ADF&G Fish Report
Crab
Harvest permits from the 2023/2024 winter subsistence king crab fishery are overdue and are required to be submitted whether the permit holder fished or not. Get them in soon as the harvest from subsistence fishermen is important to the proper management of the fishery. Permits can be turned into the Nome office, either to staff or the drop box located at the Front Street entrance, or reported on line at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.c fm?adfg=fishingSubsistence.main. Failure to report will result in the loss of being able to obtain a future permit and/or fines.
The summer commercial crab season opened at 12:00 noon on June 15. The GHL for the summer king crab season is just over 433,000 pounds of crab available to the open access fishery. Norton Sound Seafoods Processing will start buying operations on Monday, June 24 and no prediction of a closing date has been made at this time.
Herring
A commercial herring fishery for use as bait in local crab and ground fish fisheries occurred in the Unalakleet area in 2024. Three fishermen harvested 69.2 tons of herring. No additional herring harvest is expected in 2024.
Salmon
Salmon returns to Norton Sound are anticipated to be similar to last year’s returns with the northern sections expected to be stronger than the southern Norton Sound sections. Commercial fishing is expected to occur in all districts of Norton Sound in 2024 but may be limited in time with mesh size restrictions.
Subsistence Schedules
The Nome Subdistrict’s subsistence fishing schedule began June 15. Fresh waters and marine waters west of Cape Nome of the Nome Subdistrict open to subsistence net fishing on a weekly basis from 6:00 p.m. Wednesdays to 6:00 p.m. Mondays. Marine waters of the Nome Subdistrict east of Cape Nome remains open 7 days per week. Dip nets and cast nets can be used as a subsistence gear type when open for subsistence net fishing. Beach seining is allowed in the Nome Subdistrict
when the area is open to other subsistence net fishing from June 15 through August 15.
Additionally, the Sinuk River is closed to subsistence fishing except for beach seines in the subsistence net fishing area (approximately 2 miles below the bridge at the mouth of Boulder Creek) during the scheduled subsistence fishing periods in Subdistrict 1. Any sockeye salmon caught in beach seines in the Sinuk River must be returned to the water immediately alive.
The Shaktoolik and Unalakleet Subdistricts remain closed to subsistence fishing in the marine and fresh waters in order to provide for conservation of king salmon returning to those subdistricts. The department will continue to monitor the king return and will relax the restrictions if inseason projections point to king salmon meeting escapement objectives. The department will relax restrictions in July after king salmon have migrated through the area. Additionally, beach seining may be permitted starting in July; however, any king salmon caught must be immediately released unharmed.
The Pilgrim River will remain closed to subsistence net fishing. Escapement of sockeye salmon to the Pilgrim River has been weak in recent years and has not met escapement goals. The department will monitor escapement in the Pilgrim River closely and may relax restrictions if inseason run assessment indicates that there is a surplus above escapement needs.
The Port Clarence District is closed to subsistence fishing except for beach seines. Any sockeye salmon caught in beach seines must be returned to the water immediately alive. The department will continue to monitor the sockeye salmon return and may allow additional fishing time with gillnets in July if abundance warrants.
These fishing schedules will remain in place unless reduced by emergency order due to abundance concerns and, except in areas previously noted, subsistence fishing will be allowed 7 days per week.
Commercial Fishing
Limited commercial fishing is likely to occur in all areas with time and gear restrictions. The Shaktoolik and Unalakleet Subdistricts will likely primarily target pink salmon with the sales of any incidentally caught king salmon restricted unless inseason abundance estimates indicate that there is a surplus to warrant sales.
No commercial fishing is anticipated in the Port Clarence District due to lack of market interest and the likelihood of sockeye salmon escapement estimates to the Pilgrim River not meeting the escapement threshold.
General Information
Obtaining subsistence fishing permits and reporting subsistence harvests can be done at the Fish and Game office in Nome during regular business hours Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. till 5:00 p.m. or online at https://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.c fm?adfg=fishingSubsistence.main. Harvest reports can also be returned to the drop box located near the Front Street entrance of the Nome office. Additional information can be found by calling Nome Area staff at (907)443-5167 or from villages at (800) 560-2271.