fishing

Tragedy on Kenai beach raises discussion about safety, reckless behavior during busy dipnet fishery

The Alaska Department of Fish and Game doubled sockeye salmon bag limits from three to six in response to strong salmon runs.

“We have tons of pictures of loons with fishing line wrapped around their beaks, their legs and their feet and their wings, and then they can't dive, and they can't feed themselves or preen or even take flight when it's time to migrate,” said Outreach Biologist Tamara Zeller.

Kenai City Manager Terry Eubank says the changes are rooted in complaints from city property owners.

Stream Watch was started in the mid-1990s by a group of fishermen intent on protecting the Kenai Peninsula’s salmon habitats. The program is jointly run by the Kenai Watershed Forum and the U.S. Forest Service and has an overarching goal of promoting watershed stewardship.

Fishermen caught more than $40 million worth of salmon across all species in both Upper and Lower Cook Inlet, according to preliminary harvest data released earlier this month.

The event brought together politicians, conservationists and other industry stakeholders for a day of discussions and debate about the future of the iconic fish.

Fishing on the Kenai Peninsula is in full swing. That’s why the Kenai Chamber of Commerce recently welcomed a long-time Kenai River fisherman to talk about his passion for fishing and his concerns for conserving the resource.

The popular fishing area near Cooper Landing opened Tuesday because of strong sockeye runs.

The Kenai Chamber of Commerce has brought in two new museum exhibits this month related to fishing and Alaska summers.