Thousands of sockeye salmon have been coming through the Chilkoot weir every day for the last two weeks. This is a big improvement. Before that, the total count for the season was only 600. This had led the Alaska Department of Fish and Game to close the area to subsistence and commercial fishing, and to prohibit anglers from keeping sockeyes. Agency biologist Nicole Zeiser says the outlook is now much brighter.
Zeiser: “Last weekend we saw several daily counts of over five thousand. This year, those fish just decided to come extremely late, the latest I think we’ve seen them arrive. Hard to say what made them return so late, but they finally showed up, so it’s very encouraging. ”
She has lifted the restrictions on subsistence fishing.
Zeiser: “Currently subsistence fishing in Lutak Inlet is open through Thursday, but we anticipate opening all of Lutak inlet potentially this Saturday.”
Sports fishermen are still prohibited from taking sockeyes in the area until further notice.
But the commercial fleet should be allowed to operate in more areas.
Zeiser: “Next week’s opener, I will likely open up more area in 15A so the fleet can harvest Chilkoot stocks now that there is a harvestable surplus.”
As of Wednesday afternoon, the total count at the Chilkoot weir was 33000 sockeyes. Zeiser says the run is on track to meet the agency’s minimum escapement goals within days.
