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Ninilchik Traditional Council employees Daniel Reynolds (left) and Darryl Williams (right) remove a sockeye salmon from the tribe’s subsistence gillnet in the Kenai River in August 2016 near Soldotna, Alaska. The tribe first fished its subsistence gillnet, for which all rural residents of Ninilchik are qualified, in 2016 and completed its second season in September 2017. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Ninilchik fishes Kenai gillnet for second year

The gillnet operation in the Kenai River run by the Ninilchik Traditional Council this summer concluded its season with only one king salmon caught and… Continue reading

Ninilchik Traditional Council employees Daniel Reynolds (left) and Darryl Williams (right) remove a sockeye salmon from the tribe’s subsistence gillnet in the Kenai River in August 2016 near Soldotna, Alaska. The tribe first fished its subsistence gillnet, for which all rural residents of Ninilchik are qualified, in 2016 and completed its second season in September 2017. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet wait to be set to the a processor on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Board declines request to cap Kodiak sockeye harvest

Editor's note: This article has been updated to correct an error about the sampling area of the Kodiak Management Area sockeye salmon genetic study. The… Continue reading

Sockeye salmon caught in a set gillnet wait to be set to the a processor on July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Alaska Wildlife Troopers do more with fewer officers

The Alaska Wildlife Troopers are spread thin across the state and asking the boards of fisheries and game to consider that when making regulations. The… Continue reading

Dozens of people from around Alaska turned out for the Board of Fisheries’ worksession to comment on fisheries issues Oct. 17, 2016 in Soldotna. The board members decided Thursday not to host its 2020 Upper Cook Inlet meeting in Soldotna, opting instead for Anchorage, despite repeated requests from local governments and residents. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Board of Fisheries again refuses peninsula meeting

The Board of Fisheries has again snubbed the Kenai Peninsula for its Upper Cook Inlet regulatory meeting in 2020. The members of the fisheries regulatory… Continue reading

Dozens of people from around Alaska turned out for the Board of Fisheries’ worksession to comment on fisheries issues Oct. 17, 2016 in Soldotna. The board members decided Thursday not to host its 2020 Upper Cook Inlet meeting in Soldotna, opting instead for Anchorage, despite repeated requests from local governments and residents. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
A boat is tethered to the shore of Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska on Oct. 11, 2017 during a fly fishing trip. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)

Two out of three ain’t bad

With perfect weather and great company on a recent fly fishing trip on the Upper Kenai River, it was hard to complain about the lack… Continue reading

A boat is tethered to the shore of Skilak Lake on the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska on Oct. 11, 2017 during a fly fishing trip. (Photo by Kat Sorensen/Peninsula Clarion)
Anglers try their luck for sockeye salmon on the Kenai River near the Russian River confluence in this June 2016 photo on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Fish and Game looks to simplify sportfishing regs

Sportfishing regulations in Alaska are complicated and sometimes confuse anglers, but the Alaska Department of Fish and Game is taking steps to make them clearer.… Continue reading

Anglers try their luck for sockeye salmon on the Kenai River near the Russian River confluence in this June 2016 photo on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. (Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Assembly, councils ask fish board to meet on peninsula

Local government bodies on the central Kenai Peninsula really want the state Board of Fisheries to hold a meeting here. The board, which meets to… Continue reading

Dale Prechel of Minnesota poses for a picture with Ruth and Bob Knorr of Funny River in this undated photograph. The Knorrs helped Prechel when he showed up on their porch after falling off the bluff in the middle of the night in July 2014. (Photo courtesy Jackie Prechel)

Funny River couple rescued man after harrowing tumble off bluff in 2014

A fishing trip to Soldotna in July 2014 turned to a long nightmare for a Minnesota man, ending only with kindness from a Soldotna couple.… Continue reading

Dale Prechel of Minnesota poses for a picture with Ruth and Bob Knorr of Funny River in this undated photograph. The Knorrs helped Prechel when he showed up on their porch after falling off the bluff in the middle of the night in July 2014. (Photo courtesy Jackie Prechel)
Commercial fishing vessels wait at anchor in the mouth of the Kenai River before a Saturday fishing period Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Smallest sockeye harvest in last 10 years; late runs made openings complex

