Alaska Sets Craig-Klawock Herring 2026/27 Guideline Harvest Level at 5,135 t, Down 28% From Previous Season

Ketchikan, Alaska — The Alaska Department of Fish and Game (ADF&G) has set the 2026/27 guideline harvest level (GHL) for Pacific herring (Clupea pallasii) in the Craig-Klawock management area at 5,135 t, down 28% from 7,095 t in 2025/26. The announcement was issued on November 10, 2026, with a system registration time of 16:15 Alaska time.

The limit is calculated from a mature spawning biomass forecast of 34,230 t and a 15% exploitation rate. The GHL is a harvest ceiling, not actual landings; state managers retain the authority to issue emergency orders closing the season early when operational monitoring data indicate the catch is approaching the limit.

Under current regulations, the 5,135 t limit is allocated in fixed proportions: 60%, or 3,081 t, to the winter commercial food and bait fishery; the remaining 40%, or 2,054 t, to the pond (enclosure) kelp-spawn-on fishery, in which kelp fronds are suspended in seawater enclosures so herring spawn naturally on them. If the food and bait fishery does not take its seasonal quota, the remainder is automatically transferred to the kelp-spawn-on fishery. ADF&G said the final reallocation figures will be announced on or before March 5, 2027.

In terms of stock structure, age-5 fish make up about 49% of the forecast mature biomass and age-4 fish 22%. ADF&G biologists noted that the age-3 recruitment observed in 2025 was exceptionally strong, the second-largest age-3 year class in the area since baseline monitoring began in Craig-Klawock in 1988, and that this cohort continues to dominate mature stock dynamics.

Both the season limit and the biomass forecast are markedly lower than in 2025/26, when the harvest limit was 7,095 t against a forecast biomass of 47,302 t. ADF&G noted that direct comparison requires accounting for differences in biological methodology: the previous season used an age-structured catch-at-age statistical model, while the 2026/27 forecast uses a biomass accounting model; the department did not state what proportion of the total reduction stems directly from this analytical model change.

The winter food and bait season began on October 5, 2026, and is scheduled to run through February 28, 2027, unless the quota is taken and the season is closed early by emergency order. Licensed vessel owners and fish buyer operators must hold valid operating permits, submit daily catch and delivery location reports by the day after landing, and provide mandatory biological sampling for each landing delivery.

The reduction compresses the commercially available volume for both utilization channels. The ultimate impact on landings, regional market supply and dock prices will depend on actual fishing performance and on the final quota volume transferred to the seasonal kelp-spawn-on enclosures.