nonresidents will be allowed to sport fish for wild king salmon in Southeast Alaska again, starting August 4. The regulations are set through April 30, 2026.
The state closed the nonresident sector in Southeast waters on July 7 because projections showed anglers would catch more than the allowed harvest limit by about 4,000 fish. Managers took restrictive action, while prioritizing resident opportunity, to make sure the fishery didn’t take more wild king salmon than it’s allowed to this year.
That allocated amount is part of an agreement between the U.S. and Canada, called the Pacific Salmon Treaty, that ensures both countries get some fish. Salmon released from state hatcheries don’t count toward that allocation.
During the July closure, fishery managers saw less resident harvest. They also found anglers had been catching more hatchery salmon than expected, which leaves more wild fish available to harvest within the allocation.
While the sector is open again, nonresident anglers are still limited to catching just one king salmon per year.
Troy Tydingco is the region’s acting management coordinator for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.
“We’re not starting over with new limits,” said Tydingco. “Anything you harvested prior to the closure still counts.”
The state’s Board of Fish gave the department new directions for managing the king salmon fishery, allowing them to change fishing rules during the season as necessary so anglers only catch the amount of wild fish they’re allowed to take this year.
“Now we’re going to have a couple weeks of good fishing to try to catch that, that last remaining allocation,” Tydingco said. “We’re either going to come in probably just under our harvest target, or … there’s some potential that we’d have to close [the nonresident sector] again at the end of the season.”
He said the sector could be closed if there’s more harvest than expected, but fishery managers anticipate it will stay open to both residents and nonresidents for the rest of the season.
Also, following the July closure regulations, anglers are again allowed to take kings in the zone outside of state waters, called the exclusive economic zone, just over three miles from shore. According to regional managers, very few king salmon are harvested in that zone.
