July 10, 2025 — The Southeast and Yakutat commercial troll fishery for king salmon closed on Friday, July 4, as the Alaska Department of Fish and Game projected that the fleet would hit the harvest limit for the season’s first opener in just four days.
The target harvest set by the state for the opening which began on July 1 was 38,000 fish. State fisheries managers forecast the catch would total 37,700 kings as of the evening of July 4, pending a final count of fish tickets.
After the closure, all trollers are required to offload any kings before setting out gear for other salmon species.
The short opening was expected under this year’s more restrictive catch numbers, intended to preserve low salmon runs.
The commercial troll harvest limit for this year was set at 92,700 so-called treaty kings — salmon governed by the U.S.-Canada Pacific Salmon Treaty — a steep drop from last year’s limit of 153,000. Hatchery kings from Alaska facilities are excluded from the treaty.