Southeast Alaska winter troll opened Oct. 11 under a 45,000-Chinook cap

The Southeast Alaska and Yakutat commercial winter troll fishery opened at 12:01 a.m. Sunday, Oct. 11, 2026. An Alaska Department of Fish and Game advisory announcement dated Oct. 2, Emergency Order 1S8026, says the fishery continues through March 15, 2027, or until the harvest reaches 45,000 non-Alaska hatchery-produced Chinook salmon. The winter area is the outer-coast corridor set in 5 AAC 29.020(b), from the Yakutat Bay line south to the international boundary.

ADF&G said it will keep reading genetic and coded-wire-tag data through the winter and will announce later whether any fishing continues after March 15. Direction for that call comes from wild Chinook action plans the Board of Fisheries adopted at its 2025 meeting in Ketchikan. Last winter the department extended fishing through April 15 in selected outer coastal waters after those stocks stayed a small share of the catch there.

Closed waters for this opening include a Behm Canal stretch in District 1, the Stikine River waters described for District 8, Section 11-A waters that include Gastineau Channel, Section 15-A north of Sherman Rock through Dec. 31, and Berners Bay in Section 15-B. The Anita Bay and Nakat Inlet terminal harvest areas stay open to troll gear through Nov. 10 under their own plans, then remain open as part of the winter fishery.

Summer-troll salmon have to be offloaded before a boat joins the winter fishery. Fish tickets are due at the nearest ADF&G office within seven days of offload, and trollers must record the statistical area, dates fished, and landing date. The management plan is posted at area offices and on the department’s winter troll page. Contact is Region I commercial troll biologist Grant Hagerman in Sitka, (907) 747-6688. The Sitka troll hotline is (907) 747-8765.

This is a The Gillnet news desk summary, not a reprint.

Source: ADF&G — Southeast Alaska/Yakutat Winter Troll Fishery (PDF) (advisory announcement, Oct. 2, 2026; fishery opened Oct. 11).