(Glennallen) – The Alaska Department of Fish and Game is further restricting sport fisheries in the Upper Copper River drainage for king salmon conservation.

Effective 12:01 a.m. Monday, July 6, all waters of the Upper Copper River, upstream of Haley Creek, will be restricted to catch-and-release fishing for king salmon. This includes the Gulkana, Klutina and Tonsina Rivers. King salmon may not be retained or possessed, may not be removed from the water, and must be released immediately. Additionally, in all flowing waters of the Upper Copper River drainage, the use of bait is prohibited and only unbaited, single-hook, artificial lures may be used from 12:01 a.m. Monday, July 6 through 11:59 p.m. Saturday, August 10.

The Copper River King Salmon Fishery Management Plan (5 AAC 24.361) directs the department to manage the Copper River fisheries to achieve a sustainable escapement goal (SEG) of 21,000–31,000 king salmon. The 2026 king salmon run to the Copper River is weak. As of June 28, a total of 17,123 large king salmon have been counted past the Miles Lake sonar. This is the lowest, large king salmon cumulative count on record for this date since species apportionment at the sonar project began in 2019. King salmon passage trends at Miles Lake from 2019–2025 indicate that, on average, approximately 82% of the run has passed the sonar site through June 28. Additionally, the Native Village of Eyak (NVE) fish wheel capture rates at Baird Canyon and fish wheel recapture rates at Canyon Creek also indicate low abundance. Due to concerns that the king salmon escapement goal will not be met with continued sport harvest, restricting the Upper Copper River king salmon sport fisheries to catch-and-release and prohibiting the use of bait and treble hooks is warranted.

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