Alaska Fishing

The depleted Kodiak Island salmon fisheries absorbed two more body blows on Tuesday.

Biologists will close the king salmon sport fishery on the Ayakulik River beginning today after a measly 1,788 kings were counted past the weir though Monday. Just two years ago, more than 6,000 kings made it upriver to spawn in the Ayakulik, and biologists want at least 4,800 spawners to ensure healthy runs in the future.

Elsewhere on the island, the bag limit for red salmon caught in the Karluk River was cut to two fish, four in possession. The Karluk was already closed to king salmon fishing.

"It's not going to affect anybody, because nobody is fishing the Karluk," said Suzanne Schmidt, a fisheries biologist for the Alaska Department of Fish and Game based in Kodiak. "The sport fishing guides, they've been going over to the Fraser (River) on the (Kodiak National Wildlife) refuge."

Typically huge, the Karluk's early red salmon run has sputtered. Some 46,000 reds had passed the weir near the river mouth as of Sunday. Last year, more than 67,000 reds were past by the same date, and two years ago more than 242,000 were upstream.

To ensure strong future runs, biologists aim for 110,000-250,000 red salmon to reach upstream spawning grounds on the Karluk.

Before Wednesday's restrictions, anglers could take five Karluk reds per day and have 10 in possession.

"There's still a possibility that fish are coming in and that they're late," Schmidt said.

Even that hope is gone on the Ayakulik.

"Even assuming a late run, the total escapement is not projected to achieve the lower end of the escapement goal range," according to a Fish and Game press release.

Given the spread of faltering runs -- particularly of kings -- from Kodiak Island all the way to the Stikine River in Southeast Alaska, many fisheries biologists believe there's a problem in the ocean.

"It kind of has everyone wondering," Tom Vania, Southcentral regional management biologist for the Division of Sport Fish in the Alaska Department of Fish and Game, said last month.

"There's a lot of unknowns," added Craig Erickson, the division's regional research coordinator. "We're good about counting, but we don't get to track them" once young fish head for the ocean.

Reach reporter Mike Campbell at mcampbell@adn.com or 257-4329.

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