Sockeye salmon were scarcer in Upper Cook Inlet this year, but coho, chum and pink salmon were more plentiful than expected. Commercial fishermen in Upper… Continue reading

Commercial fishing vessels wait at anchor in the mouth of the Kenai River before a Saturday fishing period Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way into the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Supreme Court says no to hearing UCIDA case

The lawsuit over whether the federal government or the state should manage Cook Inlet’s salmon fisheries won’t get its day in the U.S. Supreme Court… Continue reading

A drift gillnet fishing vessel makes its way into the Kenai River on Friday, July 28, 2017 in Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Upper Cook Inlet commercial fishing to close for 2017

Commercial fishing will be done for the 2017 season in Upper Cook Inlet effective Oct. 6. The east side set gillnet fishery in Upper Cook… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)

Tagging experiment offers evidence that setnet-caught kings survive

Editor's note: This article has been clarified that a king salmon did not gill in Brent Johnson's selective harvest module and to correct a misspelling… Continue reading

A sockeye salmon’s tail protrudes above the edge of a bin on a setnet site July 11, 2016 near Kenai, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion, file)
Lily Craig shows off the silver salmon she caught on the Kenai River during the Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s first annual silver salmon derby in September 2017. (Photo courtesy Nathaniel Craig)

Silver derby wraps up with 200+ entries

With the first Kenai River Silver Salmon Derby officially closed, the Kenai Chamber of Commerce is calling it a success. The derby organizers weighed their… Continue reading

Lily Craig shows off the silver salmon she caught on the Kenai River during the Kenai Chamber of Commerce’s first annual silver salmon derby in September 2017. (Photo courtesy Nathaniel Craig)
Pink salmon swim up a drainage ditch at Beluga Slough on Thursday evening.

Pinks run in places never seen before in bay

All around Kachemak Bay the past weeks, people have reported large runs of pink salmon in places never seen before — at least in significant… Continue reading

Pink salmon swim up a drainage ditch at Beluga Slough on Thursday evening.

Mallott rejects salmon habitat ballot initiative

Lt. Gov. Byron Mallott denied an application on Sept. 12 to put a voter initiative on the 2018 statewide ballot that would have tightened the… Continue reading

Kenai River silver salmon derby a go

The Kenai River silver salmon derby is set to go in two weeks after a long back-and-forth between the state and the two groups hosting… Continue reading

Two anglers work together to land a silver salmon from the steps on the fishing platform near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The silver salmon fishing has been reportedly good throughout the Kenai River since early August, and silver salmon continue to enter the river throughout the fall. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fishing report: Silver fishing keeps up quality on Kenai River

A draft morning schedule for a silver salmon angler: 4 a.m.: Alarm goes off. Pat self on back for packing tackle the evening before. 4:30… Continue reading

Two anglers work together to land a silver salmon from the steps on the fishing platform near the Soldotna Visitors Center on Wednesday, Aug. 30, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. The silver salmon fishing has been reportedly good throughout the Kenai River since early August, and silver salmon continue to enter the river throughout the fall. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Fish and Game asks fishermen to report Atlantic salmon catches

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is asking that fishermen around the state report any Atlantic salmon they catch. Damage to a salmon farm… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten (left) and Board of Fisheries member Reed Morisky (right) testify during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation field hearing on the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, hosted by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)

Sullivan hosts field hearing on Magnuson-Stevens in Soldotna

Sportfishing groups and advocates want to see the federal government separate the management of sport and commercial fishing in the upcoming renewal of the Magnuson-Stevens… Continue reading

Alaska Department of Fish and Game Commissioner Sam Cotten (left) and Board of Fisheries member Reed Morisky (right) testify during a Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation field hearing on the reauthorization of the Magnuson-Stevens Fishery Conservation and Management Act, hosted by Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska), on Wednesday, Aug. 23, 2017 in Soldotna, Alaska. (Photo by Elizabeth Earl/Peninsula Clarion)
Larger commercial coho harvest sparks concern in Mat-Su

Larger commercial coho harvest sparks concern in Mat-Su

Upper Cook Inlet’s drift gillnet and east side set gillnet commercial fishermen saw a larger harvest of coho than in recent years this season. Not… Continue reading

Larger commercial coho harvest sparks concern in Mat-Su