The Kenai River personal use dipnet fishery closed Wednesday at 11:59 p.m.
When the fishery opened July 10, around 30,000 sockeye salmon were being counted by sonar on the river each day, per fish counts from the State Department of Fish and Game. That number climbed as high as 191,000 on July 17, and counts continue to outpace each of the last four years.
As of Tuesday, 1.6 million sockeye have been counted in the Kenai River’s late run, already exceeding the escapement goal for the species. Hourly restrictions on Kenai River dipnetting were removed by Emergency Order on July 18.
Now that the fishery has closed, all anglers with an Upper Cook Inlet Personal Use Salmon Permit will be required to complete online reporting at harvest.adfg.alaska.gov. Reporting must be completed by Aug. 15, even if the permit was left unused or if no fish were caught.
Failure to report by the deadline will result in the loss of personal use fishing privilege in 2025, the department says.
The Upper Cook Inlet permit is valid for both Kenai River and Kasilof River personal use dipnetting, and can still be used until the latter fishery closes on Aug. 7.
More information about fishing regulations and availability can be found at adfg.alaska.gov.
Reach reporter Jake Dye at jacob.dye@peninsulaclarion.com.
