Out of state sport fishermen are staying home due to COVID-19 concerns. That means most of Southeast Alaska will see an increase in bag limits.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game will loosen the restrictions on sport king salmon in Southeast Alaska this month. But the Haines and Skagway area is still off-limits.
From Monday, June 15th, until September 30th the resident bag and possession limit will increase to three king salmon, twenty-eight inches in length or larger. There is no annual limit. Non-residents may take one king salmon, the annual limit is four.
ADF&G biologist Richard Chappell said that’s because the department predicts a dramatic decrease in visiting sport anglers.
“There’s very little non resident fishing effort this year, because there are no cruise ships coming to Southeast Alaska and a lot of people are being kept away by the quarantine restrictions,” he said.
“So the charter business especially is way down, it’s expected to be about a third of normal in Southeast Alaska. So the overall harvest through the Southeast Alaska Region of king salmon is going to be below the allocation for 2020.”
But north of Sherman Rock, restrictions are still in place. There has been no king salmon retention allowed in the Upper Lynn Canal since April 1st of this year. Chappell says that’s due to concerns about wildlife conservation. Management biologists want as many kings as possible to get up the Chilkat River.
To take advantage of the higher bag limits, Chappell said residents will have to get down to the Berner’s Bay area.
