2025 Fishing Season Regulations Announced
The regulations we fish under come from a few sources. The North Pacific Fishery Management Council handles halibut. The State of Alaska oversees all the rest. Many of our regulations don’t change from year to year. Coho, pink, chum salmon are good examples. They’ve all remained at 6 per day, with no annual limit for decades. Rockfish and lingcod have been a bit more prone to change based on stock assessments and catch rates. Halibut and king salmon regulations can change every year based on abundance and catch rates in the charter fleet. Regulatory changes can be frustrating, but solid management principles based on the best population estimates available help ensure the long-term sustainability of the resource. Here are the results for 2025:
Halibut
1 per day less than 37 inches or over 80 inches. Closed to retention except by GAF on Tuesdays. AU will have GAF permits for all who request it in advance. Each GAF allows for the retention of one halibut of any size.
King Salmon
AU sent 7 representatives to the Alaska Board of Fisheries meetings in Ketchikan this February. With the leadership of SEAGO we advocated for an increase in allocation to the sport fishery with hopes of stabilizing the king regulations our clients fish under. We were able to secure a 3 percent increase from 20 percent to 23 percent. Now the State of Alaska awaits the abundance index from the Pacific Salmon Commission which will determine the number of kings allocated to the sport fishery. Once we have that number, typically in early April, we will get our regulations for kings. Stay tuned.
Silvers, Chums & Pink Salmon
6 per day, no annual limit. Ditto for chums and pinks.
Rockfish
Our guests visiting in July and August will have the opportunity to keep a yelloweye for the first time in years. The limit is one per day and one annually. Additionally, you can keep 2 pelagic rockfish per day, and one “slope” rockfish per day.
Lingcod
Season: May 16-June 14 and August 1- November 30. 1 per day either 30-35 inches or 55 inches and longer. Annual limit of 2 fish, 1 of which is 30-35 inches in length, and 1 that is 55 inches or greater in length.
Blackcod
4 per day, 8 annual limit.
