Commercial trolling for salmon in Southeast Alaska reopens this week after a region-wide closure due to low king salmon returns.
The Alaska Department of Fish and Game announced Friday, June 9 that trolling will re-open in much of the region June 15th. Fish and Game closed fishing May 28th because of historically low returns to Southeast’s major rivers. Fishery managers now think that any returning kings are already back in the Stikine River near Wrangell, Taku River near Juneau and Chilkat River near Haines. Because of that the spring troll fishery is re-opening.
Mostly one- and two-day openings are planned in parts of the central and northern panhandle. That’s not the case around Ketchikan. Fishing remains closed there to allow Chinook to make it back to the Unuk River. Other areas with runs of hatchery kings also remain open to trolling.
Also starting up June 15th is the summer Dungeness crab season, while salmon gillnet and seine seasons open up June 18.
