Anchorage’s uniquely urban Ship Creek fishing spot, popular among anglers hoping to catch king salmon near downtown, had to close early this summer due to a lack of fish.
While much of the state has seen dwindling king salmon numbers, it’s just the third time in the past decade that the Alaska Department of Fish and Game has had to close Ship Creek, after surveys found king salmon returns were below what was needed to support future fishing opportunities.
This year, king runs weren’t on track to meet reproduction goals for the William Jack Hernandez Sport Fish hatchery, which is located on Ship Creek and supports a variety of other fisheries in Southcentral Alaska, said Brittany Blain-Roth, an area management biologist with Fish and Game…