In this July 20, 2013 file photo, several thousand dipnetters converged onto the mouth of the Kenai River to catch a share of the late run of sockeye salmon headed into the river in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo/Rashah McChesney)

In this July 20, 2013 file photo, several thousand dipnetters converged onto the mouth of the Kenai River to catch a share of the late run of sockeye salmon headed into the river in Kenai, Alaska. (Peninsula Clarion file photo/Rashah McChesney)

City announces health and safety measures for dipnet fishery

Dipnetters should socially distance, wear face coverings when needed and wash hands and surfaces.

The City of Kenai announced Monday that due to the COVID-19 pandemic it will put more focus on health and safety when the dipnet fishery opens July 10.

“In previous years, we’ve asked participants to respect the beaches and treat them like your own,” City Manager Paul Ostrander said in the release. “This year, we’re adding to that and asking that those who come to Kenai take steps to prevent transmission: keep your distance from others, wear face coverings when you are within six feet of others, wash hands and surfaces, and stay home when sick.”

The City of Kenai will only accept credit cards as payment for accessing the beaches. Credit card readers will be installed outside the kiosks that will allow customers to swipe their own cards, and no signatures will be required. Intercoms will also be set up so that city employees can communicate with customers while social distancing.

Hand-washing stations will be provided in addition to portable toilets on the north and south shores. Dumpsters will also be available on the south beach and in the parking lot for the north beach.

Camping will be allowed on the beaches, but campsites and tents should be spaced apart from other campsites of nonhousehold members. Camping is not allowed in the dunes.

More information on the dipnet fishery can be found at www.kenai.city.

More in News

Sterling resident Jonny Reidy walks 11 miles from his dry cabin to his part-time job at Fred Meyer on Dec. 15, 2025. Reidy aims to walk 1,000 miles by midsummer, and he’s asking people to pledge donations to food banks for every mile he travels. Photo courtesy of Jonny Reidy
Sterling man is walking 1,000 miles for hunger awareness

Jonathan Reidy asks people to pledge donations to local food banks for every mile he walks.

Soldotna High School students learn how to prepare moose meat through the school’s annual Moose Permit Project, an educational partnership between SoHi and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game. Photo courtesy of Tabitha Blades/Soldotna High School
Soldotna students get hands-on moose harvest experience

SoHi’s annual Moose Permit Project is an educational collaboration between the school and the Alaska Department of Fish and Game.

A snowmachine rider takes advantage of 2 feet of fresh snow on a field down Murwood Avenue in Soldotna, Alaska, on Monday, Dec. 12, 2022. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Kenai refuge announces snowmachine opening

All areas traditionally allowing snowmachine use in the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge are now open.

Kate Rich’s play, “The Most Comfortable Couch in Town,” is performed during “Stranded: A Ten-Minute Play Festival” in August 2025 in Homer, Alaska. Photo provided by Jennifer Norton
Homer playwright receives fellowship award

Kate Rich is revising a new play, which she hopes to take to the Valdez Theatre Conference Play Lab.

A BUMPS bus waits for passengers in the Walmart parking lot in Kenai, Alaska, on Oct. 15, 2018. (File photo)
Ninilchik Traditional Council expands public bus service

The Homer-Kenai BUMPS bus will now run five days a week.

Balloons fall on dozens of children armed with confetti poppers during the Ninth Annual Noon-Year’s Eve Party at the Soldotna Public Library in Soldotna, Alaska, on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31, 2024. (Jake Dye/Peninsula Clarion)
Out with the old, in with the new

The Peninsula Clarion looks back on 2025 in this “year in review.”

The sign in front of the Homer Electric Association building in Kenai, Alaska as seen on April 1, 2020. (Photo by Brian Mazurek/Peninsula Clarion)
State regulatory commission approves electric utility rate increase

The Homer Electric Association ratified a 4% base rate increase in November.

A map presented by the Alaska Department of Natural Resources during a virtual meeting on Dec. 11, 2025, shows the location of a potential Kenai Peninsula State Forest. Screenshot.
Community meeting in Homer to focus on proposed state forest

The Department of Natural Resources will continue to gather community input on the potential establishment of a Kenai Peninsula State Forest during a meeting on Tuesday at Kachemak Bay Campus.

File.
Soldotna aims to change short-term rental tax and permitting

Public hearings for two ordinances addressing existing short-term rental regulations will occur during the next city council meeting on Jan. 14.

Most Read