Alaska Fish & Wildlife News
July 2015

Sockeye on the (shrimp) fly

By Ryan Ragan

Last June I stood knee deep in the clear, rushing water of the Russian River eyeing a school of about 60 sockeye salmon tucked in a small back eddy on the edge opposite of me. Just below the school, standing on a rock, an angler readied himself for another cast. I watched him lift the rod tip high and cast the fly he was using into the school. I could see the fly drift in the water. It was about three inches of fluorescent yellow bucktail tied to a long-shank hook. It passed through the school ...   Sockeye on the Fly Article Continued

Subsistence on the Kuskokwim
Whitefish, Fishtraps, and the Stony River Dena’ina

By James Van Lanen

After slowly making a tight turn around a bend in the creek, Fred guns the throttle on the motor powering his 15-foot handmade wooden skiff. “Beaver dam, hang on,” he yells back to me. To continue further upstream there is no route other than straight over the beaver’s intricate assemblage of sticks and logs, which block all open water flowing down “Abundance Stream,” or Hek’dichen in the Stony River dialect of the Dena’ina Athabascan language. ...   Whitefish trapping Article Continued

Hydropower in Alaska and Fish and Game

By Monte Miller

It was a typical type of spring day in Southeast Alaska, overcast with a hint of rain, but with the promise of a busy summer ahead. It was early May and I was in Elfin Cove to tour a potential hydroelectric development near town. This small project is being investigated under a Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) Preliminary Permit as a possible alternative power source. Like many Alaskan communities, Elfin Cove currently depends on a diesel electric generation plant for electricity ...   Hydropower Article Continued

Every Halibut Counts

By Terry Johnson

Alaskans and visitors alike love to catch halibut and take them home to eat. Since 2010 charter boat anglers in Southeast and Southcentral Alaska have landed 2.3 to 3.8 million pounds per year of the tasty flatfish, which is in addition to 2.3-2.8 million pounds per year of non-guided angler harvest.

But anglers released about 40-45 percent of all halibut they caught. Many anglers release halibut that are either smaller than preferred, or too small or too large to keep under existing limits. ...   Every Halibut Counts Article Continued

Oil Spill Response
Fish and Game’s Role

By Jeanette Alas

It’s been more than 25 years since the Exxon Valdez Oil Spill in Prince William Sound. The following year, the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 1990) was passed by the U.S. Congress. OPA 1990 contained provisions that strengthened the nation’s ability to prevent and respond to oil spills, such as

the implementation of area committees, area contingency plans, and industry contingency plans;

establishing the liability of a responsible party for the removal and damages of ...   Oil Spill Response Article Continued

Zebra mussels in Alaska? Not yet.

By Tammy Davis

Invasive mollusks are spreading among lakes and rivers in the Lower 48, causing a host of problems. Late last year, Alaska dodged two potential introductions of these invasive species on boats bound for the state.

You may have heard of zebra mussels and the devastation they’ve done in the Great Lakes over the past decade. Some argue that zebra mussels were a godsend, “Cleaning up Lake Erie, and all.” They definitely increased the clarity of the Great Lakes, which had ...   Zebra mussels Article Continued