2026 Fishing Information

Quyana! Dogidinh! Chin’an! Tsen’anh! Thank you!

Federal Management Actions

• 04-KSCS-26-01: Kuskokwim River Federal Public Waters Closed to Gillnets and the Harvest of Chinook, Chum, and Coho Salmon (issued May 20, 2026; effective June 1, 2026)

• First Announcement for Kuskokwim River Fishing Opportunities (issued May 22, 2026)

• Second Announcement for Kuskokwim River Fishing Opportunities (issued June 17, 2026)

• Third Announcement for Kuskokwim River Fishing Opportunities (issued June 25, 2026)

• Fourth Announcement for Kuskokwim River Fishing Opportunities (issued July 6, 2026)

• 04-KSCS-26-02: Notice to Rescind Salmon Fishing Restrictions within Federal Public Waters of the Kuskokwim River Mainstem and to Rescind Restrictions on Chum Salmon (issued July 9, 2026; effective July 13, 2026)

To receive Federal Subsistence Management Program announcements by email, contact fws-fsb-subsistence-request@lists.fws.gov to sign-up.

State Management Actions

For the Kuskokwim River:

Subsistence fishing:

• Kuskokwim River Fishery Announcement #1: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Outlook and Preliminary Management Strategy (posted May 19, 2026)

• Kuskokwim River Fishery Announcement #2: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Front-End Closure Emergency Order #3-S-WR-01-26 (issued June 3, 2026)

• Kuskokwim River Fishery Announcement #3: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Emergency Order #3-S-WR-03-26 (Issued June 9, 2026)

• Kuskokwim River Fishery Announcement #4: Kuskokwim River Subsistence Fishery Emergency Order #3-S-WR-04-26 (Issued July 13, 2026)

Sport fishing:

• Advisory Announcement EO#:3-KS-V-06-26: Aniak River Drainage Closed to Sport Fishing for King Salmon (issued June 3, 2026. Expires July 25, 2026)

For the Kuskokwim Bay:

Subsistence fishing:

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #1: Kuskowkim Bay Fishery Outlook (issued June 2, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #2: District 4 Subsistence Fishery Emergency Order #3-S-WB-01-26 (issued June 2, 2026)

Commercial fishing:

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #3: District 5 (Goodnews Bay) Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-02-26 (issued July 5, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #4: District 4 (Quinhagak) Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-03-26 (issued July 5, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #5: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-04-26 (issued July 8, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #6: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-05-26 (issued July 10, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #7: District 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-06-26 (issued July 11, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #8: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-07-26 (issued July 12, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #9: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-08-26 (issued July 17, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #10: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-09-26 (issued July 18, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #11: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-10-26 (issued July 22, 2026)

• Kuskokwim Bay Fishery Announcement #12: Districts 4 and 5 Commercial Fishery, Emergency Order #3-S-WB-10-26 (issued July 25, 2026)

To sign up to receive Alaska Department of Fish & Game advisory announcements by email, sign up here.

2026 Harvest Stimates (Between EEk and Tuluksak)

• June 2, 2026: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 5, 2026: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 9, 2026: Set net opportunity from 7AM to 11PM

• June 12, 2026: Drift and/or set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM

• June 16, 2026: Drift and/or set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM

• June 22, 2026: Drift and/or set net opportunity from 7AM to 7PM (corrected 6/24/26)

• June 27, 2026: Set net opportunity from 12PM to 12AM (continued to June 28)

• June 28, 2026: Set net opportunity from 12AM to 12PM (continued from June 27)

• July 2, 2026: Set net opportunity from 12PM to 12AM (continued to July 3)

• July 3, 2026: Set net opportunity from 12AM to 12PM (continued from July 2)

• July 7, 2026: Set net opportunity from 12AM to 12PM (continued to July 8 at 12PM; harvest estimate not produced for July 8)

• July 10, 2026: Drift and/or set net opportunity from 12PM to 12AM (continued to July 11 at 12PM; harvest estimate not produced for July 11)

South Alaska Peninsula (Area M) Salmon Harvest Estimates

The annual June Area M fisheries are known for intercepting Western and Interior Alaska salmon migrating from the Gulf of Alaska to the Bering Sea. These are total numbers of salmon bycatch and not Kuskokwim-specific salmon. In recent years, Western and Interior Alaska salmon have made up ~25% of overall chum salmon landings in the Area M June fishery, and ~20% of Chinook salmon caught in this fishery are from Kuskokwim/Bristol Bay stocks.

As of June 28, the Area M June fishery has concluded 2026 season. You can view their opener schedule below. As of June 30, 2026, the South Peninsula June fisheries report they have harvested and sold 1,232 Chinook salmon and 486,068 chum salmon. (Note that there are no onboard observers in the Area M fishery, so these are numbers reported by the fishing industry).

The fishery is now in its July schedule. As of July 21, South Peninsula fisheries have harvested and sold since the beginning of the season:

• 1,866 Chinook salmon

• 603,299 chum salmon

• 1,969,040 sockeye salmon

• 1,482,235 pink salmon

• 9,738 coho salmon

BREAKING NEWS: On May 20, 2026 the State of Alaska Attorney General’s office voided actions taken by the Board of Fisheries in February 2026 that would have restricted the Area M fishery to protect migratory Western Alaska salmon stocks. Read more about this here.

This state fishery is managed by the Alaska Board of Fisheries and Alaska Department of Fish & Game.

AREA M 2026 FISHING SCHEDULE

Bering Sea Salmon Bycatch Report

Commercial groundfish fisheries in the Bering Sea, including pollock and bottom trawl fisheries, catch non-target species like Chinook and chum salmon when fishing. On average, ~50% of all Chinook salmon and ~20% of all chum salmon bycatch in the Bering Sea pollock trawl fishery are of Western and Interior Alaska origin.

As of July 23, 2026, vessels have reported bycatch of 12,824 Chinook salmon (10,866 fish – or 85% – from pollock vessels) and 22,671 chum salmon (21,570 fish – or 95% – from pollock vessels).

According to in-season genetic estimates from the in-shore pollock trawl fishery, produced by the Bristol Bay Science & Research Institute:

• From June 11-20: an estimated 13.9% (197 fish) are from Western Alaska stocks, and 6.8% (96 fish) are from upper/middle Yukon stocks.

• From June 21-27: an estimated 28% (512 fish) are from Western Alaska stocks, and 5.2% (152 fish) are from upper/middle Yukon stocks.

• From June 28–July 4: an estimated 12.5% (959 fish) are from Western Alaska stocks, and 6.1% (463 fish) are from upper/middle Yukon stocks.

• From July 5-11: an estimated 11.7% (229 fish) are from Western Alaska stocks, and 4.0% (78 fish) are from upper/middle Yukon stocks.

• From July 12-18: an estimated 7.9% (132 fish) are from Western Alaska stocks, and 7.4% (122 fish) are from upper/middle Yukon stocks.

BREAKING NEWS: Recently published genetic analyses from 2024 and 2025 Chinook salmon bycatch show that 48.7% (3,920 fish) of the Chinook salmon by-caught by pollock trawlers in 2024 were from Kuskokwim/Bristol Bay stocks; in 2025, these stocks were 63.7% of the bycatch (12,619 fish). These are the first reports using a new genetic baseline that distinguishes Kuskokwim/Bristol Bay stocks from other Western Alaska stocks, and the amounts of our region’s fish caught and killed in this fishery are staggering.

These federal fisheries are managed by the North Pacific Fishery Management Council (NPFMC) and NOAA Fisheries.

2026 Fishing News