Low Coho Escapement Prompts Buskin Drainage Closure

salmon-coho-fish-oncorhynchus-kisutch-725x365The very first thing Friday morning, sport fishing for coho salmon in the Buskin River drainage will close by emergency order due to a lack of escapement. The closure starts at one minute past midnight Thurs.

Tyler Polum, Fish and Game’s sport fish biologist in Kodiak said that the 2016 season is roughly half over and there are are fewer coho passing through the weir each day. He said to allow further sport angling would only put further pressure on the salmon returning to their spawning grounds.

The escapement goal for coho salmon into the Buskin River drainage is in a range between 4,700 to 9,600 fish. As of Sept. 12, the weir count was 1,329 coho salmon, and the department projects that the run will not even meet the lower end of the escapement goal.

In addition, anglers who are targeting species other than coho salmon may only use one, un-baited, single hook artificial fly or lure. Any coho salmon caught incidentally must remain in the water and must be released immediately.

Sport fish regulations for the other Kodiak road system river drainages remain unchanged by this order.

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