January 27, 2025 — In the fall of 2018, officials with the Alaska Department of Fish and Game and their partners celebrated what they thought was a milestone: an end to the infestation of invasive northern pike in the Kenai Peninsula.
Their laborious program – they thought – had ridden the peninsula of the salmon-gobbling species that has wreaked havoc on the natural runs that are important to commercial and sport fishers, as well as to the overall ecological system.
“We were all excited, you know. We spent, like, 15 years eradicating them off the peninsula. it was like this big, monumental moment,” said Kristine Dunker, a biologist who coordinates the Alaska Department of Fish and Game’s program addressing invasive northern pike.